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.
Not the right match-up?
KiwiIRC
Hosted-anywhere modern web IRC client
VS
Tox
Peer-to-peer encrypted messaging protocol and core
| Feature | KiwiIRC | Tox |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 982 | ★ 2,670 |
| First released | 2011 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Skype, Discord |
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
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.