Franz combines 75+ chat and email services into one desktop app, with a free 3-service plan and paid tiers from about $5/month for unlimited services.
Franz is a desktop application that pulls dozens of separate messaging, chat, and email services into a single unified window. It was created in 2016 by Vienna-based developer Stefan Malzner after a weekend prototype launched on Product Hunt to about 2,000 upvotes, and it went on to win Product Hunt's Desktop App of the Year award later that year. Franz remains an independently run, unfunded product built in Austria rather than a venture-backed startup.
The app supports more than 75 services, including WhatsApp, Slack, Gmail, Signal, Discord, Microsoft Teams, and Telegram, letting users switch between accounts and platforms without juggling separate browser tabs or native apps. Over its decade of operation it has surpassed a million downloads.
Franz's core feature is simply consolidation: instead of running Slack, WhatsApp Web, Gmail, and Discord as separate windows or browser tabs, all of them live inside Franz as individual "services" that can be organized, muted, and switched between quickly. It has added native support for Signal and calendar integration on top of the original browser-based service model.
More recently Franz introduced an AI assistant designed to summarize activity across multiple connected channels, so users can catch up on messages from several apps at once rather than checking each individually. Pro and Pro Cloud plans differentiate on whether users bring their own AI model or use Franz's EU-hosted AI with a stated zero-retention policy.
Franz's free Starter plan supports up to three messaging services in a single workspace, enough for light users to try the concept. Paid Pro costs about 60 euros per year (roughly 5 euros per month) for unlimited services with support for bringing your own AI model, while Pro Cloud costs about 96 euros per year (roughly 8 euros per month) and includes Franz's own EU-hosted AI with a zero-retention policy.
Franz also sells a one-time Franz Lifetime license at a launch price of about 149 euros (149 euros regular listed at 169 euros), giving unlimited services permanently with support for personal API keys, an option aimed at users who prefer to avoid recurring subscriptions.
Yes, the Starter plan is free and supports up to three messaging services; unlimited services require a paid Pro, Pro Cloud, or Lifetime plan.
Pro costs about 60 euros per year, and Pro Cloud costs about 96 euros per year; a one-time Lifetime license is available for about 149 euros.
Franz supports more than 75 services including WhatsApp, Slack, Gmail, Signal, Discord, Microsoft Teams, and Telegram.
Franz was created in 2016 by Vienna-based developer Stefan Malzner and remains an independently run, unfunded product.
Ferdium is a free, open-source community fork descended from Franz via an earlier fork called Ferdi; Franz itself remains a separate, commercially maintained product.