Slack AlternativesOnly Open Source apps categorised as Team Collaboration Tools

The best open source Team Collaboration alternative to Slack is Element. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Element or Zulip. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Slack and many of them are open source Team Collaboration Tools so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Team Collaboration Tool alternatives to Slack are Matrix, Stoat Chat, Element X and Twake.

filter to find the best alternatives

Slack alternatives are mainly Team Collaboration Tools, but if you're looking for Group Chat Apps or Instant Messengers you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Self-Hosted, Self-Hosted + Open Source and Free. 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 Slack.
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Alternatives list

  1. Element icon

    Element

     781 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.

    307 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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    13
    Element vs Slack Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    brinerustle
    6

    because its open source, decentralised, and end-to-end secure. Plus the folks at matrix.org are working to get us out of our communication silos by creating standards for communication interoperability!

    Top Negative Comment
    davaga6837
    1

    Element is way too buggy and slow. It's actually totally free unlike the description which says it's not free. But, free isn't enough when the software is just buggy and slow.

    Dserver Hosting
    Positive
    1

    this is a open source and free software that is very useful for me

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 13 comments
    • Element is Free Personal and Open SourceSlack is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Element is Privacy focused and LightweightSlack is not according to our users
  2. Zulip icon

    Zulip

     267 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.

    225 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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    77
    Zulip vs Slack Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Paulo Coghi
    10

    More than feature parity with Slack, it's better because of Streams and Topics. It offer the same free tier with 10.000 max messages and better paid plans to the hosted version, and also provide the open source self-hosted option to install it on your own server and also remove the max messages limits. 5 stars

    Nakul Verma
    Positive
    0

    Zulip is a very good free and open source software that helps people to conversation to each other on random and some important topics separately. A usercan see who is online or ofline at the real time that is awesome.

    gilbertbw
    Positive
    0

    Zulip's threading model is no much richer than Slacks (where it feels like a bolted feature). This starts to become noticable at even just three person organisations and only gets more important as you grow. In addition the ability to self host gives smaller businesses more flexability than Slack.

    3 of 77 comments
    • Zulip is Free Personal and Open SourceSlack is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Zulip is Privacy focusedSlack is not according to our users
  4. Rocket.Chat icon

    Rocket.Chat

     159 likes

    Open-source chat server supporting real-time group, direct, and private messaging, video calls, file sharing, helpdesk chat, API integrations, desktop notifications, emojis, LDAP authentication, cross-platform apps, and customizable extensions for teams.

    144 Rocket.Chat alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    Rocket.Chat screenshot 1
     
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    3
    Rocket.Chat vs Slack Comments
    John Fastman
    Positive
    10

    Does everything Slack does AND it's open source. However, it's also self-hosted. This means you have to put in the effort to set it up, but you control your own data, which is a huge advantage to your privacy - your chats and files don't sit on someone else's servers, ready for them or hackers to look at.

    Guest
    Positive
    7

    Rocket.Chat comes very close to slack regarding it's core features and handling.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    2

    open source, locally hosted so you own your data.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Rocket.Chat is Freemium and Open SourceSlack is Freemium and Proprietary
  5. Matrix icon

    Matrix

     388 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.

    169 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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    7
    Matrix vs Slack Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Vladimir Studinsky
    2

    Open source, fecentralized, federation, chat-voice-video function.

    Top Negative Comment
    somegirlfromit
    18

    Matrix is a protocol, not a client.

    Guest
    Positive
    4

    Respects your Freedom. Increasingly popular

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 7 comments
    • Matrix is Free and Open SourceSlack is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Matrix is Privacy focused, Security-focused and LightweightSlack is not according to our users
  6. Stoat Chat icon

    Stoat Chat

     109 likes

    Instant messaging platform supporting text and voice channels, live video calls, secure screen sharing, private group chats, customizable permissions, moderation tools, bot integration, privacy-focused design, open-source development, and cross-platform use.

    51 Stoat Chat alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Rust
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    User settings page, on "Appearance" tab
     
  9. Twake icon

    Twake

     28 likes

    Twake is a real-time teamwork platform. It is a suite of collaborative tools that includes the specificities of some bestsellers (Slack, Trello, Google Drive...). We provide professional messaging, storage space, online collaborative editors (Words, Excel, PowerPoint), task...

    128 Twake alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    Twake screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Twake vs Slack Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    I like Twake as an alternative to Slack because it is open-source.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Twake is Freemium and Open SourceSlack is Freemium and Proprietary
  10. Huly icon

    Huly

     11 likes

    Open-source platform unifying project, document, issue, and task management with real-time team collaboration, instant messaging, video conferencing, and GitHub bidirectional sync, all in one customizable workspace for developers and product teams.

    76 Huly alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Huly screenshot 1
     
  11. Tracim icon

    Tracim

     17 likes

    All you need in a team collaboration tool dedicated to small efficient teams. Chat, notes, drive, online collaborative edition, calendars, news, spaces, notifications...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
     
  12. eXo Platform icon

    eXo Platform

     115 likes

    eXo Platform is an all-in-one digital workplace solution that helps you connect, align and engage your teams around a single interface. You can use it to improve company and peer-to-peer communication, boost collaboration and manage company knowledge.

    103 eXo Platform alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    News
     
  13. Flotilla Chat icon

    Flotilla Chat

     6 likes

    Experience a new way to connect with your people online. Join an existing community space or launch your very own branded platform tailored to your audience.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • iPhone
    • Android
    • Self-Hosted
    Customize your space, set access controls, and announce updates.
     
  14. Semaphor icon

    Semaphor

     13 likes

    Zero Knowledge, end-to-end encrypted collaboration tool for teams and businesses. Reviewable source code. Python wrapper for bots & integrations. Encryption white paper. Native offline mode. Faster file-sharing. Built for enterprise.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    Semaphor screenshot 1
     
12 of 21 Slack alternatives