ngIRCd vs Screego
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
ngIRCd
Lightweight Unix IRC server that is easy to configure
VS
Screego
Screen sharing for developers
| Feature | ngIRCd | Screego |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 574 | ★ 10,478 |
| First released | 2001 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Slack | — |
Why pick each one
Choose ngIRCd if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Choose Screego if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 10.5k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is ngIRCd or Screego better?
Neither is universally better. Screego has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ngIRCd and Screego free and open-source?
Yes. ngIRCd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Screego under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ngIRCd and Screego with Docker?
ngIRCd: check the project docs for container support. Screego: check the project docs for container support.