Peer-calls 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?
FeaturePeer-callsThe Lounge
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageGoTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM50 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 1,903★ 6,309
First released20242014
ReplacesBigBlueButton, Skype, ZoomIRCCloud, Slack

Why pick each one

Choose Peer-calls if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Go
Peer-calls details

Choose The Lounge if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Peer-calls or The Lounge better?

Neither is universally better. The Lounge has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Peer-calls and The Lounge free and open-source?

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

Can I run Peer-calls and The Lounge with Docker?

Peer-calls: check the project docs for container support. The Lounge: yes.

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