Linphone 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 | Linphone | qTox |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 74 · Good | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 506 | ★ 4,976 |
| First released | 2001 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Skype, Zoom | Skype, WhatsApp |
What are Linphone and qTox?
Linphone
Linphone is a free SIP-based softphone for voice and video calls and instant messaging. Combined with a SIP server it forms a fully self-hosted communication stack across desktop and mobile.
- SIP voice and video
- End-to-end encryption with ZRTP
- Cross-platform clients
- Instant messaging support
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
Linphone vs qTox: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: qTox's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Linphone is actively maintained. Both projects are written in C++. Linphone is the more established project (first released 2001), while qTox arrived in 2014. QTox has the considerably larger community, at 4,976 GitHub stars versus 506.
Why pick each one
Choose Linphone if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
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 Linphone 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 Linphone and qTox free and open-source?
Yes. Linphone is licensed under GPL-3.0 and qTox under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Linphone and qTox with Docker?
Linphone: check the project docs for container support. qTox: check the project docs for container support.