Best Self-hosted Alternatives to Stream Chat

Novu is an open-source notifications infrastructure that helps teams build and operate a multi-channel notification system through a unified API and workflow engine. It includes embeddable components for an in-app inbox and user preferences, plus integrations for common delivery providers.

Key Features

• Unified API for orchestrating notifications across in-app inbox, email, SMS, push, and chat channels
• Embeddable, real-time inbox (notification center) component for web apps
• Notification workflow engine with conditional routing and step-based orchestration
• Digest engine to batch multiple events into a single email or SMS notification
• User preferences component to let end users control notification settings
• Provider integrations for email, SMS, push, and chat (e.g., Slack and other connectors)

Use Cases

• Add a real-time notification inbox to a SaaS product without building a full notification center
• Orchestrate transactional notifications across email, SMS, push, and chat from a single workflow
• Create digests for periodic summaries (e.g., weekly activity reports) to reduce notification noise

Limitations and Considerations

• Open-core model: some functionality is available only in the Enterprise Edition under a commercial license

Novu is a good fit for teams that want an API-first notification platform with a built-in inbox UI and workflow orchestration. It reduces the operational complexity of managing multiple delivery providers and channels while keeping notification logic centralized.

Tinode is a full-stack instant messaging platform designed for building modern chat applications. It provides a Go-based server, official clients for web and mobile, and APIs that support custom integrations such as chatbots and automated agents.

Key Features

• One-to-one messaging, group chats, and broadcast-style channels with read-only subscribers
• Real-time delivery, read receipts, typing indicators, and presence notifications
• Rich message content: markdown-style formatting, inline media, and file attachments
• Voice and video calls, plus voice messages
• Granular per-topic access control and server-side blocking controls
• Extensible architecture with plugins for features like moderation and chatbots
• JSON over WebSocket (with optional long polling) and Protobuf over gRPC
• Pluggable database layer with support for PostgreSQL, MySQL/MariaDB, and MongoDB
• Media/file handling via local filesystem or S3-compatible storage backends

Use Cases

• Building a custom consumer or community chat app (mobile + web)
• Adding in-app messaging, support chat, or anonymous chat to a product
• Developing bot-driven workflows and integrations using the messaging APIs

Limitations and Considerations

• Federation and end-to-end encryption are listed as planned features and may not be available
• Some advanced capabilities (for example, full-text message search) are planned rather than included by default

Tinode fits teams that want an embeddable messaging backend with strong real-time features and multiple official clients. Its API options and extensibility make it suitable for both standalone chat products and messaging features inside existing applications.

ejabberd is an open-source, scalable real-time messaging platform built on Erlang/OTP. It provides an XMPP server for chat and presence, and can also act as an MQTT broker and SIP service for broader real-time and IoT workloads.

Key Features

• XMPP server with support for group chat, publish-subscribe, and many protocol extensions
• MQTT broker functionality for lightweight device and IoT messaging
• SIP service support and interoperability options for real-time communications
• Native clustering designed for high concurrency and large deployments
• Security-focused design with modern TLS support and configurable authentication options
• Multiple deployment options including packages and container images

Use Cases

• Team or consumer chat systems using XMPP (including multi-user chat)
• IoT telemetry and device messaging using MQTT
• Real-time communication backends that combine messaging and signaling needs

Limitations and Considerations

• Full capabilities often depend on correct selection and configuration of modules and protocol extensions
• Running large clusters typically requires operational expertise in tuning, monitoring, and database/storage choices

ejabberd is a mature, extensible platform suited to organizations needing a reliable messaging core at scale. Its multi-protocol approach makes it useful for both classic chat deployments and modern IoT-oriented messaging architectures.

Openfire is an open source real-time collaboration server that implements the XMPP (Jabber) protocol for instant messaging and presence. It is designed to be straightforward to deploy and administer while supporting scalable, standards-based messaging.

Key Features

• XMPP server for messaging, presence, and roster management
• Web-based administration console for configuration and user management
• Multi-User Chat (MUC) support for group chatrooms
• Extensible plugin architecture to add features and integrations
• TLS support and configurable authentication options for secure deployments

Use Cases

• Self-hosted team chat infrastructure based on open standards (XMPP)
• Embedding XMPP messaging in custom applications and products
• Running private group chat services for communities, schools, or organizations

Openfire is a mature XMPP server with an active ecosystem, making it a solid choice for standards-based messaging deployments that need extensibility and administrative control.

Stoat (formerly Revolt) is an open-source chat and community messaging platform with text channels and direct messages. It can be deployed on your own infrastructure as a full stack including the backend, web client, file server, and supporting services.

Key Features

• Text channels and direct messages for teams and communities
• Roles and fine-grained permissions for access control
• Moderation tooling for managing communities
• Bot support for automation and integrations
• File handling via a dedicated file server with optional S3-compatible storage
• Docker Compose-based deployment with a bundled reverse proxy

Use Cases

• Self-hosted alternative to proprietary team chat for small organizations
• Community chat server with moderation and permission controls
• Private group messaging for clubs, classrooms, or project teams

Limitations and Considerations

• Voice channels are not included in the provided self-hosting guide and are under rework
• Some deployment constraints may apply to available web client builds depending on architecture

Stoat is suited to users who want a modern chat experience with community features while keeping control of deployment and data. Its modular stack and containerized setup make it practical to operate on a VPS or dedicated server.

SAMA is an open-source messaging server designed as a modern alternative to legacy chat protocols. It provides real-time WebSocket and HTTP APIs for users, conversations, messages, activities and address books, and ships with reference web and mobile clients.

Key Features

• High-performance WebSocket core powered by uWebSockets.js for low-latency messaging
• REST and real-time APIs covering Users, Conversations, Messages, Activities, Address Book and Push Notifications
• Persistent storage using MongoDB and ephemeral/state features backed by Redis (presence, caching/pubsub)
• End-to-end encryption support and built-in push notification flows
• Clustering and horizontal scaling primitives for multi-node deployments
• Docker-friendly deployment and reference frontend (web) and Flutter mobile clients
• GPL-3.0 licensed project with an emphasis on a compact, modern protocol alternative to XMPP

Use Cases

• Add real-time chat, group conversations and activity streams to mobile and web applications
• Build team chat or community messaging platforms with end-to-end encryption and push notifications
• Implement lightweight, scalable messaging backends for consumer or enterprise apps requiring low latency

Limitations and Considerations

• Uses a custom SAMA protocol (designed as an alternative to XMPP) which has a smaller ecosystem and fewer third-party clients
• GPL-3.0 license can restrict embedding into proprietary products without complying with license terms
• High-concurrency deployments require tuning and appropriate resources for uWebSockets.js, MongoDB and Redis

SAMA is a focused chat server for teams and apps that need a high-performance, modern messaging backend. It is suitable for projects that can adopt its protocol and license model and want a Docker-friendly, scalable real-time messaging stack.

Salut à Toi (SàT) is a modular communication platform built on the XMPP standard. It provides a unified backend with multiple user interfaces (including the Libervia web client) to access messaging and other social features in a decentralized way.

Key Features

• XMPP-based federated communication with a plugin-oriented architecture
• Multiple frontends sharing the same backend (notably the Libervia web interface)
• Real-time messaging features designed for decentralized and interoperable deployments
• Extensible feature set through backend plugins to add new capabilities

Use Cases

• Hosting a federated chat and communication service for a community or organization
• Building custom XMPP-powered apps by extending the backend with plugins
• Providing users with web-based access to XMPP services via Libervia

Limitations and Considerations

• Feature availability and user experience can vary between frontends depending on implementation maturity
• Requires familiarity with XMPP concepts and server administration for best results

Salut à Toi is a good fit for teams and communities that want an extensible, standards-based communication stack with federation. Its multi-frontend approach makes it flexible for different user workflows while keeping a single backend core.

Libervia is a modular communication and social platform built on the XMPP protocol. It provides a shared backend and multiple frontends (including a web interface) to deliver messaging and social features in a unified, extensible system.

Key Features

• XMPP-based architecture leveraging the open, federated messaging ecosystem
• Multiple user interfaces, including a web frontend (Libervia Web)
• Real-time chat and contact management via XMPP
• Social features often associated with "social networking" use cases (implemented through XMPP extensions)
• Extensible, plugin-oriented design to add or customize features

Use Cases

• Run a self-managed team chat and messaging service using XMPP
• Provide a federated communication platform for communities or organizations
• Build custom XMPP-powered apps by extending the backend and exposing tailored frontends

Limitations and Considerations

• Feature availability can depend on XMPP server support and enabled XMPP extensions
• A full deployment typically involves multiple components (backend, XMPP server, and chosen frontends)

Libervia is best suited for users who want an open-protocol communication stack with the flexibility of multiple interfaces. Its XMPP foundation and modular design make it a strong choice for extensible, federated messaging and social functionality.