Freedom251 › Business Phone Systems
Palephone
What Palephone is
Palephone is free, GPL-2.0 communications software for teams that want to host their own calling, chat, meetings, files, PBX workflows, and governance controls. Its calling tools include SIP accounts, advanced call routing, extensions, ring groups, queues, IVR, voicemail, recording, and call park. Messaging and meetings provide direct messages, rooms, channels, presence, file sharing, scheduled meetings, polls, Q&A, transcripts, and attendance. Collaboration features cover folders, file versions, wiki pages, tasks, approvals, apps, bots, connectors, and automation records. Governance tools include retention, eDiscovery, DLP, audit logs, sensitivity labels, information barriers, data residency records, and security score reporting. Palephone lists clients for macOS, Linux, Windows, and Android, with server installation through Docker Compose, Linux packages or binaries, a Windows installer, or bare-metal Linux. Production deployments connect external services separately, potentially including Matrix, databases, storage, speech systems, telephony, and emergency calling. The public server package does not enable its built-in SIP registrar path by default.
Who it suits
Palephone suits teams seeking self-hosted communications across desktop and mobile platforms. It is also aimed at operators needing PBX, collaboration, and governance features.
What it does well
- Free plan and GPL-2.0 license
- Advanced routing and broad PBX features
- Clients for macOS, Linux, Windows, and Android
- Multiple server installation paths
- Extensive governance and audit controls
What to know first
- External production services must be connected separately
- Built-in SIP registrar is disabled by default
- TLS and media-path setup require operator attention
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Described as free, open source software · Self-hosted; production dependencies must be installed or connected separately | Free |
As drcpbx.com lists them, read 12 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
Palephone combines calling, collaboration, and governance in a self-hosted package. Teams should account for separate production dependencies and the disabled default SIP registrar path.
Facts from Palephone's own pages
- Calling
- Calling and PBX features include SIP accounts, call routing, extensions, ring groups, queues, IVR, voicemail, call recording, and call park. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Call routing
- advanced · drcpbx.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Client platforms
- The client is listed for macOS, Linux, Windows, and Android. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Collaboration
- Collaboration features include folders, file versions, wiki pages, tasks, approvals, apps, bots, connectors, and automation records. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- Pale Server can be installed with Docker Compose, Linux packages or binaries, or a Windows installer, and the site also documents bare-metal Linux installation. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Desktop and mobile apps
- Yes · drcpbx.com, 22 Sept 2026
- External systems
- Production deployments may need external services such as Matrix, coturn, PostgreSQL, ClamAV or YARA, Whisper or Vosk, Ollama or vLLM, storage, PSTN, and E911 providers. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · drcpbx.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Governance
- Governance features include retention, eDiscovery, DLP, audit logs, sensitivity labels, information barriers, data residency records, and security score reporting. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Integration limits
- The site says provider contracts and readiness checks do not replace certified integrations or carrier acceptance testing, and production deployments must connect external services separately. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The site describes a Matrix-backed chat path and lists external systems including coturn, PostgreSQL, ClamAV or YARA, Whisper or Vosk, Ollama or vLLM, storage, PSTN, and E911 providers. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Known limit
- The built-in SIP registrar path is not enabled by default in the current public server package. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- License
- Palephone is GPL-2.0 software. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Messaging and meetings
- Messaging and meeting features include direct messages, rooms, channels, presence, file sharing, scheduled meetings, polls, Q&A, transcripts, and attendance. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Platforms
- The site lists client downloads or setup instructions for macOS, Windows, Linux, and Android. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Product
- Palephone is free, open-source communications software for teams to run calling, chat, meetings, files, PBX workflows, and compliance controls. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Public build limit
- The built-in SIP registrar path is not enabled by default in the current public server package. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Security
- The setup guidance recommends TLS for deployments reachable outside a trusted local machine and says media privacy also depends on the media path, SRTP settings, and TURN deployment. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Self-hosting
- Palephone provides server installation paths for Linux and Windows, including Docker Compose and Linux package repositories. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Support
- The site provides operator documentation for installation, user creation, client setup, TLS, troubleshooting, and production deployment. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Support and operations
- The site provides operator documentation for installation, setup, TLS guidance, troubleshooting, and production notes. · drcpbx.com, 12 Oct 2026
Where Palephone stands on Freedom251
- Business Phone Systems#24 of 167