Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Twilio

Apprise is a Python-based notification library and CLI that pushes messages to a wide range of services using simple URLs. It is designed to unify cross-service notifications and run self-hosted. Written in Python and available as both a library and a command line tool, it supports configuring multiple destinations from a single configuration.

Key Features

• Simple API with URL-based configuration
• 120+ supported notification services
• CLI and API for Python apps; self-hosted
• Handles images and attachments; asynchronous sending
• Lightweight with minimal dependencies

Use Cases

• Centralized alert routing for systems and teams across multiple channels (Slack, Discord, Email, SMS, etc.)
• Automated notifications from scripts, CI pipelines, and monitoring dashboards
• Multi-channel incident alerts and status updates for operations teams

Conclusion

Apprise provides a practical, single solution to dispatch notifications across many services from Python apps or via its CLI, enabling self-hosted, multi-channel alerting.

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.

FreeSWITCH is an open-source, software-defined telecom stack used to build and run voice, video, and real-time communications infrastructure on commodity hardware. It is commonly used as a softswitch and media server for SIP-based telephony and can also provide browser-based calling via WebRTC.

Key Features

• SIP signaling and media handling suitable for softswitch and PBX-style deployments
• Native WebRTC capabilities for browser-based real-time communications
• Modular architecture with loadable modules for telephony features and integrations
• Built-in conferencing and real-time media services (including mixing and related functions)
• Common voice features such as call routing, IVR building blocks, call recording, and voicemail support

Use Cases

• Build and operate a SIP softswitch or VoIP application server for carriers and enterprises
• Implement IVR, call routing, and contact-center style call flows
• Provide WebRTC calling to web applications without requiring a separate gateway

Limitations and Considerations

• Configuration and operation can be complex for newcomers due to the breadth of telecom concepts and module options
• Certain advanced capabilities may be available only via commercial modules or enterprise distributions

FreeSWITCH is a mature foundation for telecom and real-time media systems, from embedded devices to large-scale deployments. Its modular design and protocol support make it a flexible core for custom telephony platforms and communication products.

Tigase XMPP Server is a highly optimized, modular XMPP (Jabber) server implemented in Java. It provides core XMPP services for real-time messaging, presence, and federation and is designed for high performance and large-scale deployments.

Key Features

• Implements core XMPP standards and many XEP extensions including stream management, message archiving, message carbons, MUC, publish-subscribe and HTTP file upload
• Supports client connections over TCP, BOSH (HTTP long-polling), and WebSockets, plus server-to-server federation and component connections
• Modular architecture with optional components and connectors for features like MUC, PubSub, STUN, SOCKS5 proxy and database connectors
• HTTP API and high-performance Jetty-based components for integration and management
• Push notifications support and tooling for large-scale, low-latency deployments
• Designed for scalability and optimization with monitoring and management tools available as companion projects

Use Cases

• Powering real-time chat and presence for consumer or enterprise messaging applications
• Implementing group chat, pub/sub systems, and message archiving for collaboration platforms
• Backend for IoT messaging and presence use cases that require XMPP interoperability

Limitations and Considerations

• Advanced configuration and tuning requires familiarity with XMPP concepts and Java-based deployments; many capabilities are provided via optional components rather than a single monolithic UI

Tigase is suited for operators needing a standards-compliant, extensible XMPP server capable of handling large user bases and custom integrations.