Alternatives / Guilded
Looking for an open source Guilded alternative? We compared 8 open source chat and community platforms by license, voice and video, federation, and maintenance. Fluxer and Stoat are the closest to Discord-style communities, while Rocket.Chat, Mattermost, and Element target organizations.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Rocket.Chat | Self-hosted messaging with voice and video | MIT + ee directory |
| Mattermost | Channels, playbooks, and audit logs | MIT |
| Fluxer | Discord-style chat and voice (beta) | AGPL-3.0 |
| Element | Encrypted chat on Matrix | AGPL-3.0 / GPL-3.0 / commercial |
| Stoat | Discord-style chat, formerly Revolt | Primarily AGPL-3.0 |
| Mezon | Community spaces for gamers (no license file) | MIT |
| Valour | Community chat with an economy system (small) | AGPL-3.0 |
| SAMA | Chat server for building apps | GPL-3.0 |
We looked for open-source chat platforms with servers, channels, and voice that fit communities like Guilded. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository, and flag projects that are developer backends or lack a license file. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Fluxer is a free and open-source instant messaging and voice platform for friends, groups, and communities with moderation tools and self-hosting, still in beta. Stoat, formerly Revolt, is a Discord-style group chat with servers, voice, and moderation and no ads.
Rocket.Chat offers self-hosted messaging, voice, video, and federation, with air-gapped deployment. Mattermost provides channels, playbooks, and audit logs for on-premises or private cloud use, and Element is end-to-end encrypted chat on the decentralized Matrix protocol.
Valour is a community chat built with Blazor and WebAssembly, with a small team. Mezon provides customizable community spaces with text and voice channels, but its repository has no license file and the README states MIT. SAMA is a chat server for building real-time apps, so it is a developer backend rather than a ready-made community app.
Mattermost's compiled builds are MIT, and its source is AGPL-3.0 or commercial. Rocket.Chat is MIT but has enterprise features that are paid. Element and Fluxer are AGPL-3.0, so check the terms before running a competing service.
Rocket.Chat is MIT. Mattermost compiled builds are MIT with AGPL-3.0 source. Fluxer, Element, Stoat, and Valour are AGPL-3.0. SAMA is GPL-3.0.
Most had commits within days of this update. SAMA's server has about 160 stars, and Valour about 410.
Guilded is a proprietary chat service owned by Roblox, so communities depend on a single vendor's decisions. Open-source platforms can be self-hosted or run by community operators, but you take on moderation tooling, storage, and hosting costs.
Rocket.Chat is a self-hostable communication platform with channels, direct messages, voice and video calls, screen sharing, omnichannel support, bots, integrations, and granular permissions, with options for end-to-end encryption and compliance. The core is MIT, while the ee directory is under a separate enterprise license.
Pricing: Free self-hosted; paid cloud and enterprise plans.
MIT-licensed alternative to Slack with channels, threads, webhooks, Jira/GitHub integrations, and Playbooks for incident response. Desktop and mobile apps included.
Pricing: Free and self-hosted (MIT); paid Enterprise and Cloud tiers add SSO and compliance features.
Element is a Matrix client providing rooms, direct messages, end-to-end encryption, voice and video calls, file sharing, threads, and federation between independently operated servers, on web, desktop, iOS, and Android. It is multi-licensed under AGPL-3.0, GPL-3.0, or a commercial license, and you need a Matrix homeserver to self-host.
Pricing: Free self-hosted client; hosted and enterprise plans are paid.
Fluxer is an AGPL-3.0 open-source communication platform for communities with text channels, direct messages, group chats, voice and video calls, screen sharing, custom emojis, moderation tools, webhooks, and themes.
Pricing: Free and open source under AGPL-3.0; self-hosted deployment is available.
Stoat, formerly Revolt, is an AGPL-3.0 community chat platform with servers, channels, roles, direct messages, voice chat, file sharing, custom emojis, bots, themes, and moderation tools.
Pricing: Free and open source; self-hosting is available.
Mezon is an MIT-licensed communication platform aimed at communities and gaming, with community spaces, channels, voice and video, bots, native clients, and developer APIs.
Pricing: Open source infrastructure and deployment options are available; verify current hosted terms.
Valour is an AGPL-3.0 community communication platform focused on performance, customization, multi-window chat, voice and video, and integrated community economy features.
Pricing: Free and open source under AGPL-3.0; verify current deployment options.
SAMA is a GPL-3.0 messaging server for developers building real-time communication applications, with private and group chats, presence, read receipts, attachments, encryption, push notifications, and clustering.
Pricing: Free and self-hostable under GPL-3.0; client development and infrastructure costs still apply.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocket.Chat | Team chat | MIT (enterprise features paid) | Yes | Organizations |
| Mattermost | Team chat | MIT builds / AGPL-3.0 source | Yes | Regulated teams |
| Fluxer | Community chat | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Closest to Guilded |
| Element | Matrix client | AGPL-3.0 | Via Matrix server | Privacy and federation |
| Stoat | Community chat | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Communities |
| Mezon | Community chat | MIT per README (no license file) | Check docs | Check license first |
| Valour | Community chat | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Small communities |
| SAMA | Chat backend | GPL-3.0 | Yes | Developers |
Want the closest Discord-style community chat
Stoat has servers, voice, moderation, and no ads.
Want a team platform with audit logs
Mattermost supports on-premises or air-gapped deployment, with audit logs and retention policies.
Want self-hosted team chat with video
Rocket.Chat offers messaging, voice, video, federation, and per-room encryption.
Want decentralized encrypted chat
Element is built on Matrix with end-to-end encryption and federation.