Alternatives to SimpleX Chat
Messenger without any user identifiers at all
SimpleX Chat ranks #3 of 11 in Personal messaging, with an Alt Score of 78. It is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and available on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS and Linux. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
People who want to message privately without linking their identity to a phone number, email, or any persistent account ID — useful for anyone wary of surveillance or data collection by centralized platforms.
Messages are end-to-end encrypted and appear as random noise to the servers relaying them, so operators can't read content or map who's talking to whom. There are no user identifiers at all, not even random ones, so the network has nothing to correlate across conversations. Your contact and group list lives only on your device, not in a server database. You can run it over your own servers (it's open source and decentralized) instead of trusting a single company's infrastructure.
You connect to someone by scanning their QR code or opening a one-time invitation link, which sets up a private encrypted channel between just the two of you. Each connection uses separate, unlinkable message queues, and the apps are available for desktop, iOS, and Android.
Where SimpleX Chat stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave SimpleX Chat
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Personal messaging checklist (16 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Personal messaging checklist | SimpleX Chat | Delta Chat | Jami | Telegram | Signal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| E2E encryption by default | ||||||
| E2E optional | ||||||
| Voice calls | ||||||
| Video calls | ||||||
| Phone number required | ||||||
| Username-only signup | ||||||
| Federation / decentralized | ||||||
| Message editing & deletion | ||||||
| Disappearing messages | ||||||
| Reactions | ||||||
| Multi-device without phone | ||||||
| Backup & export of history |
Every fact and feature listed for SimpleX Chat is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License AGPL-3.0 verified 2026-07-11
GNU AFFERO GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/LICENSE -
Platforms iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux verified 2026-07-11
Available as a terminal (console) app / CLI on Linux, MacOS, Windows.
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
Status active verified 2026-07-11
SimpleX Chat v6.4.1: welcome your contacts, review members to protect groups, and more.
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
E2E encryption by default Yes verified 2026-07-11
Double ratchet end-to-end encryption, with additional encryption layer.
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
E2E optional No verified 2026-07-11
Double ratchet end-to-end encryption, with additional encryption layer.
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
Voice calls Yes verified 2026-07-11
End-to-end encrypted WebRTC audio and video calls via the mobile apps.
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
Video calls Yes verified 2026-07-11
End-to-end encrypted WebRTC audio and video calls via the mobile apps.
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
Phone number required No verified 2026-07-11
SimpleX has no identifiers assigned to the users - not even random numbers.
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
Username-only signup Partial verified 2026-07-11
you cannot be contacted unless you share a one-time invitation link or an optional temporary user address.
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
Federation / decentralized Yes verified 2026-07-11
the server nodes do not have records of the users, do not communicate with each other and do not store messages after they are delivered to the recipients.
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
Message editing & deletion Yes verified 2026-07-11
View deleted messages, full message deletion by sender (with recipient opt-in per contact).
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
Disappearing messages Yes verified 2026-07-11
Disappearing messages (with recipient opt-in per-contact).
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
Reactions Yes verified 2026-07-11
Message reactions
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
Multi-device without phone Partial verified 2026-07-11
Using mobile profiles from the desktop app.
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md -
Backup & export of history Yes verified 2026-07-11
Chat database export and import.
https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/stable/README.md
FAQ
Yes. Delta Chat, Jami and Telegram have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Delta Chat, Jami and Telegram — every license claim links its source.