Glowing Bear vs Quassel IRC
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Glowing Bear | Quassel IRC |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 62 · Good | 57 · Fair |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 978 | ★ 794 |
| First released | 2014 | 2008 |
| Replaces | IRCCloud, Slack | Slack |
What are Glowing Bear and Quassel IRC?
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
Quassel IRC
Quassel is a distributed IRC client built around a central core that stays connected and one or more clients that attach to it. The core acts as a permanent bouncer storing backlog for all devices.
- Always-on core bouncer
- Synced backlog across devices
- Qt desktop clients
- PostgreSQL or SQLite storage
Glowing Bear vs Quassel IRC: key differences
Glowing Bear is written in JavaScript, while Quassel IRC is built with C++. Glowing Bear is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Quassel IRC. Quassel IRC is the more established project (first released 2008), while Glowing Bear arrived in 2014.
Why pick each one
Choose Glowing Bear if…
- Leverages WeeChat power
- Works on mobile browsers
Watch out for
- Requires WeeChat relay
- IRC focused
Choose Quassel IRC if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Glowing Bear or Quassel IRC better?
Neither is universally better. Glowing Bear has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Glowing Bear and Quassel IRC free and open-source?
Yes. Glowing Bear is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Quassel IRC under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Glowing Bear and Quassel IRC with Docker?
Glowing Bear: yes. Quassel IRC: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Glowing Bear or Quassel IRC?
Glowing Bear has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Quassel IRC. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.