Convos IRC vs ZNC
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
| Feature | Convos IRC | ZNC |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Artistic-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,188 | ★ 2,123 |
| First released | 2012 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Slack, IRCCloud | IRCCloud |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Convos IRC or ZNC better?
Neither is universally better. ZNC has the larger community, while Convos IRC is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Convos IRC and ZNC free and open-source?
Yes. Convos IRC is licensed under Artistic-2.0 and ZNC under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Convos IRC and ZNC with Docker?
Convos IRC: yes. ZNC: yes.