Best Self-hosted Communication & Collaboration tools in 2026

Self-hosted, secure platform for file sharing, collaboration, and document management with no vendor lock-in.

Alternative to:

Dropbox+19

A Bash script that auto-implements a full mail server (Postfix, Dovecot, DKIM, SpamAssassin) with TLS and PAM-based logins on Debian/Ubuntu.

Alternative to:

Microsoft Exchange Online+14

ZNC is an advanced IRC bouncer that stays connected to IRC networks, letting you reconnect from one or more clients and replay buffered messages you missed.

Alternative to:

IRCCloud+3

WildDuck is a horizontally scalable IMAP/POP3 mail server that stores all mail in MongoDB, runs stateless Node.js workers, and provides a REST API for full server control...

Alternative to:

Microsoft Exchange Online+13

Open source groupware suite providing webmail, calendaring, address books, and shared resources via open standards like IMAP, CalDAV, and CardDAV.

Alternative to:

Microsoft Exchange Online+19

Self-hosted Nextcloud Talk combines chat, video calls and webinars into one secure collaboration app.

Alternative to:

Microsoft Teams+19

RetroShare is a decentralized friend-to-friend platform for encrypted chat, mail, forums, channels and secure file sharing, with optional Tor/I2P support.

Alternative to:

Telegram+19

Carrier-grade SIP/VoIP/WebRTC packet capture and monitoring platform with real-time search, correlation, and troubleshooting workflows using the HEP/EEP protocol.

Alternative to:

ThousandEyes VoIP Monitoring+3

Privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted password and email alias manager with passkeys, TOTP, apps and extensions, plus a built-in email server for self-hosting.

Alternative to:

SimpleLogin+12

Stoat is an open-source, self-hostable chat platform for communities and teams, offering text channels, permissions, moderation tools, and a web app.

Alternative to:

Discord+13

Movim is a federated social platform and web-based XMPP client for blogging, chat, communities, and real-time messaging with a responsive cross‑platform interface.

Alternative to:

Element Matrix (Hosted)+15

Self-hostable community discussion platform combining Q&A, forums, team chat, ideation/upvoting, and Disqus-style embedded blog comments.

Alternative to:

Stack Overflow+19

Automated open-source mail server installer bundling Postfix, Dovecot, webmail, anti-spam/antivirus and LDAP/SQL backends for mainstream Linux/BSD.

Alternative to:

Microsoft Exchange Online+16

EteSync (Etebase Server) provides a self-hostable, zero-knowledge, end-to-end encrypted sync backend for calendars, contacts, tasks and notes across devices.

Alternative to:

Google Calendar+7

sabre/dav is a PHP framework for building WebDAV file servers and CalDAV/CardDAV calendar and contacts services.

Alternative to:

Google Calendar+11

Routr is a programmable SIP server (proxy/registrar/location) for building scalable VoIP infrastructure with APIs, multi-tenancy, and Kubernetes-ready deployment.

Alternative to:

Fonoster+7

Stoat (formerly Revolt) is an open-source chat platform for communities and teams with channels, direct messages, roles/permissions, moderation tools, and bot support.

Alternative to:

Discord+11

Briefing is a secure, anonymous WebRTC-based video group chat with text chat, screen sharing, and simple invite links, designed to run in modern browsers.

Alternative to:

Zoom+12

Privacy-focused Gmail cleanup app to bulk unsubscribe, delete emails by sender, mark as read, archive messages, and manage labels using the Gmail API.

Alternative to:

Unroll.Me+6

SnappyMail is a fast, modern webmail client (RainLoop fork) focused on performance, privacy, and secure IMAP access with optional PGP support and admin controls.

Alternative to:

Gmail+10

Cypht is an open-source PHP/JavaScript webmail and RSS aggregator built from modular plugin sets, unifying multiple accounts with search and server-side filters.

Self-hosted, lightweight federated messenger with end-to-end encrypted threads and optional WebRTC audio/video calling across independently hosted nodes.

Alternative to:

Signal+19

InspIRCd is a modular, lightweight Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server with a flexible module system, designed for stable and performant IRC network deployments.

Alternative to:

IRCCloud+3

Self-hosted WebRTC videoconferencing server designed for lectures, meetings, and conferences, featuring chat, recording, screen sharing, moderation, and a built-in TURN s...

Alternative to:

Zoom+17

High-performance, standards-compliant IMAP/POP3/LMTP server with flexible authentication, extensible plugin system (Lua, Sieve) and OpenSSL TLS support.

Alternative to:

Microsoft Exchange Online+15

Convos is a multiuser web IRC client with a built-in persistent bouncer, chat history, theming, rich formatting, and optional video chat.

Alternative to:

IRCCloud+3

Self-hostable web video conferencing app built on LiveKit, with large-meeting performance, screen sharing, chat, recordings, and transcription features.

Alternative to:

Zoom+19

Glowing Bear is a browser-based WeeChat client that connects to WeeChat via the relay plugin, providing a modern interface for IRC from any device.

Alternative to:

IRCCloud+3

FusionPBX is a domain-based, multi-tenant PBX and softswitch web UI for FreeSWITCH, supporting extensions, IVR, queues, voicemail, provisioning, and more.

Alternative to:

3CX+13

Kiwi IRC is a web-based IRC client you can self-host as static files, with multi-network support, runtime JSON configuration, themes, plugins, and embeddable web widgets.

Alternative to:

IRCCloud+2