Private and open-source alternatives to Discord
8 team chat rated against the same public privacy criteria as Discord, with our picks first.
Why look for an alternative?
- Open source: no. Closed source.
- No trackers or telemetry: no. The Android app contains Google Analytics and crash reporting trackers, and the policy allows sharing data with advertising platforms.
- No ads or data sales: no. Partly funded by sponsored content such as Quests, personalized with user data by default; the policy says data is not sold.
- Independent audit: no. No independent audit is published.
The alternatives
Campfire Grade B
Self-hosted group chat web app from 37signals with rooms, direct messages, file attachments, search and bot integrations, distributed through ONCE.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Campfire scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the team chat criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Xeres Grade B
A decentralized, encrypted P2P friend-to-friend app for chat, forums, channels, boards, voice calls and anonymous file sharing.
Xeres scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the team chat criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Nextcloud Talk Grade C
Chat, audio and video call app for Nextcloud servers, with group conversations, screen sharing, desktop and mobile clients, and optional federation between servers.
Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). Nextcloud Talk scores 65 out of 100 (grade C) on the team chat criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Stoat Grade C
Open source chat platform for friends and communities with servers, channels, direct messages and voice chat, formerly named Revolt. The server software can be self-hosted.
Based in the United Kingdom (Five Eyes). Stoat scores 65 out of 100 (grade C) on the team chat criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Zulip Grade C
Open source team chat that organizes conversations into channels and named topics. It can be self-hosted or used as the Zulip Cloud service run by Kandra Labs.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Zulip scores 65 out of 100 (grade C) on the team chat criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Element Grade C
Matrix client for web, desktop and mobile with end-to-end encrypted chats, group rooms, file sharing and voice and video calls. Built by Element, which also sells hosted and self-hosted Matrix servers.
Based in the United Kingdom (Five Eyes). Element scores 60 out of 100 (grade C) on the team chat criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Rocket.Chat Grade D
Self-hostable team chat platform with web, desktop and mobile apps, federation and many integrations. End-to-end encryption is available but off by default, so workspace admins can otherwise read messages.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Rocket.Chat scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the team chat criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Mattermost Grade D
Self-hostable team chat with channels, threads, calls and integrations, with desktop, mobile and web apps. Messages are not end-to-end encrypted, and server telemetry is on by default but can be turned off.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Mattermost scores 45 out of 100 (grade D) on the team chat criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: no ads or data sales.