noVNC 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.
| Feature | noVNC | wayvnc |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MPL-2.0 | ISC |
| Language | JavaScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,046 | ★ 1,822 |
| First released | 2010 | 2019 |
| Replaces | RealVNC | TightVNC, RealVNC |
What are noVNC and wayvnc?
noVNC
noVNC is an open-source VNC client implemented with HTML5 that connects to any VNC server through a WebSockets proxy. It requires no plugins or installed software on the client.
- Browser-based VNC client
- No plugins required
- WebSockets proxy
- Embeddable in apps
wayvnc
wayvnc is a VNC server that enables remote access to desktops running wlroots-based Wayland compositors such as Sway. It supports hardware-accelerated framebuffer capture and authentication.
- VNC for Wayland compositors
- Hardware-accelerated capture
- TLS encryption
- Lightweight server
noVNC vs wayvnc: key differences
NoVNC is written in JavaScript, while wayvnc is built with C. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for noVNC versus ISC for wayvnc. NoVNC is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for wayvnc. NoVNC is the more established project (first released 2010), while wayvnc arrived in 2019. NoVNC has the considerably larger community, at 14,046 GitHub stars versus 1,822. NoVNC lists first-class Docker deployment; wayvnc does not.
Why pick each one
Choose noVNC if…
- No client software needed
- Easy to embed
- Widely used
Watch out for
- Needs a WebSocket proxy
- Slower than native clients
Choose wayvnc if…
- Released under the ISC license
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is noVNC or wayvnc better?
noVNC is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider wayvnc if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are noVNC and wayvnc free and open-source?
Yes. noVNC is licensed under MPL-2.0 and wayvnc under ISC. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run noVNC and wayvnc with Docker?
noVNC: yes. wayvnc: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, noVNC or wayvnc?
noVNC has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for wayvnc. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.