What are the best open-source alternatives to WhatsApp?

The top open-source self-hostable alternatives to WhatsApp include chat, webapp, messenger-iOS-chat-swift-firestore, InAppNotify. Each can be self-hosted on standard cloud providers from a few dollars a month.

How much does it cost to self-host an open-source WhatsApp alternative?

The cheapest open-source WhatsApp alternative on this list self-hosts from $4.13/mo on real hosting providers.

Which open-source WhatsApp alternative is most actively maintained?

chat ranks highest on the ossreplace health score (composite of activity, maturity, community, security, sustainability, and adoption) at 72/100.

4 open-source alternatives · Updated daily

Open-source alternatives to WhatsApp

4 self-hostable open-source projects that replace WhatsApp, ranked by computed health score with real self-hosting cost.

Deploy chat on hetzner → $4.13/mo See top pick: chat

OSS alternatives

$4.13

Cheapest /mo

The 4 alternatives, ranked by health

Health score is a 6-dimension composite. See methodology for formula and weights.

chat

by tinode

72/100

Instant messaging platform. Backend in Go. Clients: Swift iOS, Java Android, JS webapp, scriptable command line; chatbots

Go GPL-3.0

★13k

$4.13/mo

⚙2/5

webapp

by tinode

63/100

Tinode web chat using React

JavaScript Apache-2.0

★353

$4.13/mo

⚙2/5

messenger-iOS-chat-swift-firestore

by instamobile

47/100

Messenger Clone - Real-time iOS Chat with Firebase Firestore written in Swift

Swift MIT

★792

$4.13/mo

⚙2/5

InAppNotify

by lucabecchetti

44/100

Swift library to manage in app notification in swift language, like WhatsApp, Telegram, Frind, ecc.

Swift MIT

★431

$4.13/mo

⚙2/5

Pick your alternative

Most operators land on chat (top health score in this category; cheapest VPS path is chat on hetzner for $4.13/mo).

See chat details →

Data refreshed daily. Pricing for WhatsApp sourced from official site.