Ergo vs Solanum
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Ergo
Modern IRC server with IRCv3 and bouncer features
VS
Solanum
IRCv3 server daemon used by Libera.Chat
| Feature | Ergo | Solanum |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 71 · Good |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,333 | ★ 262 |
| First released | 2016 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Discord |
What are Ergo and Solanum?
Ergo
Ergo, formerly known as Oragono, is a modern IRC server written in Go that combines an IRCd with bouncer-like features. It supports IRCv3, has built-in account management, and stores message history.
- Full IRCv3 support
- Built-in account registration
- Persistent message history
- Single binary deployment
Solanum
Solanum is an IRCv3 server daemon descended from the Charybdis lineage. It is the software that powers the Libera.Chat IRC network and is suitable for running large IRC infrastructures.
- Powers Libera.Chat
- IRCv3 protocol support
- Scales to large networks
- Charybdis-derived codebase
Ergo vs Solanum: key differences
Ergo is written in Go, while Solanum is built with C. Licensing differs — MIT for Ergo versus GPL-2.0 for Solanum. Ergo is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Solanum. Ergo is the more established project (first released 2016), while Solanum arrived in 2020. Ergo has the considerably larger community, at 3,333 GitHub stars versus 262. Ergo lists first-class Docker deployment; Solanum does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Ergo if…
- No external services needed
- Easy to run
Watch out for
- IRC protocol limitations
- No web UI included
Choose Solanum if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Ergo or Solanum better?
Ergo is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Solanum if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Ergo and Solanum free and open-source?
Yes. Ergo is licensed under MIT and Solanum under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ergo and Solanum with Docker?
Ergo: yes. Solanum: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Ergo or Solanum?
Ergo has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Solanum. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.