Self-Hosted WhatsApp Alternatives

WhatsApp 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 Matrix or Jitsi Meet. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to WhatsApp and 18 are available as a self-hosted solution so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Self-Hosted alternatives to WhatsApp are Wire, SimpleX Chat, Zulip and XMPP.

filter to find the best alternatives

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.
WhatsApp iconWhatsApp
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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.

More about WhatsApp
WhatsApp alternatives page was last updated May 27, 2025
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  1. Element icon
     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 PersonalOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Matrix.org
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Cloudron

    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
  2. Wire icon
     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 PersonalOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • CH flagSwitzerland

    Platforms

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

    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
  3. Matrix icon
     363 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

    • FreeOpen Source

    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

    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
  4. Jitsi Meet icon
     261 likes
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    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.

    146 Jitsi Meet alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Apple Watch
    • F-Droid

    Properties

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

    Features

    1.  Browser-based
    2.  Video Conferencing
    3.  End-to-End Encryption
    4.  Video Calling
    5.  Screen Sharing
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Encrypted Chat
    8.  Remote Work
    9.  No Tracking
    10.  Stream audio
    11.  Unlimited users
    12.  WebRTC

    Jitsi Meet VS WhatsApp

     
    Comments about Jitsi Meet as an Alternative to WhatsApp
    EchtWahr
    Negative Feb 15, 2021
    6

    Jitsi is a conferencing platform not a messenger

    vadim_the_brave
    Negative Oct 11, 2024
    0

    Its videoconferencing platform, not a messenger

    WhatsApp Icon
    Jitsi Meet icon
    • Almost everyone thinks Jitsi Meet is a great WhatsApp alternative.

    • Jitsi Meet is Free and Open SourceWhatsApp is Free and Proprietary
    • Jitsi Meet is Privacy focused and LightweightWhatsApp is not according to our users
  5. SimpleX Chat icon
     76 likes
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    SimpleX - the most private and secure chat and applications platform - now with double ratchet E2E encryption! Built on Haskell with Love and Coffee.

    59 SimpleX Chat alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Flatpak

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Encrypted Chat
    2.  End-to-End Encryption
    3.  Decentralized
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  No registration required
    6.  Multiple Account support
    7.  Self Destructing Messages
    8.  Video Calling
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  Voice messages
    11.  VoiP Calls
    12.  No Tracking

    SimpleX Chat VS WhatsApp

     
  6. Zulip icon
     207 likes
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    Zulip is the only modern team chat app that is designed for both live and asynchronous conversations. Zulip topics create a separate space for each discussion, so different conversations will never get in each other's way.

    226 Zulip alternatives

    License model

    • Free PersonalOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid

    Top Zulip Features

    1.  Threaded Conversations
    2.  Team Collaboration
    3.  Support for Hotkeys
    4.  Community-based
    5.  Support for MarkDown
    6.  Syntax Highlighting
    7.  Chat Bot
    8.  Secure Chat
    9.  Third party integrations
    10.  Integrated File Sharing
    11. GitHub icon  GitHub Integration
    12.  Integrated Search

    Zulip VS WhatsApp

     
    Comments about Zulip as an Alternative to WhatsApp
    hrishikeshpatil
    Positive Jan 5, 2018
    0

    Messages seperated by streams and topics

    WhatsApp Icon
    Zulip icon
    • Zulip is Free Personal and Open SourceWhatsApp is Free and Proprietary
  7. XMPP icon
     19 likes
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    XMPP, or Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol, is an open standard for instant messaging and real-time communication, allowing for message exchanges between any two entities on the Internet. It's known for its decentralized and extensible nature.

    39 XMPP alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Windows Phone
    • Self-Hosted

    XMPP Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2.  Ad-free
    3. XMPP icon  Supports XMPP

    XMPP VS WhatsApp

     
7 of 18 WhatsApp alternatives