Wire: Open Source Alternative to Slack and Rocket.Chat

Wire is an open-source collaboration platform built around end-to-end encryption for messaging, voice, video, and file sharing. It targets security- and compliance-focused organizations, and is developed in the EU under strict data-protection law. It's AGPL-3.0 licensed.

What is Wire?

Wire's emphasis is security-first collaboration: end-to-end encryption is applied across chats and calls, with enterprise controls and compliance features. That makes it a fit for regulated industries and public-sector teams that need more than the optional encryption of a general-purpose tool like Rocket.Chat.

Wire vs Rocket.Chat

Feature	Wire	Rocket.Chat
License	AGPL-3.0	MIT
Encryption	End-to-end by default	Optional E2E
Focus	Security & compliance	General team/community messaging
Hosting	Self-hosted or managed EU cloud	Self-hosted or managed cloud

Choose Wire if default end-to-end encryption and EU-based compliance are the priority. Choose Rocket.Chat for a broader, more customizable general-purpose messaging platform.

At a glance

Attribute	Details
License	AGPL-3.0
Category	Collaboration
Stack	Haskell, TypeScript
Self-hosted	Yes
Alternatives	Slack, Rocket.Chat, Microsoft Teams

FAQ

Is Wire a free, open-source alternative to Slack?

Yes. Wire's server and clients are AGPL-3.0 licensed and free to self-host, with a paid managed cloud offered separately.

How does Wire compare to Rocket.Chat on security?

Wire applies end-to-end encryption by default across messaging and calls, whereas Rocket.Chat offers encryption as an option. Wire is positioned specifically around compliance and security use cases.

What are the top open-source alternatives to Slack?

Browse more open-source alternatives to Slack, or explore the full Collaboration category.