KiwiIRC vs Solanum
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | KiwiIRC | Solanum |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 57 · Fair | 71 · Good |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Vue | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 989 | ★ 262 |
| First released | 2011 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Discord |
What are KiwiIRC and Solanum?
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
Solanum
Solanum is an IRCv3 server daemon descended from the Charybdis lineage. It is the software that powers the Libera.Chat IRC network and is suitable for running large IRC infrastructures.
- Powers Libera.Chat
- IRCv3 protocol support
- Scales to large networks
- Charybdis-derived codebase
KiwiIRC vs Solanum: key differences
KiwiIRC is written in Vue, while Solanum is built with C. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for KiwiIRC versus GPL-2.0 for Solanum. KiwiIRC is the more established project (first released 2011), while Solanum arrived in 2020. KiwiIRC has the considerably larger community, at 989 GitHub stars versus 262. KiwiIRC lists first-class Docker deployment; Solanum does not.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Solanum if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is KiwiIRC or Solanum better?
KiwiIRC is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Solanum if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are KiwiIRC and Solanum free and open-source?
Yes. KiwiIRC is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Solanum under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run KiwiIRC and Solanum with Docker?
KiwiIRC: yes. Solanum: check the project docs for container support.