SHSelfHostIndex

KasmVNC vs wayvnc

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
KA KasmVNC Modern VNC server with a browser-based client VS WA wayvnc VNC server for wlroots-based Wayland compositors
FeatureKasmVNCwayvnc
CategoryRemote Access & VPNRemote Access & VPN
LicenseGPL-2.0ISC
LanguageC++C
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metalbare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 5,167★ 1,787
First released20202019
ReplacesTightVNC, RealVNCTightVNC, RealVNC

Why pick each one

Choose KasmVNC if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 5.2k GitHub stars
  • Written in C++
KasmVNC details

Choose wayvnc if…

  • Released under the ISC license
  • Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
  • Written in C
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
wayvnc details

Frequently asked questions

Is KasmVNC or wayvnc better?

Neither is universally better. KasmVNC has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are KasmVNC and wayvnc free and open-source?

Yes. KasmVNC is licensed under GPL-2.0 and wayvnc under ISC. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run KasmVNC and wayvnc with Docker?

KasmVNC: yes. wayvnc: check the project docs for container support.

Related comparisons