The Best Open Source WhatsApp AlternativesTop Instant Messengers & Video Calling Apps like WhatsApp

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

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WhatsApp alternatives are mainly Instant Messengers, but if you're looking for Encrypted Chat Apps or Group Chat Apps you can filter on that. 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 WhatsApp.
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Free messaging without SMS fees, web sync, and multimedia sharing, supporting group and video chats, available on iPhone, Android, and desktop.

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WhatsApp alternatives page was last updated May 27, 2025
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  1. Signal icon

    Signal

     1280 likes
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    An open-source messaging app emphasizing privacy with encrypted communication. Share texts, calls, photos, and videos without ads or trackers, available across major platforms. Developed by Signal Technology Foundation and praised globally for security measures.

    219 Signal alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Flathub
    • Ubuntu
    • Debian
    Signal screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Security-focused
    3.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  End-to-End Encryption
    2.  Encrypted Chat
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  Video Calling
    5.  Self Destructing Messages
    6.  Private messaging
    7.  No Tracking
    8.  Encrypted Connection
    9.  Mobile friendly
    10.  Dark Mode
    11.  Desktop Application
    12.  Secure Chat

    Signal VS WhatsApp

     
    Comments about Signal as an Alternative to WhatsApp
    Comment summary: Users overwhelmingly prefer Signal over WhatsApp for its strong privacy and security features. Signal is praised for being open-source, not owned by a major corporation like Facebook, and for its minimal data collection. It is run by a non-profit and provides excellent encryption, making it a top choice for security-conscious users. However, a few comments suggest that Signal may lack some features when compared to WhatsApp.
    Top Positive Comment
    zokris
    May 17, 2021
    5

    Inside: E2E encryption everywhere, P2P calls for better video/audio quality, state-of-the-art technologies. Outside: a beautiful modern interface, animations, responsiveness. I ?? it

    Most Recent Comment
    Joseph Leskey
    Positive Jan 26, 2025
    1

    Signal is an excellent open source WhatsApp alternative, offering simplicity, competitive features, simplicity, and privacy-focused design.

    Guest
    Positive Sep 15, 2024
    0

    Does not track you! Very good security features Nice functionnalities

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    3 of 57 comments
    WhatsApp Icon
    Signal icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Signal is a great WhatsApp alternative.

    • Signal is the most popular Windows, Android, Mac & iPhone alternative to WhatsApp.

    • Signal is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to WhatsApp.

    • Signal is Free and Open SourceWhatsApp is Free and Proprietary
    • Signal is Privacy focused and Security-focusedWhatsApp is not according to our users
  2. Element icon

    Element

     720 likes
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    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.

    301 Element alternatives

    License model

    • Free Personal • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Matrix.org
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Cloudron
    Video calls for desktop and mobile

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Clean design

    Features

    1.  End-to-End Encryption
    2.  Decentralized
    3.  Federated
    4.  Team Collaboration
    5.  Encrypted Chat
    6.  Video Calling
    7.  Matrix Protocol
    8.  Voice Chat
    9.  Direct Messaging
    10.  Federation
    11.  Cross-Platform
    12.  Dark Mode

    Element VS WhatsApp

     
    Comments about Element as an Alternative to WhatsApp
    Top Positive Comment
    Vladimir Studinsky
    May 22, 2018
    9

    Decentral (federation), sure. Open source - client, protocol and server

    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive Apr 22, 2021
    1

    It is floss (free/libre and open source) and the developers are friendly and open to the community.

    resu
    Positive Jan 31, 2021
    0

    Federated, strong focus on privacy and security.

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    3 of 10 comments
    WhatsApp Icon
    Element icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Element is a great WhatsApp alternative.

    • Element is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to WhatsApp.

    • Element is Free Personal and Open SourceWhatsApp is Free and Proprietary
    • Element is Decentralized and Privacy focusedWhatsApp is not according to our users
  4. Wire icon

    Wire

     309 likes
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    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.

    280 Wire alternatives

    License model

    • Free Personal • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CH flagSwitzerland

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    Wire screenshot 1
    Wire screenshot 2
    Wire screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Security-focused
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  End-to-End Encryption
    2.  Video Calling
    3.  Encrypted Chat
    4.  VoiP Calls
    5.  Encrypted calls
    6.  Screen Sharing
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Secure File Sharing
    9.  Multiple Account support
    10.  WebRTC
    11.  Private Chat
    12.  File Sending

    Wire VS WhatsApp

     
    Comments about Wire as an Alternative to WhatsApp
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    Apr 2, 2019
    8

    Basically Signal on steroids. Also, open source and doesn't ask for your phone number, allows creation of throwaway accounts as well as basic group conversation functionality. Perfect.

    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive Mar 1, 2020
    0

    More Privacy oriented, more secure, but best of all OpenSource. Unfortunately it ain't free (as in money but free as in freedom).

    Guest
    Positive May 23, 2019
    4

    Elegant UI, encrypted communication, on all relevant operating systems, has great VoIP and video call quality and so on.

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    3 of 7 comments
    WhatsApp Icon
    Wire icon

    • Most users think Wire is a great WhatsApp alternative.

    • Wire is the most popular SaaS alternative to WhatsApp.

    • Wire is Free Personal and Open SourceWhatsApp is Free and Proprietary
    • Wire is Security-focused and Privacy focusedWhatsApp is not according to our users
  5. Tox icon

    Tox

     551 likes
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    With the rise of widespread government monitoring programs, Tox is an easy to use application that allows you to connect with friends and loved ones without anyone else listening in.

    213 Tox alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • F-Droid
    The Universal Tox Client. A Tox client that runs on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, FreeBSD & the web. Written in JS using React & React Native / electron.

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Security-focused
    3.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Encrypted Chat
    2.  Decentralized
    3.  Peer-To-Peer
    4.  End-to-End Encryption
    5.  Multiplatform
    6.  No registration required
    7.  No Tracking
    8.  AES-256 Encryption
    9.  Screen Sharing
    10.  P2P Network
    11.  Secure Chat
    12.  Anonymous Secure Filesharing

    Tox VS WhatsApp

     
    Comments about Tox as an Alternative to WhatsApp
    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive Aug 9, 2018
    4

    Focused on security messages are encrypted and it is Open Source. Like whatsapp, you can send files, groups chats and video messaging. Skype is more popular with normies, but Tox has all the bells and whistles that whatsapp did.

    MetaPixel_
    Positive Aug 22, 2018
    3

    Secure and high quality peer-to-peer communication, audio and video group calls, and unlimited file transfers. The only disadvantage compared to alternatives is that you can only successfully communicate if both peers are online, but that is part of the nature of the protocol and thus safety is prioritized.

    Guest
    Negative Nov 26, 2021
    1

    Works well on desktop but not mobile like Whatsapp. Only mobile apps are experimental and not user friendly.

    WhatsApp Icon
    Tox icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Tox is a great WhatsApp alternative.

    • Tox is Free and Open SourceWhatsApp is Free and Proprietary
    • Tox is Decentralized, Privacy focused, Security-focused and LightweightWhatsApp is not according to our users
  6. Matrix icon

    Matrix

     362 likes
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    Matrix defines a set of open APIs for decentralised communication, suitable for securely publishing, persisting and subscribing to data over a global open federation of servers with no single point of control.

    162 Matrix alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • WebRTC
    • Python
    • JavaScript
    • Go (Programming Language)
    • Cloudron
    • Java
    • Perl
    Main Page

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Security-focused
    3.  Lightweight
    4.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2.  End-to-End Encryption
    3.  Federation
    4.  Team Collaboration
    5.  Random Video Chat
    6.  Encrypted Chat
    7.  Voice Chat
    8.  No Tracking
    9.  Spaces
    10.  Ad-free
    11.  Dark Mode
    12.  Support for @mentions

    Matrix VS WhatsApp

     
    Comments about Matrix as an Alternative to WhatsApp
    Guest
    Positive May 16, 2018
    1

    You can choose, which client you like the most and use it

    WhatsApp Icon
    Matrix icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Matrix is a great WhatsApp alternative.

    • Matrix is Free and Open SourceWhatsApp is Free and Proprietary
    • Matrix is Decentralized, Privacy focused and LightweightWhatsApp is not according to our users
  7. Jami icon

    Jami

     231 likes
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    Jami (formerly GNU Ring, SFLphone) positions itself as a potential free Skype replacement

    159 Jami alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CA flagCanada

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Jami video conference OS X

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Video Conferencing
    4.  Peer-To-Peer
    5.  Video Calling
    6.  Multi Platform
    7.  Distributed
    8.  Encrypted Chat
    9.  End-to-End Encryption
    10.  SIP client
    11.  Screen Sharing
    12.  No Tracking

    Jami VS WhatsApp

     
    Comments about Jami as an Alternative to WhatsApp
    Oscar Sanderson
    Positive Jul 22, 2021
    1

    Jami is a great alternative to Whatsapp since it is decentrailsed so no one can read your messages and it is open source so its privacy claims are verifyable unlike Whatsapp

    WhatsApp Icon
    Jami icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Jami is a great WhatsApp alternative.

    • Jami is Free and Open SourceWhatsApp is Free and Proprietary
    • Jami is Decentralized and Privacy focusedWhatsApp is not according to our users
  9. Threema icon

    Threema

     122 likes
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    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.

    125 Threema alternatives

    License model

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CH flagSwitzerland

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    • iPad
    • F-Droid
    Threema screenshot 1
    Threema screenshot 2
    Threema screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Security-focused

    Features

    1.  End-to-End Encryption
    2.  Encrypted Chat
    3.  Integrated File Sharing
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Confirm messages
    6.  Image Sharing
    7.  Dark Mode
    8.  No Tracking
    9.  Cloud Sync
    10.  Multiple Account support
    11.  Two-factor Authentication
    12.  Encrypted Backup

    Threema VS WhatsApp

     
    Comments about Threema as an Alternative to WhatsApp
    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive Dec 24, 2016
    1

    Secure, non-US based and you're the Customer, not the product.

    They really take care of your privacy!

    Guest
    Positive May 4, 2019
    1

    Its trustworthy and just works well.

    Guest
    Positive Nov 20, 2016
    1

    Threema is a great whatapp alternative. Just as easy to use as whatsapp, but (hopefully) more secure and non US based. However, just like whatsapp, it is an app only and lacks a client for PC.... :(

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    3 of 4 comments
    WhatsApp Icon
    Threema icon

    • Most users think Threema is a great WhatsApp alternative.

    • Threema is the most popular commercial alternative to WhatsApp.

    • Threema is Paid and Open SourceWhatsApp is Free and Proprietary
    • Threema is Privacy focusedWhatsApp is not according to our users
7 of 87 WhatsApp alternatives