Ferdium vs Franz (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ferdium grades higher than Franz: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ferdium grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Franz
Desktop app that combines messengers, email and Signal in one window
Which one is for you
Pick Ferdium if
- Fits if you juggle several chat and email accounts on one computer
- Works for people who want to use it without an account
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a phone app, as it is desktop only
- Watch out: signed releases carry a maintainer's personal name as the publisher, so OS warnings may appear
- Tight if you want installers from the site, as downloads go through GitHub and package managers
- Not for you if you want stable and beta side by side, as the builds cannot be installed together
Pick Franz if
- Fits if you keep 3 or fewer messaging accounts and want them in one place
- Works for people who would pay $5 a month for unlimited services
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 3 services and 1 workspace
- Pricey if you want hosted AI, which needs Max at $10 a month or a $4 add-on
- Watch out: on Pro and Lifetime the AI runs on your own model and your provider bills you
- Skip it if you want a phone app, as it is desktop only
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAFerdiumGood | 2.2GPAFranzFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, with no paid plans or service limits listed. | BPro is $5 a month billed yearly, inside the category's cheaper quarter of $7. Lifetime is $199, under two years of a typical $10 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | AEvery feature is free, with or without a Ferdium account. | CA free Starter plan, but only 3 services and 1 workspace, and no Smart Translate, Privacy Shield or app lock. |
| Features | CServices in one place, workspaces, custom services and hibernation. It does that one job fully, but it is a smaller job than a full workspace suite. | COne window for many services, unified notifications, mail and AI snippets. The listing shows AI needs your own model on Pro, and hosted AI needs Max. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you add and sign in to each service yourself. | CNo store rating on record, and you add each account yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | CDesktop only: macOS, Windows and Linux. No mobile app or API is listed. | CDesktop only: macOS, Windows and Linux. The listing names WhatsApp, Slack, Gmail, Signal, Discord and Telegram. |
| Best for | all your web services in one desktop window | messengers and email in one desktop window |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Ferdium and Franz. How we grade
Price against what you get
Ferdium has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Franz starts at $5 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Ferdium starts $5 a month lower. Of the other browsers on the chart, none scores higher than Ferdium for less, and 26 score higher than Franz for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Ferdium is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Franz can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Franz also covers email client.
At a glance
| Ferdium | Franz | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $5 per month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | The whole app is free; its site lists no paid plans or limits on services. | Starter: 3 messaging services and 1 workspace, with AI that runs locally only. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | The Ferdium community | Franz App |
| Price read from | ferdium.org | meetfranz.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Ferdium
- It is a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux only; no mobile version is listed.
- Releases are published through GitHub and package managers; the download page offers no installers hosted on the site itself.
- Signed releases carry a personal maintainer's name as the publisher, because the project is not a legal entity, so OS warnings may appear.
- Stable, beta and nightly builds cannot be installed side by side.
Franz
- The free Starter plan stops at 3 services and 1 workspace.
- On Pro and Lifetime the AI uses your own model or provider, which bills you separately; hosted Franz Cloud AI needs Max or a $4 a month add-on.
- Each license covers one person; sharing one account between people is not allowed, and Franz for Teams manages billing for several people.
- It is a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, with no mobile version listed.
Key features
Ferdium
- Services in one place
- Add messaging and other web services side by side, including the same service more than once to sign in to several accounts.
- Workspaces
- Group services into workspaces to keep work and private use apart.
- Custom services
- A Custom Website service adds any site that is not in the built-in list, with an icon of your choosing.
- Account-free use and sync
- The app runs without an account and keeps its data locally. An account syncs services and workspaces across computers, and you can host your own Ferdium Server instead.
- Hibernation and notification privacy
- Services can hibernate to save resources, and notifications can hide their content while still alerting you.
- Built-in Todo panel
- A Todo panel can be shown alongside your other services.
Franz
- One window for many services
- WhatsApp, Slack, Gmail, Signal, Discord and Telegram are among the 75+ services listed, each in its own isolated container, and any website can be added as a custom service.
- Unified notifications
- Unread badges and notifications from all services show in one place.
- Franz Mail
- A mail view with priority sorting, sender intelligence and semantic search; sender intelligence is a Max feature.
- Magic Bar
- One shortcut finds messages, services and workspaces, or asks Franz for help.
- AI assistant and snippets
- Pro uses an AI model you configure, on your provider or machine. Max adds smart snippets that fill in the person, topic and date from the open conversation.
- Privacy controls
- Privacy Shield and app lock are paid features, and 1Password autofill is listed for macOS and Windows.
Plans
Ferdium
Free$0
Every feature, with or without a Ferdium account. The site and the GitHub page list no paid plans.
Franz
Starter$0
3 messaging services and 1 workspace; Smart Translate, Privacy Shield, app lock and snippets are not included.
Pro$5
per month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)
Unlimited services and workspaces, plain snippets, Smart Translate, Privacy Shield and app lock. AI runs on a model you set up, and your provider bills you. $60 billed yearly.
Max$10
per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Everything in Pro, plus smart snippets, email sender intelligence, 50 web research runs a month and Franz Cloud AI with 5M tokens a month. $120 billed yearly.
Lifetime$199
one-time
One payment for unlimited services, workspaces and all future updates, on your own supported AI model. Shown as a launch price against $239. Franz Cloud AI costs $4 a month extra.
Ways to pay less
Ferdium
No public discounts listed.
Franz
- Annual discount
Annual billing saves $12 on Pro and $24 on Max
The pricing page shows a yearly price below twelve months at the monthly rate: Pro $60 a year, Max $120 a year.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime license
A one-time $199 payment is shown as a limited launch price, returning to $239 when the launch period ends; no end date is given.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ferdium or Franz?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ferdium is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $5 a month for Franz. Ferdium is free, and Franz starts at $5 per month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Ferdium or Franz?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Ferdium and Franz have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.