ircu2 vs KiwiIRC
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | ircu2 | KiwiIRC |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 51 · Fair | 57 · Fair |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 64 | ★ 989 |
| First released | 1996 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Discord, Slack | Slack, Discord |
What are ircu2 and KiwiIRC?
ircu2
ircu2 (ircd-undernet) is the IRC server daemon developed for and used by the Undernet IRC network. It can be self-hosted to run an IRC network and supports a feature-rich channel and server model.
- IRC server used by Undernet
- Feature-rich channel model
- Lightweight C daemon
KiwiIRC
KiwiIRC is a fully featured IRC client that runs in the browser and can be embedded into any website. It includes a webircgateway component for self-hosting your own embeddable IRC chat.
- Embeddable web IRC widget
- Themeable interface
- Plugin system
- Works without browser plugins
ircu2 vs KiwiIRC: key differences
Ircu2 is written in C, while KiwiIRC is built with Vue. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for ircu2 versus Apache-2.0 for KiwiIRC. Ircu2 is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for KiwiIRC. Ircu2 is the more established project (first released 1996), while KiwiIRC arrived in 2011. KiwiIRC has the considerably larger community, at 989 GitHub stars versus 64. KiwiIRC lists first-class Docker deployment; ircu2 does not.
Why pick each one
Choose ircu2 if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose KiwiIRC if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Vue
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- IRC-only
- Needs gateway for direct connections
Frequently asked questions
Is ircu2 or KiwiIRC better?
Neither is universally better. KiwiIRC has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ircu2 and KiwiIRC free and open-source?
Yes. ircu2 is licensed under GPL-2.0 and KiwiIRC under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ircu2 and KiwiIRC with Docker?
ircu2: check the project docs for container support. KiwiIRC: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, ircu2 or KiwiIRC?
ircu2 has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for KiwiIRC. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.