wayvnc vs x11vnc
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | wayvnc | x11vnc |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 85 · Excellent | 22 · At risk |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | ISC | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,822 | ★ 857 |
| First released | 2019 | 2002 |
| Replaces | TightVNC, RealVNC | TightVNC, RealVNC |
What are wayvnc and x11vnc?
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
x11vnc
x11vnc is a VNC server that allows remote access to an existing X11 display, letting you view and control a physical desktop session over the network. It is a long-standing tool for remote Linux desktops.
- Access existing X11 sessions
- View physical desktops
- SSH tunneling support
- Lightweight
wayvnc vs x11vnc: key differences
Both projects are written in C. Licensing differs — ISC for wayvnc versus GPL-2.0 for x11vnc. X11vnc is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for wayvnc. X11vnc is the more established project (first released 2002), while wayvnc arrived in 2019. Wayvnc has the considerably larger community, at 1,822 GitHub stars versus 857.
Why pick each one
Choose wayvnc if…
- Released under the ISC license
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose x11vnc if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is wayvnc or x11vnc better?
Neither is universally better. wayvnc has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are wayvnc and x11vnc free and open-source?
Yes. wayvnc is licensed under ISC and x11vnc under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run wayvnc and x11vnc with Docker?
wayvnc: check the project docs for container support. x11vnc: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, wayvnc or x11vnc?
x11vnc 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.