ircu2 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 | ircu2 | Quassel IRC |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 64 | ★ 794 |
| First released | 1996 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Discord, Slack | Slack |
What are ircu2 and Quassel IRC?
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
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
ircu2 vs Quassel IRC: key differences
Ircu2 is written in C, while Quassel IRC is built with C++. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for ircu2 versus GPL-3.0 for Quassel IRC. Ircu2 is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Quassel IRC. Ircu2 is the more established project (first released 1996), while Quassel IRC arrived in 2008. Quassel IRC has the considerably larger community, at 794 GitHub stars versus 64. Quassel IRC 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 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 ircu2 or Quassel IRC better?
Neither is universally better. Quassel IRC has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ircu2 and Quassel IRC free and open-source?
Yes. ircu2 is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Quassel IRC under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ircu2 and Quassel IRC with Docker?
ircu2: check the project docs for container support. Quassel IRC: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, ircu2 or Quassel IRC?
ircu2 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.