Wire
🇨🇭Wire
📖Open source🖥️Self-hostable✓Free plan
Replaces
+9 more
freemium
European Messaging Apps Alternatives
Messengers and team chat apps from European companies, as alternatives to WhatsApp and Slack.
Quick answer: There are 6 European alternatives in Messaging Apps from 4 countries. 2 are open source, 5 have a free plan and 5 can be self-hosted.
6 European alternativesSee the shortlist
5 Free Options
2 Open Source
5 Self-Hosted
4 Countries
Messaging Apps alternatives at a glance
| Product | Country | Pricing | Free plan | Open source | Self-host | Replaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wire | 🇨🇭Switzerland | Freemium | Yes | Yes | Yes | LinkedIn, Rocket.Chat +11 |
| Stoat | 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Freemium | Yes | Yes | Yes | Twitter/X, Zulip +9 |
| Element | 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Freemium | Yes | Not verified | Yes | LinkedIn, Rocket.Chat +10 |
| Vroff | 🇸🇪Sweden | Freemium | Yes | No | Yes | Discord, Slack |
| Balsio | 🇱🇻Latvia | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | WhatsApp, Slack | |
| Threema | 🇨🇭Switzerland | Paid | No | Not verified | Yes | LinkedIn, Rocket.Chat +9 |
A dash means we have not verified that attribute. Details and sources are on each product page.
What actually separates these messengers
Is it a personal messenger or a team workspace?
Most apps here are built for work, and their pricing shows it. Threema's site leads with Threema Work, a business messenger with a management cockpit, priced per user and paid annually. Wire sells to organisations: a free plan covers teams of up to 5 people, and Wire for SMB costs €7.45 per person per month on annual payment. Vroff is a digital office that puts video meetings, chat, projects and files in one place, free for up to 100 users. Balsio is a chat app for work conversations with a free plan for professionals. Stoat is the exception: a group chat app for friends and communities, with servers, channels and voice chat.
Sources: Threema: pricing, Wire: pricing, Vroff, Balsio: pricing, Stoat
Do you need to give a phone number?
Threema can be used without a phone number or an email address: you get a unique Threema ID instead. Balsio lets you reach people by their email address rather than their phone number.
What is end-to-end encrypted?
Threema says it encrypts text and voice messages, media and calls end to end, and also profile pictures, group names and the list of group members. Wire says all messages, conference calls and files are end-to-end encrypted. On Android, Threema offers reproducible builds, so you can check that the published source code matches the app in the store.
Sources: Threema: security, Wire: security
Can you run it on your own servers?
Stoat's software is free and open source, and hosting your own server is supported. Threema OnPrem runs the messenger on your own infrastructure. Wire offers cloud, on-premises or hybrid deployment. Vroff installs on your premises on a tailored plan that is quoted separately. Where the vendor hosts it, Threema uses its own servers in a data centre in Zurich, Wire names servers in Germany and Ireland, and Vroff says all data is stored in Sweden.
Sources: Stoat, Threema, Threema: security, Wire, Wire: security, Vroff
Checked in September 2026 against the sources linked under each answer.
Notable
- Messaging, calls, conferencing and file sharing
- End-to-end encryption of all messages, conference calls and files
- Self-deleting messages, calling moderation, screen sharing, audio and video messages, and sketch
Where it falls short
- Federation with Wire Cloud, ID-Shield, full deployment support, data sovereignty and multi-tenancy on the Wire for Enterprise plan. source
Pricing: from €7.45 per person per month (pricing page)
- Wire for Free covers small teams of up to 5 people
- Wire for SMB covers teams of up to 100 people, with video conferences of up to 150 participants
Pick Wire if you want end-to-end encryption with cloud, on-premises or hybrid deployment.(our assessment)
Checked against Wire's homepage, security page, pricing page, legal notice, privacy policy and about page.
Stoat
🇬🇧Stoat
📖Open source🖥️Self-hostable✓Free plan
Replaces
+7 more
freemium
Stoat is an Open-source group chat app.
Notable
- Servers, channels, voice chat, file sharing and markdown support
- Role-based permissions system and moderation tools for managing a community
- Account, conversations and settings sync across devices, with apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and the web
Pick Stoat if you want servers with channels, voice chat and bots that also work in group DMs.(our assessment)
Checked against Stoat's homepage, about page, legal notice, privacy policy and documentation.
Vroff
🇸🇪Vroff
🖥️Self-hostable✓Free plan
Replaces
freemium
Vroff is a digital office.
Notable
- Combines video meetings, chat, projects and files in a digital office
- See who is online and knock instantly, without calendar invites
- Create, assign and track tasks, with threads to keep conversations focused
Where it falls short
- On-premises installation is available on a tailored plan, quoted separately. source
Pricing: from 500 SEK + 20 SEK per user, per month (homepage)
- Free for up to 100 users, at 0 SEK per month
Pick Vroff if you want to see who is online and knock instantly, with no calendar invites.(our assessment)
Checked against Vroff's about page, homepage, legal notice and privacy policy.
Balsio
🇱🇻BirdyChat
✓Free plan
Replaces
Notable
- Reach people by their email address instead of their phone number
- Group chats for a team or project, organized by topic, with threads you can close when done
- Start a community around an industry, event or shared interest
Where it falls short
- The Business plan (custom pricing) adds centralized user management, a data processing agreement (GDPR) and priority support. source
Pick Balsio if you want to start a community around an industry, event or shared interest.(our assessment)
Checked against Balsio's homepage, pricing page and legal notice.
Threema
🇨🇭Threema
🖥️Self-hostable
Replaces
+7 more
paid
Notable
- Management cockpit to configure all user permission settings centrally
- Structured group chats and encrypted voice and video calls
- End-to-end encryption for text and voice messages, media and calls, and also for profile pictures, group names and the list of group members
Where it falls short
- Threema Broadcast for one-to-many communication, automation and API access, premium support and an unlimited number of employees come with the Professional plan. source
Pick Threema if you want a management cockpit to configure all user permissions centrally.(our assessment)
Checked against Threema's homepage, security page, pricing page and legal notice.
Looking for alternatives to a specific product?
Which should you choose?
- Pick Balsio if you want to start a community around an industry, event or shared interest.
- Pick Stoat if you want servers with channels, voice chat and bots that also work in group DMs.
- Pick Threema if you want a management cockpit to configure all user permissions centrally.
- Pick Vroff if you want to see who is online and knock instantly, with no calendar invites.
- Pick Wire if you want end-to-end encryption with cloud, on-premises or hybrid deployment.
Our assessment, based only on the checked statements above.
How we checked this
We checked 5 of the 6 alternatives on this page against each company's own website in September 2026. Every line in the grey panels comes from that company’s own site, and a second check tried to disprove it before we kept it. A dash in the table means we could not verify that detail. "Pick it if" lines are our own assessment, based only on those checked statements.
Researched Messaging Apps comparisons
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there free European messaging apps?
Yes. Vroff, Balsio, Stoat, Wire and Element are free or have a free plan, according to the pricing each company publishes. Free plans usually carry limits; each product page links to the company's terms.
Which European messaging apps are open source?
Stoat and Wire publish their source code under an open-source licence. Each product page shows the licence and where the code is.
Which European messaging apps can you host yourself?
Vroff, Stoat, Wire, Element and Threema can be run on your own servers, according to their own documentation.
