Berty vs qTox
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Berty | qTox |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,306 | ★ 4,976 |
| First released | 2018 | 2014 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Signal | Skype, WhatsApp |
What are Berty and qTox?
Berty
Berty is a secure peer-to-peer messaging application built on the IPFS-based Wesh protocol. It can operate without internet access using local networks and Bluetooth.
- Works without internet via P2P
- End-to-end encryption
- No account or phone number
- Built on IPFS
qTox
qTox is a Qt-based client for the Tox protocol, a fully distributed, encrypted, peer-to-peer communication network. It supports text chat, file transfer, voice, and video without any central servers.
- Fully peer-to-peer, no servers
- End-to-end encryption
- Voice and video calls
- File transfer
Berty vs qTox: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: qTox's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Berty is actively maintained. Berty is written in TypeScript, while qTox is built with C++. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Berty versus GPL-3.0 for qTox. QTox is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Berty. QTox is the more established project (first released 2014), while Berty arrived in 2018.
Why pick each one
Choose Berty if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Mature project with 9.3k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Still considered experimental
- P2P discovery limitations
Choose qTox if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (5k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- No offline messaging
- Project development has slowed
Frequently asked questions
Is Berty or qTox better?
Neither is universally better. Berty has the larger community, while qTox is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Berty and qTox free and open-source?
Yes. Berty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and qTox under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Berty and qTox with Docker?
Berty: check the project docs for container support. qTox: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Berty or qTox?
qTox has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Berty. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.