Alternatives to GNUnet
A GNU network protocol stack for building secure, decentralised and privacy-preserving peer-to-peer applications. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
GNUnet
A GNU network protocol stack for building secure, decentralised and privacy-preserving peer-to-peer applications.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as GNUnet.
I2P
Encrypted overlay network for anonymous sites, messaging and file sharing.
I2P is a ready-to-use encrypted overlay network for anonymous sites, email and torrents on desktop and Android, rather than a framework for developers.
Hyphanet
A peer-to-peer network for censorship-resistant, anonymous publishing and communication, formerly known as Freenet.
Hyphanet focuses on censorship-resistant anonymous publishing with plugins for sites and forums, and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Freenet
A peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps that run without central servers, starting with River chat.
Freenet is a peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps starting with River chat, with a browser demo and desktop peers, but it is not open source.
Lokinet
Onion-routed network built on staked nodes, routing at the IP layer.
Lokinet is an onion-routed network on staked nodes that routes at the IP layer for any application, with a smaller anonymity set than Tor.
Yggdrasil
An experimental, end-to-end encrypted IPv6 mesh network run as a lightweight userspace software router.
Yggdrasil is an experimental encrypted IPv6 mesh network that runs on many platforms, but it does not aim to hide your IP address.
RetroShare
A decentralized, encrypted friend-to-friend network for chat, mail, forums, channels and file sharing.
RetroShare is a friend-to-friend network with chat, forums and file sharing in one desktop and Android app, rather than a protocol stack.
Also worth comparing
These listings name GNUnet as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Reticulum
Cryptography-based networking stack that spans radio and IP links.
GNUnet is a GNU peer-to-peer protocol stack focused on metadata protection, Linux only and technical to install, without Reticulum's radio link support.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Arti
The Tor Project's rewrite of the Tor client in the Rust programming language.
i2pd
A full-featured C++ implementation of the I2P router for joining the anonymous I2P network.
IPFS Desktop
A desktop app that runs an IPFS node for sharing files over the peer-to-peer IPFS network.
Berty
An open-source peer-to-peer messenger that works without central servers and can operate offline.
Quiet
A peer-to-peer team chat app that syncs messages between members' devices over Tor, with no server.
Tribler
An open-source BitTorrent client with built-in search and Tor-inspired onion routing for more private downloading.
