App Scavenger

Preview build. Listings are real software, described from each company's own website. No company has joined yet, so there are no deals, scores or reviews, and no purchases are processed.

Open source / Microsoft Teams

Open-source alternatives to Microsoft Teams

Mattermost, Zulip and Jitsi Meet are open source: free to download and run on your own server. Microsoft Teams costs from $4 a month.

Mattermost

Open core (MIT) · Self-hosted team chat with workflows, calls and AI

Mattermost is an open-core collaboration platform with chat, workflow automation, voice calls and screen sharing, built for organisations that need to run it on their own infrastructure.

  • Team chat and channels
  • Workflow automation (playbooks)
  • Voice calls and screen sharing
  • AI integration
  • Runs as a single Linux binary with PostgreSQL

The core is open source under the MIT licence and free to run on your own server; some enterprise features need a paid licence. A free cloud trial is also offered.

See MattermostMattermost vs Microsoft TeamsSource code (opens in a new tab)

Zulip

Open source (Apache-2.0) · Open-source team chat organised by topic

Zulip is team chat where every conversation has a topic, so live and asynchronous discussions stay easy to follow. You can run it on your own server or use the hosted version.

  • Topic-based threads inside channels
  • Works for live and asynchronous chat
  • Self-hosted or hosted cloud
  • Desktop and mobile apps
  • Large open-source community

Free to download and run on your own server under the Apache-2.0 licence; you pay only for your hosting.

See ZulipZulip vs Microsoft TeamsSource code (opens in a new tab)

Jitsi Meet

Open source (Apache-2.0) · Open-source video meetings in the browser

Jitsi Meet runs video meetings in any browser and on mobile apps, with screen sharing, chat and polls. You can use the free public service at meet.jit.si or run your own.

  • Meetings in the browser, no install
  • HD audio and video
  • Screen sharing, chat and polls
  • Virtual backgrounds
  • Mobile apps and SDKs

Free to download and run on your own server under the Apache-2.0 licence; you pay only for your hosting. The public service at meet.jit.si is free to use.

See Jitsi MeetJitsi Meet vs Microsoft TeamsSource code (opens in a new tab)

Before you switch

  • Free to use, not free to run. The licence costs nothing, but self-hosting needs a server (often $5 to $40 a month) and someone to install updates and keep backups.
  • Open core means the main product is open source but some features, usually for larger teams, need a paid licence.
  • Hosted versions exist for many of these, run by the makers. They cost money but save the upkeep, and you can still move to your own server later.
  • Licences differ. MIT and Apache allow almost anything. GPL and AGPL require you to share changes you make to the code; for normal business use, that rarely matters.

More open-source alternatives