irssi vs Let's Chat
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
| Feature | irssi | Let's Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Team Chat |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | C | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,129 | ★ 9,803 |
| First released | 1999 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Slack | Slack, HipChat |
Why pick each one
Choose irssi if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Choose Let's Chat if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.8k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is irssi or Let's Chat better?
Neither is universally better. Let's Chat has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are irssi and Let's Chat free and open-source?
Yes. irssi is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Let's Chat under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run irssi and Let's Chat with Docker?
irssi: check the project docs for container support. Let's Chat: yes.