Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Freshchat

Rocket.Chat is an open-source communications platform for team messaging and customer engagement. It provides persistent chat (channels and direct messages), collaboration features, and enterprise-grade controls, and can be extended via apps, integrations, and APIs.

Key Features

• Public/private channels, direct messages, threads, reactions, mentions, and file sharing
• Omnichannel inbox for customer support (live chat widget, queueing/routing, agents, transcripts)
• Audio/video meetings and screen sharing (deployment-dependent), plus voice messages
• Federation support (Rocket.Chat Federation) to connect separate Rocket.Chat servers
• Strong administration features: roles/permissions (RBAC), audit logs, retention policies, and compliance tooling (plan-dependent)
• SSO/identity integrations (e.g., SAML/OIDC/LDAP) and granular access controls
• Extensive integrations and automation: webhooks, REST APIs, bots, and a marketplace/app framework
• Multi-platform clients (web, desktop, mobile) and localization support

Use Cases

• Internal team chat for organizations that need control over deployment and data
• Customer support and sales chat using an embedded website live-chat widget
• Cross-organization collaboration via federation between independently operated servers

Limitations and Considerations

• Some advanced security/compliance and omnichannel features may be gated by licensing/plan
• Real-time performance and search depend on sizing and backing services (notably MongoDB)

Rocket.Chat is a mature, widely deployed Slack alternative that combines team chat with customer messaging workflows. It is best suited to organizations that want extensibility, admin controls, and optional omnichannel support in one platform.

Mattermost is a self-hostable team messaging and collaboration platform designed for organizations that need strong security controls, integration flexibility, and deployment in private networks. It provides channel-based chat, threaded discussions, file sharing, and workflow automation features commonly used by engineering, IT, and incident response teams.

Key Features

• Channel-based messaging with threads, mentions, reactions, and advanced search
• Secure file sharing and message retention controls (policies vary by edition)
• Integrations via webhooks, APIs, slash commands, and a plugin framework
• Role-based access control and enterprise authentication options (e.g., SAML/LDAP in supported editions)
• High availability and scalable deployment options (e.g., clustering) for larger installations
• Audio/video calling capabilities (native calls and/or plugins depending on deployment)
• Mobile and desktop clients for cross-platform access

Use Cases

• Replace Slack/Teams for internal team communication in regulated or isolated environments
• Incident response and ChatOps workflows integrated with CI/CD, monitoring, and ticketing tools
• Central collaboration hub for DevOps, SRE, and IT operations teams

Limitations and Considerations

• Some advanced enterprise capabilities (e.g., certain compliance, governance, and scaling options) may depend on the licensed edition
• Real-time calling and some collaboration features can vary by version and plugin configuration

Mattermost is a mature collaboration stack with a strong focus on security and extensibility, making it a common choice for technical teams and organizations with strict deployment requirements. Its plugin and integration ecosystem helps align chat with operational workflows while keeping communications under organizational control.

Zammad is an open-source helpdesk and customer support platform for managing customer inquiries as tickets across email and other channels. It combines ticketing, automation, knowledge management, and reporting in a web-based interface designed for support desks of many sizes.

Key Features

• Multichannel ticket creation and handling (email plus additional channels via integrations)
• Flexible ticket workflows with groups/roles, assignments, tags, priorities, and states
• SLA management with escalation handling and time tracking
• Automation and macros (triggers/schedulers) to route and act on tickets automatically
• Integrated knowledge base and text modules for consistent replies
• Full-text search and fast filtering for ticket discovery
• Customer and organization management with history/context on interactions
• Integrations and APIs for connecting external systems (REST API, webhooks, and apps)

Use Cases

• Customer support desk for SaaS/IT services managing inbound email and requests
• Internal IT/helpdesk handling incidents, service requests, and SLA-based queues
• Support operations needing automation rules, canned responses, and knowledge articles

Zammad is a strong choice when you need a modern, extensible ticketing system with automation, SLAs, and a built-in knowledge base. It is widely used as a self-managed alternative to commercial helpdesk platforms and integrates well into existing infrastructure via APIs and connectors.

FreeScout is an open source help desk designed for teams that manage customer support through shared email inboxes. It provides a mailbox-centric ticketing workflow similar to commercial tools like Help Scout, focusing on fast email handling, collaboration, and simple operations.

Key Features

• Shared mailboxes with email-to-ticket conversion (IMAP fetching) and outbound replies (SMTP)
• Threaded conversations with customer profiles, notes, and internal discussions
• Team collaboration features including assignments, mentions, and collision detection to avoid duplicate replies
• Productivity tools such as saved replies, tags, custom folders/views, and search
• Automation rules and workflows via modules (e.g., auto-actions) depending on installed extensions
• Multi-user access with roles/permissions and per-mailbox access control
• Extensible module system for adding functionality (official and community modules)
• Web-based UI optimized for support agents and email-first workflows

Use Cases

• Small/medium teams replacing SaaS help desks for support@ or sales@ inboxes
• IT/service teams managing internal requests via email with assignment and tracking
• Organizations needing a simple, mailbox-driven ticket system with optional add-ons

Limitations and Considerations

• Many advanced capabilities are delivered via optional modules; functionality depends on which modules you install
• Email-centric design: teams needing live chat, omnichannel, or deep CRM features may need additional tools

FreeScout fits teams that want a straightforward, email-based help desk with strong collaboration basics and an extendable architecture. It is particularly suitable when shared mailbox workflows are central and simplicity and control over data are priorities.

Converse is a web-based XMPP (Jabber) chat client designed to be embedded into websites or used as a standalone browser client. It connects to XMPP servers via BOSH or WebSocket and supports common XMPP features for real-time messaging and presence.

Key Features

• XMPP client in the browser with roster (contacts), presence, and real-time messaging
• Multi-User Chat (MUC) support for group chat rooms
• Supports connecting via BOSH and WebSocket (depending on XMPP server configuration)
• OMEMO end-to-end encryption support (when server/contact capabilities allow)
• Pluggable/extendable architecture with a plugin system and theming/customization options
• Embeddable “chat widget” style integration for adding chat to existing sites/apps
• Internationalization support (multiple UI languages)

Use Cases

• Add live chat to a website backed by your own XMPP server
• Provide a web client for an organization’s XMPP deployment (e.g., Prosody/ejabberd/Openfire)
• Secure 1:1 conversations in the browser using OMEMO where supported

Limitations and Considerations

• Requires an XMPP server plus BOSH/WebSocket endpoints and correct CORS/proxy setup for browser access
• E2EE capabilities depend on client/server/contact feature support and may not cover all XMPP extensions

Converse is a solid choice when you want standards-based chat in the browser and prefer integrating with an existing XMPP ecosystem. Its embeddable approach and extensibility make it suitable for both simple site widgets and full-featured web chat deployments.

Libredesk is an open-source helpdesk designed to manage customer support via a clean, lightweight web interface with an email-centric workflow. It focuses on turning inbound support emails into trackable tickets and providing the core tools teams need to triage, assign, and resolve requests.

Key Features

• Email-to-ticket workflow for receiving and tracking inbound support requests
• Ticket management with status/state changes and conversation history
• Agent workflow tools such as assignment and basic organization of requests
• Web-based interface for handling tickets in a shared queue
• Designed to be minimal and straightforward to deploy and operate

Use Cases

• Small teams needing a simple shared support inbox with ticket tracking
• Internal IT/helpdesk handling requests submitted via email
• Projects that want a lightweight helpdesk without a full ITSM suite

Limitations and Considerations

• Feature scope is intentionally minimal compared with enterprise helpdesks (e.g., advanced automations, SLAs, omnichannel, or extensive reporting may be limited)

Libredesk is best suited for individuals or small teams who want an email-first ticketing workflow with a simple UI and minimal operational complexity. If you need advanced ITSM features and deep automation, a more full-featured helpdesk may be a better fit.