# Stoat review (2026): is it any good? > Open-source group chat for friends and communities Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Stoat is an open-source group chat app organized around servers, channels and voice chat, aimed at friends and online communities. Its site says it has no ads and does not sell user data, and that the company is built in Europe. Role-based permissions and moderation tools handle community management, and the server software can be self-hosted. - **Category:** Team Communication - **Made by:** Revolt Platforms Ltd (since 2021) - **Website:** https://stoat.chat - **Runs on:** Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you need workplace controls, as there is no admin console, SSO or compliance features. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Stoat is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** Stoat is free, with custom emojis, a 20MB file upload limit and server-specific profile pictures included and no subscription required. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | Everything is free: servers, channels, voice chat, custom emojis, 20MB uploads and group DMs of up to 50 members. | Read from https://stoat.chat on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Stoat before buying. ## Key features - **Servers and channels:** Communities are organized into servers with text channels and voice chat, plus file sharing and markdown formatting in messages. - **Roles and moderation:** A role-based permissions system and moderation tools manage who can do what, and moderation bots work with it. - **Group DMs:** Group direct messages hold up to 50 members, and bots work inside them as well. - **Themes and profile options:** Built-in themes can be swapped for ones from the Discover section or your own, and profile banners and animated avatars need no subscription. - **Public API for bots and clients:** The company says its official apps use the same public API that developers get, for building bots or custom clients. - **Self-hosting:** You can run your own server if you prefer; the site describes this as free and open. ## Good for - Friend groups and hobby communities leaving ad-supported chat apps - Community managers who want roles and moderation without a subscription - Developers who want to build bots or custom clients ## Worth knowing - The Android app is labeled Early Access, and iPhone and iPad use is through installing the web app to the home screen. - Built for communities rather than workplaces: the site lists no admin console, SSO or compliance features. - Uploads are capped at 20MB per file, and group DMs at 50 members. - The site and legal entity (Revolt Platforms Ltd) suggest this product was formerly called Revolt. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 3.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Stoat is a free, open-source group chat built around servers, channels and voice, aimed at friends and online communities rather than workplaces. It has no admin console, SSO or compliance features, and iPhone use is through a home-screen web app. - **Value for money: A.** Everything is free, with no subscription, and the server software is open source. Free software anyone can use counts as free and substantial. - **Free plan and trial: A.** Servers, channels, voice chat, custom emojis, 20MB uploads and group DMs of up to 50 are all free. The caps are small for a community. - **Features: C.** Servers, channels, roles, moderation and a public API for bots. The site lists no admin console, SSO or compliance features, so it isn't built for work. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You make an account and join or create a server, so there is some learning. - **Platforms and integrations: A.** Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, with a public API. The Android app is labelled Early Access and iPhone use is through the web app. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Stoat's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among team communication apps - Stoat's GPA of 3.2 is higher than 45 of the 50 other team communication apps we grade, and level with 2. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 43 of 50) and worst on features (C, above 0). - Stoat has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/team-chat ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Stoat is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.2 is higher than 45 of the 50 other team communication apps we grade. - You could not: Chat that a whole team counts on staying up. - You could not: Storing and serving files for other people. - You could not: Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other. - You could not: An API that other software can build on. - You could not: What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: roles and permissions. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Team chat, Open source, Self-hostable, File sharing, Public API ## Alternatives - [Discord](https://toolgpa.com/tools/discord): Free text, voice and video chat built around servers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/discord-vs-stoat) - [Element](https://toolgpa.com/tools/element): End-to-end encrypted chat and calls on the Matrix standard. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/element-vs-stoat) - [Zulip](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zulip): Open-source team chat that organizes channels by topic. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/stoat-vs-zulip) - [Mattermost](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mattermost): Self-hosted team messaging with playbooks, calls and boards. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mattermost-vs-stoat) - [Rocket.Chat](https://toolgpa.com/tools/rocket-chat): Open-source, self-managed chat for security-focused teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/rocket-chat-vs-stoat) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://stoat.chat - https://stoat.chat/about - https://stoat.chat/download Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/stoat Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).