Features include full markdown support, file uploads, archiving and search, and customizable themes, even allowing users to import their chat history and favorite themes from Slack. Mattermost offers group chat, direct messaging, and private chat rooms.
Features include group chat, direct messaging, and private channels, along with many standard Slack features such as emojis, image embedding, and code pasting. Let’s Chat, built by the company Security Compass as a 10% time side-project, is one of the oldest and most popular open-source Slack alternatives with over 7,000 stars and 960 forks on GitHub. Empty testing suite, mitigated somewhat by having few features to test.Limited features only supports group chat and direct text messaging + emojis.Works offline using Bonjour or LE Bluetooth.Allows communication even if central server goes down.WebRTC connects peers, data is propagated using Hyperlog.Message authentication currently relies on GitHub but could be modified to use a decentralized alternative such as Blockchain Auth. Today there are a growing number of open-source Slack alternatives available for people who want to avoid the trap of walled gardens and have more control over the security of their data. As part of our own search for a self-hosted Slack alternative, we reviewed the options out there.įriends is unique among the Slack alternatives due to its use of peer-to-peer technology. While Slack offers many benefits to customers, there are also downsides to using the platform, including high subscription fees and the risk of a massive leak of private data if Slack’s servers are ever breached ( again). Slack is a popular team communications application for organizations that offers group chat and direct messaging for mobile, web, and desktop platforms. Update: We made a huge mistake in forgetting to review Riot - the only Slack alternative based on an open protocol, and the only Slack alternative to support end-to-end encrypted group chats.