SimpleX Chat vs qTox
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
SimpleX Chat
Private messenger without any user identifiers
VS
qTox
Archived
Peer-to-peer encrypted messaging and calls over Tox
| Feature | SimpleX Chat | qTox |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 96 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Haskell | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 19,470 | ★ 4,976 |
| First released | 2021 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram | Skype, WhatsApp |
What are SimpleX Chat and qTox?
SimpleX Chat
SimpleX Chat is a privacy-focused messaging platform that has no user profiles or identifiers, routing messages through self-hostable relay servers. Users can run their own SMP relay servers for full control.
- No user identifiers at all
- Self-hostable SMP relay servers
- End-to-end encryption
- Decentralized message routing
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
SimpleX Chat vs qTox: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: qTox's repository is archived and no longer developed, while SimpleX Chat is actively maintained. SimpleX Chat is written in Haskell, while qTox is built with C++. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for SimpleX Chat versus GPL-3.0 for qTox. QTox is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for SimpleX Chat. QTox is the more established project (first released 2014), while SimpleX Chat arrived in 2021. SimpleX Chat has the considerably larger community, at 19,470 GitHub stars versus 4,976. SimpleX Chat lists first-class Docker deployment; qTox does not.
Why pick each one
Choose SimpleX Chat if…
- Best-in-class metadata privacy
- Run your own relays
Watch out for
- Newer protocol
- Group features still maturing
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 SimpleX Chat or qTox better?
Neither is universally better. SimpleX Chat has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are SimpleX Chat and qTox free and open-source?
Yes. SimpleX Chat is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and qTox under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SimpleX Chat and qTox with Docker?
SimpleX Chat: yes. qTox: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, SimpleX Chat or qTox?
qTox has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for SimpleX Chat. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.