Self-hosted alternatives to Facebook Messenger
Want personal messaging without handing your data to Facebook Messenger? These 30 self-hosted apps run on your own server (most are open source; licenses are listed below). Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $5/month.
About Facebook Messenger: Meta's messaging app for Facebook users.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocket.Chat | Active | 46.4k | MIT | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Chatwoot | Active | 38.9k | ⊘ Proprietary | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Zulip | Active | 26.2k | Apache-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| SimpleX Chat | Active | 19.6k | AGPL-3.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| OpenWA | Active | 16.5k | MIT | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Element | Active | 13.6k | Apache-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Tinode | Active | 13.6k | GPL-3.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Centrifugo | Active | 10.9k | MIT | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Fluxer | Active | 10.8k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Mumble | Active | 8.4k | BSD-3-Clause | – | 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 |
| Tuwunel | Active | 2.7k | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Tox | Active | 2.7k | GPL-3.0 | – | 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 |
| Live Helper Chat | Active | 2.3k | Apache-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| RetroShare | Active | 2k | GPL-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| MongooseIM | Active | 1.8k | GPL-2.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Hyphanet | Active | 1.2k | GPL-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Conduit | Active | 964 | Apache-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Notifo | Active | 885 | MIT | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| OTS | Active | 810 | Apache-2.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Snikket | Active | 475 | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Spectrum 2 | Active | 421 | GPL-3.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Shhh | Active | 420 | MIT | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Tigase | Active | 358 | GPL-3.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Databag | Maintained | 1.5k | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Tiledesk | Active | 326 | MIT | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| SAMA | Active | 161 | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
The options in detail
1. Rocket.Chat
Communications platform that puts data protection first (alternative to Gitter.im and Slack).
Active Last commit 2026-11-05. Latest release 9.0.0-rc.4 (2026-11-03). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. Chatwoot
Customer communication platform (alternative to Intercom and Zendesk).
Active Last commit 2026-11-05. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v4.19.1 (2026-10-24). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
3. Zulip
Powerful group chat application.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release 13.0-rc1 (2026-10-30). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
4. SimpleX Chat
Most private and secure chat and applications platform - now with double ratchet E2E encryption.
Active Last commit 2026-10-21. Latest release v7.1.0 (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. OpenWA
WhatsApp API gateway exposing messaging as REST endpoints, with a web dashboard, multi-account sessions, and webhook events (alternative to WhatsApp Business API providers).
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release v0.27.1 (2026-11-01). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
6. Element
Fully-featured Matrix client for Web, iOS & Android.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v1.12.34-rc.0 (2026-11-03). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
7. 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 →
8. Centrifugo
Language-agnostic real-time messaging (Websocket or SockJS) server.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v6.10.2 (2026-10-23). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
9. Fluxer
Instant messaging and VoIP platform built for friends, groups, and communities (alternative to Discord).
Active Last commit 2026-11-05. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release fluxer-users@2026.1105.3118 (2026-11-05). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
10. Mumble
Low-latency, high quality voice/text chat software.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release v1.6.0-alpha2 (2026-10-25). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
11. 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 →
12. Synapse
Server for Matrix, an open standard for decentralized persistent communication.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v1.165.0rc1 (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
13. Tuwunel
High-performance and feature-rich chat server for Matrix, and the successor to conduwuit (fork of Conduit).
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. Latest release v1.9.4 (2026-10-10). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
14. Tox
Distributed, secure messenger with audio and video chat capabilities.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release nightly (2025-01-27). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
15. Stoat
User-first chat platform built with modern web technologies.
Active Last commit 2026-10-07. Latest release v1.1.4 (2025-11-24). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
16. Chitchatter
Peer-to-peer chat app that is serverless, decentralized, and ephemeral.
Active Last commit 2026-11-02. Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
17. Live Helper Chat
Live Support chat for your website.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release 4.98v (2026-11-03). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
19. MongooseIM
Mobile messaging platform with a focus on performance and scalability.
Active Last commit 2026-11-02. 7 releases in the past year. Latest release 6.10.0 (2026-10-15). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
20. Hyphanet
Anonymously share files, browse and publish freesites (web sites accessible only through Hyphanet) and chat on forums.
Active Last commit 2026-09-19. Latest release build01507 (2026-09-04). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
21. Conduit
Simple, fast, and reliable chat server powered by Matrix.
Active Last commit 2026-10-18. 6 releases in the past year. Latest release v0.10.15 (2026-09-30). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
22. Notifo
Multichannel notification server with support for Email, Mobile Push, Web Push, SMS, messaging and a javascript plugin.
Active Last commit 2026-09-20. Latest release 1.3.0 (2022-11-30). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
23. OTS
One-Time-Secret sharing platform with a symmetric 256bit AES encryption in the browser.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release v1.23.1 (2026-10-23). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
24. Snikket
All-in-one Dockerized easy XMPP solution, including web admin and clients.
Active Last commit 2026-10-23. Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
25. Spectrum 2
Instant messaging transport. It allows users to chat together even when they are using different IM networks.
Active Last commit 2026-10-24. Latest release 2.2.1 (2023-06-12). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
26. Shhh
Keep secrets out of emails or chat logs, share them using secure links with passphrase and expiration dates.
Active Last commit 2026-09-17. Latest release 3.2.4 (2026-01-22). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
27. Tigase
XMPP server implementation in Java.
Active Last commit 2026-10-03. Latest release tigase-server-dist-8.4.3 (2026-10-04). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
28. 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 →
29. Tiledesk
All-in-one customer engagement platform from lead-gen to post-sales, from WhatsApp to your website. With omni-channel live agents and AI-powered chatbots (alternative to Intercom, Zendesk, Tawk.to).
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release 1.2 (2021-11-29). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
30. 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 →
Why self-host instead of Facebook Messenger?
- Own your data — it lives on a server you control, with backups you decide on.
- Predictable cost — a small VPS often replaces per-seat pricing for a whole team or family.
- No lock-in — open-source licenses let you keep running the software even if a vendor disappears.
The trade-off: you are responsible for updates, backups and security. Pick an app marked Active (a commit in the last 90 days) and with Docker support for the easiest ride.
Browse related categories
Other alternatives guides
Facebook Messenger is a trademark of its owner; this site is not affiliated with it. Listings come from the community-maintained awesome-selfhosted list.