Glowing Bear vs Nextcloud Talk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Nextcloud Talk
Chat, video calls and webinars integrated into Nextcloud
| Feature | Glowing Bear | Nextcloud Talk |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 62 · Good | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 978 | ★ 2,201 |
| First released | 2014 | 2018 |
| Replaces | IRCCloud, Slack | Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams |
What are Glowing Bear and Nextcloud Talk?
Glowing Bear
Glowing Bear is a web front end that connects to a WeeChat relay, giving the powerful WeeChat IRC client a modern browser interface. It supports notifications, themes, and mobile use.
- WeeChat relay front end
- Browser-based IRC
- Push notifications
- Theme support
Nextcloud Talk
Nextcloud Talk is the communication app for the Nextcloud platform, providing private chat, audio and video calls, and screen sharing. It runs entirely on your own Nextcloud instance.
- Integrated with Nextcloud files
- WebRTC audio and video calls
- Screen sharing and webinars
- Mobile apps for iOS and Android
Glowing Bear vs Nextcloud Talk: key differences
Both projects are written in JavaScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Glowing Bear versus AGPL-3.0 for Nextcloud Talk. Glowing Bear is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Nextcloud Talk. Glowing Bear is the more established project (first released 2014), while Nextcloud Talk arrived in 2018. Nextcloud Talk has the considerably larger community, at 2,201 GitHub stars versus 978.
Why pick each one
Choose Glowing Bear if…
- Leverages WeeChat power
- Works on mobile browsers
Watch out for
- Requires WeeChat relay
- IRC focused
Choose Nextcloud Talk if…
- Tight Nextcloud integration
- End-to-end encrypted calls
Watch out for
- Requires a Nextcloud installation
- High-load calls need a TURN/HPB server
Frequently asked questions
Is Glowing Bear or Nextcloud Talk better?
Neither is universally better. Nextcloud Talk has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Glowing Bear and Nextcloud Talk free and open-source?
Yes. Glowing Bear is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Nextcloud Talk under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Glowing Bear and Nextcloud Talk with Docker?
Glowing Bear: yes. Nextcloud Talk: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Glowing Bear or Nextcloud Talk?
Glowing Bear has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Nextcloud Talk. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.