Alternatives to Stoat
An open-source group chat app with servers, channels, voice chat and role-based moderation for communities. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Stoat
An open-source group chat app with servers, channels, voice chat and role-based moderation for communities.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Stoat.
Element
The reference Matrix client: end-to-end encrypted chat on a network you can host yourself.
Element offers federated Matrix rooms and spaces with end-to-end encryption and self-hosting, plus bridges to Discord and IRC, though it uses more memory.
Rocket.Chat Desktop
Connect to Rocket.Chat workspaces from a desktop client.
Rocket.Chat Desktop connects to self-hosted Rocket.Chat workspaces, but server access and licensing are separate from the free MIT-licensed client.
Mattermost
A self-hosted team chat platform with a desktop client, aimed at organisations that want Slack without the cloud.
Mattermost is a self-hosted team chat aimed at organisations, with channels, Boards and Playbooks, but lacks built-in voice chat and needs a server.
Zulip
Team chat organised by topic inside each channel, so conversations stay readable when you come back hours later.
Zulip organises chat by topic within channels, offers free plans for open-source communities, and can be self-hosted, but is desktop-focused here.
FluffyChat
An open-source Matrix chat client with end-to-end encryption, spaces and optional UnifiedPush notifications.
FluffyChat is a friendly Matrix client with spaces for organising communities and encryption, though its audio and video calls remain experimental.
Discord
A voice, video and text chat app for communities and friends, organised into servers and channels.
Discord offers the same server-and-channel model with drop-in voice and game streaming and a much larger user base, but is proprietary with some features behind Nitro.
Telegram Desktop
The official Telegram client for the desktop, with open source code and chats that are not end-to-end encrypted.
Telegram Desktop supports very large groups, channels and bots across many platforms, but ordinary chats are not end-to-end encrypted and a phone number is required.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Stoat as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Mumble
Free open-source voice chat app built for low latency and self-hosting.
Stoat combines voice chat with servers, channels and text chat for communities, runs on desktop, mobile and web, and requires an account.
TeamSpeak
Low-latency voice chat server platform long favored by competitive gamers.
Stoat combines voice chat with text channels, roles and moderation for communities, is open source and free, and runs on desktop, mobile and web.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Matrix Hookshot
A self-hosted Matrix bot that bridges GitHub, GitLab, Jira, feeds and generic webhooks into rooms.
Vesktop
A custom Discord desktop app with Vencord built in, lighter than the official client.
Slack
A team chat platform organized into channels, with huddles, file sharing, app integrations and AI features.
