Stoat review
Free, self-hostable chat for communities, with channels, voice, video, and moderation.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Stoat is an open-source group chat app for friends and communities that want organized conversation without a subscription. Servers contain text channels, and members can also use voice chat, video calls, screen sharing, file sharing, and markdown. Role-based permissions and moderation tools give community managers ways to organize access and participation. It is available on web, desktop, and mobile, with a self-hosted option for people who want to run the software themselves.
Customization and community automation are central strengths. Bots and a public API offer ways to extend the app, while webhooks can post messages to channels from external services; GitHub is specifically supported through a webhook. Members can use custom emojis and server-specific profile pictures without a subscription, and themes include user-created CSS. Group direct messages support up to 50 members. File uploads are described as supporting files up to 20 MB. These features make Stoat a fit for communities that value flexible spaces and control over presentation more than a broad catalog of named integrations.
Stoat is described as free, and the published product details include no-cost features rather than paid plan tiers. Deployment options include hosted service and self-hosting, alongside web, desktop, and mobile access. The iOS/iPadOS app is labeled early access, and Linux publishing to Flathub is in progress, so those app routes have a different readiness signal. Support channels listed are community and documentation. Choose Stoat for a free community chat space with moderation and self-hosting; teams that depend on many established business integrations or polished, uniformly mature apps should consider alternatives.
Stoat pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Organizes text chat into servers and channels, with voice, video, and screen sharing
- Includes roles, moderation tools, bots, a public API, and webhook support
- Offers self-hosting, custom emojis, themes, and file uploads up to 20 MB
- Where it doesn't
- GitHub via webhook is the only named integration
- The iOS/iPadOS app is labeled early access
- Linux publishing to Flathub is still in progress
Stoat fact sheet, pricing and score →
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