10 Best Self-Hosted Chat Platforms To Try In 2023

In this article, I have researched and reviewed the best self-hosted chat platforms for both personal and business communication. Here is my list of the most popular chat platforms for Android, iOS, and the Web, that can be hosted on your own servers.

Self-hosted chat platforms or software are a set of communication features that are integrated into chat apps and are maintained on a company’s own servers. In this article, I’ll give a detailed overview of the top platforms that are preferred by expert developers to build enterprise-grade chat messengers.

Get set! Let’s Check Out the Best Self-hosted Chat Platform Out There!

1. MirrorFly

The Most Developer-friendly Self Hosted Chat Platform

Best For: Apps need 100% customization and control of their in app chat features

MirrorFly is leading in app communication provider that offers feature-rich APIs and SDKs for building chat, video and voice calls into apps. As a developer-friendly platform, MirrorFly’s Customizable chat solution is a great fit for both personal and business apps. This allows wider customization and 100% control over your app’s security and hosting infrastructure.

Pros

• MirrorFly is a self-hosted chat platform for building in app communication
• Allows complete customization
• The platform is open-source
• The API supports cross-platform messaging
• Quick and easy to set up 
• The APIs adhere to GDPR and HIPAA compliance

Cons

• MirrorFly does not support recording video sessions
• Does not allow create meeting agendas

Pricing:

MirrorFly offers both SaaS and SaaP pricing models.

• SaaS : Monthly Pricing
• Easy: Completely FREE
• Essentials: Starts at $399/ 5k users
• Easy: Completely FREE
• SaaP : One-time License fee

Supported Platforms: Android | iOS | Mac | Windows | Linux

2. Wickr

Easily Customizable Instant Messaging Platform

Best For: Apps that need easy installation of communication features

Wickr has been in the market since 2012 and was acquired by Amazon on June 25, 2021. Since then, it has been a part of Amazon Web Services-AWS supporting both SaaS and SaaP pricing models. If you look closer into the market scenario, you’ll notice that some of the best self-managed apps widely used in the industry are built upon this platform. You can majorly use wickr for integrating collaboration features like chat, video calls, and voice calls, into your apps and easily deploy them on your own servers. 

Pros

• Protects conversations with End to End Encryption
• Setup is easy
• Wickr is a secure business chat software
• Free plan is available

Cons

• The Free plan has only limited features
• Paid plans are not budget-friendly
• Wickr’s Github codes are not open-source

Pricing:

• Free Trial: $0/ 30 us
• Standard: $5/ user per month
• Premium: $15/ user per month
• Wickr Enterprise (Custom Pricing)

Supported Platforms: iOS | Android | Mac | Windows | Linux

3. Apphitect

The #1 Self-hosted Chat Platform For Modern Apps

Best For: Businesses that prioritize security of their user’s personal information and conversations.

Apphitect is a white-label instant messaging platform that offers customizable video, voice and chat features for Android, iOS and web apps. The platform is popularly known for its self-hosted solution that lets you host the chat features on your own cloud/ premise. Besides, enterprises that are highly conscious about the privacy of their user conversations and account information can confidently opt for the end-to-end encrypted SDKs offered by Apphitect.

Pros

• Lets you customize video, voice and chat features.
• Offers a complete white-label chat solution.
• Protects chats with end-to-end encryption.
• Offers user analytics and dashboard.
• Available for a one-time license fee.
• Flexible deployment on your own cloud servers or premises.

Cons

• Does not allow unlimited participants in its white-label video calls

What is the Cost of Apphitect Software?
One-time License cost: Businesses that prioritize security of their user’s personal information and conversations.

Supported Platforms: iOS | Android | Web

4. Zulip

Highly Flexible Platform For Third-Party Integrations

Best For: Business apps that can collaborate with other enterprise apps

Zulip is a great option for developers looking for open-source software to build a full-on communication infrastructure. The platform hosts its features on your own network to give you complete control over its customization and deployment. Among other self-hosted chat software, Zulip flaunts its 90+ native integrations, supporting more from Zapier and IFTTT alongside

Pros

• Zulip avails APIs to build integrations
• The codes are developer-friendly
• Renders threading approach
• The team chat from Zulip is open-source
• Migration is easy from other chat messengers

Cons

• The learning curve of Zulip is too steep
• Provides only minimal features

Zulip offers both cloud and self-hosted chat solution:

• Cloud:
  • Free: $0 
  • Standard: $6.67/ user per month

• Self-hosted:
  • Free: $0 
  • Enterprise: Custom Pricing

Supported Platforms: Windows | macOS | Linux | Android | iOS | Terminal

5. Jitsi

A Whitelabel Chat Platform With Intuitive UI

Best For Businesses & Marketplace apps that need responsive chat interfaces 

Jitsi is a beautifully designed open-source, self-hosted chat platform with a visually compelling UI and seamlessly high-quality audio and video outputs. Using this WebRTC-compatible platform, you can easily add immersive communication features to your apps. This live chat platform provides 2 different products, namely Jitsi Video bridge and Jitsi Meet which consists of real-time communication tools to elevate the interaction facilities within your app. 

Pros

• Jitsi is an open-source community
• Protects the audio & video files with encoding & decoding 
• It offers the best private chat rooms
• Provides calls, chat, video conferencing & file transfer
• Offers video recording and live streaming

Cons

• Occasional connectivity issues

Pricing: 

• Free

Supported Platforms: Android | Linux | Web | iOS | Windows | macOS

6. Matrix.org

Robust Software With Scalable Chat Features

Best For: App developers building real-time communication features

Matrix.org is the final provider in the list of our top performing self hosted instant messaging software in the industry. The key highlight of this platform is that it uses the Olm and Megolm cryptographic ratchets to protect user conversations across your apps. You can use their RESTful HTTP/JSON APIs to build features like direct messaging, chat rooms and chatbots for your chat app users. This self hosted chat software also adopts the decentralized conversation architecture to copy the chats to servers where active user participation is identified. 

Pros

• Allows customization of chat features 
• Interoperable with other communication integrations
• Matrix’s self-hosted chat server offers end to end control over user data 
• Uses decentralized chat app architecture

Cons

• Does not offer cloud hosting
• The learning curve of matrix.org is a bit confusing

Pricing:

• Completely FREE

Supported Platforms: Android | iOS |Web

7. NextCloud

The Modern Self-hosted Collaboration Tool

Best For: Businesses that focus on collaboration and need cloud storage.on features

Nextcloud offers an open-source chat platform that offers secure communication features like self-hosted video calls for Android, iOS and web apps. It provides an interactive user interface with enterprise-grade cloud solutions backed by security encryptions and compliances. The platform is built on a modular architecture and leverages on-prem hosting, enabling quick deployment. Also, organizations can take complete control of the file storage assets, ensuring confidentiality.  

Pros

• Provide fully customizable messaging features.
• Gives private cloud storage.
• Lets you add file-sharing capabilities.
• Comes with features like calendars and contacts.
• Allows third-party integration.

Cons

• Considered as a resource-intensive platform.
• Users sometimes experience bugs in chat.

Pricing:

NextCloud starts for 100 users and offers the following plans:

• Basic: €36/user/year
• Standard: €65/user/year
• Premium: €95.50/user/year

Supported Platforms: Android | macOS | iOS | Linux | Ubuntu | CentOS

8. Mattermost

The Highly Trusted Chat Software For Enterprises

Best For: Apps that are built for team communication

Mattermost is an open-source chat platform that supports features like self-hosted voice calling, messaging, video calling and file sharing. The platform is built on a modular architecture and its features are available under a MIT license. Also, it lets you add its features to any existing chat infrastructure and allows complete customization as per your preferences.

Pros:

• Allows feature-expansion with plugins and integrations
• Offer video conferencing features
• Lets users share files and media
• Offers end-to-end encryption
• Has almost all features in Slack and Microsoft Teams

Cons

• The chat UI is not as enriched as its competitors

Pricing:

Mattermost offers both self-hosted and cloud solutions and has the same pricing for both models:

• Self-hosted & Cloud
  • Free: $0
  • Professional: $10 USD per user/month
  • Enterprise: Custom Pricing

Pricing:

• Wire Basic
• Wire For Enterprise (starting at $7.65)
• Wire For Government

Supported Platforms: iOS | macOS |Android | Windows | Linux | Web

9. Wire

The Most Secure & Customizable Instant Messenger

Best For:  Collaboration apps that prioritize user privacy and security

Wire is a collaboration and messaging app founded in 2012 and is based in Switzerland. The platform offers customizable messaging, voice and video calls, file-sharing and modern communication tools for user interaction. It is available for a freemium pricing model and offers both self-hosted solution and cloud solution. Also, Wire ensures user data privacy with end-to-end encryption and by adhering to Swiss data protection laws.

Pros:

• Provides screen sharing capabilities
• Offers self-destructing messages
• Supports anonymous communication
• Flexible across different platforms and devices
• Protects user data with end-to-end encryption

Cons:

• The collaboration features are quite limited
• Does not support many third-party integrations

Pricing:

• Wire Basic
• Wire For Enterprise (starting at $7.65)
• Wire For Government

Supported Platforms: iOS | macOS | Android | Windows | Linux | Web

10.  Rocketchat

The Customizable Chat Service Built For Teams

Best For:  Enterprises and Businesses that focus on effective team communication

Rocket chat is a best choice when it comes to team communication and collaboration. It keeps user conversations completely safe with E2E encryption, SSO, 2-factor authentication and OAuth. It offers both a self-hosted chat solution and a SaaS solution. Their customizable chat solution allows users to download the app along with the docker image and run them on their own cloud servers or premise.

Pros:

• Provides video and audio conferencing
• Supports Multi-platform development
• Offers end-to-end encryption
• Avails two-factor authentication
• Supports third-party integrations

Cons

• Requires technical expertise for set up and maintenance.
• Challenges in scalability of features.

Pricing:

• Community: $0/user/month
• Enterprise: 
  • $7 /user/month (Minimum of 25 users)
  • $35 //agent/month (Minimum of 5 agents)

Supported Platforms: Android | iOS | Web | macOS | Windows | Linux

Conclusion

Well, I hope my article helped you in attaining clarity on which software you should use to build the best self-hosted chat platform for your business. This list is based on performance in recent months and the lineup may differ in the future. I’d love to take the privilege of updating the changes if any. 

Moreover, If you like to know specific details about the providers I’ve listed above, go ahead and post your queries in the comments. I’d be glad to answer them for you. Until then, I wish you a happy development and take the leave now. Good luck! 

Frequently Asked Question