Open Source Rocket.Chat AlternativesTop Group Chat Apps & Instant Messengers like Rocket.Chat

The best open source alternative to Rocket.Chat 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 100 alternatives to Rocket.Chat and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Rocket.Chat are Zulip, Element X, Quiet Chat and Mirotalk.

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Alternatives list

  1. Element icon
     809 likes

    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.

    322 Element alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Snapcraft
    • Matrix.org
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Cloudron
     
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  2. Matrix icon
     402 likes

    Open standard protocol enabling decentralized, encrypted instant messaging, VoIP signaling, IoT device connectivity, and persistent data management across federated servers without central control or single points of failure, bridging communication platforms.

    179 Matrix alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • WebRTC
    • Python
    • JavaScript
    • Go (Programming Language)
    • Cloudron
    • Java
    • Perl
     
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    1
  3. Jitsi Meet icon
     292 likes

    Open-source video conferencing platform with encryption by default, up to 75 participants, live group chat, HD audio, screen and document sharing, Etherpad editing, mobile and browser support, custom deployment options, privacy-first features, and community-driven development.

    159 Jitsi Meet alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Apple Watch
    • F-Droid
     
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    1
  4. Zulip icon
     269 likes

    Threaded group conversations combine live and asynchronous messaging, separating topics for organized collaboration, supporting open-source, cloud, and self-hosted deployments, secure communication with encryption, and multi-platform access for diverse teams.

    235 Zulip alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
     
  5. Quiet Chat icon
     21 likes

    Peer-to-peer group chatting over Tor and IPFS, with local-first encrypted messaging and no central servers, offers privacy-focused decentralized collaboration for teams, supporting desktop and mobile. FOSS, open to contributors, and avoids surveillance-based tracking.

    66 Quiet Chat alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
     
  6. Briefing icon
     29 likes

    The preservation of privacy is the main driver for this project. Secure technologies, such as WebRTC, are used to establish a direct connection between the participants. The website that provides the web application and mediates the communication stores as little data as...

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • npm
     
  7. nheko icon
     7 likes

    Matrix-focused desktop chat client supporting secure end-to-end encrypted messaging, voice and video calling, file sharing, emoji, room and community management, multi-theme interface, presence/status, notifications, profiles, and plugin integration for Unix.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
     
  8. Nerimity icon
     14 likes

    Open-source chat platform providing community-focused group messaging, video calls, profile customization with animated avatars, custom emojis, tags, post creation, discovery of communities, and full source code access on GitHub. Entirely donation-funded.

    39 Nerimity alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Self-Hosted
     
  9. Conduit is a simple, fast and reliable chat server powered by Matrix. Conduit is an alternative to Synapse and tries to be lightweight and easy to install, but it is still in development.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Linux
    • Debian
    • Nix Package Manager
    • Docker
    • Docker Hub
     
  10. VoltChat icon
     2 likes

    An ad-free, theme-able, chatting platform built for privacy and security while offering a huge feature set including bot support, moderation, voice calls, screen sharing, video, embeds and many other features, it's built to be reliable and self-hosted while still allowing...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
     
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