Productivity

What is the best chat software?

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Matrix vs Signal vs Element (formerly Riot)

 vs Telegram vs Pidgin vs Rocket.Chat vs Wire vs Mattermost vs Briar vs Discord vs Movim vs Slack vs Viber vs Loopy Telegram Pro Messenger vs Google Hangouts vs Output Messenger vs WhatsApp vs Chatwee vs JabbR vs Contus Fly vs Keybase vs Amium vs Line vs Skype vs Facebook Messenger vs Zulip vs Riot vs Jami (formerly GNU Ring, SFLphone) vs Signal Private Messenger

Specs

Platforms

Mac/Windows/Linux/Android/Browser/iOS/and more

VoIP

Yes

Open source

Yes

Decentralized

Yes

Price

FREE

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, Mac OS X

VoIP

Yes

Open source

-

Decentralized

No

Price

-

DIY integrations

Yes

Media

images / audio / video / files / contacts / GIFs / location

Audio recording

Yes

Publisher

Open Whisper Systems

End-to-end encryption

Yes

Proprietary Dependencies

Yes

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

MacOS, Windows, Linux, Android, Browser, iOS

VoIP

Yes

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

All File Types

Audio recording

Yes

Publisher

New Vector Ltd

End-to-end encryption

Yes (optional)

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Yes

License

Apache License 2.0

Message history

Yes

File Sharing

Yes

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

Web, Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, macOS, BSD, Windows phone, UWP

VoIP

Yes

Open source

Most clients

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

Yes

Media

images / video / audio / GIFs / stickers / PiP Video / Videomessages

Audio recording

Yes

Publisher

Various companies affiliated with Telegram

End-to-end encryption

Secret chats

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Through bots

License

-

Message history

Yes

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

Yes

File Size

2048 MB

Groups

≤ 100,000

Video recording

Yes

Locationsharing

Live

Multidevice

Cloud

Unit Testing

Yes

In-app purchases

To pay 3rd parties

Message deletion

Mutual/timed

Usernames

yes

Cloud sync

Yes

Audio/video streaming

Only from some clients

Open source backend

no

Open clients API

yes

Proxy support

yes

Multiplatform

Yes

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

Windows, Linux

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

Video send/receive, Images

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

GPL

Message history

Optional

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

Yes

Video chat

Yes

Emoticons

Add-on

End to Encription

Add-on

Spell checking

Yes

Chat plugins

SMS, Facebook, Discord, Skype, Telegram, WhatsApp, Steam IM, Battel.net, GoogleHangouts, Twitter feeds, Amazon Chime, WeChat, QQ, Rocket.chat, Slack, Mattermost, Tox, OkCupid,

Notification intergation

Add-on

Off the Record Messaging

Add-on

Supported protocols

Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Lotus Sametime, Novell GroupWise, OSCAR, SIMPLE, SILC, XMPP, Jingle, Zephyr, Various extended protocols.

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

Web iOS Android OSX Windows Linux

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

Yes

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Yes

License

M.I.T.

Message history

Unlimited

File Sharing

Yes

Videoconferencing

Yes

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

On premises & On Rocket.Chat

Screensharing

Yes

Mac OS Client

Yes

Private Channels

Yes

iOS Client

Yes

Real-time collaboration

Yes

Push Notifications

Yes

Integrations

Unlimited

Support

Yes

Custom Domain

Yes

Live Streaming

Yes

IRC Gateway

Yes

Public Channels

Yes

Audit Logs

Yes

Customizable User Permission

Yes

Desktop App

Windows, MacOs, Linux

Audio to Text Conversion

Yes

Analytics Reporting

Yes

Social Network Login

Yes

High Scalability cluster

Yes

Omni-channel Integrations

Messenger, Twillio, Whatsapp, Slack, Telegram

Migration Assistance

Yes

LDAP / Active Directory

Real Time Sync

Auditing Panel

Yes

Discussion

Yes

Threads

Yes

Multifactor Authentication

Yes

Multi-language Interface

Yes

White Label

Yes

Broadcast Channel

Yes

Read Receipt

Yes

LiveChat

Yes

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

Web iOS Android OSX Windows Linux

VoIP

Yes

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

No

Media

images / video / audio / GIFs

Audio recording

No

Publisher

Wire Swiss GmbH

End-to-end encryption

Yes

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

No

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

No

File Size

25M

Groups

≤128

Video recording

No

Locationsharing

Yes (iOS, Android)

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

Yes

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

4.2 and up

Messaging systems

Data

In-App Purchases

None

Server stored messages

Transitory

Cloud Sync

No

Security Score

20/20

Group calls

Yes

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS, Linux

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

Yes - API Library, OAuth 2.0 Apps, Zapier App with over 700 Integrations

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Yes - Atlassian, Webhooks, Chatbots, Extensions

License

MIT

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

Self-hosted

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

4.1+

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

Web, Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

No

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

Yes

File Size

-

Groups

Yes

Video recording

No

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

Yes

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

Yes

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

15/20

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

Yes

User Groups

Yes

Server Stored Messages

Permanent

Channel Settings

Yes

Open-Source

No

Peer-to-Peer

No

Jurisdiction

United States

Animated Profile

Only with Discord Nitro

Upload File Size

8 MB free, 50 or 100 MB paid

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

Chrome, iOS, Android, Mac OS, Windows

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Yes

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

Yes

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

Android / iOS / WP / BB / Symbian / Windows / OSX / Linux

VoIP

Yes

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

No

Media

images / video / audio / emoji / stickers

Audio recording

Yes

Publisher

Viber Media S.a r.l.

End-to-end encryption

Yes

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

No

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

One-on-one

File Size

37M

Groups

≤200

Video recording

Yes

Locationsharing

Yes

Multidevice

Yes

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

Hosted

Screensharing

No

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

2.3 and up

Messaging systems

Data

In-App Purchases

$0.99 - $35.17 per item

Server stored messages

Permanent

Cloud Sync

Yes

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

Yes

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, Web

VoIP

0

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

0

Media

0

Audio recording

0

Publisher

0

End-to-end encryption

0

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

0

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

0

File Size

0

Groups

0

Video recording

0

Locationsharing

0

Multidevice

0

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

0

Screensharing

0

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

0

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

0

Messaging systems

0

In-App Purchases

0

Server stored messages

0

Cloud Sync

0

Security Score

15/20

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

0

User Groups

0

Server Stored Messages

0

Channel Settings

0

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

0

Message Deletion

0

Genre

0

Co-Op

0

Controller Support

0

Storage

0

Secure

0

Requires a Server

0

Positional Audio

0

2FA

0

Typical RAM usage

0

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

Android, iOS, Web, Mac, Windows, Windows Phone

VoIP

Yes

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

images, video, audio, documents

Audio recording

Yes

Publisher

WhatsApp Inc.

End-to-end encryption

Yes

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

Yes up to 8 people

File Size

100 MB

Groups

≤ 256

Video recording

Yes

Locationsharing

Yes

Multidevice

Message Mirroring

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

2.3.3 or above

Messaging systems

Data

In-App Purchases

No

Server stored messages

Transitory

Cloud Sync

Yes, Via Google

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

Auto-erase

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

iOS, Android, Windows, Web

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

Yes

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Yes

License

-

Message history

Yes

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

Any

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

Hosted

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

Yes

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

Yes

Offline access

Yes

Teams

Yes

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

iOS, Android, WP, OSX, Windows, Linux, Web. Blackberry. Chrome OS. BSD, iPadOs

VoIP

yes

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

No

Media

images / video /audio / emoji

Audio recording

yes

Publisher

Skype

End-to-end encryption

yes(optional)

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

SIP (paid)

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

yes

File Size

Varies with device

Groups

yes

Video recording

Yes

Locationsharing

Yes

Multidevice

Yes

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

Hosted

Screensharing

Yes

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

6.0

Messaging systems

Data

In-App Purchases

None

Server stored messages

Limited (30 days)

Cloud Sync

Yes

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

Yes

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

Web, iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS, Linux, terminal

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

Yes

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Yes

License

Apache 2

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

Hosted and Self-hosted

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

Yes

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

Yes

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

Price

-

DIY integrations

-

Media

-

Audio recording

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

License

-

Message history

-

File Sharing

-

Videoconferencing

-

File Size

-

Groups

-

Video recording

-

Locationsharing

-

Multidevice

-

Unit Testing

-

In-app purchases

-

Message deletion

-

Usernames

-

Cloud sync

-

Audio/video streaming

-

Open source backend

-

Open clients API

-

Proxy support

-

Multiplatform

-

Opensource

-

Video chat

-

Emoticons

-

End to Encription

-

Spell checking

-

Chat plugins

-

Notification intergation

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Supported protocols

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

Mac OS Client

-

Private Channels

-

iOS Client

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

Custom Domain

-

Live Streaming

-

IRC Gateway

-

Public Channels

-

Audit Logs

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Social Network Login

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Migration Assistance

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Auditing Panel

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Read Receipt

-

LiveChat

-

Required Android Version

-

Messaging systems

-

In-App Purchases

-

Server stored messages

-

Cloud Sync

-

Security Score

-

Group calls

-

Android version

-

Search

-

User Groups

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Channel Settings

-

Open-Source

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

Animated Profile

-

Upload File Size

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Message Deletion

-

Genre

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Storage

-

Secure

-

Requires a Server

-

Positional Audio

-

2FA

-

Typical RAM usage

-

Collaborative

-

Offline access

-

Teams

-

Pros + Cons

Pro
 Built on an open standard

Matrix is an open standard, defining simple HTTP APIs so that devs can easily write their own clients, bots, bridges or servers. You're not locked into a specific set of implementations.
Comment

Pro
 Lots of bridges to other systems

Matrix has bridges to IRC (freenode, moznet, oftc, snoonet etc), Slack, Gitter, Rocket.Chat, XMPP, SMS, SIP and others. The point is to 'matrix' all the different networks out there into one single decentralised network.
Comment

Pro
 Supports end-to-end encryption

Matrix features end-to-end encrypted chats which are synchronized across all your devices. E2E is implemented in the matrix-js-sdk library and Riot.im client.
Comment

Pro
 Does not require a centralized server to establish a connection between two users

Matrix is decentralized, there's no one central point that the information goes through and so no one central point of failure or control.
Comment

Pro
 Multi device history synchronization for encrypted chats

Encrypted rooms are synchronized accross all your devices, not just the device the chat was started on.
Comment

Pro
 Offers a choice of clients

Which can be found here.
Comment

Pro
 Can be integrated with existing communication services

Matrix is designed to support Instant Messaging, VoIP/WebRTC signalling and Internet of Things communication and allows cross-communication between those services. Meaning one person could be using IRC and another Slack for IMs, or one person could be using Skype and another Google Hangouts for videoconferencing.
Comment

Pro
 Android application works including push and voice/video e2e encrypted calls

Comment

Pro
 Has an active community behind it

Comment

Pro
 Maintains full conversation history

Comment

Pro
 It works out of the box

Comment

Pro
 No selling of private data

Comment

Pro
 Can be used without a phone

Matrix allows full desktop / web access without a dependency to a smartphone that has to be online.
Comment

Pro
 Markdown support in Riot

Code snippets in chats can be highlighted using Markdown.
Comment

Pro
 Has replies in group chats

You can reply to specific messages in group chats, and ping people too.
Comment

Pro
 Has an easy to use client called Riot

Riot.im is the easiest way to use Matrix, with great clients for Web, iOS and Android (and Fdroid).
Comment

Pro
 iOS application works including push and voice/video e2e encrypted calls

Comment

Pro
 Offers choice of clients

Which can be found here.
Comment

Pro
 Has an app store for 3rd party integrations & bots

Riot.im includes an app store with integrations for Github, JIRA, Jenkins, Giphy etc - and anyone can add more via Matrix.
Comment

Pro
 Matrix prioritizes direct messaging with people the same as Slack-style groups

Matrix aims to "provide an analogous ecosystem to email - one where you can communicate with pretty much anyone, without caring what app or server they are using" using a neutral identity system.
Comment

Con
 Not really federated

Matrix is not really federated because most people will use the default (matrix.org), so the matrix.org server has almost all metadata.
Comment

Con
 Element is the only good client

Element is the only Matrix client that has all the important features and isn’t buggy. So you don’t really have a choice of clients.
Comment

Con
 Security and privacy depends on the server

Like on XMPP security and privacy depend on the server since the server admin can do almost everything.
Comment

Con
 Can only "redact" a posted message but neither "delete" nor "edit" it

Update: Editing is now possible. The ability to edit a posted message is a powerful feature that has come to be expected since the rise of social media. Several other major chat platforms include this feature. Matrix.org's protocols enable you to "redact" a message (mark it as redacted whereas it is removed from view), but not truly delete or edit it. Deletion and editing are in the works, but in the meantime... CON.
Comment

Con
 Web interface doesn't really work on mobile

Comment

Con
 No Windows mobile client

Comment

Con
 There is no administration interface

For example: You have to use the rest api to manage users and channels.
Comment

Pro
 End-to-end encryption

Matrix features end-to-end encrypted chats which are syncronized accross all your devices. E2E is [implemented in the matrix-js-sdk library and Riot.im client](http://matrix.org/git/olm/about, http://matrix.org/git/olm/tree/docs/megolm.rst, http://matrix.org/speculator/spec/drafts%252Fe2e/client_server/unstable.html#end-to-end-encryption).
Comment

Pro
 Can be used without a phone

Matrix allows full desktop / web access without a dependency to a smartphone that has to be online.
Comment

Pro
 Bridges other networks into a single decentralised network

Matrix has bridges to IRC (freenode, moznet, oftc, snoonet etc), Slack, Gitter, Rocket.Chat, XMPP, SMS, SIP and others. The point is to 'matrix' all the different networks out there into one single decentralised network.
Comment

Pro
 Supports different kinds of communication

Matrix is designed to support Instant Messaging, VoIP/WebRTC signalling (voice and video) and Internet of Things communication.
Comment

Pro
 Has replies in group chats.

You can reply to specific messages in group chats, and ping ppl too.
Comment

Con
 Matrix protocol is not a software

Rate on Riot.im instead, which is a matrix client.
Comment

Con
 User Interface of stable clients not easy to learn for "non-IT-people"

The user interface of the most popular clients can confuse the test-users in your company (even devs or sysadmins) with lots of verification requests, too many buttons.
Comment

Pro
 Provides security and privacy

Signal uses an advanced end to end encryption protocol that provides privacy for every message every time.
Comment

Pro
 Free and open source

Signal is free and open source software, enabling anyone to verify its security by auditing the code. It's the only private messenger that uses open source, peer-reviewed cryptographic protocols to keep your messages safe.
Comment

Pro
 Supports encrypted group chats

Comment

Pro
 You can easily view all media exchanged

You can easily view all media shared in the chat without scrolling back to when it was shared.
Comment

Pro
 Message mirroring on Signal Desktop

Signal Desktop is a Chrome extension that allows you to mirror messages from your phone, including replying.
Comment

Pro
 Supports sharing of various different media types

Signal supports: emoji, pictures, videos, audio, contacts, any location and GIF.
Comment

Pro
 Note to Self feature

Allows you to send messages to yourself and sync to the desktop so you can use Signal as a kind of encrypted Pushbullet alternative.
Comment

Pro
 Annonymous Sender (Encrypted)

The sender credentials can be encrypted with the rest of the message, leaving only the recipient address readable by the Signal server. Even if Signal wanted they couldn't see who is talking with who by this mean.
Comment

Pro
 Works everywhere in every country

Unlike most messenger apps, Signal works reliably in all countries by securely circumventing internet censorship.
Comment

Con
 Needs access to your phone number and contacts to work

Comment

Con
 Servers hosted in the US

A security risk due to National Security letters, which require giving up data to the US state, and making it illegal to disclose that.
Comment

Con
 Central server

Facilitates platform lock-in.
Comment

Con
 Server runs closed source software

One can't know for sure, which metadata is kept or used, nor can one chose another server.
Comment

Con
 Unreliable notifications

Sometimes messages won't be received if the Signal app has been closed for a long time or hasn't been opened after booting the device.
Comment

Con
 Single device

Signal can only be registered to one mobile device at a time. But you can link Signal to Signal Desktop.
Comment

Con
 Cannot work w\o Google services

Signal relies on Google services for push notifications so although it is encrypted and open source it needs proprietary component to work. That means you can't use Signal on some custom Android ROM (preferably rooted for full control) without Google apps installed.
Comment

Pro
 SMS/MMS support

Signal can be your default SMS/MMS text messenger. Encryption is not possible when sending SMS to your contacts, however.
Comment

Pro
 Recommended by Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden uses this messenger and recommends it to everyone who is concerned about his privacy.
Comment

Con
 If SMS/MMS imported, other apps can't read SMS

For those using Join, Pushbullet, or similar apps to send and receive SMS/MMS from web or desktop, putting your SMS in Signal somehow breaks this functionally. The dev is aware but plans to remedy the situation have not been named a priority.
Comment

Con
 Uses message mirroring

Comment

Con
 Ăœ

Comment

Pro
 Libre/open source

Comment

Pro
 Cross platform

Web browser Linux OS X Windows Android iOS
Comment

Pro
 Supports text, voice, video

Comment

Pro
 Decentralized

An open network for secure, decentralized communication.
Comment

Pro
 Bridges to other networks

You're not confined within Element's or even Matrix garden, and you don't have to make users of other networks switch to Matrix.
Comment

Pro
 Supports encryption

Element allows for fully encrypted text, voice, and video chatting.
Comment

Pro
 Simple interface

Element has a very simple interface, adding the ability for more inexperienced users to use it.
Comment

Pro
 Search

Search messages in your current room, or all the rooms you're in. Not subject to a message history limit like Slack.
Comment

Pro
 Self-hosting and federated network

Comment

Pro
 Etherpad real-time document collaboration

An easy to activate integration that allows multiple authors to edit a document simultaneously.
Comment

Pro
 Markdown support

Code snippets in chats can be highlighted with Markdown.
Comment

Pro
 VOIP and Videoconferencing

Comment

Pro
 File Sharing

Comment

Pro
 Widgets support

Want to watch that flick at YouTube and discuss it at the same time? Have Grafana graphs stacked above your DevOps team chat? Collaboratively edit Google Docs and chat over without switching applications? This is possible with Element.
Comment

Pro
 Large existing community

With public rooms for many people, and you can create your own and let people from the community join.
Comment

Pro
 Great cross platform support

Fast and stable apps on all the major platforms
Comment

Pro
 Secure

Telegram uses an open source MTProto encryption protocol that provides complete end-to-end encryption for secret chats. To show off their confidence in the protocol the company behind Telegram has organized $200,000 and $300,000 challenges to break the encryption. So far there have been no winners.
Comment

Pro
 Free and convenient large file sharing

Copy/paste videos, gifs, images, geolocation, and documents, drag over files for practically any time up to 1.5GB in size. Images can be compressed, too.
Comment

Pro
 Privacy focused

In addition to the end-to-end encryption that provides privacy to communications, the app also includes self destructing timers for chats, and the ability to permanently delete messages, yours and theirs, from your device.
Comment

Con
 Can only be used with a phone number

It is not possible to activate and use Telegram by mail etc. You need a phone number.
Comment

Pro
 Beautiful UI

Very customizable with a lot of clean looking options.
Comment

Pro
 Media messaging

Videos, gifs, images, geolocation, and documents.
Comment

Pro
 Save time with inline bots and link previews

Unfortunately on the desktop, videos don't apply, but images are viewable without visiting popular websites like imgur and Instagram. You can play YouTube videos and others within the app, so you don't need the embed code or anything. With inline bots, such as @gif, @pic/bing, @vid/YouTube, etc, you can look things up without leaving the client or chat that you're in. Simply type the name and some keywords and wait for the results to load.
Comment

Pro
 Easy to use

For normal conversation, file sharing, and you can search previous chat. Everything is simple to do.
Comment

Pro
 Many good looking sticker sets

Telegram has countless sticker sets available, and it is possible to design and upload your own stickers.
Comment

Pro
 Free of cost

The application is available free of cost.
Comment

Pro
 2-step verification

You can set up an additional password to your account, which can be reset by your email. You don't have to use an email, if you do not want to. If you lose access to your email or forget your password, you will be able to reset if via text message if you're account is over seven days old and will receive it within a week (in case you recover anything before then).
Comment

Pro
 Compelling story

The founder Pavel Durov was exiled from Russia after refusing to cooperate with the Kreml to stamp the opposition and oppress the people. He nearly lost everything he worked on and started Telegram in exile. He has been a big proponent of free speech and unquestioned privacy since then.
Comment

Pro
 Cloud chat key are kept in different jurisdiction

Even though encryption used for cloud based storage (e.g. Gmail, Facebook, iCloud) may not be as secure as end-to-end encryption or zero-knowledge storage, Telegram does the most that it can by holding keys to chats in different jurisdictions, requiring intergovernmental cooperation to obtain the keys. This is aside from whatever security measure are taken place, of course.
Comment

Pro
 Desktop app handles HIDPI

The desktop app has a built in setting to scale the UI of the app up to 200% which allows for those with 4k monitors/screens to use the app without scaling issues.
Comment

Pro
 Customer support is within the app

Although it's volunteer based, but still pretty top-notch if available, which it tends to be.
Comment

Pro
 High quality calls

Uses the latest GPL audio codecs, such as Opus, an adaptative high-quality codec that supersedes AAC at any bitrate.
Comment

Pro
 @mentions

You can ping people to get their attention by @mentioning them.
Comment

Pro
 Channels for one way broadcasting

Broadcasting channels suitable for announcing things.
Comment

Pro
 Open source client apps

Client apps are open source, making whole service more trustworthy.
Comment

Pro
 Saved messages

You can write messages to yourself. You can write some notes, add links, and see everything across all your devices.
Comment

Pro
 Multiplatform native client apps

There are native desktop, mobile and web client apps, that are optimized for speed and are light on memory usage.
Comment

Pro
 Self-destruct messages

Messages can be set on a timer. They will disappear after the timer expires.
Comment

Pro
 Supergroups of up to 100,000 people

In Supergroups, anyone along with admins can delete their messages from all sides. A message can be pinned to the top. All of the user's messages can be deleted by an administrator, and they can be banned and reported as well. Supergroups can have a public link (outside of Asia, due to high spam volumes), which is also a username.
Comment

Pro
 Allows easy integration into the matrix network

Comment

Pro
 Unlimited storage

Unlimited number of files can be stored forever on the cloud. You can upload files up to 1.5 GB each.
Comment

Pro
 Banned in anti-democratic countries as China, Iran, and Russia

This is a good proxy to show that the encryption actually works! It shows that these goverments cannot break the encryption and that Telegram does not collaborate with such regimes
Comment

Con
 Not fully open source

Telegram has an open API and protocol free for everyone, but the backend software is not open source. Therefore 100% privacy can not be evaluated.
Comment

Con
 Centralized

You can't run your own servers (yet).
Comment

Con
 Only "Secret Chat" messages are encrypted end to end

The only way to get end-to-end encryption (client-client) using Telegram is to use the Secret Chat function, anything through the service is server-client encrypted. Also secret chat is only implemented in the mobile apps, meaning there is no way to encrypt messages end-to-end when using the desktop client or the web browser client.
Comment

Con
 Not Federated

Can't self-host, not federated.
Comment

Pro
 Supergroups of up to 5000 people

In Supergroups, anyone along with admins can delete their messages from all sides. A message can be pinned to the top. All of the user's messages can be deleted by an administrator, and they can be banned and reported as well. Supergroups can have a public link (outside of Asia, due to high spam volumes), which is also a username.
Comment

Con
 "Secret Chat" feature is not available for desktop client

Secret chats with end to end encryption are only available on mobile apps.
Comment

Con
 They suggest security which is sometimes not available

In the past, they suggested full encryption everywhere. They did not state, that their group chat is unencrypted, while it was the case. This means, highly critical content gets shared while both, users and content is easily trackable over network providers and through other sources. Much governments literally hunt the people so this is highly critical and as you can see on the example of other issues here on the page, is Telegram USED to this kind of security standards. So it is seriously possible, that they succeed doing so. From that point of view is Telegram to be a complete no-go for critical communication while it contains a huge load of benefits on other sides. Since the server side software is non-free in an addition, is not even a fork possible which one would be able to do it differently in security terms, so double thumbs down.
Comment

Con
 App features differ per platform

E.g. creating a "Secret Chat" is only available for smartphones. Image editing capabilities differ on mobile platforms. No video-to-gif on PC. No gif posting on mobile (at least on Windows Phone).
Comment

Con
 No source code sintax highlighting

Telegram does not have source code syntax highlighting, making it difficult to share code snippets.
Comment

Con
 No videocalls

Differently from whatsapp or other programs, Telegram doesn't support videocalls.
Comment

Pro
 Two-step verification

You can set up an additional password to your account, which can be reset by your email. You don't have to use an email if you do not want to. If you lose access to your email or forget your password, you will be able to reset it via text message if your account is over seven days old and will receive it within a week (in case you recover anything before then).
Comment

Pro
 Different version

Not only a single version, but also another one based on the software's speed.
Comment

Con
 Does not support spherical 360° photos

Spherical 360° photos becoming more popular these days, but Telegram does not support such format.
Comment

Con
 Does not work for visually impaired

Doesn't work for visually impaired.
Comment

Pro
 Possible to send photos and videos without compression

Comment

Pro
 Free and convenient large file sharing

Copy/paste videos, gifs, images, geolocation, and documents, drag over files for practically any time up to 1.5GB in size. Images can be compressed, too.
Comment

Pro
 Cloud chat keys are kept in different jurisdiction

Even though encryption used for cloud-based storage (e.g. Gmail, Facebook, iCloud) may not be as secure as end-to-end encryption or zero-knowledge storage, Telegram does the most that it can by holding keys to chats in different jurisdictions, requiring intergovernmental cooperation to obtain the keys. This is aside from whatever other security measures have been taken, of course.
Comment

Pro
 Cross-platform

Has client for Linux, Windows, MacOS for desktop. Has Android, iOS, Windows Phone client for mobile. And has a web client for all of them.
Comment

Pro
 Highly customisable with plugins

Pidgin not only has a large plugin library built-in, but also an array of third party plugins for a variety of functions.
Comment

Con
 Not beginner friendly at all

You need to choose which protocol to use, etc. It will be more friendly if a particular method was set default, although older users of other protocols would hate it thus will never be developed in that way.
Comment

Con
 No native VoIP support

While there are plugins there is no built in support for VoIP in Pidgin which is time consuming to implement instead of being baked in from the jump.
Comment

Con
 Not For Android AOY

Comment

Pro
 Cross platform

The Pidgin instant messaging client is cross platform, working on Linux, Windows and OSX.
Comment

Pro
 Support for a wide range of additional chat services

Pidgin not only supports IRC, it also supports plenty of other services such as AIM, Google Talk, MSN, ICQ and plenty of others. This way, you can have all of your conversations in the same app and won't have to deal with multiple chat windows being open.
Comment

Pro
 Free and open source

Pidgin and its code is completely free and open source. Pidgin has no ads and no features behind a paywall.
Comment

Pro
 Convenient notification features

Like other quality IRC clients, Pidgin features notifications that the user can set in order to have a variety of things happen when the users is mentioned, such as an audio cue or changing the system tray icon.
Comment

Pro
 Full Admin UI

Rocket.Chat features a complete Admin UI (unlike Matrix/Synapse/Riot for example).
Comment

Pro
 Free and open source

Rocket.Chat is available for free. It's licensed under the MIT license with source code available on GitHub.
Comment

Pro
 Native apps for all major desktop and mobile platforms

Rocket.Chat has native apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
Comment

Pro
 Video conferencing support

Rocket.Chat supports video calls.
Comment

Con
 No chat audit for enterprise

Comment

Con
 Poor security implementations / protocols

Comment

Con
 Email required for registration

Comment

Con
 Centralized

Comment

Con
 Android app is poorly made

The Android application is just a badly wrapped web-view which does not perform well and has no form of offline caching whatsoever.
Comment

Con
 Privacy settings are absent

Privacy settings for the server are absent, for instance, you don't have the ability to disable registrations, there's no way to control access to the chat.
Comment

Con
 iOS app is poorly made

The iOS application is not native, being just a browser container. This means that the UX is quite poor, slow, buttons unresponsive. At this moment they do not provide a decent experience.
Comment

Con
 Features not available out of the box

Comment

Con
 No theme customization

Comment

Con
 No web browser support

Comment

Con
 No way to block new registrations

Without the ability to disable registrations, there's no way to control access to the chat.
Comment

Con
 Developer support is non-existent

Can't even create a clean Ubuntu VM with a working developer install. Unresolved dependencies; fails to build. Docs are terrible; actual devs don't respond to questions; error messages are near-opaque. DO NOT RECOMMEND.
Comment

Pro
 Will allow for anonymous use

Comment

Pro
 Supports a wide variety of authentication methods

In addition to the usual email / username + password combination, Rocket.Chat supports authenticating via Facebook, Github, Gitlab, Google, Linkedin, Meteor and Twitter accounts.
Comment

Pro
 Very active and helpful community

Comment

Pro
 Intuitive user interface

Wire's user interface is quite intuitive to use, still it has everything required for a complete experience. Settings are very clean and allows you to turn on/off some features which might be disturbing for some, like link previews and emoji conversion.
Comment

Pro
 Privacy-respecting

Comment

Pro
 Swiss legislation

Registered in Switzerland.
Comment

Pro
 Clean, modern interface

Comment

Con
 Unstable

Comment

Con
 Centralized

Comment

Con
 Hosting an own server is hard

Comment

Pro
 Always uses End to End Encryption

Comment

Pro
 Completely free for private use

Check out their pricing. It cannot be cheaper for secure private communication.
Comment

Pro
 Libre/open source

Comment

Con
 Centralized

Comment

Con
 Poorly made Android app

The Android application is just a badly wrapped web-view which does not perform well and has no form of offline caching whatsoever.
Comment

Con
 Features not available out of the box

Comment

Con
 Poorly made iOS app

Built natively using React it suffers from unresponsiveness, input lag, and sometimes broken services. Coupled with a bad user experience.
Comment

Con
 No easy End-to-End Encryption setup

Comment

Pro
 Can be self-hosted

You don't need to rely on someone else's servers, you can host Mattermost on your own server.
Comment

Pro
 Desktop app for MacOS, Linux and Windows

Comment

Pro
 Similar to Slack

Almost all features of Slack are available in Mattermost.
Comment

Pro
 Open-source

Released under the MIT license.
Comment

Pro
 Mark-Down support

Yes, it supports markdown.
Comment

Pro
 In 14 different languages

Comment

Pro
 Browser notifications

Comment

Pro
 Mobile apps for android and iOS

Comment

Pro
 Free

You can download and use it for free.
Comment

Con
 The self-hosted option is difficult to setup

Difficult to setup the many features it offers. The easy docker installation is for the application only, not it's feature sets. Requires a license for full-set of features.
Comment

Pro
 One-line Docker install 

With Docker set up, you can install Mattermost with the following command: docker run --name mattermost-dev -d --publish 8065:80 mattermost/platform For other cases, installation instructions can be found here.
Comment

Pro
 You can change theme

Comment

Pro
 Free - OpenSource

You can download and use it as free for self-hosted server.
Comment

Pro
 Decentralized

Comment

Pro
 Easily communicate away from PC

Discord has a fully-featured mobile client with push notification support for Android and iOS, which makes it very easy to check in on the app and communicate while out and about.
Comment

Pro
 Cross-platform

Discord has native desktop apps for Windows, OSX and Linux, and mobile (Android, iOS) platforms and it's also accessible from the web.
Comment

Pro
 Low latency VoIP chat

Discord's voice chat has no noticeable lag and very high quality.
Comment

Pro
 Bots integration

You can use bots to control your server like welcome message, banned words, when your Twitch account goes online and many others.
Comment

Pro
 Game integration 

Discord shows which game each user is currently playing, which among other things helps users to form PUGs with minimal hassle.
Comment

Con
 Non-free / Libre

You cannot audit, modify, or redistribute Discord. The source code is secret, you have no way of knowing what it does with your data, and if the Discord company ever dies, there is no way to continue using the application.
Comment

Pro
 Easy setup

You can quickly send invites to people and they can join in using the web client without having to create an account or install the app.
Comment

Pro
 Can be used in browser

Users can invite others to join a Discord channel via a web link, which means no installation is required to use the software - which is one of the big typical barriers to entry for social software.
Comment

Con
 No dedicated servers

You are sharing server bandwidth with every other discord user. Meaning if you are using discord and need voice coms for say example your guild is raiding something, and every other discord user on the planet decides to log on YOUR guilds raid is going to suffer because you don't have dedicated bandwith discords overall performance will suffer immensely.
Comment

Pro
 User friendly

Discord follows the same type of interface design popularised by Slack, which is extremely clean and attractive, and doesn't clutter the interface with unnecessary chrome and cruft.
Comment

Pro
 Visually appealing

Has a very nice, dark themed skin to it and looks very sleek.
Comment

Pro
 Does not cost money

Discord is provided at no cost, with no limit on how many channels a user can create. This makes for a good way to continue gaming with your friends without paying anything extra.
Comment

Con
 Developer's previous company was sued for privacy violations, among other things

See: http://classactionlawsuitsinthenews.com/class-action-lawsuit-complaints/openfeint-green-international-privacy-class-action-lawsuit-complaint/ https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/closing-letters/openfeint-inc Discord's privacy policy also states that while they might not sell your data, a company they get sold to will quite possibly attain said data and thus may be in "more" shady hands.
Comment

Con
 No self-hosting avaliable

Discord is wholly hosted by Discord (the company), you cannot run private instances, and all servers are hosted on their infrastructure. For most people, this won't really impact their usage.
Comment

Pro
 Syntax highlighting and Markdown support

The support is limited but still exists. It's a killer feature for dev teams.
Comment

Pro
 Simple UI

The interface is very easy to follow - you have three sections. On the left are the channels for your server, which you can quickly and easily switch between. The large section in the middle is the main chat area, where each message has the person's username, avatar (or image), and timestamp. On the right is a list of all the people in the chat, where it also ways what games each person is playing (if applicable and set up by the user).
Comment

Pro
 Users can create and join groups

It is easy to create and configure different user groups.
Comment

Pro
 Numerous controls for setting member roles

Deny access, Deny write message, Allow read messages, etc.
Comment

Pro
 Good 1-click invite system  

Discord allows inviting people to a specific channel with a link. Links can be set to expire.
Comment

Con
 Based on Electron = eats a lot of ram

Comment

Pro
 In-game overlay

See who's talking, adjust voice controls; all without leaving the game.
Comment

Pro
 Group Chats

It is also possible to create a group for chatting if you don't want to create a server. A group has a limit of 10 users.
Comment

Pro
 Supports video and text communication 

Behaves and looks like Slack for regular text channels, but with the ability to create voice channels as well
Comment

Pro
 Control over who you mute

You can control which people you mute, which makes it ideal when multiple people are in the same room and want to avoid echo.
Comment

Pro
 DDoS user protection

Discord prevents users from being DDoSed out of games.
Comment

Pro
 User feedback

Users can submit suggestions for the software.
Comment

Con
 Not a generic "team chat" tool

All the UI and the features are aimed specifically at communicating with your gaming team/clan.
Comment

Pro
 Free for unlimited users

Unlimited amount of users.
Comment

Pro
 Convenient for almost every person

Easy to use in a simple way, but also super expandable features if needed
Comment

Pro
 Friendly payment policy

Free account have no tangible restrictions. Premium account is just a way to say "thank you" to developers. And it work for all servers of discord (not as in slack). And it can be purchased by one who wants. In contrast to Slask, where all active members of the server should be "premium".
Comment

Con
 Servers only in select regions

Servers are currently only available in the US, Europe, Singapore, Brazil, Russia, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. This can mean poor latency for users located elsewhere.
Comment

Con
 Some functions cut out and available only with "Nitro" subscription

Comment

Pro
 Ability to thread channels

Ability to create channel categories for channels to sit inside of.
Comment

Pro
 Familiar for Slack users

For those that are used to the way Slack (a similar chat client) works, Discord will be familiar in its use, which lowers the learning curve quite a bit for those that have switched or tried Slack before.
Comment

Pro
 Has low-latency VoIP support 

Comment

Pro
 Android app has push notifications

Comment

Pro
 Low effort invite mechanics

Comment

Pro
 Numerous controls for setting member roles

Deny access, Deny write message, Allow read messages etc.
Comment

Pro
 Targeting of roles

Targeting roles allows for quickly requesting someone from a group e.g. artist, moderator, etc.
Comment

Pro
 Ability to create bots

Discord provides an API for creating custom bots.
Comment

Con
 Poor driver support

No bitrate control, no stereo streams, and no ASIO support mean high latency, low quality streams.
Comment

Con
 Push-to-talk only works in Desktop Client

If you favor using Discord in browser, push-to-talk is not available. Push-to-talk is great because it prevents accidental sounds that can be distracting to other chatters.
Comment

Con
 Very unstable on Linux

Comment

Pro
 Allows for easy integration into matrix network

Comment

Pro
 Open source bots and management tools

Discord has a wide variety of bots for things from airhorn noises to automated server management, to leveling systems for chat. The bot API is open and there are dedicated sites for finding bots.
Comment

Pro
 Dark theme out of the box

Comment

Pro
 Language localization

Have localization for many language, including Russian.
Comment

Pro
 DDoS mitigation

Discord prevents users from being DDoSed out of games.
Comment

Con
 Desktop apps have limited resizing options

The app could be more compact.
Comment

Con
 Permission system is very basic

There is such a thing as being too basic. They claim it's easy to manage permissions, but many people find it to be very vague and elementary. No community or server owner could be flexible in this system.
Comment

Con
 Focused on streamers and not communities

Discord focuses on streamers and not the communities, many implementations over the last year have been geared towards streamers and future updates they promise continue to be geared towards streamers.
Comment

Pro
 Numerous controls for setting member roles.

Deny access, Deny write message, Allow read messages etc.
Comment

Con
 Browser voice chat is buggy

Bugs such as not being able to hear the other person (or them you).
Comment

Con
 Anti-privacy license terms

Comment

Con
 Proprietary software

Discord is closed-source, meaning their code isn't available for inspection or reproduction.
Comment

Con
 Possible fishing issue

Discord does not own Discord.com, meaning it would be incredibly easy to set up a fishing website and steal information from unsuspecting gamers.
Comment

Con
 No positional audio

Positional audio means that different players/users sound like coming from different positions, sometimes even related to their actual position in the game. This helps especially for voice chats with more than 2 people.
Comment

Con
 Voice delay

Once you speak into your mic, there is a short delay and then you and your friends hear your voice again.
Comment

Con
 Possible financial scam

The owner and CEO of Discord Jason Citron has secured nearly 20 million in investment funds for Discord. Discord is something that is free it is not a money making machine. Currently the only way Discord is staying afloat is by continually securing new investor funds. Jason Citrons track record shows a pattern of starting a business attracting large investors then walking away with the company bankrupt or sold and his pockets filled. 20 million dollars would have produced a product light-years better than discord, something fishy is going on.
Comment

Con
 Small community

Comment

Pro
 Simple and social

Comment

Pro
 Open-source with open standards

Comment

Pro
 w

Comment

Con
 No self-hosting available

If you are worried about third-parties getting access to your data you should consider self-hosting. With self-hosting you are in control over where your data is stored, who has access to it. You will also not be vulnerable to exploits of a third-party provider.
Comment

Con
 "Native" desktop apps are web apps

While it's great that Slack provides installable apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux, they're just the Slack web app wrapped in Electron shell. This means they don't offer the same level of native UX that a truly native toolkit app would.
Comment

Con
 Proprietary (non-free/libre)

Comment

Con
 Expensive when you need to upgrade

At $6.67 per user / month (or $8 if billed monthly) , Slack is significantly more expensive than the competition if you need features such as unlimited integrations (more than 10) or unlimited message storage (more than 10,000). However, the free version of Slack includes unlimited users. However if you need only unlimited messages you can use storage services like https://slarck.com to upload then browse and search your entire message history, while staying in Slack's free plan. So with a combo of Slack+Slarck this con is not that major.
Comment

Con
 Linux client is very RAM intensive

Comment

Con
 No E2E encryption

Data is sent of SSL only, not E2E encrypted.
Comment

Con
 Awful performance and constant glitches, since it is Chromium-based

You will experience a lot of hangs and glitches and it eats immense (for as basic as UI is) amount of RAM.
Comment

Con
 Slow and lags sometimes

Comment

Con
 Hidden max limit of free users per channel

Slack says that their free accounts support an unlimited number of users, which is true. However they don't mention that there is an undisclosed maximum number of users per channel (8462). For a large open source community, this is something to keep in mind.
Comment

Con
 No threaded conversations

Other tools like Co-Meeting include threaded conversations, that can be useless when more structure is needed, for instance when everyone posts their ideas and people want to comment on individual ideas.
Comment

Pro
 Very polished user experience

The entire Slack interface is polished and intuitive to use. There are very few bugs or inconsistencies in the UI and it's very fast to use. There is nothing in particular that is new with Slacks implementation of team chat, but the execution of the groups (called channels), search, external service integration and notifications is close to perfect.
Comment

Con
 Poor screen sharing performance

Comment

Con
 No built-in video chat yet

While Slack has no built-in video chat, it integrates with Hangouts and enable such functionality. Additionally, recent acquisition of Screenhero promises eventual built-in support for audio and video conferencing.
Comment

Pro
 Dev team is invested, responsive, and friendly

Having submitted both feedback and support requests for bot development, I can personally attest that the team takes feedback seriously, and responds quickly to communication. This is vital for any closed-source or hosted project.
Comment

Con
 API is overall very poor

Can't do much with integrations.
Comment

Con
 Replies are the worst feature implementation of all time

Comment

Con
 No dark theme

Comment

Con
 API doesn't allow custom widgets in chat

Comment

Pro
 Robust integration with a huge number of tools

Slack integrates with tools like Trello, GitHub, Dropbox, Mailchimp, and dozens of others, so you can have a centralized event feed of your project right alongside your chat. This is tremendously useful for keeping context with your discussions.
Comment

Pro
 Native apps for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, OS X, Linux, and Windows

Slack has fully native apps for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, OS X, Linux, and Windows to give you the full functionality of Slack on most major platforms.
Comment

Pro
 Syntax coloring

Pasted code can be colored based on syntax.
Comment

Pro
 Supports multiple teams

You can be signed into multiple teams simultaneously and quickly switch between them.
Comment

Pro
 Inline link previews (photos, mockups, etc)

Comment

Pro
 Emoji reactions to limit excessive posts and notifications

Comment

Pro
 Edit messages easily

Comment

Pro
 Flexible, granular notification settings

Notifications are handled separately for mobile and the web app. You can receive notifications for all messages, just direct messages, or based on filters, and you can have different settings for different channels: you don't have to get notified every time someone pushed to GitHub or every time someone posts to off-topic chat, unless you want to.
Comment

Pro
 IRC connectivity over SSL

Comment

Pro
 It can surprise you

There's a checkbox in preferences under advanced options that may surprise you.
Comment

Pro
 Shows local time of each participant

You can click on the profile of a user to see their local time. An especially useful feature when members of your team are working in different timezones.
Comment

Pro
 Slackbot extensible chat robot

The "Slackbot" can is an extensible robot that can be set you remind you about tasks, auto respond to certain phrases and a variety of other functionality.
Comment

Pro
 Fantastic search functionality

You can deep search messages, files and snippets. Given Slacks integration into many external services, Slack is good enough to act as the central search interface for your entire team.
Comment

Pro
 @mentions

You can ping people to get their attention even if they are not online by @mentioning them. Slack supports desktop notifications.
Comment

Pro
 Drag & drop files in channels

You can upload a file to any channel over HTTPS simply by dragging and dropping.
Comment

Pro
 Freemium plan

Comment

Con
 Constant reminders of messages

If you don't check your messages (say your in a group chat and simply don't check all of them), it will flood your notifications.
Comment

Con
 Proprietary Software

Not Open Source.
Comment

Con
 Constantly on

Need apps like Greenify to stop it from being constantly on and active, even if you don't use it.
Comment

Con
 The company evades U. S. tax

The company uses the common practice of tax haven addresses in order to avoid paying US taxes despite being registered in Delaware.
Comment

Con
 No web client

You cannot login from the web to send and receive messages.
Comment

Con
 Doesn't sync well

Sync awfully between Phone and PC clients.
Comment

Pro
 Excellent for video chat

Comment

Pro
 Public chats

It's possible to be a fly on the wall on other group or one-to-one chats that have been opened up to the public. These public chats are often promotional chats with celebrities.
Comment

Pro
 See who of your contacts is using Viber quickly 

Viber is tied to your phone number so it can quickly see who else in your contacts list is using the application.
Comment

Pro
 Clean interface 

The interface is simple, functional and intuitive.
Comment

Pro
 Same protocol as used in Signal

Viber's protocol uses the same concepts of the "double ratchet" protocol used in Open Whisper Systems Signal application.
Comment

Pro
 Keys only on device

Starting with Viber 6.0 the encryption keys are stored only on the clients themselves, not even Viber itself has access to them.
Comment

Pro
 Insight and well documented encryption

Viber has made a documentation available, explaining in great details their encryption system and giving good insight on how it works.
Comment

Pro
 Supports 200 person group chat

Viber allows creating groups of up to 200 people on the Android version of Viber. It also has a cool "smart notifications" feature to prevent being overwhelmed with notifications if a lot of people are active in a chat group.
Comment

Pro
 Desktop apps allow texting, calling and enables transferring calls between devices

Viber has native apps for both Windows and Mac that allow you to send and receive messages from your desktop. You can also use the desktop to make and receive calls. Synchronizes between all devices you are using Viber on. Allows transferring calls between devices.
Comment

Pro
 Completely free and ad-less

Viber uses data connection and the app is free. There are also no advertisements.
Comment

Pro
 Combines cellular and data messaging 

This has an advantage in that if you text someone who uses Viber it will be free, if not it will just revert to SMS. This means you can replace your standard messaging app with Viber as well.
Comment

Pro
 Android Wear support

Viber includes Android Wear support on Android 4.3 or higher and Viber 5.3 or higher.
Comment

Pro
 No need to create an account or add contacts

One of the best things about Viber is how it handles setup and sending messages. Viber uses your existing number as your ID, so you don't need to create a separate Viber account.
Comment

Pro
 Supports voice calls

Viber has really well implemented voice tech. It has comparable quality to Skype and you can even tranfer calls from your phone to your desktop seamlessly.
Comment

Con
 Not a lightweight app

Comment

Con
 Adds its own channel without warning

Comment

Pro
 Secure group chats are available

'Secret chats' offer end-to-end encryption, and the Telegram servers don't record any of it. The messages can also be set to self destruct from both devices, removing all records.
Comment

Pro
 Lists and memos can be collaborated in real time

Multiple people can be online editing the same list or memo at the same time. This makes it quick and easy to collaborate with others on a single document without needing to worry about which version you are on - as there is only one version that is constantly updating.
Comment

Pro
 Google Voice integration

Allows for a fixed phone number, receiving and making calls. Calling US or Canada is free.
Comment

Pro
 Good memory/CPU footprint on mobiles

Different from some alternatives, Hangouts doesn't suck up all the resources to works foreground or background.
Comment

Pro
 Multi-platform

Works on web, Android and iOS.
Comment

Pro
 Archived on the server

When you log in with a new device, all your contacts and past conversations are there.
Comment

Con
 Closed source

Comment

Pro
 Device switching

You can start a video call on desktop, and then transfer to your mobile when you need to move without breaking the call.
Comment

Pro
 Screen sharing

Any user can share his screen (or only a specific desktop or window) while still continuing an audio conversation.
Comment

Pro
 Integrates with Google Maps for sharing locations

When chatting with people while trying to plan a meet up, the share map button can be extremely useful.
Comment

Pro
 Useful for businesses

Hangouts can scale to become a videoconferencing solution for an entire company, since the software can run on nearly all platforms. In fact, Google itself uses Hangouts as its meeting room video conference software.
Comment

Pro
 Completely free

Google offers all features of Hangouts completely free. There are business, education and government solutions that increase the participant count to for video calls to 15 and offers support.
Comment

Pro
 Easy to start using

Hangouts is integrated with Gmail & Google+, does not require you to download desktop software, and all chats can take place directly in your browser, significantly reducing the barrier to entry for a new user.
Comment

Pro
 Mobile support

Hangouts offers both an Android and iOS app so users can participate from nearly any mobile device in addition to his Desktop.
Comment

Pro
 Cross platform

Hangouts work on Android, iOS, Chrome OS, web and as a Chrome extension.
Comment

Pro
 Android app does both sms and hangouts messaging

Comment

Con
 Owned by Google

Products owned by Google carry with them two glaring problems. Even when successful, they can and often are dumped (giving way to the expression Google Graveyard). Giving that company even more control & power than they already have is not wise.
Comment

Pro
 Excellent video chat

Hangouts offers a very decent video-chat.
Comment

Con
 Not self-hostable

Comment

Pro
 XMPP Based

Jabber based, so any client can be configured to use it without any problem.
Comment

Pro
 Free group video support

Hangouts works with up to 10 participants using video out of the box or up to 15 if you are a business, government or school. It determines who is the primary speaker at any given time, and the camera view automatically switches to that user.
Comment

Pro
 Attaching system

When you upload an image to a contact, it'll be attached to your account if you need to consult later.
Comment

Con
 Owned by Facebook

You never know when this app might just get the Messenger treatment (cluttered UI, pretty much a Snapchat clone, etc.).
Comment

Con
 Shares meta data with Facebook

WhatsApp shares your messaging meta data with Facebook if you do not opt-out in the settings. If you use the same phone number for WhatsApp and Facebook, the profiles can easily be linked. See https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/general/26000016
Comment

Con
 Quite limited desktop support

Mainly designed for phones, desktops are supported as a limited afterthought.
Comment

Con
 Proprietary

Not open source.
Comment

Con
 Requires registering a phone number

Even though a web client exists, it is not usable without registering a phone number first.
Comment

Con
 Tied to carrier phone number

WhatsApp cannot be used by people without a smart phone with an active cell plan. If your phone is lost or damaged, or if your phone number changes, you cannot get messages sent by friends without them updating your phone number. You cannot send message to them until you are able to get SMS messages at your phone number.
Comment

Pro
 Widely used

WhatsApp reported 1.5 billion users in 2018. Your friends are most likely already using WhatsApp, so it's easy to get setup.
Comment

Con
 Not self-hostable

Comment

Con
 Web interface uses message mirroring

To use your computer to send messages your phone must be on with a consistent data connection.
Comment

Con
 Single device

You cannot use the same WhatsApp account on multiple devices (e.g. a tablet, a PC and a cellphone). The account is tied to the device with the specific cellphone number. Chat history is deleted when you sign in to a new account, unless you have created a backup.
Comment

Con
 Limted file upload support

Just images, music, videos and PDF.
Comment

Con
 Requires confirmation from all contacts to be uploaded to server

Nearly no one has such a confirmation from all phone contacts.
Comment

Con
 Weird web and desktop clients

They rely ont the peer-to-peer connection and therefore causes frequent connection problems and fast battery loss.
Comment

Con
 Limitation on shareable file sizes

WhatsApp now allows users to share files of any type, but there is still a 16 MB size limit.
Comment

Con
 No cloud sync

Messages are not stored on WhatsApp server for privacy and security reasons.
Comment

Con
 Hard to migrate history cross platform

Migrating your chat history from Android to iOS or the other way around is not so simple. In some cases it requires a 3rd party app and in some the only way is to migrate specific chats one by one.
Comment

Pro
 Supports audio-calls

Comment

Pro
 has Auto backup to google drive

Comment

Pro
 Text notifications

Can see if your text was received or seen.
Comment

Pro
 Straightforward interface

The interface is very simple, fast and easy to use. You can start using it as soon as the app has been downloaded - it does not require setting anything up or registering. You can communicate with anyone in your contacts list that also uses WhatsApp. Includes useful features like seeing when a contact is currently available or typing.
Comment

Pro
 One-on-one texts can be encrypted

WhatsApp has implemented end to end encryption for messages sent on it's service. Even WhatsApp has no way to read a users messages.
Comment

Pro
 Supports voice-messages

Comment

Pro
 Message mirroring on web app

WhatsApp can be used from the desktop via Chrome, Firefox and Opera browsers. Accessing it requires using the Android app to scan the QR code that's presented on web.whatsapp.com.
Comment

Pro
 Effortlessly builds your contacts by using your phone number as identification

WhatsApp will automatically find all of your contacts currently using Whatsapp and add them to your contacts. This makes it really easy to setup and given that it's the most popular messaging app it's likely that a lot of your contacts are already using it.
Comment

Pro
 Monthly/annual plans + Pay Per Use and free trial

You don't have to buy long-term plans if that's your preference and you can test paid options before making any purchase.
Comment

Pro
 Color and option customization

Every chat element can have its color adjusted. Lots of settings.
Comment

Pro
 Clean design

Chatwee has a clean and easy to use UI. On the left there's a clean and defined user list, each name has a flag next to it. It's also very easy to move from one side of the screen to the other. There's only the most useful information on the screen at any time and the design never feel overwhelming or cluttered.
Comment

Pro
 Single Sign-on

Users, who log in to the site, are automatically logged in to the chat.
Comment

Pro
 Integrated with 25+ most popular CMS

Developers provide easy to follow, clear plugin installation instructions.
Comment

Pro
 Plenty of customization options

Chat size, color, fonts, language, log in methods, notifications, emojis, privacy, powerful moderation and many more.
Comment

Pro
 Real-time media and file sharing

Including YouTube videos and pictures preview in the chat window.
Comment

Pro
 Has a free-forever option

A bit less options available but works nonetheless.
Comment

Pro
 Scalability

Contus Fly has quick scalability applications from few users to lakhs of users. It performs simultaneously to communicate with the user with online presence.
Comment

Pro
 On Cloud

Host data on a cloud server or on your own premises servers to scale up your instant messaging mobile app's accessibility and scalability.
Comment

Pro
 Customization

Hyper-accommodative for​ quick customizations, scalability, technology updates and integrations.
Comment

Pro
 High Profile Technology Stack

Build your chat app with solution powered by Ejabbered, Erlang, Amazon Web Services, MySQL, and much more under the hood.
Comment

Con
 Server is Closed source

Comment

Pro
 e2e encrypted team chat

Comment

Pro
 Can share files with persons & teams e2e encrypted

Comment

Pro
 Not tied to your phone number

Comment

Con
 Not for everyone

Normally people don't know about encryption, nor should they. Niche audience means less value as a messenger app.
Comment

Pro
 Can host encrypted git repositories with teams

Comment

Con
 Account is locked to the Phone Number & Device

The entire account is locked to the phone number, which cannot be changed. If the application is installed on a new device with the same phone number, the previous account data will be wiped.
Comment

Pro
 using ID account and still works without phone number

Comment

Pro
 Has lot of stickers and themes

Comment

Con
 no auto Chat Backup

it support backup but you need to toggle it manually
Comment

Con
 Bad data restore

doesnt retain configuration and chat history from old ID if switch phone
Comment

Con
 Privacy concerns

Skype uses a lot of ports and protocols, making the privacy an issue. He's using resources and sending encrypted stuff even when idle.
Comment

Con
 Owned by Microsoft

Comment

Con
 Poor Linux support

The version available for linux users is quite outdated, and does not support some of the newer functionality, such as the free group video calling and screen sharing.
Comment

Con
 Obnoxiously large ads

Ads take up over 25% of the usable space.
Comment

Con
 Microsoft (Skype's owner) actively assists eavesdroppers

On the other hand, if you lose your copy of one of your conversations, you may be able to get a copy of it from your government with a little bit of luck and a public records request.
Comment

Con
 Poor versions

Some versions aren't upgraded too frequently. For example, there's only 32-bit available for Linux.
Comment

Con
 Plagued by bugs on all platforms

Crashes and other bugs are prevalent on Android, Windows and other platforms.
Comment

Con
 Closed Source

Comment

Con
 Rarely updated

Comment

Con
 Using the same account on different machines does not show all messages

When sending some messages to a contact on machine A, they don't (reliably) show up on machine B.
Comment

Con
 Slow filesharing speed

Comment

Con
 Functionalities missing for Linux client

Comment

Con
 Not a feasible alternative as a professional team chat

Missing key feature such as centralized mgmt, centralized billing, data retention policies, ...
Comment

Con
 Poor quality when screensharing

It is not possible to manually set resolution or bitrate, and Skype often defaults to a resolution so low that text is unreadable. It is also not possible to transfer control over mouse and keyboard.
Comment

Con
 Subpar video quality with more than 5 users

Skype has significant problems with multiple users and video quality. Skype recommends that a max of 5 users group chat as video quality is severely affected. Even webcams tested with other chat services showed lower quality when used with Skype.
Comment

Con
 Requires both ends to be online (if neither end is using a cloud-enabled device)

Messages are sent and received only when both ends are online, if neither end is using a cloud-enabled device. In this case, if you are online 9-17 and your recipient is online 18-3, messages will never be delivered.
Comment

Pro
 Avaliability

Available to all platforms
Comment

Con
 MIcrosoft (Skype's owner) actively assists eavesdroppers

On the other hand, if you lose your copy of one of your conversations, you may be able to get a copy of it from your government with a little bit of luck and a public records request.
Comment

Con
 Owned by Facebook

Comment

Con
 Cluttered user interface

Messenger has so many features accessible from one page that it is often difficult to find what you're looking for.
Comment

Con
 End-to-end encryption only in "Secret" conversations

If you want e2e encryption, you need to start a secret conversation.
Comment

Con
 Not very customizable

With so many features in one app, it's very possible you might not be a fan of at least one of them. Too bad you can't disable anything in settings.
Comment

Con
 Closed Source

Comment

Pro
 Chat head for quick access

Only for android platform though!
Comment

Pro
 Open source

Apache 2 license.
Comment

Pro
 Integrates with many tools

Travis, Github, Heroku, Zendesk, Jira, Sentry etc See full list at https://zulipchat.com/integrations/
Comment

Pro
 Multi threaded conversation model

Zulip uses topics to thread conversations so that they are easy to track. This brings awesome versatility of asynchronous communication of emails to real time chats. Also makes easy for looking up the past conversations easier later. Simply ideal feature for a group chat.
Comment

Pro
 Easy asynchronous conversations

Its threaded model helps people working in different timezone's communicate effectively.
Comment

Pro
 Hosted or on-premise, with data export tools so you can migrate

Comment

Pro
 Apps for every platform

Comment

Pro
 Helps keep track of different conversations

Instead of rooms or channels Zulip is built around topics. This allows you to have multiple conversations at the same time without conversations interfering with each another. It also allows you to reference conversations without clutter.
Comment

Pro
 Beautiful UI

Comment

Con
 UI still a bit outdated

While some choices enhance usability, its design is still a bit geeky for some clients. They're working on it apparently
Comment

Con
 Takes some getting used to

As most chat software uses the concept of channels or rooms, getting in the habit of splitting each topic off in a separate category can require some getting used to and discipline.
Comment

Pro
 Tons of integrations are available.

Comment

Pro
 End-to-end encryption (E2EE)

Riot allows for fully encrypted text, voice, and video chatting.
Comment

Con
 It's electron-based

Comment

Pro
 Supports text, voice, video

Integrates with Jitsi for multi-party video chats
Comment

Pro
 Web and mobile (iOS, Android) versions available

Comment

Pro
 Bridges to other networks

You're not confined within Riot's or even Matrix garden, and you don't have to make users of other networks switch to Matrix.
Comment

Pro
 Markdown support

Code snippets in chats can be highlighted with Markdown
Comment

Pro
 Simple interface

Riot has a very simple interface, adding the ability for more unexperienced users to use it.
Comment

Pro
 Large community

Either join the thousands of public rooms or create your own community!
Comment

Pro
 VOIP and video conferencing

Comment

Pro
 Search

Search messages in your current room, or all the rooms you're in. Not subject to a message history limit like Slack.
Comment

Pro
 Etherpad real-time document collaboration

An easy to activate integration that allows multiple authors to edit a document simultaneously.
Comment

Pro
 File Sharing

Comment

Pro
 Widgets support

Want to watch that flick at YouTube and discuss it at the same time? Have Grafana graphs stacked above your DevOps team chat? Collaboratively edit Google Docs and chat over without switching applications? This is possible with Riot.
Comment

Pro
 Uses Matrix, the open communications protocol

Comment

Pro
 Fire Sharing

Comment

Pro
 Crystal clear audio

Calls have crystal clear audio.
Comment

Pro
 Supports multiple accounts

You can have multiple Jami and SIP accounts active concurrently.
Comment

Pro
 Works without Internet access

If required, works within a Local Area Network (LAN) without the need for an Internet connection.
Comment

Con
 Can only be used with a phone number

Requires to own a phone number and be willing to use this as a public identifier. This excludes some potential user groups and makes it hard to maintain helpful bots.
Comment
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