Open Source Telegram Alternatives

The best open source alternative to Telegram is Signal. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Telegram and loads of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Telegram are Element, Tox, Wire and Matrix.

filter to find the best alternatives

Telegram alternatives are mainly Instant Messengers, but if you're looking for Group Chat Apps or Encrypted Chat Apps you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Online, Mac, Android, Windows, Linux, Android + Free and Self-Hosted. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Telegram.
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Alternatives list

  1. Cwtch icon
     11 likes
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    Cwtch - (a Welsh word roughly translating to “a hug that creates a safe place”) is a decentralized, privacy-preserving, multi-party messaging protocol that can be used to build metadata resistant applications.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
     
  2. KryptEY icon
     9 likes
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    Android keyboard for secure E2EE communication through the signal protocol in any messenger. Communicate securely and independent, regardless of the legal situation or whether messengers use E2EE.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Android
    • F-Droid
     
  3. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Off-the-Record (OTR) Messaging allows you to have private conversations over any instant messaging (MSN,Gtalk, Facebook and so on) by providing encryption, authentication, deniability, perfect forward...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Java Mobile
     
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    1
    Comments about Off-the-Record Messaging as an Alternative to Telegram
    arndtadler
    Negative
    1

    OTR is a chat protocol and not a specific app.

    Telegram Icon
    Off-the-Record Messaging icon
    • Off-the-Record Messaging is Free and Open SourceTelegram is Freemium and Proprietary
  4. Quaternion icon
     4 likes
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    Quaternion is a cross-platform Qt5-based desktop IM client for Matrix, a reference desktop application using libQMatrixClient. Source code, issue tracker, roadmap etc. can be found at GitHub. Releases (with links to cross-platform source code archives, as well as binaries for...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
     
  5. Mercurygram icon
     4 likes
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    Telegram is a messaging app with a focus on speed and security. It’s superfast, simple and free.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
     
  6. nheko icon
     6 likes
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    The motivation behind the project is to provide a native desktop app for Matrix that feels more like a mainstream chat app (Element, Telegram etc) and less like an IRC client.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
     
  7. Tinode icon
     10 likes
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    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).

    160 Tinode alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
     
  8. Prav icon
     4 likes
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    A user-friendly messenger for everyone with a focus on privacy and freedom.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Android
    • F-Droid
     
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