anyone know of a good company that will host my irc channel(10-20 people max)

If you're just looking for an IRC channel, start a channel on an established network (EFnet, Undernet, IRCnet, etc). You'll have stability and services (NickServ, ChanServ, etc.) without having to worry about any of the technical stuff. Plus, it's free.

any dedicated/vps server will do

We suggest you sh3lls.net great company for irc purpose.

any dedicated/vps server will do

actually that's wrong as many specify in their terms of service that irc (internet relay chat) is strictly forbidden.

heck, even many dedicated server offerings forbid irc - i agree it would be best to just get a channel on an established network.

You could also search the offers section - those who allow irc usually use that as a selling point since so many forbid it.

Depends what you want your host your IRC with. I would suggest a VPS or dedicated server which allows IRC.

confusing question.
to host your irc channel ? an irc network will be the answer.

No confusion here, pick any public IRC network - then connect and join the channel you want to create. Assuming nobody else has registered it first you can then use their services (if any) to register it. Have fun!

He's referring to hosting an IRCd.

You can take a look in the offer section.
anyone know of a good company that will host my irc channel(10-20 people max)

If you must have your own IRCd go with sh3lls.net. I've used them before.

But the big networks are just easier, the one IRC channel I still maintain I moved to a big network (freenet, EFnet, etc.) because it saved me time to do other things like...have a beer.

He's referring to hosting an IRCd.

How are you assuming this, based upon what?

If the OP is getting confused with channels and servers then I'd certainly advise not to bother running an ircd for now until they have gotten used to using IRC in general, the workings of it etc.

For now they have just asked to setup a channel though, so I'm not sure why anybody are suggesting shells / irc hosting when the normal and simple way is to open a channel on an existing network.

A virtual private would actually suite your needs pretty well.

A virtual private would actually suite your needs pretty well.How would a VPS suit the needs of the OP even in the slightest? Not only would a VPS be more expensive and harder to find (not many hosts allow IRC), but it would be a huge overkill for a server running 1 channel with 10-20 users.

The OP should be looking into either:
1) Starting a channel on an established network (as already pointed out) and just creating a channel on that network
2) Purchase an IRCd to host your own server, which would also give you IRCop access and mostly power benefits

Personally, I'd recommend the first one since your channel is going to be so small. There's no reason to start your own IRC server for this -- it's actually probably less convenient for your users.

If your only looking to host one channel, you most definitely don't need to be running your own IRCD. Use a already populated (or not) IRCD like efnet, or my favorite freenode.