Self-hosted alternatives to Rocket.Chat
Looking for a different self-hosted chat platform than Rocket.Chat? These 17 apps run team and community messaging on your own server.
About Rocket.Chat: Open-source communications platform for team and community chat.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mattermost | Active | 39.6k | ⊘ Proprietary | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Zulip | Active | 26.2k | Apache-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Tinode | Active | 13.6k | GPL-3.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Fluxer | Active | 10.8k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| ejabberd | Active | 6.7k | GPL-2.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Synapse | Active | 4.8k | Apache-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Openfire | Active | 3.1k | Apache-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Tuwunel | Active | 2.8k | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Stoat | Active | 2.7k | AGPL-3.0, MIT | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Chitchatter | Active | 2.3k | GPL-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| MongooseIM | Active | 1.8k | GPL-2.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Conduit | Active | 962 | Apache-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Databag | Maintained | 1.5k | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| SAMA | Active | 161 | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Continuwuity | Active | 117 | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| TrueConf | Unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Virola Messenger | Unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
The options in detail
1. Mattermost
Platform for secure collaboration across the entire software development lifecycle, can be integrated with Gitlab (alternative to Slack).
Active Last commit 2026-11-10. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v12.1.0-rc4 (2026-11-05). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. Zulip
Powerful group chat application.
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. Latest release 13.0-rc2 (2026-11-06). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
3. Tinode
Instant messaging platform. Backend in Go. Clients: Swift iOS, Java Android, JS webapp, scriptable command line; chatbots.
Active Last commit 2026-09-27. Latest release v0.25.3 (2026-07-04). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
4. Fluxer
Instant messaging and VoIP platform built for friends, groups, and communities (alternative to Discord).
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release [email protected] (2026-11-09). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. ejabberd
XMPP instant messaging server.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release 26.09 (2026-09-30). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
6. Synapse
Server for Matrix, an open standard for decentralized persistent communication.
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v1.165.0rc1 (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
7. Openfire
Real time collaboration (RTC) server.
Active Last commit 2026-11-06. 6 releases in the past year. Latest release v5.1.2 (2026-08-17). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
8. Tuwunel
High-performance and feature-rich chat server for Matrix, and the successor to conduwuit (fork of Conduit).
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v1.9.4 (2026-10-10). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
9. Stoat
User-first chat platform built with modern web technologies.
Active Last commit 2026-11-07. Latest release v1.1.4 (2025-11-24). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
10. Chitchatter
Peer-to-peer chat app that is serverless, decentralized, and ephemeral.
Active Last commit 2026-11-05. Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
11. MongooseIM
Mobile messaging platform with a focus on performance and scalability.
Active Last commit 2026-11-05. 7 releases in the past year. Latest release 6.10.0 (2026-10-15). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
12. Conduit
Simple, fast, and reliable chat server powered by Matrix.
Active Last commit 2026-11-02. 7 releases in the past year. Latest release v0.10.15 (2026-09-30). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
13. Databag
Federated, end-to-end encrypted messaging service for the web, iOS, and Android, supporting text, photos, video, and WebRTC video and audio calls.
Maintained Last commit 2026-06-14. Latest release v1.1.1021 (2024-06-20). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
14. SAMA
Next-Gen self-hosted chat server and clients.
Active Last commit 2026-09-10. Latest release 0.37.2 (2026-09-10). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
15. Continuwuity
Community-driven Matrix homeserver, the continuation of conduwuit focusing on user experience and new features (fork of Conduit).
Active Last commit 2026-11-13. 26 releases in the past year. Latest release v26.11.0-alpha.1 (2026-11-10). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
16. TrueConf
Platform for your corporate communications, based on the advanced architecture, with support for UltraHD video conferencing, built-in messenger with personal and group chats, and a free version for up to 1,000 users.
Unknown Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
17. Virola Messenger
Instant messaging and collaboration tool with private and group chat rooms, continuous voice and video meetings, files sharing, issue tracking with integrated task board (alternative to Slack).
Unknown Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
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