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.
Not the right match-up?
TigerVNC
High-performance, platform-neutral VNC implementation
VS
wayvnc
VNC server for wlroots-based Wayland compositors
| Feature | TigerVNC | wayvnc |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 7,368 | ★ 1,787 |
| First released | 2009 | 2019 |
| Replaces | RealVNC | TightVNC, RealVNC |
Why pick each one
Choose TigerVNC if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Mature project with 7.4k 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.