Hangouts AlternativesOnly Open Source apps categorised as Group Chat Apps

The best open source Group Chat alternative to Hangouts is Signal. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Hangouts and many of them are open source Group Chat Apps so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Group Chat App alternatives to Hangouts are Element, Pidgin, Matrix.org and Tox.

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Hangouts alternatives are mainly Instant Messengers but may also be Group Chat Apps or Video Calling Apps. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Hangouts.

Hangouts

1033

Instant Messenger
Free • Proprietary

Hangouts is a messaging app that lets you send and receive messages, photos and more, and even start free video and voice calls – one to one or with a group!

More about Hangouts

Hangouts alternatives page was last updated Sep 6, 2022

Signal
Signal is a messaging app with an unexpected focus on privacy, combined with all the features expected from a modern IM app. Signal has received a lot of praise from all around the world for its security and privacy-respecting technologies.
216 Signal alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Video Calling App
- Instant Messenger
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- iPad
- Flathub
- Ubuntu
- Debian
+4
Top Signal Features
1. End-to-End Encryption
2. Encrypted Chat
3. Privacy focused
4. Security focused
5. Ad-free
6. Video Calling
7. Instant Messaging
8. Self Destructing Messages
9. Private messaging
10. No Tracking
11. Encrypted Connection
12. Mobile friendly
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Signal VS Hangouts
Is Signal a good alternative to Hangouts?
Comments about Signal as an Alternative to Hangouts

Goldmaster
Far better, with a much simpler interface and usage. With a focus on speed, privacy and security. This should be on everyone's phone.
Positive comment •Jun 30, 2022
1
Guest
Easy security for beginners, multi-platform, current development, doesn't restrict communications to insecure recipients, obvious visual indicators that you are communicating secure or non-secure.
Positive comment •May 5, 2017
8
Guest
No web interface

(Otherwise, the service is great.)
Negative comment •Mar 29, 2019
3
John Fastman
Unlike Google products, Signal offers end-to-end encryption, meaning that your messages cannot be intercepted or read by anyone except the intended recipient, if they have Signal too. Google's emails and messages are intercepted by mass surveillance and used to profile users as part of Google's business model. Signal is also open source, which means you can inspect the code yourself.
Positive comment •Apr 18, 2018
0
- Almost everyone thinks Signal is a great Hangouts alternative.
- Signal is the most popular Windows, Android, Mac & iPhone alternative to Hangouts.
- Signal is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Hangouts.
- Signal is Free and Open SourceHangouts is Free and Proprietary
- Signal is Privacy focused and Security focusedHangouts is not according to our users

Element
Element is a secure collaboration and messaging app based on the Matrix protocol. It’s decentralised to deliver digital sovereignty, and based on an open standard for easy connections and interoperability. It is end-to-end encrypted by default.
282 Element alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Open Source
Application types
- Instant Messenger
- Video Calling App
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- Matrix.org
- Flathub
- F-Droid
- Cloudron
+1
Top Element Features
1. End-to-End Encryption
2. Decentralized
3. Federated
4. Team Collaboration
5. Privacy focused
6. Encrypted Chat
7. Video Calling
8. Instant Messaging
9. Matrix Protocol
10. Voice Chat
11. Federation
12. Direct Messaging
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Element VS Hangouts
Is Element a good alternative to Hangouts?
Comments about Element as an Alternative to Hangouts

Guest
its deep architecture makes it better than Hangouts and the other security-focused alternatives too.
Positive comment •Dec 24, 2020
2
Guest
Supports all Hangouts features, as well as encrypted conversations. Respects your privacy, and you don't need an email address to sign up.
Positive comment •Jan 20, 2018
2
- Most users think Element is a great Hangouts alternative.
- Element is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to Hangouts.
- Element is Freemium and Open SourceHangouts is Free and Proprietary
- Element is Decentralized and Privacy focusedHangouts is not according to our users

Pidgin
Pidgin is a chat program which lets you log into accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on XMPP and sitting in an IRC channel at the same time.
123 Pidgin alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Instant Messenger
- Video Calling App
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Flathub
- PortableApps.com
+4
Top Pidgin Features
1. Support for Multiple protocols
2. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
3. Supports XMPP
4. Multiple Account support
5. IRC
6. Portable
7. No Tracking
8. Ad-free
9. VoiP Calls
10. Multiple languages
11. Xmpp
12. Multiple chat protocols
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Pidgin VS Hangouts
Is Pidgin a good alternative to Hangouts?
Comments about Pidgin as an Alternative to Hangouts

5247009
Extremely integrated with countless other chat services, but no web service. You can add functionality through plugins, unlike all other alternatives.
Positive comment •May 7, 2017
3
Gabriel Kaeppel
A bit basic but super easy to use.
Positive comment •Feb 11, 2019
-1
- Most users think Pidgin is a great Hangouts alternative.
- Pidgin is Free and Open SourceHangouts is Free and Proprietary

Matrix.org
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.
149 Matrix.org alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Instant Messenger
- Group Chat App
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- WebRTC
- Python
- JavaScript
- Go (Programming Language)
- Cloudron
- Java
- Perl
Top Matrix.org Features
1. Decentralized
2. End-to-End Encryption
3. Federation
4. Team Collaboration
5. Random Video Chat
6. Privacy focused
7. Distributed
8. Ad-free
9. VoiP Calls
10. No Tracking
11. Multiple Account support
12. Real time collaboration
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Matrix.org VS Hangouts
Is Matrix.org a good alternative to Hangouts?

Tox
With the rise of widespread government monitoring programs, Tox is an easy to use application that allows you to connect with friends and loved ones without anyone else listening in.
202 Tox alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Instant Messenger
- Video Calling App
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- Android Tablet
- BSD
- F-Droid
+5
Top Tox Features
1. Encrypted Chat
2. Decentralized
3. Privacy focused
4. Peer-To-Peer
5. End-to-End Encryption
6. Security focused
7. No registration required
8. Multiplatform
9. Screen Sharing
10. Lightweight
11. No Tracking
12. AES-256 Encryption
Show all NaN Tox features ▾
Tox VS Hangouts
Is Tox a good alternative to Hangouts?
Comments about Tox as an Alternative to Hangouts
Guest

Encrypted text, voice and video chat

File and Desktop sharing

Emoji and markdown (basic support on qTox) support

Group chat

Open source (Protocol: https://github.com/irungentoo/toxcore)

Multiple cross-platform clients (mainly qTox, uTox)

No true offline messaging (decentralized by design)

Still in development (but fully usable; contribute bug reports by trying out)

Positive comment •Apr 19, 2017
5
- Most users think Tox is a great Hangouts alternative.
- Tox is Free and Open SourceHangouts is Free and Proprietary
- Tox is Decentralized, Privacy focused, Security focused and LightweightHangouts is not according to our users

Jitsi Meet
Go ahead, video chat with the whole team. In fact, invite everyone you know. Jitsi Meet is a fully encrypted, 100% open source video conferencing solution that you can use all day, every day, for free.
139 Jitsi Meet alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Video Calling App
- Group Chat App
Platforms
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- Apple Watch
- F-Droid
Top Jitsi Meet Features
1. Browser-based
2. Video Conferencing
3. End-to-End Encryption
4. Screen Sharing
5. Ad-free
6. Video Calling
7. Encrypted Chat
8. Remote Work
9. No Tracking
10. Stream audio
11. Privacy focused
12. Lightweight
Show all NaN Jitsi Meet features ▾
Jitsi Meet VS Hangouts
Is Jitsi Meet a good alternative to Hangouts?
Comments about Jitsi Meet as an Alternative to Hangouts

John Fastman
Fully functioning, free, open-source, end-to-end encrypted, browser-based (install nothing) Skype- or Google Hangouts alternative. Stable video and sound, screen share, password protection for rooms and a few other handy features. Highly recommended. No more reason to accept Skype and Google's surveillance of your conversations.
Positive comment •Dec 10, 2016
2
gitbreaker222
Open source, works without account, easy access, good design, stable connection
Positive comment •Jan 7, 2017
2
- Almost everyone thinks Jitsi Meet is a great Hangouts alternative.
- Jitsi Meet is Free and Open SourceHangouts is Free and Proprietary
- Jitsi Meet is Privacy focused and LightweightHangouts is not according to our users

Jitsi Desktop
Jitsi Desktop (previously SIP Communicator) is a legacy audio/video and chat communicator with full encryption, precedessor of Jitsi Meet .
78 Jitsi Desktop alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Video Calling App
- Group Chat App
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- BSD
- Self-Hosted
+9
Top Jitsi Desktop Features
1. Video Conferencing
2. Privacy focused
3. SIP
4. No registration required
5. Support for Multiple protocols
6. Live Meeting
7. WebRTC
8. Voice Chat
9. Web-Based
10. Multiple Account support
11. Desktop Sharing
12. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
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Discontinued
Jitsi Desktop is not actively developed anymore: last version, released in October 2017, can be still downloaded from GitHub. Its successor is Jitsi Meet
Jitsi Desktop VS Hangouts
Is Jitsi Desktop a good alternative to Hangouts?

Jami
Jami (formerly GNU Ring, SFLphone) positions itself as a potential free Skype replacement
157 Jami alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Video Calling App
- Instant Messenger
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
+9
Top Jami Features
1. Decentralized
2. Privacy focused
3. Ad-free
4. Video Conferencing
5. Peer-To-Peer
6. Multi Platform
7. Video Calling
8. SIP client
9. End-to-End Encryption
10. Dark Mode
11. No Tracking
12. Screen Sharing
Show all NaN Jami features ▾
Jami VS Hangouts
Is Jami a good alternative to Hangouts?