Learn what the open-source SAMA chat server offers, from clustering and encryption to its React and Flutter clients, and how to self-host it.
Category
Team Chat
Pricing
Free and open source; self-hosted, from Free
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Web AppiOSAndroidAPIOpen SourceSelf-Hosted
Overview
SAMA, short for Simple but Advanced Messaging Alternative, is a free, open-source chat server maintained by the SAMA-Communications organization on GitHub, built on uWebSockets.js for high-throughput, low-latency real-time messaging.
Key Features
The stack includes the core sama-server, a React-based web client, a Flutter-based mobile client, and an MIT-licensed admin dashboard, with end-to-end encryption, clustering for high availability, multi-device sessions, and push notifications built in.
Developers can evaluate the full stack against a public hosted demo at app.samacloud.io before deciding to self-host, and REST and WebSocket API documentation is published at docs.samacloud.io.
Pricing
SAMA is free and open source with no published pricing tiers; it is designed to be self-hosted, and a public cloud demo instance is available for testing at no cost.
Key Features
WebSocket-Based Chat Server — Core sama-server built on uWebSockets.js for high-throughput, low-latency real-time messaging.
End-to-End Encryption — Built-in encryption support for private conversations.
Clustering and High Availability — Native clustering support for horizontal scaling and uptime.
Multi-Device Support — Sessions and message sync across multiple devices per user.
Push Notifications — Built-in push notification support for mobile and web clients.
Prebuilt Clients — Official React web client and Flutter mobile client available alongside the server.
Admin Dashboard — A dedicated, MIT-licensed administrative dashboard for managing deployments.
REST and WebSocket APIs — Documented APIs for building custom chat experiences on top of the server.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Fully open source and self-hostable, giving developers complete control over data and infrastructure
Comes with a full stack out of the box: server, web client, mobile client, and admin dashboard
Built on modern, high-performance WebSocket tooling with uWebSockets.js
Public hosted demo at app.samacloud.io makes it easy to evaluate before self-hosting
Cons
No public company information, founding date, or headquarters, making vendor due diligence harder
Smaller community and GitHub following compared with larger open-source chat projects
Self-hosting requires developer resources to deploy, secure, and maintain the server and clustering setup
Documentation is comparatively lightweight versus established commercial chat APIs
Pricing
Self-Hosted / Open Source Free N/A
Frequently Asked Questions
What does SAMA stand for?
SAMA stands for Simple but Advanced Messaging Alternative, an open-source chat server for mobile and web applications.
Is SAMA free?
Yes, SAMA is free, open-source software that can be self-hosted; a public hosted demo is also available at app.samacloud.io.
What is SAMA built with?
The core sama-server is built in JavaScript on uWebSockets.js, with an official React-based web client and a Flutter-based mobile client.
Does SAMA support encryption?
Yes, SAMA includes end-to-end encryption support along with clustering for high availability.
Who maintains SAMA?
SAMA is maintained by the SAMA-Communications organization on GitHub, which publishes the server, clients, and an admin dashboard.
Can I test SAMA without installing it?
Yes, the full SAMA stack can be tested against the public cloud instance at app.samacloud.io.
Does SAMA support multiple devices per user?
Yes, SAMA supports multi-device sessions along with push notifications.
Where can I find SAMA's API documentation?
SAMA's REST and WebSocket API documentation is published at docs.samacloud.io.