openSIPS vs The Lounge

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?
FeatureopenSIPSThe Lounge
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseGPL-2.0MIT
LanguageCTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 1,503★ 6,309
First released20202014
ReplacesIRCCloud, Slack

Why pick each one

Choose openSIPS if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
  • Written in C
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
openSIPS details

Choose The Lounge if…

  • Great IRC experience in the browser
  • Multi-user support
The Lounge details

Frequently asked questions

Is openSIPS or The Lounge better?

The Lounge is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider openSIPS if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are openSIPS and The Lounge free and open-source?

Yes. openSIPS is licensed under GPL-2.0 and The Lounge under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run openSIPS and The Lounge with Docker?

openSIPS: check the project docs for container support. The Lounge: yes.

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