LiveChat

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to LiveChat

A curated collection of the 3 best self hosted alternatives to LiveChat.

LiveChat is a cloud-based customer service platform offering live chat, chatbots, ticketing, analytics, and integrations to help businesses engage website visitors, provide real-time support, and boost sales and conversions.

Alternatives List

#1
Rocket.Chat

Rocket.Chat

Self-hosted team chat platform with channels, DMs, voice/video, rich integrations, and omnichannel customer support features.

Rocket.Chat screenshot

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.

44.3kstars
12.9kforks
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#2
FreeScout

FreeScout

FreeScout is a lightweight help desk for managing shared email inboxes with ticketing, assignments, collision detection, and extensible modules.

FreeScout screenshot

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.

4kstars
614forks
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#3
Converse

Converse

Converse is an open-source, browser-based XMPP/Jabber chat client you can embed in any site to provide 1:1 and group messaging over existing XMPP servers.

Converse screenshot

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.

3.2kstars
801forks
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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running