Self-Hosted Signal Alternatives

Signal is not available as a self-hosted solution but there are plenty of alternatives for power users and business that want to host a solution on-premise. The best Self-Hosted alternative is Element. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Element or Wire. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Signal and 19 are available as a self-hosted solution so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Self-Hosted alternatives to Signal are Jitsi Meet, SimpleX Chat, Zulip and Nextcloud Talk.

filter to find the best alternatives

Signal alternatives are mainly Group Chat Apps, but if you're looking for Instant Messengers or Encrypted Chat Apps you can filter on that. Other popular filters include EU, Open Source, Blackberry, Encrypted Chat, Self-Hosted, Apple Watch and Instant Messaging. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Signal.
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Alternatives list

  1. Element icon

    Element

     791 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.

    313 Element alternatives

    Cost / License

    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
     
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    4
    Element vs Signal Comments
    LinuxDoge
    Positive
    3

    No phone number. You can choose a good server, but communicate with all. You can run it over Tor. The app is easy to use but full of features, that Signal still dreams of. There are Apps for every platform, in every Form.

    CatarinaTeles
    Positive
    8

    Decentralization and promotes home-servers

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    It offers encrypted communication with a bonus of decentralized infrastructure.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 4 comments
    • Element is Free Personal and Open SourceSignal is Free and Open Source
  2. Wire icon

    Wire

     319 likes

    Wire is the most secure collaboration platform featuring messenger, voice, video, conference calls, file-sharing, and external collaboration –all protected by the most secure end-to-end-encryption.

    284 Wire alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    • Flathub
    • Snapcraft
    Wire screenshot 1
     
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    2
    Wire vs Signal Comments
    jamiegray
    Positive
    1

    Beautiful user interface, recommended by security researchers, open source

    Guest
    Positive
    2

    Works fairly similarly, easy to use, very smooth for the most part, seems actually a little less buggy than signal at times.. I still prefer signal because of the fact that it's from openwhisper systems and I believe it to be the most secure of all the secure private messengers

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Wire is Free Personal and Open SourceSignal is Free and Open Source
  4. Matrix icon

    Matrix

     393 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.

    172 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
     
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    4
    Matrix vs Signal Comments
    cadetdc1t8x
    Negative
    5

    Matrix is a protocol that Element uses. Matrix does not replace the functionality that element offers

    James Browne
    Negative
    3

    Its NOT alternative t signal. It is great and I love the Matrix protocol but not a messenger. Its a protocol a messenger could use... those are two distinctly different things.

    RemovedUser
    Negative
    1

    Matrix is a terrible and bloated protocol, and apart from this, it is not a good alternative to Signal. It is not a messenger that you could expect as an alternative and it is not viable for many reasons.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 4 comments
    • Matrix is Free and Open SourceSignal is also Free and Open Source
  5. Jitsi Meet icon

    Jitsi Meet

     289 likes

    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.

    153 Jitsi Meet alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Apple Watch
    • F-Droid
    Jitsi Meet screenshot 1
     
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    2
    Jitsi Meet vs Signal Comments
    RemovedUser
    Negative
    0

    Jitsi is more focused, if not completely, on the video calling functionality. Signal is primarily for messaging. This is not a good alternative for Signal, but only for its video calls.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    saviour-simple
    Positive
    -1

    signal desktop should not be used due to massive vulnerabilities existing since 2018

    • Jitsi Meet is Free and Open SourceSignal is also Free and Open Source
  6. SimpleX Chat icon

    SimpleX Chat

     94 likes

    Open-source messaging platform enabling private, identifier-free chats, encrypted group discussions, file and media sharing, plus audio and video calls. Employs double-ratchet protocol, stores user data on-device, protects metadata, and lets users self-host relay servers.

    70 SimpleX Chat alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Flatpak
    • Android Tablet
    SimpleX Chat screenshot 1
     
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    1
    SimpleX Chat vs Signal Comments
    cricky
    Positive
    1

    SimpleX provides a similar experience to Signal with enhanced privacy

    • SimpleX Chat is Free and Open SourceSignal is also Free and Open Source
  7. Zulip icon

    Zulip

     268 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.

    229 Zulip alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    Zulip screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Zulip vs Signal Comments
    PlaidRadish
    Positive
    0

    Zulip is the only other open source, secure option in the list of alternatives on this site.

    • Zulip is Free Personal and Open SourceSignal is Free and Open Source
  9. Nextcloud Talk icon

    Nextcloud Talk

     33 likes

    Self-hosted communication platform with secure audio, video, chat, web conferencing, screensharing, advanced encryption, and metadata privacy, running on user-controlled servers, supporting web and mobile apps, and eliminating third-party data exposure.

    110 Nextcloud Talk alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Nextcloud
    • F-Droid
    • Flatpak
    • Chocolatey
    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Homebrew
    Nextcloud Talk screenshot 1
     
  11. Conduit Chat Server icon

    Conduit Chat Server

     7 likes

    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.

    241 Conduit Chat Server alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Linux
    • Debian
    • Nix Package Manager
    • Docker
    • Docker Hub
    Conduit Chat Server screenshot 1
     
  12. Tinode icon

    Tinode

     10 likes

    Fully open source instant messaging server and clients. No proprietary components or non-free dependencies. Backend in pure Go (GPL 3.0), with a command-line administration tool in python + gRPC. Clients for Android, iPhone, and Web - ReactJS (all licensed under Apache 2.0).

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    iOS client
     
  13. Kontalk Messenger icon

    Kontalk Messenger

     30 likes

    Kontalk is a secure instant messenger, allowing you to send and receive text, image and voice messages (other file types coming soon) to and from other Kontalk users completely free of charge.

    51 Kontalk Messenger alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Self-Hosted
    Kontalk Messenger screenshot 1
     
  14. Cyanide icon

    Cyanide

     11 likes

    Cyanide is Tox client for Sailfish OS .

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Sailfish OS
     
12 of 19 Signal alternatives