Stoat, formerly Revolt, is an open source, self-hostable chat platform built as a Discord alternative. It offers voice and video chat plus text messaging, with a customizable interface, and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and the web.
Stoat
stoat.chat
Our take
Aimed squarely at communities that want an open Discord substitute, and on that brief it is promising. Two caveats are load-bearing: it is not end-to-end encrypted, and it is young and still rough, so do not treat it as a privacy messenger. Fine for casual communities that value open source and self-hosting; wrong tool if confidentiality is the point.
GitHub at a glance
stoatchat/stoatchat
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3,099
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Last commit
today
healthy
Latest release
v0.13.7
1mo ago
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Stoat alternatives
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SimpleX Chat Decentralized messenger that assigns no identifier to users, not even a random number. Contacts are established via one-time invite links or QR codes, with all data stored on-device only.
Molly Hardened fork of Signal for Android that adds an encrypted local database, automatic RAM wiping on lock, and Tor/SOCKS proxy support via Orbot. Ships in two variants: one with FCM push and one fully FOSS without Google.
Session No phone number or email address is required to signup. Similar functionality like Element, but still in an earlier stage of development. Decentralized servers routed through…
Threema No native desktop apps available yet, but there is a web version for your browser. No phone number is required to signup but there is a payment involved to get the app.…
Briar Briar doesn't rely on a central server: messages are synchronized directly between the users' devices via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Online sync via the Tor network is possible, too.…