SHSelfHostIndex

Fractal vs Convos IRC

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

Not the right match-up?
FR Fractal GNOME-native Matrix messaging client VS CO Convos IRC Always-online web IRC client you can self-host
FeatureFractalConvos IRC
CategoryMatrix & XMPPMatrix & XMPP
LicenseGPL-3.0Artistic-2.0
LanguageRustGo
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcedocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 900★ 1,188
First released20172012
ReplacesSlack, DiscordSlack, IRCCloud

Why pick each one

Choose Fractal if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in Rust
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Fractal details

Choose Convos IRC if…

  • Stays connected for you
  • Simple to deploy
Convos IRC details

Frequently asked questions

Is Fractal or Convos IRC better?

Neither is universally better. Convos IRC has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Fractal and Convos IRC free and open-source?

Yes. Fractal is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Convos IRC under Artistic-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Fractal and Convos IRC with Docker?

Fractal: check the project docs for container support. Convos IRC: yes.

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