Quiet

Open source alternative to Slack, Threema Work and Wire

2.7K stars
GPL-3.0
Active this week
Last commit 3 days ago

Last verified Oct 20, 2026

Secure private group messaging through Tor with a peer-to-peer chat app that avoids central servers.

Visit website GitHub2.7K Deploy on Hostinger

Read the full breakdownWho it is for, how it works, trade-offs and the FAQ

who it's for

Who Quiet is for#

Small privacy-sensitive groups

Use Quiet when a group needs private chat without depending on a central workspace provider.

Skip if:

You need enterprise administration, app integrations, and formal compliance reporting.

Communities avoiding central servers

Use Quiet for community spaces where server ownership and metadata exposure are major concerns.

Skip if:

Your members need the simplest possible mainstream onboarding experience.

the problem

The problem it solves#

Private groups often use hosted team chat even when they do not want a central provider controlling servers, metadata, or access. That creates a trust gap for activist groups, sensitive communities, and teams working under privacy constraints.

Serverless messaging can reduce provider dependence, but it changes expectations around availability, moderation, and administration. Teams need to choose it for the right reason: privacy and ownership, not maximum workplace features.

how Quiet solves it

How it solves it#

Peer-to-peer team chat

Quiet is built around group messaging without a traditional central workspace server.

Tor-based privacy layer

The project uses Tor as part of its privacy model, reducing exposure of network metadata compared with ordinary hosted chat.

Local-first community data

Quiet emphasizes local-first communication patterns, which helps groups retain more control over their messages and spaces.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

No central chat providerQuiet is useful for groups that do not want their communication tied to a company-owned workspace server.
Designed for sensitive communitiesThe Tor and peer-to-peer architecture makes privacy a core product decision rather than an add-on setting.

Trade-offs

-Not a Slack cloneQuiet should not be evaluated as a feature-for-feature Slack replacement. It prioritizes privacy architecture over broad workplace integrations.

tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages: CC++JavaScriptKotlinPythonSwiftTypeScript
Frameworks: ExpressNestJS
Tooling: Webpack

frequently asked

FAQ#

Is Quiet self-hosted?

Quiet is better described as peer-to-peer and serverless rather than a traditional self-hosted chat server.

Does Quiet use Tor?

Yes. Quiet uses Tor as part of its privacy-focused communication model.

Can Quiet replace Slack?

Quiet can replace Slack for small groups prioritizing privacy, but it is not meant to match Slack's full business workspace ecosystem.

Looking for more

Other ways to replace Slack, Threema Work and Wire#

Buzz

Featuredfor Slack

Self-hosted team chat where people and AI agents work together

36,174Visit

Mattermost

#1 in the Slack guide

Closest drop-in Slack replacement for self-hosted teams

39,388

Rocket.Chat

#2 in the Slack guide

Teams needing internal chat and customer omnichannel in one tool

46,298

Zulip

#3 in the Slack guide

Async-first teams that need organized, low-noise conversations

26,085

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by category

Open source tools in these categories#

126

Communication & Collaboration

freeCodeCamp, iptv, Excalidraw 126

Security & Monitoring

REA (Reverse Engineer Anything), RustDesk, Uptime Kuma

Hostinger

Run Quiet on your own server

Self-host Quiet on a Hostinger VPS.

Deploy on Hostinger

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Who Quiet is for#

Small privacy-sensitive groups

Use Quiet when a group needs private chat without depending on a central workspace provider.

Skip if:

You need enterprise administration, app integrations, and formal compliance reporting.

Communities avoiding central servers

Use Quiet for community spaces where server ownership and metadata exposure are major concerns.

Skip if:

Your members need the simplest possible mainstream onboarding experience.

The problem it solves#

How it solves it#

Peer-to-peer team chat

Quiet is built around group messaging without a traditional central workspace server.

Tor-based privacy layer

The project uses Tor as part of its privacy model, reducing exposure of network metadata compared with ordinary hosted chat.

Local-first community data

Quiet emphasizes local-first communication patterns, which helps groups retain more control over their messages and spaces.

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

No central chat providerQuiet is useful for groups that do not want their communication tied to a company-owned workspace server.
Designed for sensitive communitiesThe Tor and peer-to-peer architecture makes privacy a core product decision rather than an add-on setting.

Trade-offs

-Not a Slack cloneQuiet should not be evaluated as a feature-for-feature Slack replacement. It prioritizes privacy architecture over broad workplace integrations.

FAQ#

Is Quiet self-hosted?

Quiet is better described as peer-to-peer and serverless rather than a traditional self-hosted chat server.

Does Quiet use Tor?

Yes. Quiet uses Tor as part of its privacy-focused communication model.

Can Quiet replace Slack?

Quiet can replace Slack for small groups prioritizing privacy, but it is not meant to match Slack's full business workspace ecosystem.

Other ways to replace Slack, Threema Work and Wire#

Buzz

Featuredfor Slack

Self-hosted team chat where people and AI agents work together

36,174Visit

Mattermost

#1 in the Slack guide

Closest drop-in Slack replacement for self-hosted teams

39,388

Rocket.Chat

#2 in the Slack guide

Teams needing internal chat and customer omnichannel in one tool

46,298

Zulip

#3 in the Slack guide

Async-first teams that need organized, low-noise conversations

26,085

All 17 Slack alternatives 8 open source Slack alternatives, ranked