Solanum 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.
| Feature | Solanum | The Lounge |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 71 · Good | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | C | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 262 | ★ 6,336 |
| First released | 2020 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | IRCCloud, Slack |
What are Solanum and The Lounge?
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
The Lounge
The Lounge is a modern web-based IRC client that you host yourself, staying always connected and synchronizing across devices. It offers a responsive interface accessible from any browser.
- Always-on IRC connection
- Synchronized multi-device experience
- Responsive web and mobile UI
- Push notifications
Solanum vs The Lounge: key differences
Solanum is written in C, while The Lounge is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Solanum versus MIT for The Lounge. Solanum is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for The Lounge. The Lounge is the more established project (first released 2014), while Solanum arrived in 2020. The Lounge has the considerably larger community, at 6,336 GitHub stars versus 262. The Lounge lists first-class Docker deployment; Solanum does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Solanum if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose The Lounge if…
- Great IRC experience in the browser
- Multi-user support
Watch out for
- IRC-only
- No built-in voice or video
Frequently asked questions
Is Solanum or The Lounge better?
The Lounge is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Solanum if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Solanum and The Lounge free and open-source?
Yes. Solanum is licensed under GPL-2.0 and The Lounge under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Solanum and The Lounge with Docker?
Solanum: check the project docs for container support. The Lounge: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Solanum or The Lounge?
Solanum has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for The Lounge. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.