Toxic vs Gajim
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — 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
Gajim
Full-featured XMPP client with plugins
| Feature | Toxic | Gajim |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,301 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2014 | 2005 |
| Replaces | Skype, WhatsApp | Skype, Slack |
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
Choose Gajim if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Toxic or Gajim better?
Neither is universally better. Toxic has the larger community, while Gajim is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Toxic and Gajim free and open-source?
Yes. Toxic is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Gajim under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Toxic and Gajim with Docker?
Toxic: check the project docs for container support. Gajim: check the project docs for container support.