Tinode review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Open-source instant messaging server you host or rent
Black Friday: is there a Tinode sale?
Tinode report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for a chat server you host for your own app
Tinode is an open-source instant messaging server with web and phone clients. The free Basic edition is yours to host, with a small-team cap of about 500 push notifications a day. Notifications for the stock apps will not reach your server, and the site footer reads 2023.
Who Tinode is for
- Fits if you want to own your chat server and its data
- Works for developers adding chat to their own app
Who Tinode is not for
- Not for you if you do not want to run a server, as the free edition is self-hosted
- Tight if you grow, since free self-hosting stops near 500 push notifications a day
- Watch out: the stock apps' notifications will not reach your server without your own builds or the push gateway
- Watch out: Cloud is arranged through a contact form, and the site footer reads 2023
- Pricey if you want the admin tool and branded apps, which start at $50 a month
Why Tinode gets a 2.2
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- BValue for moneyCloud is $1.50 a user a month, which would count as cheap, but it is arranged through a contact form. The free edition needs your own server.
- CFree plan and trialBasic is free to self-host, but capped at about 500 push notifications a day. You run the server.
- CFeaturesChat server, web and mobile clients, an extensible backend and chatbots over gRPC. Branding and the admin tool are paid.
- DEase of useNo rating on record. Self-hosting means installing and running a server yourself.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, iPhone and Android clients, with gRPC for bots. No desktop app.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Tinode's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Tinode? Put this grade on your site
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/tinode#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/tinode.svg" alt="Tinode: 2.2 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Tinode stands among team communication apps
Tinode's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 9 of the 75 other team communication apps we grade, and level with 19.
It stands best on value for money (B, above 47 of 75) and worst on ease of use (D, above 1).
Its paid plans start at $1.50 a month for each person, against a middle price of $6.90 for the category: 1 of the 51 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 9 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 76 team communication apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Tinode’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 47 of 75, level with 10
- CFree plan and trialAbove 5 of 75, level with 35
- CFeaturesAbove 1 of 75, level with 61
- DEase of useAbove 1 of 75, level with 9
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 9 of 75, level with 41
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 66 team communication apps. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Tinode, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Tinode you would be making chat that a whole team counts on staying up. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 47 of the 75 other team communication apps grade higher. It costs $18 a year. Tinode is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could not
- Chat that a whole team counts on staying up.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- An API that other software can build on.
What this rests on. Tinode’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Tinode?
Tinode is an open-source instant messaging platform with a Go server, web, Android and iOS clients and a documented API. A company can install it on its own servers or have Tinode run it as a cloud service, and developers can attach bots and plugins.
Worth knowing
- Self-hosted mobile apps need either your own builds or the push gateway, because the stock apps' notifications will not reach your server otherwise.
- Free self-hosting is for small teams; above roughly 500 push notifications a day a paid plan applies.
- Support contracts exclude third-party integrations, remote administration and support for end users.
- The site's footer reads 2023, and the Cloud plan is arranged through a contact form.
Key features
- Open-source clients and server
- The server is written in Go and can run as a cluster; the site says client software is under the Apache 2.0 license.
- Self-hosting tools
- TnAdmin gives a graphical console for looking up and suspending users, a push gateway handles mobile notifications and a Grafana dashboard is available for monitoring.
- Extensible backend
- Authentication schemes, database backends, file upload, push and credential validation are pluggable adapters, and bots can connect over gRPC.
- Mobile and web clients
- Android and iOS apps are listed in the stores, and a web client runs at web.tinode.co.
- Branded apps
- Paid plans can show your own name and logo in the mobile apps and configure the server connection automatically.
- Support contracts
- Named-contact email support with prioritized bug fixes is sold per installation, with an hourly rate for out-of-scope requests.
Tinode pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Tinode has a free plan, and paid plans start at $1.50 per user / month (Cloud).
- Starts at
- $1.50 per user / month (Cloud)
- Free plan
- Basic self-hosted edition is free for small teams: no more than 500 push notifications a day, roughly 350 messages a day.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $0 | You install and run the server yourself. Includes the push gateway, production monitoring and community support. |
| Cloud | $1.50per user / month | Tinode runs it for you with 5 GB of file storage per user, custom-branded clients and gRPC access for chatbots. Arranged through the contact form. |
| Professional | $50per month, one self-hosted installation ($500 billed yearly) | Self-hosted. Adds the TnAdmin tool, auto-configured and custom-branded mobile apps and dedicated support. $25 a month per extra cluster node. |
| Enterprise | $1,500per year for a standalone installation | Everything in Professional plus assisted installation and email support; $2,500 a year for a 3-node cluster. |
Read from tinode.co on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Tinode before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountAnnual billing for Professional
The self-hosting page lists $50 a month for a standalone installation, or $500 when billed annually.
Stated on tinode.co
Tinode alternatives
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- Tinode vs Rocket.Chat
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- Tinode vs OpenIM
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Common questions
Does Tinode have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Tinode is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Tinode have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Tinode is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Tinode open source?
Yes. Tinode is open source, according to its own site. It can also be run on a server of your own.
Does Tinode have an API?
Yes. Tinode offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.