Briar vs Toxic
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Briar | Toxic |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Java | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 800 | ★ 1,305 |
| First released | 2018 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Signal, WhatsApp | Skype, WhatsApp |
What are Briar and Toxic?
Briar
Briar is a messaging app designed for activists, journalists, and anyone who needs censorship-resistant communication. Messages sync directly between devices over Tor, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth without central servers.
- Works without internet
- Tor-based message routing
- No central servers
- Censorship resistant
Toxic
Toxic is a console client for the peer-to-peer, encrypted Tox communication protocol. It provides text chat, file transfer, and audio calls from the terminal with no central servers.
- Terminal-based Tox client
- Fully peer-to-peer
- Encrypted chat and calls
- File transfer support
Briar vs Toxic: key differences
Briar is written in Java, while Toxic is built with C. Toxic is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Briar. Toxic is the more established project (first released 2014), while Briar arrived in 2018.
Why pick each one
Choose Briar if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in Java
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Toxic if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Terminal UI only
- No offline messaging
Frequently asked questions
Is Briar or Toxic better?
Neither is universally better. Toxic has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Briar and Toxic free and open-source?
Yes. Briar is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Toxic under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Briar and Toxic with Docker?
Briar: check the project docs for container support. Toxic: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Briar or Toxic?
Toxic has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Briar. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.