Messenger Comparison Table

This is not intended to be an extremely comprehensive list, but enough to get a grasp on the situation.

The only client for now that we recommend is Conversations, a top notch XMPP client, fully supports the OMEMO XEP, is easy on the battery, and doesn't force you into a walled garden. It is not the easiest thing getting your friends and family to switch apps, so at the very least any apps with end-to-end encryption (E2EE) support should always be preferred over apps without.

For a much larger list of messengers, albeit in German, see this overview and their "Why Not?" list.

Last updated: 2022/12/17

NameFOSS ClientNon-Free DependenciesFOSS ServerProtocolFederatedDecentralizedEncryptionE2EE by DefaultDesktop ClientFile SharingVoice CallingVideo CallingMulti-Device SupportOffline Messaging
ConversationsGPLv3F-Droid: No, Play: YesYes: prosody/ejabberdXMPPYesYesTLS + OMEMO E2EEIn private chatsYesYesYesYesYesYes
ElementApacheF-Droid: No, Play: YesYes: synapseMatrixYesYesTLS + Olm/Megolm E2EEIn private chatsYesYesYesYesYesYes
SignalGPLv3Play/Website: Yes, GMSCode over wallCustomNoNoTLS + Signal E2EEAlwaysYesYesYesYesWith PhoneYes
SimpleXAGPLv3NoYes: SimpleXMQ SMPCustomYesNoCustom E2EEAlwaysYesYesYesYesWIPMaybe
Jami/RingGPLv3NoYes: opendhtCustomN/AYesTLS + Custom E2EEAlwaysYesYesYesYesYesNo
SessionGPLv3F-Droid: No, Play: YesUnclearCustomN/AYesCustom E2EEIn private chatsYesYesWIPWIPYesYes
Delta ChatGPLv3NoN/AE-MailYesYesTLS + OpenPGP E2EETo contacts with AutoCryptYesYesNoNoYesYes
BriarGPLv3NoN/ACustomN/AYesCustom E2EEAlwaysWIPImages OnlyNoNoNoNo
Silence (deprecated)GPLv3NoN/ASMSYesYesSignal E2EETo contacts with SilenceNoImages OnlyNoNoN/AMaybe
WireGPLv3F-Droid: No, Play: YesYesCustomNoNoTLS + Custom E2EEAlwaysYesYesYesYesYesYes
ThreemaAGPLv3F-Droid: No, Play: YesNoCustomNoNoTLS + Custom E2EEAlwaysWebYesYesYesYesYes
TelegramGPLv2F-Droid: No, Play: YesNoCustomNoNoTLS + Custom E2EENoYesYesYesYesYesYes
WhatsAppNoYesNoCustomNoNoTLS + Signal E2EEAlwaysWebYesYesYesWith PhoneYes
Facebook MessengerNoYesNoCustomNoNoTLS + Signal E2EENoWebYesYesYesYesYes
Google ChatNoYesNoCustomNoNoTLSNoWebYesYesYesYesYes
SkypeNoYesNoCustomNoNoTLS + Custom E2EENoYesYesYesYesYesYes

Criteria:

  • Offline messaging is the ability for a party to send a message to an offline party, go offline themself, and the other party to later receive the message when back online while the sending party was still offline.