Gamja vs Glowing Bear
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?
Gamja
Simple, lightweight web-based IRC client
VS
Glowing Bear
Web front end for the WeeChat IRC relay
| Feature | Gamja | Glowing Bear |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 400 | ★ 975 |
| First released | 2020 | 2014 |
| Replaces | IRCCloud | IRCCloud, Slack |
Why pick each one
Choose Gamja if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Gamja or Glowing Bear better?
Neither is universally better. Glowing Bear has the larger community, while Gamja is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Gamja and Glowing Bear free and open-source?
Yes. Gamja is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Glowing Bear under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gamja and Glowing Bear with Docker?
Gamja: check the project docs for container support. Glowing Bear: yes.