Microsoft Teams is one of the top IT tools for organizations, companies, and firms.
It’s an advanced team messaging, video conferencing, meeting, and collaborative platform.
Not only does it help teams stay connected, but it also offers business owners a cross-platform collaboration solution.
Business owners and employees enjoy features such as instant messaging, video conferencing, and document sharing under the platform easing workplace communications.
However, for Linux users, the Microsoft Teams app has its drawbacks which can be problematic.
If that also sounds like you, our next section looks at the best Microsoft Teams alternatives for Linux.
The alternatives are plenty, with loads of them being open source, so we hope you will find a perfect match.
Here are the best Microsoft Teams alternatives for Linux users out there.
Mattermost is one of the best Microsoft Teams alternatives and is ideal for anyone wanting greater privacy through a self-hosting platform.
Each user can establish a self-hostable online chat service with features such as file sharing, message history search, and third-party app integration.
Mattermost also acts as an open-source internal chat app built for developers with the ability to integrate with multiple DevOps tools and workflow as a bonus.
Key Features:
Like most other apps on the list, Rocket.Chat is also an open-source alternative to Microsoft Teams with similar collaboration features.
For starters, Rocket.Chat runs multi-based user options with self-and cloud-based hosting provided by the application.
The similarities include features like the @mentions with one-on-one direct messaging for responsive engagement.
However Rocket.Chat strength comes from its affordability and customization.
You can also replace or connect existing social media platforms through the omnichannel feature.
Free to self-host, with paid plans starting from $9/month per user.
Key Features:
Element is an advanced secure collaboration and team messaging app based on the Matrix platform, which helps teams collaborate through instant messaging, video, voice calls, and seamless file sharing.
Being Matrix-based, Element is decentralized to deliver digital sovereignty and enable deployment of on-premise hosting rather than other cloud providers.
In short, the Matrix structure also lets you bridge directly into Slack and Microsoft Teams channels from the same interface, which is useful during a transition.
Key Features:
Zulip is a powerful open-source team chat tool that solves something most platforms get wrong: async communication in large teams.
Instead of flat channels, every conversation is organized into topics within a stream, so you can follow exactly the threads that matter and ignore everything else.
It’s widely used in open-source communities and research organizations, and just shipped a new version with AI-powered conversation search, n8n integration, and self-hosted video call support via Jitsi and Nextcloud Talk.
Free to self-host, with cloud plans starting at $6.67/user/month.
Key Features:
Jami (Previously known as GNU Ring or SFLphone) is another decentralized open-source option that runs entirely peer-to-peer with no central server involved.
The open-source application lets Linux users enjoy a fully free solution with features such as solid end-to-end encryption, unlimited sharing, and multi-platform and multilingual support.
Jami also supports optional SIP client accounts so you can make and receive VoIP calls over the internet.
Because there’s no server in the middle, your calls and messages never pass through a third party.
Key Features:
Nextcloud Talk is a video conferencing and team messaging app built directly into the Nextcloud platform.
If you’re already running Nextcloud for file sync and collaboration on your Linux server, you get a full video calling and chat layer at no extra cost.
Everything runs on your own server with no external dependencies, which means no data leaves your infrastructure.
It’s the strongest fully self-hosted option on this list for teams where data residency is a hard requirement.
Key Features:
Google Meet is a video conferencing tool that gives you direct entry to meetings via email or calendar invite.
It works entirely in the browser on Linux with no client required, and if your team is already on Google Workspace, it’s already included in your plan.
Key Features:
Brosix gives teams a fully private, admin-controlled communication network with encrypted messaging, file transfers, voice and video calls, screen sharing, and a whiteboard.
It’s been running since 2006 and just celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2026, with audio and video calls now added to the iOS and Android apps.
The admin control panel lets you manage user permissions, chat history retention, and activity logs from one place, which is why teams in security-sensitive industries tend to favor it.
Key Features:
Zoom remains one of the most popular virtual meeting applications for good reason.
It has a native Linux client that actually works, which already puts it ahead of Teams.
Setting up a video call takes a click of a few buttons, and the audio and video quality is the most consistent of any tool on this list.
Zoom also offers advanced app integration with more than 1,000 programs, making it ideal for multi-platform teams where participants are on different operating systems.
Key Features:
Pumble is a Slack-style collaboration tool that offers unlimited users and full message history on its free plan, which is rare.
It works in the browser and has desktop and mobile apps for Linux, Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
The interface will feel immediately familiar if you’ve used Slack, and paid plans start at just $2.49/user/month for group video calls and screen sharing, undercutting most tools on this list significantly.
Key Features:
Chanty is a solid collaboration tool that combines team chat with task management on a Kanban board in one interface.
You get a complete and searchable message history, audio messages, and audio calls on the free plan.
Group video calls are available on the paid plan at $4/user/month.
Key Features:
Discord started as a gaming platform but has grown into a legitimate team communication tool that many developer communities and open-source projects now use as their primary chat platform.
The free tier includes unlimited users, unlimited message history, always-on voice channels, and screen sharing with no time limits.
Key Features:
Slack offers a polished chat-focused interface with video calling and file sharing.
It also gives reminders and monitors activities via different channels, and its integration ecosystem is the largest of any tool on this list, covering GitHub, Jira, Figma, and hundreds more.
Key Features:
Spike is an email app that reimagines your inbox as a chat-style interface so conversations thread like messages instead of long email chains.
It works with your existing Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud account with no new account required.
In 2026, it added AI tools that summarize long threads, suggest replies, and prioritize your inbox automatically.
Built-in video meetings, calendar, and notes are all included in one place.
Key Features:
Cisco Webex is a real-time video and audio conference call application that is multi-functional and easy to use.
Webex offers file sharing, video meetings, whiteboarding, and calling, and it generates meeting transcripts immediately after a call ends.
Key Features:
ClickUp is a team communication and project management tool that keeps conversations and tasks in the same place.
The built-in Chat view lets you have work-related or casual conversations that are easily retrievable, and the screen recording feature lets you show team members exactly what you mean without a separate call.
Key Features:
While there are many other tools that can be used as alternatives to Microsoft Teams, we’ve covered the most popular and actively maintained ones that work on Linux in 2026.
The open-source options like Mattermost, Rocket.Chat, Element, Zulip, Nextcloud Talk, and Jitsi Meet give you full control over your data, which is a meaningful advantage over cloud-only platforms.
New tools will keep coming, but the ones on this list are your best bet right now, whether you need a self-hosted solution, a free cloud option, or something enterprise-grade that runs natively on Linux.
Did we miss any good Microsoft Teams alternatives that you think should have made it to the list? Please share them in the comments below.
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What if 5000 of my co-workers are using Teams and I am using Linux? How do I convince them to all use Mattermost to send me a message?
What if somebody in Teams has a really funny meme? I will be missing out.
This is the main reason that I still have to use Windows.
You missed NextCloud Talk and its integrated chat – I haven’t used Microsoft Teams, but I suspect that NextCloud (adopted by the EU as the free and open source software platform to replace the Microsoft product suite there) is a comprehensive replacement.
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**📚 Original Source:**
[16 Microsoft Teams Alternatives for Linux Users in 2026](https://www.tecmint.com/microsoft-teams-alternatives-linux/)
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