head to head · open source
srs vs free4chat
srs has 29,262 GitHub stars, 5,693 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped today. free4chat has 1,185 stars, 166 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped today. srs leads on adoption by 2,369% (29,262 vs 1,185 stars). srs is written in C++ under MIT; free4chat is written in TypeScript under MIT. srs has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, free4chat 14%. free4chat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| srs | free4chat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.7K | ⑂ 166 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick srs if
- You weight community size — 29K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick free4chat if
- You want the free4chat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and free4chat fits your workflow better
About srs
SRS (Simple Realtime Server) is an open source, AI driven real time media server written in C++ and released under the MIT license. It ingests and republishes live audio and video across a broad set of streaming protocols, including RTMP, WebRTC, HLS, HTTP FLV, HTTP TS, SRT, MPEG DASH, and GB28181. The project runs on Linux and macOS and is built for x86 64, ARMv7, AArch64, Apple M1, RISC V, LoongArch, and MIPS architectures. Codec support covers H.264, H.265, AV1, VP9, AAC, Opus, and G.711. The current line is SRS 8.0, and the project has been developed for roughly eleven years, with documentation published in b…
About free4chat
Free4Chat is an MIT licensed, TypeScript system for temporary capability access and collaboration that brings humans and independently running AI agents together in short lived Rooms to exchange realtime context, media, focused Tasks, and artifacts without accounts or a permanent workspace.
read the full free4chat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is srs or free4chat more popular?
srs has 29,262 GitHub stars and free4chat has 1,185. srs has the larger community by that measure.
Are srs and free4chat free?
Both are open source. srs is licensed under MIT and free4chat under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between srs and free4chat?
srs is written in C++ and free4chat in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, srs or free4chat?
Choose srs if you want the larger community (29,262 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose free4chat if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.