SHSelfHostIndex

Ergo vs Spacebar

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
ER Ergo Modern IRC server with IRCv3 and bouncer features VS SP Spacebar Self-hostable, open-source Discord-compatible chat backend
FeatureErgoSpacebar
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageGoTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM64 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcedocker, source
GitHub stars★ 3,288★ 2,189
First released20162021
ReplacesSlack, DiscordDiscord

Why pick each one

Choose Ergo if…

  • No external services needed
  • Easy to run
Ergo details

Choose Spacebar if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
  • Written in TypeScript
Spacebar details

Frequently asked questions

Is Ergo or Spacebar better?

Ergo is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Spacebar if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Ergo and Spacebar free and open-source?

Yes. Ergo is licensed under MIT and Spacebar under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Ergo and Spacebar with Docker?

Ergo: yes. Spacebar: yes.

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