Toxic vs Snikket
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
Snikket
Easy self-hosted XMPP chat for groups
| Feature | Toxic | Snikket |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Social Networks |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Lua |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,301 | ★ 437 |
| First released | 2014 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Skype, WhatsApp | WhatsApp, Signal |
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 Snikket better?
Neither is universally better. Toxic has the larger community, while Snikket is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Toxic and Snikket free and open-source?
Yes. Toxic is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Snikket under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Toxic and Snikket with Docker?
Toxic: check the project docs for container support. Snikket: yes.