Stoat review
Free, open-source Discord-style chat app for communities and friend groups, formerly called Revolt, with servers, voice channels and self-hosting.
By Noahlast updated
Stoat screenshots & video
Stoat in 20 seconds
Best for: communities that want an open-source, self-hostable Discord alternative with no paid tier
Pricing: Free for everyone with no paid plan ($0); self-hosting the AGPL-3.0 software is also free.
- Revolt renamed itself Stoat on October 1, 2025 after a cease-and-desist over the Revolt name; revolt.chat redirects to stoat.chat.
- Stoat passed one million registered users in March 2026 and introduced a new logo featuring its mascot, Toast.
- Stoat has no paid tier; custom emoji, 20 MB uploads and animated avatars are free for every user.
- Stoat's backend is written in Rust and licensed AGPL-3.0, and it can be self-hosted with an official Docker Compose setup.
- Stoat runs on the web, Windows, macOS, Linux and Android (early access); iPhone and iPad users run the web app.
Limitations: Smaller bot and integration ecosystem than Discord.; No native iOS app, and the Android app is in early access.; Self-hosting needs MongoDB, RabbitMQ, a Redis-compatible store, object storage and LiveKit.
Top alternatives: Discord, Element (Matrix), Rocket.Chat, Mattermost — full list
What is Stoat?
Stoat is a Discord-style chat service and the open-source software behind it, run by Revolt Platforms Ltd and built in Europe; the project started as Revolt in 2021.Communities create servers with text and voice channels, roles and permissions, moderation tools and bots built on Stoat's public API, the same API the official apps use. On October 1, 2025 the project became Stoat after a cease-and-desist over its old name; accounts, servers and messages carried over unchanged, and a new logo with the mascot Toast followed in March 2026. The backend is written in Rust and licensed AGPL-3.0, as are the web, desktop and Android clients, all published under the stoatchat GitHub organization. Anyone can self-host an instance with the official Docker Compose setup, which runs MongoDB, a Redis-compatible store, RabbitMQ, S3-compatible storage and LiveKit for voice alongside Stoat's own services.
Stoat, formerly Revolt, is a free, open-source group chat platform for communities and friends, built as a Discord alternative with servers, text and voice channels, role-based permissions, moderation tools and bots. The project renamed itself from Revolt to Stoat on October 1, 2025 after receiving a cease-and-desist over the Revolt name; revolt.chat now redirects to stoat.chat and invite links moved to stt.gg. Stoat has no paid tier: custom emoji, a 20 MB upload limit, animated avatars, profile banners and server-specific profile pictures are free for everyone, and group DMs hold up to 50 members. It runs in the browser and as desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux, with an early-access Android app; iPhone and iPad users install the web app. Stoat passed one million registered users in March 2026.
Standout feature: Perks Discord sells through Nitro, such as custom emoji, animated avatars, profile banners and server-specific profile pictures, are free for every Stoat user, and the whole stack is AGPL-licensed and self-hostable.
Biggest weakness: Stoat's ecosystem is far smaller than Discord's: fewer bots and integrations, an Android app still in early access, no native iOS app (iPhone users run the web app), and self-hosting means operating MongoDB, RabbitMQ, a Redis-compatible store, object storage and LiveKit.
Stoat: pros and cons
Pros
- Free and open source (AGPL-3.0), with no ads and no paid tier.
- Custom emoji, 20 MB uploads, animated avatars and profile banners are free for everyone.
- Self-hostable with an official Docker Compose setup for communities that want their own instance.
- Desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux (AppImage, DEB, RPM and Flatpak) plus a web app.
- Group DMs hold up to 50 members, and bots work in them.
Cons
- Much smaller bot and integration ecosystem than Discord.
- The Android app is in early access and there is no native iOS app; iPhone and iPad users install the web app.
- Self-hosting runs more than a dozen containers, including MongoDB, RabbitMQ, LiveKit and S3-compatible storage.
- Parts of the stack still carry the Revolt name (the Android package chat.revolt, revolt-* Rust crates, a Revolt.toml config), which confuses developers after the 2025 rename.
Stoat pricing
Free
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Every feature for every user: servers, text and voice channels, custom emoji, 20 MB uploads, animated avatars and profile banners. No paid plan exists, and self-hosting the AGPL-3.0 software is free. |
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