#43 in Collaboration & CommunicationUpdated 2026-08

Stoat

by Stoat · Open-source group chat for friends and communities

38.6 — BenchRank score out of 100

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Overview

Stoat is an open-source group chat app with servers, channels, voice chat, file sharing and markdown support. Communities are run with role-based permissions, moderation tools and bots, and accounts and settings sync across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and the web. A public API powers the official apps and is open to bots and custom clients, and servers can be self-hosted.

Best for: Friends and online communities wanting a self-hostable, open-source group chat app
Pricing: No prices are shown on the captured page; the app is described as free and open source, with custom emojis, animated avatars, profile banners and a 20MB upload limit available without a subscription.
Runs on: AndroidmacOSWindows

Strengths and trade-offs

Strengths

Open source, and you can run your own server for free
No ads and no data mining; short, readable privacy policy
Apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and the web
Custom emojis, themes and profile banners with no subscription

Trade-offs

File uploads are capped at 20MB
Group DMs are limited to 50 members
Support runs through an open issue tracker and community server
No pricing page captured, so any paid options are unclear

How this score is made up

Each dimension is scored out of 100 and combined into the headline score using fixed weights.

MCP support: 0 out of 100
API quality: 45 out of 100
Documentation: 50 out of 100
Agent friendliness: 21 out of 100
Changelog: 100 out of 100
Marketing site structure: 35 out of 100
Operational trust: 55 out of 100

Measured, but not part of the score

Useful to know, but not a mark for or against the product — so these do not affect the ranking.

Openness: 40 out of 100
Maintenance: 100 out of 100

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