pqp

At a glance

pqp is worth a small-group trial if you want voice, chat and screen sharing in familiar server-and-channel rooms, with an independent self-hosting option. The hosted entry is advertised as free and opens a sign-in flow. Self-hosting gives you responsibility for the service as well as control of it. This guide inspected that entry and the relevant source and policy; it did not join a call or assess audio quality.

Good fit

An adult group willing to try a community communication tool before moving everyone over. The documented structure has invite links, text and voice channels, roles and direct conversations. A new server starts with a general text channel and a Lobby voice channel. The hosted route avoids operating infrastructure; an independent copy uses your own URL and database. That choice is more consequential than the fact that the interface resembles another chat app.

Consider something else when

You need verified call reliability, feature parity across every phone and desktop client, or a confidential messenger with a blanket promise of participant-only encryption. The current hosted policy distinguishes direct calls from media-server relays and recorded watch parties. Source availability is useful for inspection, but it does not establish that the system is small, secure or inexpensive to operate. Some repository descriptions lag the hosted policy, so confirm the features that matter on the actual clients.

Start here

Review the hosted service’s 18+ requirement, then use Sign in or Make a room if its policy suits your group. The inspected sign-in offers Apple, Google, Twitch or email and password. A useful trial would create a private test server, send a test message and check one voice call and screen share with consenting participants before migration. None of those communications was performed here. No account, age declaration, microphone or screen-sharing permission was supplied.

Cost and requirements

On 31 October 2026, the hosted landing page said free with no card. The repository declares AGPL-3.0-only. A self-host is an independent deployment, not a free copy of the hosted operations. Building from source is documented for Node 20 or later and pnpm 10; operating a copy needs Postgres and authentication configuration, with relay and media infrastructure relevant to calls. Attachments add object storage. No installation or self-host deployment was tried.

Limits to know

According to the hosted policy, relayed media is decrypted and re-encrypted by its server; ordinary calls are not recorded, while watch parties are recorded and normally retained for thirty days. It also describes persistent message history, third-party sign-in, analytics and advertising measurement. The personal JSON export excludes other people’s messages and several other categories, so it is not a complete server backup. Those are policy statements, not independently audited guarantees. The inspected transport function supports the initial direct-versus-relayed choice; it does not establish every runtime migration or production setting.

Still unclear

• How do calls, screen sharing and reconnection behave on the intended clients and networks?
• What operational effort and media cost would the intended group create on an independent deployment?