Toxic vs Delta Chat
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Toxic
Terminal-based client for the Tox messaging network
VS
Delta Chat
Decentralized messenger built on top of email
| Feature | Toxic | Delta Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,301 | ★ 916 |
| First released | 2014 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Skype, WhatsApp | WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram |
Why pick each one
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
Frequently asked questions
Is Toxic or Delta Chat 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 Toxic and Delta Chat free and open-source?
Yes. Toxic is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Delta Chat under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Toxic and Delta Chat with Docker?
Toxic: check the project docs for container support. Delta Chat: check the project docs for container support.