ircd-hybrid vs Tox
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | ircd-hybrid | Tox |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 2,685 |
| First released | 1997 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Skype, Discord |
What are ircd-hybrid and Tox?
ircd-hybrid
ircd-hybrid is a long-standing IRC server daemon known for stability and a lightweight footprint. It supports modern IRC features and modular extensions, and can be self-hosted to run an IRC network.
- Stable lightweight IRC daemon
- Modular extensions
- Long-standing project
Tox
Tox is a free, peer-to-peer instant messaging protocol with end-to-end encryption and no central servers. The c-toxcore library is the reference implementation that powers a range of Tox clients.
- Fully peer-to-peer
- End-to-end encryption
- No central servers
- Voice and video calls
ircd-hybrid vs Tox: key differences
Both projects are written in C. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for ircd-hybrid versus GPL-3.0 for Tox. Ircd-hybrid is the more established project (first released 1997), while Tox arrived in 2013. Tox has the considerably larger community, at 2,685 GitHub stars versus 200.
Why pick each one
Choose ircd-hybrid if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose Tox if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is ircd-hybrid or Tox better?
Neither is universally better. Tox has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ircd-hybrid and Tox free and open-source?
Yes. ircd-hybrid is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Tox under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ircd-hybrid and Tox with Docker?
ircd-hybrid: check the project docs for container support. Tox: check the project docs for container support.