Alternatives to qTox
A desktop client for the encrypted peer-to-peer Tox protocol with chat, calls and file transfer. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
qTox
A desktop client for the encrypted peer-to-peer Tox protocol with chat, calls and file transfer.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as qTox.
Jami
A fully peer-to-peer communication platform with no servers relaying your data and no personal information needed to sign up.
Jami is a GNU peer-to-peer platform with messaging, calls, video conferences, screen sharing and a SIP client, needing no phone number or email.
Keet
A peer-to-peer chat app for encrypted messages, audio and video calls, and file transfers.
Keet provides peer-to-peer encrypted chat, calls and file transfer with mobile apps, but it is not open source and uses a seed phrase identity.
Briar
Peer-to-peer encrypted messaging over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Tor.
Briar offers peer-to-peer encrypted messaging over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Tor on Linux and Android, but it is in maintenance mode and lacks calls.
Session
An encrypted messenger with no phone number and no account, routed through an onion network.
Session routes encrypted messages through an onion network with distributed storage and mobile apps, but it does not list calls.
SimpleX Chat
A messenger with no user identifiers at all, not even a random one, so there is no account to correlate.
SimpleX Chat uses relay servers you can self-host and has no user identifiers at all, with desktop, mobile and terminal clients.
Ricochet Refresh
An anonymous peer-to-peer instant messenger that connects contacts directly over Tor onion services.
Ricochet Refresh sends anonymous peer-to-peer messages over Tor onion services with file transfer, but without voice or video calls.
Cwtch
Metadata-resistant messaging over Tor with no central servers.
Cwtch is a metadata-resistant Tor messenger with an Android app, but delivery is slower and both parties must be online.
Signal
An end-to-end encrypted messenger for calls and chats on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux, run by a nonprofit.
Signal replaces peer-to-peer delivery with a nonprofit-run server, offering encrypted calls and chats on mobile and desktop but requiring a phone number.
Also worth comparing
These listings name qTox as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Berty
An open-source peer-to-peer messenger that works without central servers and can operate offline.
qTox is an open-source Tox client with peer-to-peer chat, calls and file transfer, but it is a desktop app and contacts must also use Tox.
Chitchatter
A peer-to-peer chat app in the browser that is serverless, decentralized and ephemeral.
qTox is an open-source desktop client for the peer-to-peer Tox protocol with encrypted chat, calls and file transfer, and contacts must also use Tox.
RetroShare
A decentralized, encrypted friend-to-friend network for chat, mail, forums, channels and file sharing.
qTox is a desktop Tox client with peer-to-peer encrypted chat, voice, video and file transfer, but no forums or channels.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Freenet
A peer-to-peer platform for decentralized apps that run without central servers, starting with River chat.
Quiet
A peer-to-peer team chat app that syncs messages between members' devices over Tor, with no server.
Linphone
An open-source SIP softphone for voice and video calls on desktop and mobile.
