Chatmail Relay vs qTox
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Chatmail Relay | qTox |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 484 | ★ 4,976 |
| First released | 2023 | 2014 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Signal | Skype, WhatsApp |
What are Chatmail Relay and qTox?
Chatmail Relay
A minimal, opinionated mail server configuration optimized to act as a relay for Delta Chat clients, providing instant, encrypted messaging over standard email. It is provisioned automatically for low-maintenance operation.
- Email-based messaging
- Automatic provisioning
- End-to-end encryption
- Low maintenance
qTox
qTox is a Qt-based client for the Tox protocol, a fully distributed, encrypted, peer-to-peer communication network. It supports text chat, file transfer, voice, and video without any central servers.
- Fully peer-to-peer, no servers
- End-to-end encryption
- Voice and video calls
- File transfer
Chatmail Relay vs qTox: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: qTox's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Chatmail Relay is actively maintained. Chatmail Relay is written in Python, while qTox is built with C++. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Chatmail Relay versus GPL-3.0 for qTox. QTox is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Chatmail Relay. QTox is the more established project (first released 2014), while Chatmail Relay arrived in 2023. QTox has the considerably larger community, at 4,976 GitHub stars versus 484. Chatmail Relay lists first-class Docker deployment; qTox does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Chatmail Relay if…
- Uses open email standards
- Hard to censor
Watch out for
- Requires mail server knowledge
- Newer project
Choose qTox if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (5k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- No offline messaging
- Project development has slowed
Frequently asked questions
Is Chatmail Relay or qTox better?
Neither is universally better. qTox has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Chatmail Relay and qTox free and open-source?
Yes. Chatmail Relay is licensed under MPL-2.0 and qTox under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Chatmail Relay and qTox with Docker?
Chatmail Relay: yes. qTox: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Chatmail Relay or qTox?
qTox has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Chatmail Relay. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.