KiwiIRC 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 | KiwiIRC | Tox |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 57 · Fair | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Vue | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 989 | ★ 2,685 |
| First released | 2011 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Skype, Discord |
What are KiwiIRC and Tox?
KiwiIRC
KiwiIRC is a fully featured IRC client that runs in the browser and can be embedded into any website. It includes a webircgateway component for self-hosting your own embeddable IRC chat.
- Embeddable web IRC widget
- Themeable interface
- Plugin system
- Works without browser plugins
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
KiwiIRC vs Tox: key differences
KiwiIRC is written in Vue, while Tox is built with C. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for KiwiIRC versus GPL-3.0 for Tox. Tox is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for KiwiIRC. KiwiIRC is the more established project (first released 2011), while Tox arrived in 2013. Tox has the considerably larger community, at 2,685 GitHub stars versus 989. KiwiIRC lists first-class Docker deployment; Tox does not.
Why pick each one
Choose KiwiIRC if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Vue
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- IRC-only
- Needs gateway for direct connections
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 KiwiIRC 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 KiwiIRC and Tox free and open-source?
Yes. KiwiIRC is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Tox under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run KiwiIRC and Tox with Docker?
KiwiIRC: yes. Tox: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, KiwiIRC or Tox?
Tox has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for KiwiIRC. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.