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3CX is opening the PBX to agents while its feed fills with awards and academy news
Alternatives · video conferencing tools
Telegram alternatives
The best Telegram alternatives in video conferencing tools, ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score.
Updated Sep 25, 2026
Looking for the best alternatives to Telegram? Sparkpulse tracks and ranks 12 alternatives in video conferencing tools by shipping velocity — how frequently each ships meaningful updates, verified from official changelogs. For reference, Telegram shipped 0 meaningful updates in the last 30 days and carries a velocity score of 0.0 out of 10 in 2026. The alternatives below are ranked the same way, so you're comparing real release momentum, not marketing claims.
About Telegram
Telegram is turning its bot platform into an agent runtime: bots now hire other bots.
Telegram ships large, bundled feature drops every four to eight weeks, mixing consumer polish with platform mechanics in the same release. The consumer half is interface work — an Android redesign, Liquid Glass on iOS, live photos, GIF editing, gift crafting. The platform half is where the direction shows: AI summaries, an AI Editor, bots managed by bots, and now guest AI bots that can be summoned into any chat.
Velocity 0.0 · Last update 1mo ago
Top 12 alternatives to Telegram
Ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial breakdown, or pivot to a head-to-head.
MEETINGS
Element Call drops MatrixRTC legacy mode entirely, betting the entire call stack on the multi-SFU protocol.
MEETINGS
Fourwaves replaces per-event pricing with an annual submission model and lets organizers connect custom domains to event websites.
MEETINGS
BigBlueButton 4.0 enters release candidate with LiveKit fully replacing the legacy audio stack.
MEETINGS
Nextcloud Talk v25 adds classified conversations and an owner role, targeting regulated enterprise deployments.
MEETINGS
Switcher Studio adds Instant Replay — a live broadcasting capability that finally closes the gap with dedicated sports streaming rigs.
MEETINGS
Wowza is rebuilding around one idea: run computer vision inside the streaming pipeline.
MEETINGS
HOMER 11.0.x fixes a critical S3/DuckDB contention bug and adds call-level fields to MCP NL search
MEETINGS
Restream deepening X integration and adding Slack as a live streaming destination
MEETINGS
JW Player expands ad analytics and vertical video while hardening mobile SDKs
MEETINGS
Nextcloud Talk Desktop 2.3.2 ships Talk v25 stable with E2EE call audio fix
MEETINGS
Greenlight 3.9 makes URL_HOST mandatory, forcing admin action on every self-hosted deployment.
Telegram vs alternatives — shipping velocity at a glance
Velocity score (0–10) and meaningful releases shipped in the last 30 days, from official changelogs. Higher = shipping faster.
| Product | Velocity | Sparks · 30d | Focus areas | Latest release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram (baseline) | 0.0 | 0 | bot-platformagent-runtimeai-assistants | Guest AI Bots, Bot-to-Bot Chats, Chat Automation, Custom AI Styles, 100M+ Emoji & Sticker Search and Much More |
| 3CX | 7.5 | 0 | voipself-hostedmcp | 3CX MCP Server: Manage Your PBX With AI |
| Element Call | 6.3 | 1 | matrixwebrtcdecentralized | MatrixRTC legacy mode removed — all calls now run on the new protocol |
| Fourwaves | 6.3 | 1 | event-managementpricing-modelacademic | New pricing: annual submission limit replaces per-event fees |
| BigBlueButton | 6.3 | 1 | video-conferencingopen-sourcelivekit-migration | BigBlueButton 4.0-rc.1: LiveKit becomes sole audio source, multi-room sessions land |
| Nextcloud Talk | 6.3 | 0 | collaborationenterprise-messagingcompliance | Nextcloud Talk v25 alpha: classified conversations, owner role, global search |
| Switcher Studio | 6.3 | 0 | live-streamingsports-broadcastinginstant-replay | Your Best Play, Twice: Instant Replay for Switcher Is Live |
| Wowza | 6.3 | 0 | video-intelligencecomputer-visionsynthetic-media | How NVIDIA And Wowza Are Detecting Synthetic Video In Live Streams |
| HOMER | 5.0 | 0 | voip-monitoringmcp-integrations3-tiering | — |
| Restream | 5.0 | 0 | live-streamingstudio-productionx-integration | — |
| JW Player | 5.0 | 0 | video-deliverymobile-videoad-analytics | — |
| Nextcloud Talk Desktop | 5.0 | 0 | video-callsopen-sourcedesktop-app | — |
| Greenlight | 5.0 | 0 | video-conferencingbigbluebuttonself-hosted | — |
The 12 best Telegram alternatives, in depth
1. 3CX · velocity 7.5
3CX is opening the PBX to agents while its feed fills with awards and academy news.
Its velocity score of 7.5/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “3CX MCP Server: Manage Your PBX With AI”.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, 3CX focuses on voip, self hosted and mcp.
3CX and Telegram have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
2. Element Call · velocity 6.3
Element Call drops MatrixRTC legacy mode entirely, betting the entire call stack on the multi-SFU protocol.
Over the last 30 days Element Call shipped 1 meaningful update vs Telegram's 0, most recently “MatrixRTC legacy mode removed — all calls now run on the new protocol”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, Element Call focuses on matrix, webrtc and decentralized.
Over the last 30 days Element Call has been shipping faster than Telegram — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
Full Element Call trajectory → · Compare Telegram vs Element Call →
3. Fourwaves · velocity 6.3
Fourwaves replaces per-event pricing with an annual submission model and lets organizers connect custom domains to event websites.
Over the last 30 days Fourwaves shipped 1 meaningful update vs Telegram's 0, most recently “New pricing: annual submission limit replaces per-event fees”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, Fourwaves focuses on event management, pricing model and academic.
Over the last 30 days Fourwaves has been shipping faster than Telegram — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
Full Fourwaves trajectory → · Compare Telegram vs Fourwaves →
4. BigBlueButton · velocity 6.3
BigBlueButton 4.0 enters release candidate with LiveKit fully replacing the legacy audio stack.
Over the last 30 days BigBlueButton shipped 1 meaningful update vs Telegram's 0, most recently “BigBlueButton 4.0-rc.1: LiveKit becomes sole audio source, multi-room sessions land”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, BigBlueButton focuses on video conferencing, open source and livekit migration.
Over the last 30 days BigBlueButton has been shipping faster than Telegram — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
Full BigBlueButton trajectory → · Compare Telegram vs BigBlueButton →
5. Nextcloud Talk · velocity 6.3
Nextcloud Talk v25 adds classified conversations and an owner role, targeting regulated enterprise deployments.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Nextcloud Talk v25 alpha: classified conversations, owner role, global search”.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, Nextcloud Talk focuses on collaboration, enterprise messaging and compliance.
Nextcloud Talk and Telegram have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Nextcloud Talk trajectory → · Compare Telegram vs Nextcloud Talk →
6. Switcher Studio · velocity 6.3
Switcher Studio adds Instant Replay — a live broadcasting capability that finally closes the gap with dedicated sports streaming rigs.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Your Best Play, Twice: Instant Replay for Switcher Is Live”.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, Switcher Studio focuses on live streaming, sports broadcasting and instant replay.
Switcher Studio and Telegram have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Switcher Studio trajectory → · Compare Telegram vs Switcher Studio →
7. Wowza · velocity 6.3
Wowza is rebuilding around one idea: run computer vision inside the streaming pipeline.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “How NVIDIA And Wowza Are Detecting Synthetic Video In Live Streams”.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, Wowza focuses on video intelligence, computer vision and synthetic media.
Wowza and Telegram have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
8. HOMER · velocity 5.0
HOMER 11.0.x fixes a critical S3/DuckDB contention bug and adds call-level fields to MCP NL search.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, HOMER focuses on voip monitoring, mcp integration and s3 tiering.
HOMER and Telegram have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
9. Restream · velocity 5.0
Restream deepening X integration and adding Slack as a live streaming destination.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, Restream focuses on live streaming, studio production and x integration.
Restream and Telegram have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
10. JW Player · velocity 5.0
JW Player expands ad analytics and vertical video while hardening mobile SDKs.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, JW Player focuses on video delivery, mobile video and ad analytics.
JW Player and Telegram have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full JW Player trajectory → · Compare Telegram vs JW Player →
11. Nextcloud Talk Desktop · velocity 5.0
Nextcloud Talk Desktop 2.3.2 ships Talk v25 stable with E2EE call audio fix.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, Nextcloud Talk Desktop focuses on video calls, open source and desktop app.
Nextcloud Talk Desktop and Telegram have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Nextcloud Talk Desktop trajectory → · Compare Telegram vs Nextcloud Talk Desktop →
12. Greenlight · velocity 5.0
Greenlight 3.9 makes URL_HOST mandatory, forcing admin action on every self-hosted deployment.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Telegram leans on bot platform, agent runtime and ai assistants, Greenlight focuses on video conferencing, bigbluebutton and self hosted.
Greenlight and Telegram have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Greenlight trajectory → · Compare Telegram vs Greenlight →
Frequently asked questions
What are the best alternatives to Telegram?
The top Telegram alternatives we currently track in video conferencing tools are 3CX, Element Call, Fourwaves, BigBlueButton, Nextcloud Talk, ranked by recent ship velocity.
How is this list of Telegram alternatives ranked?
Alternatives are ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score — release cadence + 30-day spark count + sector-relative ship rate.
Can I compare Telegram directly with one of these alternatives?
Yes — every card has a "Compare with Telegram" link to a side-by-side /compare page.