irssi vs Nheko
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?
irssi
Modular terminal IRC client with scripting
VS
Nheko
Desktop Matrix client with native Qt interface
| Feature | irssi | Nheko |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,129 | ★ 2,472 |
| First released | 1999 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Slack | Slack, Discord |
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 Nheko if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is irssi or Nheko better?
Neither is universally better. irssi has the larger community, while Nheko is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are irssi and Nheko free and open-source?
Yes. irssi is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Nheko under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run irssi and Nheko with Docker?
irssi: check the project docs for container support. Nheko: check the project docs for container support.