TigerVNC 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 | TigerVNC | wayvnc |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | GPL-2.0 | ISC |
| Language | C++ | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,504 | ★ 1,822 |
| First released | 2009 | 2019 |
| Replaces | RealVNC | TightVNC, RealVNC |
What are TigerVNC and wayvnc?
TigerVNC
TigerVNC is a high-performance, open-source implementation of VNC for remote desktop access. It offers server and client components for Windows, Linux, and macOS.
- High-performance VNC
- Cross-platform server and client
- TLS encryption
- Per-user virtual desktops
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
TigerVNC vs wayvnc: key differences
TigerVNC is written in C++, while wayvnc is built with C. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for TigerVNC versus ISC for wayvnc. TigerVNC is the more established project (first released 2009), while wayvnc arrived in 2019. TigerVNC has the considerably larger community, at 7,504 GitHub stars versus 1,822.
Why pick each one
Choose TigerVNC if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Mature project with 7.5k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
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 TigerVNC or wayvnc better?
Neither is universally better. TigerVNC has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are TigerVNC and wayvnc free and open-source?
Yes. TigerVNC is licensed under GPL-2.0 and wayvnc under ISC. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run TigerVNC and wayvnc with Docker?
TigerVNC: check the project docs for container support. wayvnc: check the project docs for container support.