Alternatives to Campfire
A self-hosted group chat system from 37signals with rooms, direct messages and @mentions. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Campfire
A self-hosted group chat system from 37signals with rooms, direct messages and @mentions.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Campfire.
Slack
A team chat platform organized into channels, with huddles, file sharing, app integrations and AI features.
Slack is a hosted, closed-source service with a large range of integrations, huddles and workflow automation, so you stop running a server but pay for many features.
Mattermost
A self-hosted team chat platform with a desktop client, aimed at organisations that want Slack without the cloud.
Mattermost is also open source and self-hosted, adding Boards and Playbooks, but it is heavier infrastructure and some server features are reserved for paid editions.
Zulip
Team chat organised by topic inside each channel, so conversations stay readable when you come back hours later.
Zulip organises chat by topic inside each channel and can be self-hosted or hosted, though the topic model takes getting used to and needs team discipline.
Rocket.Chat Desktop
Connect to Rocket.Chat workspaces from a desktop client.
Rocket.Chat Desktop connects to Rocket.Chat workspaces with open-source desktop clients, while workspace access and server licensing are handled separately from the client.
Pumble
A team messaging app with channels, threads, direct messages and voice and video calls.
Pumble is a hosted, closed-source Slack-style workspace with unlimited users and message history on the free offering, plus calls and native apps on all major platforms.
Chanty
A hosted team chat workspace for organizing internal and external communication, with a free plan.
Chanty moves your team chat to a proprietary hosted service with a free plan, free guest access for external contacts and stated HIPAA, GDPR and SOC 2 compliance.
Flock
A team messaging app with channels, voice and video calls, screen sharing and file sharing.
Flock is a proprietary hosted team chat with channels, built-in voice and video calls and screen sharing, so your data lives on the vendor's servers instead of yours.
Twist
An asynchronous team messaging app that organizes conversations into threads inside channels.
Twist is a hosted, asynchronous team messaging app built around threads inside channels, suited to remote teams but slower paced than Campfire's real-time rooms.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Campfire as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Tinode
An open-source instant messaging platform with a Go server you can host yourself and mobile and web clients.
Campfire is a self-hosted MIT-licensed group chat from 37signals installed with one command, running in the web rather than offering native mobile apps.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Huly
An open-source team platform combining project tracking, chat, documents, planning and video meetings.
Nextcloud Talk
Chat, video calls and webinars that run on your own Nextcloud server.
Google Chat
Google's team messaging app with spaces, direct messages and threaded conversations.
Microsoft Teams (free)
The free edition of Microsoft Teams for chat, file sharing and video meetings.
Discord
A voice, video and text chat app for communities and friends, organised into servers and channels.
