Open-source, self-hosted collaboration platform for high-security teams
CATEGORY MATRIX // 8 VERIFIED PROJECTS
Best Open-Source & Self-Hosted Team Chat & Collaboration Software
Team communication, channels, and video chat Compare GitHub star velocity, open-source licenses, self-hosting difficulty, and deploy with 1-click Docker Compose templates.
Commercial Team Chat & Collaboration SaaS You Can Replace Today
Team Chat & Collaboration Open-Source Comparison Matrix (2026)
| Open-Source Project | Replaces SaaS | GitHub Stars | License | Tech Stack | Difficulty | Deploy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mattermost | Slack | ★ 39,317 | AGPL-3.0 | Go, React, Redux | Medium | Docker |
| Novu | Twilio / Courier / Knock | ★ 40,144 | Apache-2.0 | TypeScript, NestJS, MongoDB, Redis | Medium | Docker |
| Listmonk | Mailchimp | ★ 23,763 | AGPL-3.0 | Go, Vue, PostgreSQL | Easy | Docker |
| Chatwoot | Intercom | ★ 37,735 | MIT | Ruby, Rails, Vue | Medium | Docker |
| Zulip | Slack | ★ 26,032 | Apache-2.0 | Python, Django, TypeScript, PostgreSQL | Medium | Docker |
| Postal | Mailchimp | ★ 16,858 | MIT | Ruby, MariaDB, RabbitMQ, Docker | Medium | Docker |
| Papercups | Intercom | ★ 6,115 | MIT | Elixir, Phoenix, React, TypeScript, PostgreSQL | Easy | Docker |
| FreeScout | Intercom | ★ 4,594 | AGPL-3.0 | PHP, Laravel, MySQL | Easy | Docker |
All Verified Team Chat & Collaboration Projects (8)
The open-source notification infrastructure for developers
High-performance, self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager
Open-source customer engagement suite and live chat alternative to Intercom
Organized team chat that combines the best of email and real-time chat
Complete open-source mail delivery server replacing SendGrid and Mailchimp
Open-source live customer chat widget and multi-channel inbox
Super lightweight open-source help desk and shared inbox replacing Intercom
1-Click Docker Compose Generator for Team Chat & Collaboration
Select any team chat & collaboration service below to customize ports, volumes, and environment secrets:
1-Click Docker Compose Generator
Generate production-ready container definitions with customizable ports and volumes.
MattermostAGPL-3.0
Open-source, self-hosted collaboration platform for high-security teams
Difficulty: Medium39,317 ⭐
Configure Parameters
docker-compose.mattermost.yml
version: "3.8"
services:
mattermost:
image: mattermost/mattermost-team-edition:latest
container_name: mattermost-app
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "${PORT:-8065}:8065"
environment:
MM_SQLSETTINGS_DRIVERNAME: postgres
MM_SQLSETTINGS_DATASOURCE: postgres://mmuser:${DB_PASSWORD:-mm_pwd}@postgres:5432/mattermost?sslmode=disable&connect_timeout=10
depends_on:
- postgres
postgres:
image: postgres:14-alpine
container_name: mattermost-postgres
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: mmuser
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD:-mm_pwd}
POSTGRES_DB: mattermost
volumes:
- mm_pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
volumes:
mm_pg_data:Frequently Asked Questions: Self-Hosted Team Chat & Collaboration
What is the best open-source Team Chat & Collaboration software to self-host in 2026?
Based on community adoption and GitHub velocity, Mattermost (39,317 GitHub stars) is the leading open-source team chat & collaboration solution. It replaces Slack and is distributed under the AGPL-3.0 license.
Can I deploy self-hosted Team Chat & Collaboration tools using Docker Compose?
Yes. All 8 open-source team chat & collaboration projects listed on this page include production-tested Docker Compose configurations with persistent volume mounts and environment variable customization.
Which commercial SaaS products in Team Chat & Collaboration can be replaced with open source?
You can replace proprietary tools including Slack, Mailchimp, Intercom, Twilio / Courier / Knock with self-hosted open-source equivalents, eliminating per-seat subscription costs while retaining 100% data sovereignty.
What server specs are needed to self-host Team Chat & Collaboration software?
Most team chat & collaboration applications run smoothly on a standard Linux VPS with 2 vCPU and 2GB–4GB RAM ($6–$12/month on Hetzner, DigitalOcean, or Linode).