The Best Open Source Slack AlternativesTop Group Chat Apps & Team Collaboration Tools like Slack

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

More about Slack
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
Slack alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Zulip icon

    Zulip

     275 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.

    250 Zulip alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    Zulip screenshot 1
     
    |
    78
    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

    lamyseba
    Positive
    0

    Zulip messages are organized by channel and by topic, wich is very efficient for our usecase. If a message get in wrong channel/topic, you can manage to move it to the right place. Last but not leat: Zulip is Open source and available on mobile app, native app and web browser. The mobile app has a few less feature than browser/native app

    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.

    3 of 78 comments
    • Zulip is Free Personal and Open SourceSlack is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Zulip is an Instant Messenger Slack is a Group Chat App
    • Zulip is Privacy focused and LightweightSlack is not according to our users
  2. Element icon

    Element

     835 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.

    347 Element alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Snapcraft
    • Matrix.org
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Cloudron
    Element screenshot 1
     
    |
    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

    3 of 13 comments
    • Element is Free Personal and Open SourceSlack is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Element is an Instant Messenger Slack is a Group Chat App
    • Element is Decentralized, Privacy focused and LightweightSlack is not according to our users
  4. Rocket.Chat icon

    Rocket.Chat

     163 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.

    165 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
     
    |
    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.

    Guest
    Positive
    2

    open source, locally hosted so you own your data.

    • Rocket.Chat is Freemium and Open SourceSlack is Freemium and Proprietary
  5. Matrix icon

    Matrix

     417 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.

    193 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
     
    |
    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

    3 of 7 comments
    • Matrix is Free and Open SourceSlack is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Matrix is an Instant Messenger Slack is a Group Chat App
    • Matrix is Decentralized, Privacy focused, Security-focused and LightweightSlack is not according to our users
  7. Wire icon

    Wire

     333 likes

    Secure communication platform featuring encrypted chats and calls, file and media sharing, self-deleting messages, device verification, group collaboration, and customizable settings. Supports use across multiple devices with no phone number required for access.

    301 Wire alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    Wire screenshot 1
     
  8. Stoat Chat icon

    Stoat Chat

     143 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.

    78 Stoat Chat alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Rust
    • F-Droid
    Stoat Chat screenshot 1
     
  9. Threema icon

    Threema

     147 likes

    Threema is a new mobile messaging app that puts security first. With true end-to-end encryption, you can rest assured that only you and the intended recipient can read your messages.

    136 Threema alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    • iPad
    • F-Droid
    • Flathub
    Threema screenshot 1
     
  10. Element X icon

    Element X

     51 likes

    It is the brand new, and fastest ever, Matrix client. It is for personal and community use, and will support enterprise functionality later this year.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Android Auto
    Element X screenshot 1
     
  11. Conversations icon

    Conversations

     106 likes

    Conversations is a privacy focused, open source XMPP Texting [Jabber] client for Android 4.0+ smart phones with wife-approved easy encryption [OTR, OMEMO, or GPG].

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
    Conversations screenshot 1
     
  12. Armada icon

    Armada

     8 likes

    Open-source, end-to-end encrypted chat supporting decentralized, serverless communities and Concord. Features self-hosting, cryptographic login, encrypted text channels, threads, live voice and video rooms, compatibility with Nostr and other protocols, custom emojis, and GIFs.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
    Armada screenshot 1
     
  13. Quiet Chat icon

    Quiet Chat

     22 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.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Quiet Chat screenshot 1
     
  14. Twake icon

    Twake

     30 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...

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • iPhone
    • Android
    • Online
    Twake screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    Twake vs Slack Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    1

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

    • Twake is Freemium and Open SourceSlack is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Twake is a Team Collaboration Slack is a Group Chat App
12 of 76 Slack alternatives