Looking for a Station alternative?
Franz 6 is the maintained one.
Station has not shipped a real update since around 2023, so it is effectively abandoned. Franz started this category in 2016, answers to no investors, and is still shipping today, with an AI assistant, native to-dos, and native Signal that Station never had.
Station was a genuinely good idea, and for a while it was the obvious choice. But Station was a venture-funded product, and when it did not grow the way its investors needed, the company moved on. There has been no real release since around 2023 and no developer communication for over two years. It is, plainly, abandonware now, and many users hit it the hard way, with apps that load blank or never start. Franz took the opposite path on purpose. We have never raised venture capital for Franz, and we walked away from the rounds that were on the table. There is no investor clock, no growth target someone else set, and no one who can decide Franz is not worth continuing. Franz started the every-messenger-in-one-app category back in 2016 and has never stopped shipping. Franz 6 adds what Station never had: an AI assistant that catches you up across every app, email triage, voice transcription, natively integrated to-dos, a native Signal client, tracker blocking, and a built-in browser so any web app works.
Why people switch from Station to Franz
| Franz | Station | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & access | ||
| Free for personal use | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Lowest paid plan | $6/mo Pro | Free (no longer sold) |
| Lifetime license | $169 | ✗ No |
| No account required | ✓ Yes | Unverified |
| AI & intelligence | ||
| AI assistant (cross-app catch-me-up) | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| AI email triage & priority inbox | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Voice-message transcription | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Action-item & decision extraction | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| AI you control (local, your key, or EU cloud) | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Services & messaging | ||
| Services you can add | 70+ | 600+ (historical) |
| Native Signal client (not a web wrapper) | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Direct connections (no relay) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Workspaces | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Privacy | ||
| Tracker & email-pixel blocking | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Local-first by default | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| EU data residency | ✓ Yes | Unverified |
| Platform & longevity | ||
| Desktop platforms | Mac, Windows, Linux | Mac, Windows, Linux |
| Actively maintained | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Building since | 2016 | Abandoned since ~2023 |
What you might miss
In fairness to Station: in its day it did something clever. Its cross-app smart search let you find a message no matter which service it lived in, and that was ahead of its time. That is the honest credit, but it is historical. With no updates since around 2023, Station today is mostly a cautionary tale about what happens when the company behind an aggregator decides it is no longer worth funding.
Ready to try Franz?
Free for personal use, and you can install it without making an account. Add your services and see how it feels in a few minutes.
No cloud middleman. No tracking. No banner.
Franz connects each messaging service directly from your device. Your messages don't pass through our servers. We don't set tracking cookies, and we don't show you a consent banner because we don't need one. Privacy Shield goes further, blocking trackers and fingerprinting inside the services you use. Built in Vienna since 2016. Your AI is yours to choose: on-device, your own API key, or zero-retention Franz Cloud hosted in the EU.
Free for the basics. Pro when you want the AI.
Everything else, answered.
More about Station
Is Station still being updated?
No. Station has not had a real release since around 2023, and there has been no developer communication for over two years. It is effectively abandoned. Franz is the opposite: it started this category in 2016, took no venture capital, and is still shipping today, with no investors who could decide to wind it down.
Will my setup keep working if I switch from Station?
Yes. Franz lets you add your messaging services and group them into workspaces, the same shape of setup Station gave you. The free plan includes up to 3 services and one workspace; Franz Pro unlocks unlimited services and unlimited workspaces. And unlike Station, Franz is actively maintained, so services keep working as they evolve.
What does Franz 6 add over Station?
Beyond simply being maintained: Franz 6 has an AI assistant that catches you up across every service, AI email triage, voice-message transcription, action-item extraction, natively integrated to-dos, a native Signal client, tracker and email-pixel blocking, and a built-in browser so any web app works. Station had none of that, and never will.
Station is a trademark of its respective owner. Franz is independent software and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Station. Names and logos shown here are used for identification and comparison only.