Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

Distributed is a live social chat app designed to help remote teams maintain better communication and alignment. Launched in 2021, it functions as a dedicated messaging platform for distributed workforces. The app… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Distributed – Live social chat app to help remote teams stay in sync launched in 2021; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Distributed▲103

   Stay in sync with friends, family and colleagues

   2021 · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Slack▲2,714

   Be less busy. Real-time messaging, archiving & search.

   2013 · slack.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   SpatialChat 3.0▲505

   All-in-one space for collaboration, all-hands and networking

   2022 · spatial.chat · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Conversations by Thursday▲466

   Time for new social rituals for your remote team

   2022 · thursday.social · its alternatives →

5. 5
   RemoteHQ▲269

   Real-time collaboration for distributed teams

   2019 · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Hangouts Chat by Google (Early Access)▲450

   Bring your team together

   2017 · blog.google · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Campsite▲818

   Your team's posts, calls, docs, and chat in one app

   2024 · campsite.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Friday▲131

   Slack complement for distributed teams

   2020 · friday.app · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Carrot▲299

   Keep fast-growing and remote teams on the same page 🙌

   2018 · carrot.io · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Let's Chat, a self-hosted chat app for small teams▲350

    Self-hosted chat for small teams.

    2015 · sdelements.github.io · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Front 2.0▲500

    Shared team inboxes to manage Email, Twitter, SMS & more

    2014 · front.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Spot 2.0▲287

    The next-gen communication app for teams

    2022 · spotvirtual.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Drift 2.0▲569

    A scalable way to talk to your customers

    2016 · drift.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Teamhub.com▲237

    Hey HN, We've just launched our team collaboration platform where we're bringing together all the important tools under one app. We've been frustrated in the past with tools which had a huge disconnect between projects and chat. It always inevitably leads to teams using external chat apps for "project management" and then abandoning the main tools altogether. We're creating tools we hope teams will stick with. Super integrated Chat. Convert comments to tasks and have them auto added to project boards. Automations to help massively reduce burden on the team. Workflows, Time-Off and so much…

    2024 · teamhub.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Carrot 2.0▲157

    Simplifying communication for remote teams 🙌

    2019 · carrot.io · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Mantle Chat▲298

    Collaboration platform where teams work with AI together

    May 2026 · mantle.chat · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Werk▲364

    Async first, all in one collaboration for remote teams

    2022 · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Freshchat▲264

    Catch 'em all. Keep 'em all.

    2017 · freshworks.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Let's Chat▲323

    Like Slack, but opensource and self-hosted.

    2015 · sdelements.github.io · its alternatives →

20. 20
    I built a fun video meeting app with 2D physics and proximity chat▲166

    Hi HN! https://flat.social is a web video meeting app for organising fun online meetings & social events. Each participant can move around and talk with others in their proximity. Here is a quick demo if you wanna see it in action: https://youtu.be/Y2yH3twjrx4 I’ve been on it solo for around a year right now. Tech used is Next.js, Typescript, PIXI.js on the front-end and Node, Mediasoup, Socket.io and Matter.js (physics engine) on the backend. Feel free to jump in into the demo room (https://flat.social/f/Flat.Social-Demo) to say hi, I’ll be…

    2022 · flat.social · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Intercom Real-Time▲510

    Have live conversations with users inside your apps

    2015 · fin.ai · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Slack 4.0▲472

    A snappier, more efficient Slack desktop experience

    2019 · slack.com · its alternatives →

23. 23RA
    Remotehour – Allows people to talk to you anytime you’re available▲82

    2020 · remotehour.co · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Message.io▲296

    Bots that work everywhere

    2016 · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →