Prose review
Encrypted team chat with self-hosting, but a narrower feature set than broad collaboration suites.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Nov 2026
Prose is a workplace messaging product for teams that want encrypted conversations and the option to run the server on their own premises. Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android apps connect to a Prose server. Its core toolkit includes direct messages, private and public groups, voice messages, and image and file sharing. The combination of encryption and self-hosting will appeal to privacy-minded small teams; organizations looking for a broad collaboration hub may find its current scope too narrow.
The two plans separate self-management from vendor-supported deployment. Community is free and self-hosted, with a maximum of 20 users and no support or updates. Business costs €5 per user per month, with monthly payment available; annual billing saves 20%. It can be hosted on your premises and adds guided setup, dedicated technical support, unlimited users, and volume discounts. This makes Business the more suitable option for larger teams or those that want assistance, while Community fits teams prepared to manage their own server and updates.
Prose puts message privacy and administration ahead of breadth. Messages and chat history are end-to-end encrypted, and Business includes configurable message auto-removal policies. A workspace administration dashboard supports management, while workspace-to-workspace messaging is available when enabled. Threads, search, integrations, audio/video calls, and SSO are shown as planned rather than current features, so teams that depend on those capabilities should consider a messaging product with them already in place. Choose Prose for encrypted, self-hostable team chat; look elsewhere if broad integrations or built-in calling are central to your workflow.
Questions about Prose
Does Prose have a free plan? Yes: the Community plan is free; paid plans start at €5/user/mo (Business).
What does Prose run on? Web, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. It runs in the cloud, self-hosted, as a desktop app and as a mobile app.
Does Prose offer a money-back guarantee? Yes: 30 days.
Who is Prose built for? Small businesses, mid-market companies and enterprises (our editorial estimate).
Prose pros and cons
- Where it wins
- End-to-end encryption covers messages and chat history.
- Self-hosted Community plan is free for up to 20 users.
- Business adds guided setup, support, and configurable message removal.
- Where it doesn't
- Community has a 20-user limit and no support or updates.
- Threads, search, integrations, calls, and SSO are planned, not current.
- Workspace-to-workspace messaging is available only when enabled.
Prose fact sheet, pricing and score →
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