ircd-hybrid vs SimpleX Chat
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?
ircd-hybrid
Lightweight and stable IRC server daemon
VS
SimpleX Chat
Private messenger without any user identifiers
| Feature | ircd-hybrid | SimpleX Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Haskell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 19,211 |
| First released | 1997 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram |
Why pick each one
Choose ircd-hybrid if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is ircd-hybrid or SimpleX Chat better?
Neither is universally better. SimpleX Chat has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ircd-hybrid and SimpleX Chat free and open-source?
Yes. ircd-hybrid is licensed under GPL-2.0 and SimpleX Chat under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ircd-hybrid and SimpleX Chat with Docker?
ircd-hybrid: check the project docs for container support. SimpleX Chat: yes.