The official comparison on dcts.community lists DCTS, Stoat, Fluxer, Matrix, and Spacebar. DCTS wins every row. The “trustworthy” row is a list of r/dcts posts. Fluxer’s cell is the phrase “Possibly vibe coded.” This page grades DCTS against DCTS.
On a phone, swipe the table sideways.
| Row they wrote | What they printed | What that is |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hostable? | DCTS: “Easy setup.” Everyone else: troublesome, technical, mess. | Marketing. Docker “needs testing.” Main is sometimes unshippable. |
| Decentralized | A check for DCTS. Silence or nothing for the protocol that actually federates. | Their own principles doc: no known instances yet. |
| Encrypted DMs / messenger | Checks for DCTS. | Desktop extra. About page: “thought to be cool.” |
| Open source | DCTS wins. Stoat “contains closed source parts.” | package.json license field is empty. 2024 notes: source-available, plan to charge companies. |
| Free | DCTS wins. Others have subscriptions. | dsync-pay, dsync-shop, managed hosting plans, CLA on patches. |
| Subject to platform decay | Blank for DCTS. “Runs servers for others” / “Chaotic” for everyone else. | Single maintainer. Intuition-driven. “Development can seem pretty random.” |
| Trustworthy & transparent | Self-citations to r/dcts smear posts. Fluxer: “Possibly vibe coded.” | The tell. The whole site is this row. |
On a phone, swipe the table sideways.
| Question | DCTS copy | DCTS in the files |
|---|---|---|
| Is this a Discord alternative? | “Our goal is not to be yet another discord alternative.” | |
| Is it decentralized? | Resilient network, cannot be taken down easily. | Optional gossip. Zero known instances. No Matrix/AP/Nostr, on principle. |
| Is it independent? | Custom libraries, donation only, never sold. | npm forest, Google STUN, dsync-pay/shop, commercialize-the-license notes. |
| Is the website finished? | Partners, testimonials, comparison, vision. | |
| Is the founder safe to trust? | Humble. No ego. Fair. Straight to the point. | Smear subreddit. Instant perma-bans. CLA. Pre-approved PRs only. |
| Is it vibe coded? | The other app is. | CSS homework, dummy testimonials, intuition-driven, “pretty random.” |
| Can you send a file in the new messenger? | Fully featured, Signal-like, desktop and mobile. | r/dcts: minor things left, “like sending files.” |
| How big is the movement? | Community-driven platform for the future. | r/dcts: |
If you want a Discord alternative, look at software whose website can describe a user. If you want a cautionary tale about shipping a template and a grudge, you are already on it.