Here’s the Deal

Riot vs Tox

228 32

96 15

When comparing Riot vs Tox, the Slant community recommends Riot for most people. In the question“What are the best cross-platform & encrypted messaging apps?” Riot is ranked 1st while Tox is ranked 5th.

Specs

Audio recordingYes

DecentralisedYes

End-to-end encryptionYes

File SharingYes

GroupsYes

MediaYes

Message historyYes

Open SourceYes

Open-SourceYes

PlatformsMac/Windows/Linux/Android/Browser/iOS

Private ChannelsYes

ScreensharingYes

SearchYes

Service integrationsYes

Supports Local HostingYes

Video recordingYes

VideoconferencingYes

VoIPYes

No specs yet!

Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking

Common Questions

What are the best cross-platform & encrypted messaging apps?

What are the best ways to transmit sensitive information over the Internet?

What are the best video chat solutions?

Pros

Pro
Uses Matrix, the open communications protocol

Pro
Supports text, voice, video

Integrates with Jitsi for multi-party video chats

Pro
Web and mobile (iOS, Android) versions available

Pro
Bridges to other networks

You're not confined within Riot's or even Matrix garden, and you don't have to make users of other networks switch to Matrix.

Pro
Widgets support

Want to watch that flick at YouTube and discuss it at the same time? Have Grafana graphs stacked above your DevOps team chat? Collaboratively edit Google Docs and chat over without switching applications? This is possible with Riot.

Pro
Very good and simple interface

Riot has a very simple interface, adding the ability for more unexperienced PC-Users to use it.

Pro
Privacy focused

Tox uses military grade encryption and works completely peer-to-peer.

Pro
Free and open source

The code is licensed under GPL (may change in the future) and is available on GitHub.

Pro
Multiple front-ends for multiple platforms available

At the moment there is no official Tox client, but a selection of 32 and 64 clients for Windows, OS X, Linux and Android is available.

Ad
Cons

Con
Still in active yet early development

There is clearly a User Experience issue esp. in web version which the developers are aware of and are working hard to improve. They've got the concept concrete, so UX won't be an issue in no time. Most often used parts are functional, but some are yet not.
The success of riot depends on how fast the development is, or it'll get outdated too quickly as developers of Signal and Telegram have predicted.

Con
Early stages of development

Since Tox is relatively new, it has important features missing (like group video) and requires a proper code review before it can be deemed reliable and ready for everyday use.