Toxic vs Syphon
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
Syphon
Privacy-focused Matrix client built with Flutter
| Feature | Toxic | Syphon |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Dart |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,301 | ★ 1,061 |
| First released | 2014 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Skype, WhatsApp | WhatsApp, Discord |
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 Syphon if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Dart
Frequently asked questions
Is Toxic or Syphon better?
Neither is universally better. Toxic has the larger community, while Syphon is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Toxic and Syphon free and open-source?
Yes. Toxic is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Syphon under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Toxic and Syphon with Docker?
Toxic: check the project docs for container support. Syphon: check the project docs for container support.