Self-hosted team chat

Your team chat, on your own server.

Install it on one server in minutes and your team gets messaging, voice and video calls, files and an Android app — with nothing routed through anyone else.

£79 one-time · unlimited users · source code included

Runs on a small VPS, on-premise, or even an offline internal network.

One-time payment, no subscription Unlimited users Full source code included Android app included GDPR / KVKK friendly
How it works

Live in three simple steps

No DevOps team required. If you can copy and paste one command, you can run Chatstead.

1

Install with one command

Upload the package to a fresh Ubuntu server and run a single line. It sets up everything — the app, the service, the firewall.

2

Finish in your browser

Open the address it gives you and a friendly setup wizard creates your admin account and workspace name. No default passwords.

3

Invite your team & chat

Add people or let them sign up themselves. Start messaging, sharing files and calling — instantly.

Features

Everything a team needs, nothing it doesn’t

A complete messenger — the features your team already expects, delivered privately on your own infrastructure.

Real-time messaging

1:1 and group chats with typing indicators, presence, read receipts, replies, forwards, edits, a built-in emoji picker and emoji reactions.

Voice & video calls

Crystal-clear 1:1 calls over WebRTC — peer to peer, no external calling service.

Files, images & voice notes

Share documents and photos with instant thumbnails, record voice messages, and search everything.

Admin panel

Manage users and groups, review usage stats, audit logs, moderate content, and control who can join.

White-label branding

Set your own name, logo and icon in a click. Make it look like your company’s own product.

Android app included

A signed APK ships with the download — one app for any server. Notifications keep arriving after it is closed, with no Firebase in the middle. Or just add it to the home screen as a PWA.

Screenshots

See Chatstead in action

The real interface — exactly what you get on your own server.

Direct messaging
demo.chatstead.com
YYusuf
Search messages…
M
Maya Chen 09:42
Sharing the report now
A
Acme Design 08:15
New logo drafts ✨ 3
D
DevOps Tue
You: deploy is green ✅
M
Maya Chen
● online
Today
Morning! Did the deploy finish?
Yep — zero downtime 09:41 ✓✓
Nice 🎉 sharing the report now
🎉 2
Perfect, thanks Maya 09:42 ✓✓
Built-in emoji picker
demo.chatstead.com
YYusuf
Search messages…
D
DevOps 16:20
Release is live 🚀
M
Maya Chen 09:42
Sharing the report now
A
Acme Design 08:15
New logo drafts ✨
D
DevOps
● online
Today
Release is live 🚀
Great work everyone 16:19 ✓✓
Time to celebrate
🎉 4👍 2
😀👍🐶🍔🚗💡❤️
😀😃😄😁😆😅🤣😂 🙂🙃😉😊😇🥰😍🤩 😘😗😚😙😋😛😜🤪 😝🤗🤭🤫🤔😐😑😶
😊
Time to celebrate 🎉
Group chat
demo.chatstead.com
YYusuf
Search messages…
P
Product Team 14:05
Deniz: I’ll bring the mockups
M
Maya Chen 09:42
Sharing the report now
P
Product Team
5 members
Today
Maya Chen
Design review at 3pm?
Works for me 14:02 ✓✓
Deniz Yıldız
I’ll bring the mockups
👍 3🔥 1
Omar Ali
Perfect, see you there
Admin panel
demo.chatstead.com/admin
Overview
128
Users
34
Online now
24.6k
Messages
1,204
Files shared
UserEmailRoleStatus
MMaya Chenmaya@acme.comadminonline
DDeniz Yıldızdeniz@acme.comuseronline
OOmar Aliomar@acme.comuseroffline
SSara Kayasara@acme.comuseroffline
White-label branding
demo.chatstead.com/admin

Branding

Workspace name
Acme Team
Logo
A Drag an image or click to upload
Accent colour
Sign in
demo.chatstead.com
Mobile app (PWA) — dark mode
M
Maya Chen
● online
Morning! Did the deploy finish?
Yep — zero downtime ✅
Nice 🎉 sharing the report now
Perfect, thanks Maya
Q3-report.pdf 📄
Privacy

Why self-hosted matters

Most chat tools send your conversations through someone else’s cloud. Chatstead doesn’t.

Your data stays yours

Everything lives in a single database file on your server. Nothing is sent to a vendor — ever.

Privacy by design

A natural fit for GDPR / KVKK. No trackers, no analytics calls, no third-party push gateways.

Works offline too

After install it runs on an isolated internal network with no internet at all.

No per-seat fees

One purchase, unlimited users. No monthly bill that grows with your team.

What’s included

Included out of the box

One package. No add-ons to buy, no services to sign up for.

One-command Ubuntu installer Free automatic HTTPS (Let’s Encrypt) In-browser setup wizard Self-registration with captcha (optional) Email verification & admin approval Dark & light themes English & Turkish interface Docker option Full documentation Daily backup script No external database to run Source code included

See it for yourself

A full, live copy of Chatstead is running right now. Open it, look around, and try the setup.

FAQ

Common questions

Do I need to be technical to install it?

No. You copy one command onto a fresh Ubuntu server, then finish setup in your browser with a simple wizard.

Is any data sent to third parties?

No. Chatstead is fully self-hosted — messages, files and accounts live only on your server.

How many users can it handle?

A small VPS comfortably serves a typical team. There’s no separate database server to run or tune.

Can I make it look like my brand?

Yes — set your name, logo and icon from the admin panel. No code changes needed.

Own your team’s conversations

Install Chatstead on your server today and keep every message where it belongs — with you.