Nextcloud Talk vs Novu
| Tagline | Self-hosted chat, video calls, and conferencing integrated into Nextcloud | Open-source notification infrastructure for multi-channel developer alerts |
| Category | Team Chat & Collaboration | Team Chat & Collaboration |
| Replaces | Slack, Microsoft Teams | Slack, Microsoft Teams |
| GitHub stars | 2.2k | 39k |
| Language | JavaScript | Docker |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Self-host difficulty | 3/5 Moderate | 3/5 Moderate |
| Deploy options | Docker Docker Compose Manual | Docker Docker Compose |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | 3 days ago | 3 days ago |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
Nextcloud Talk
- Requires a running Nextcloud installation as a prerequisite
- Larger group video calls need a separate High Performance Backend (Janus/signaling server) to scale
- Chat features are less rich than dedicated platforms like Slack
- Fewer third-party app integrations focused on messaging
Novu
- Not a real-time team chat; it is a notification delivery layer, not a conversation platform.
- Self-hosted setup requires Postgres, MongoDB, Redis, and S3-compatible storage, adding operational burden.
- Managed cloud features (advanced analytics, SLA guarantees) are not available in the open-source edition.
- Mobile SDK for in-app notifications has fewer features than commercial equivalents like OneSignal.
Bottom line
Both are a similar lift to self-host; choose Novu for the larger community and ecosystem. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.
Nextcloud Talk
Self-hosted chat, video calls, and conferencing integrated into Nextcloud