sitealternatives
Team chat · 12 alternatives

Instead of Slack, try one of these 12.

Every alternative is lined up against Slack on what people actually switch for: price, open source, self-hosting, offline use and platforms. Slack sits in the first row, so you can see what you give up.

Show onlySorted by likes · 12 of 12
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
SlackWhat you have now
Channel-based messaging for teams and companies.
PriceFreemium
from $8/seat
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Discord#1
Voice, video and text chat for communities and friends.
PriceFreemium
Nitro $10/mo
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Element#2
Decentralised, encrypted chat built on the Matrix protocol.
PriceFree
hosting from $5
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Mattermost#3Our pick
Secure, self-hostable collaboration for technical teams.
PriceFreemium
from $10/seat
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Rocket.Chat#4
Open-source communications platform with omnichannel support.
PriceFreemium
from $4/seat
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Zulip#5
Threaded team chat that keeps busy conversations organised.
PriceFreemium
from $7/seat
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Microsoft Teams#6
Chat, meetings and files tightly integrated with Microsoft 365.
PriceFreemium
with Microsoft 365
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Threema#7
Swiss, privacy-first messaging with a one-time price.
PricePaid
$6 once
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Twist#8
Calm, async team communication with threads instead of noise.
PriceFreemium
from $6/seat
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · iOS · Android
Matrix#9
Open federated protocol powering decentralized chat and calls.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Wire#10
Encrypted messaging and calls aimed at business users.
PriceFreemium
from $7/mo
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Stoat Chat#11
Open-source community chat app with voice and video.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · Android
Armada#12
Encrypted, serverless community chat built on the Concord protocol.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android

How to read this. “Yes” means fully supported by the maker. “Partial” means it works with caveats. Likes reflect community popularity; vendors can’t pay for them or for placement. Our pick, marked in lime, is the option we would point most people leaving Slack to first. How we compare.

Slack alternatives at a glance

Slack is a freemium team chat app (from $8/seat). We compared 12 alternatives: 8 are open source, 4 are completely free, 6 can be self-hosted and 0 work fully offline. The most popular is Discord, with 2.8k likes, while our pick is Mattermost.

Most liked overallDiscord

Voice, video and text chat for communities and friends.

Freemium
Best free optionElement

Decentralised, encrypted chat built on the Matrix protocol.

Free · Open source · Self‑hostable
Best open-source optionMattermost

Secure, self-hostable collaboration for technical teams.

Freemium · Open source · Self‑hostable
Best to self-hostRocket.Chat

Open-source communications platform with omnichannel support.

Freemium · Open source · Self‑hostable

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