Fractal AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Instant Messengers

The best Instant Messenger alternative to Fractal is Element. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Element or Matrix. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 10 alternatives to Fractal and 13 are Instant Messengers so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Instant Messenger alternatives to Fractal are nheko, Nerimity, Neochat and Quaternion.

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Alternatives list

  1. Element icon

    Element

     769 likes
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    Provides secure collaboration with end-to-end encryption, supporting chat, voice, and video calls. Available on all major platforms, it enables digital sovereignty with a decentralized design and interoperability through bridges to systems like Slack and Teams. Includes enterprise-grade SaaS.

    302 Element alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Matrix.org
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Cloudron
    • Snapcraft
    Video calls for desktop and mobile
     

    • Element is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Android & Mac alternative to Fractal.

    • Element is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Fractal.

    • Element is Free Personal and Open SourceFractal is Free and Open Source
    • Element is LightweightFractal is not according to our users
  2. Matrix icon

    Matrix

     381 likes
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    Matrix defines a set of open APIs for decentralised communication, suitable for securely publishing, persisting and subscribing to data over a global open federation of servers with no single point of control.

    166 Matrix alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • WebRTC
    • Python
    • JavaScript
    • Go (Programming Language)
    • Cloudron
    • Java
    • Perl
    Main Page
     
  4. Cinny icon

    Cinny

     20 likes
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    A Matrix client where you can enjoy the conversation using simple, elegant and secure interface protected by e2ee with the power of open source.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Arch Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Cinny screenshot 1
     
  5. nheko icon

    nheko

     6 likes
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    The motivation behind the project is to provide a native desktop app for Matrix that feels more like a mainstream chat app (Element, Telegram etc) and less like an IRC client.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Start
     
  6. Nerimity icon

    Nerimity

     10 likes
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    Nerimity is an open-source, community-first chat platform built to deliver an elegant, powerful, and feature-rich experience.

    27 Nerimity alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Self-Hosted
    Profile Interface [PC - 2025]
     
  7. Neochat icon

    Neochat

     10 likes
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    NeoChat is a client for Matrix, the decentralized communication protocol for instant messaging. It is a fork of Spectral, using KDE frameworks, most notably Kirigami, KConfig and KI18n.

    24 Neochat alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • KDE
    • Matrix.org
    • Flathub
    Neochat screenshot 1
     
  9. Quaternion icon

    Quaternion

     4 likes
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    Quaternion is a cross-platform Qt5-based desktop IM client for Matrix, a reference desktop application using libQMatrixClient. Source code, issue tracker, roadmap etc. can be found at GitHub. Releases (with links to cross-platform source code archives, as well as binaries for...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Quaternion screenshot 1
     
  10. Meshchat icon

    Meshchat

     2 likes
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    A simple mesh network communications app powered by the Reticulum Network Stack.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Docker
    Meshchat screenshot 1
     
  11. Keychat icon

    Keychat

     2 likes
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    • Senders send messages stamped with Bitcoin ecash to Nostr relays. The Nostr relays collect the Bitcoin ecash, then deliver messages to receivers.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    Keychat screenshot 1
    Keychat screenshot 2
    Keychat screenshot 3
     
  12. 0xchat icon

    0xchat

     3 likes
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    0xchat is a secure chat app built on the Nostr protocol. It prioritizes security, featuring private key login, encrypted private chats and contacts, encrypted group chats.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Mac
    • BSD
    0xchat screenshot 1
     
  13. Sideband icon

    Sideband

     1 like
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    Decentralized messaging client for Android, Linux and macOS allowing you to communicate with people or LXMF-compatible systems over Reticulum networks using LoRa, Packet Radio, WiFi, I2P, or any other medium Reticulum supports.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • F-Droid
    Sideband screenshot 1
     
  14. gotktrix icon

    gotktrix

     1 like
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    Matrix client in Go and GTK4.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    gotktrix screenshot 1
     
12 of 13 Fractal alternatives