compare · turborg's irc connector Other bouncers keep you connected.
Other bouncers keep you connected.
Turborg's IRC connector goes further.
Tired of patching your own bouncer and babysitting a server just to stay connected? We use ZNC, soju, The Lounge, Quassel, psyBNC and IRCCloud, read their docs and respect them, and lined them up against Turborg's IRC connector, feature by feature. Where one of them wins, we say so.
IRC is where Turborg starts, not where it stops.
Turborg is a multi-connector AI agent: one always-on agent that brings the same chat, AI and skills to every network you talk on. The IRC connector is live and battle-tested, and it is the one this page lines up against the IRC tools you may be coming from. More connectors are next.
open source · self-host or hosted · ai-native
Free and open source like the rest. AI-native and managed when you want it.
Turborg is open source and free to self-host, with the same full control, privacy and no lock-in you get from ZNC or soju. What sets it apart is what comes with it: modern AI skills built in, and an optional fully-managed, always-on tier from a team that has run IRC infrastructure for 15 years. Self-host it for free, or let us keep it online for you. Same code either way.
OSSApache-2.0 core
15+years running IRC
AIskills built in
2 waysself-host or hosted
These tools are not all the same thing.
A clean comparison has to admit that up front. The names people lump together actually fall into four buckets, and Turborg spans the ones that matter.
Pure bouncers
Hold the connection and replay backlog. You bring your own client.
ZNC · soju · psyBNC
Self-hosted web clients
Bouncer-like while you keep them running, with their own browser UI.
The Lounge · Quassel
Bots
A different category: channel automation, not a personal bouncer, so not scored in the table below.
Eggdrop
Hosted services
Managed, nothing to run. The set Turborg competes with head-on.
IRCCloud · Turborg
Credit where it's due
The projects that kept IRC alive.
IRC is still here because of projects like ZNC, soju, The Lounge, Quassel, psyBNC and Eggdrop, and IRCCloud showed hosted IRC could feel modern. We've learned from all of them. This isn't a takedown: where one of them wins, we say so. The table below is simply where Turborg works differently.
The full comparison.
✓ yes ~ partial, conditional or add-on ✕ no n/a not applicable
| Feature | Turborg | IRCCloud | ZNC | soju | The Lounge | Quassel | psyBNC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting & uptime | |||||||
| Always-on connection | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hosted option, no server to run | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Self-host it yourself | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free hosted tier, no card | ✓ | ~ | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Client & interface | |||||||
| Built-in web chat UI | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ~ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Emoji, link previews & themes | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ~ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Full IRC commands & channel ops in-app | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Bring your own IRC client | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Native mobile apps | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ✕ |
| IRC essentials | |||||||
| Multi-network, one login | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SASL + TLS on by default | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
| Modern IRCv3 (server-time, tags) | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✕ |
| Persistent history / backlog | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Searchable logs + exports | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ✕ |
| AI (the difference) | |||||||
| AI message polish before you send | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| One-click AI channel summaries | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| AI TL;DR of a linked page | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| AI agents / skills on command | ✓ | ✕ | ~ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Security & operations | |||||||
| MFA (TOTP) + device management | ✓ | ~ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Managed per-user isolation | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
| Platform & licensing | |||||||
| Beyond IRC (Discord on the roadmap) | ~ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Open source | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
- Turborg is both: the core is open source and self-hostable with a minimal web UI, and we also run a managed, always-on instance. It is the only row here that is hosted and self-hostable.
- Always-on: The Lounge holds your line only while you keep its server running.
- Rich chat & in-app control: The Lounge and IRCCloud also have emoji, link previews and full commands in their own UI. ZNC, soju and psyBNC give you full IRC control through your attached client, not a built-in interface; those rows are about what the product itself ships.
- Free tier: this row is about a hosted free plan, so it does not apply to the self-hosted tools (they are free software, but you supply and maintain the server). IRCCloud's free tier disconnects after a couple of hours idle.
- Mobile: soju pairs with the Goguma app, Quassel with Quasseldroid, The Lounge installs as a PWA. Only IRCCloud ships first-party native apps today.
- Skills: ZNC modules offer real automation, but none of these tools add an AI layer.
- Isolation: self-hosted tools run on your own server, so isolation is yours to provide. Turborg and IRCCloud isolate per user for you.
- IRCCloud: a paid plan unlocks connecting your own IRC client, and it has device and session management. We found no documented TOTP two-factor option, so that cell is partial.
Turborg against each one, plainly.
Turborg vs IRCCloud
IRCCloud is the closest comparison: managed and hosted, polished, with native mobile apps and push. It keeps you connected and looks great, but it is closed source and has no AI layer at all. Turborg matches the managed web experience, keeps an open source core you can self-host, and adds AI polish, summaries and skills IRCCloud does not offer.
Turborg vs ZNC
ZNC is the default self-hosted bouncer, and a good one: it holds your connection, replays backlog across networks, and has a deep module ecosystem. But you rent a server, patch it, and bring your own client, and there is no web chat and no AI. If keeping a VPS patched and online has turned into a chore, Turborg gives you the always-on connection with nothing to host, a premium web chat, and AI polish, summaries and skills on top.
Turborg vs soju
soju is a modern, lightweight bouncer with first-class IRCv3 support, usually paired with the gamja web client. It is clean and fast, but still self-hosted and AI-free. When you would rather not run and update it yourself, Turborg keeps the modern IRC foundation and adds the managed hosting, the built-in chat, and the AI layer soju leaves to you.
Turborg vs The Lounge
The Lounge is a self-hosted web IRC client with a genuinely nice UI. It behaves like a bouncer only while you keep its server running, so the uptime, and the 2am restart, are yours to own. Turborg runs the always-on agent for you and adds AI polish, summaries and skills that The Lounge does not have.
Turborg vs Quassel
Quassel splits into an always-on core and its own desktop and mobile clients. You host the core yourself and connect over the Quassel protocol, not with a standard IRC client. It is well made, but if hosting and upgrading the core has stopped being fun, Turborg is fully managed, works with any IRC client or the browser, and brings AI into the conversation.
Turborg vs psyBNC
psyBNC is a classic multi-user bouncer from the old guard, and it still does its job: SSL, multiple networks and a shared partyline. Development moves slowly these days, though, and there is no modern IRCv3, no web UI and no AI. If you are still nursing an old psyBNC along, Turborg is the actively built, hosted, AI-native path off it.
Built to last
Built on infrastructure we've run since 2009.
Turborg runs on managed infrastructure we've operated for over 15 years, with security and isolation built in, not bolted on.
- Isolated per-user runtimes with hard CPU and memory limits
- SASL authentication and TLS upstreams on by default
- Connector credentials encrypted at rest, never in plaintext
- MFA (TOTP), device management and remote sign-out
- Downloadable log exports for your own audit trail
Where they beat us
A comparison you can trust has to lose a few rows. IRCCloud ships native iOS and Android apps today; Turborg is a fast web app you can install as a PWA, with native apps on the roadmap. And the self-hosted bouncers are free software, so if running your own server is the point for you, ZNC and soju are excellent and our core is open source for exactly that.
And the rest
Other names you may know: Eggdrop, the classic IRC bot, is great at TCL automation but a different tool from a personal bouncer, and Turborg covers that automation with AI skills, no scripting required. Beyond it: bip and miau (small self-hosted bouncers), Convos and Kiwi IRC (self-hosted web clients), and the various paid ZNC hosting providers (managed ZNC, but still no built-in chat and no AI). They all land in the same trade-off as the columns above: either you self-host, or you get a hosted bouncer with no AI layer. Turborg is the one that is hosted, has a premium web chat, and is AI-native.
See the difference yourself.
Spin up your first Turborg in seconds. Free to start with a 7-day always-on trial, no card and no server. After that the free tier pauses when idle; upgrade when you want it always-on.