PocketPing vs Intergram
Both PocketPing and Intergram are open-source projects that let visitors on your website chat with you through Telegram. Intergram pioneered the idea in 2017 with a single-shared-chat approach. PocketPing extends the same idea with per-visitor threading, multi-bridge support, SDKs for self-hosted backends, and a free serverless deployment mode.
If you're searching for an Intergram alternative, this page exists to help you pick honestly.
TL;DR
- Pick Intergram if you want the simplest possible single-chat anonymous widget, you only need Telegram, and you don't mind that all visitors land in one shared conversation.
- Pick PocketPing if you want one Telegram Forum Topic per visitor, support for Discord/Slack too, optional edit/delete sync, attachments, AI fallback, first-class React bindings, and a 1-click serverless deploy that needs no server and no database.
At a glance
| Intergram | PocketPing | |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Visitor → operator routing | One shared Telegram chat | One forum topic per visitor |
| Bridges | Telegram | Telegram · Discord · Slack |
| Reply UX on operator's phone | Single noisy chat | Discrete topic per conversation |
| Self-host modes | Node.js server | Serverless Worker · Bridge-server (Go) · Your own backend via SDK |
| Backend SDKs | — | Node · Python · Go · PHP · Ruby |
| React bindings | — | @pocketping/react (provider + hook) |
| Message edit / delete sync | — | ✅ (SDK / bridge-server modes) |
| File attachments | — | ✅ (SDK / bridge-server modes) |
| Free 1-click deploy | — | ✅ (Cloudflare Workers) |
| Last active | Sparse since ~2020 | Active |
Where the projects diverge
Threading model
Intergram puts every visitor's messages into the same Telegram chat. The visitor's name appears inline so you can tell conversations apart, but the chronology is interleaved. PocketPing maps each visitor to a dedicated Telegram Forum Topic in a supergroup — your phone shows them as separate threads you can read, pin, mute, or close one by one. For more than a couple of visitors a day this is the difference between a tractable inbox and a firehose.
Bridges
Intergram is Telegram-only. PocketPing supports Telegram, Discord, and Slack as send/receive bridges, including Discord forum channels and Slack threaded replies. You can route different sites or projects to different channels.
Self-host shape
Intergram ships a Node.js server you run yourself. PocketPing offers three deployment modes behind the same widget API:
- Serverless lite — a free Cloudflare Worker, no database. Closest spirit to Intergram's "just deploy something" feel, but with no server you own.
- Bridge-server — a Go binary you run with Docker; full feature set, no code to write.
- SDK in your backend — Node, Python, Go, PHP, or Ruby. Your DB, your routes, your auth.
Switching modes is just changing the widget's endpoint. The visitor
experience and the API stay the same.
Features beyond text chat
PocketPing's SDK and bridge-server modes support edit/delete sync to the bridge, file attachments in both directions, read receipts, AI fallback when you're offline, and custom events for product-led workflows. Intergram stays focused on plain text in/out.
When Intergram is the better choice
You want the minimum possible piece of code that puts visitor chat into your existing Telegram, you really only need a single shared chat, and you'd rather copy a small repo than evaluate three deployment modes. Nothing wrong with that, and Intergram's simplicity has aged well.
When PocketPing is the better choice
You want a clean inbox (one topic per visitor), the option of Discord or
Slack later, a real React component instead of a window.PocketPing global,
and either no server (Cloudflare Worker) or your own backend (SDK in 5
languages) — with a path to add edit/delete sync, attachments, and AI
fallback without rewriting your widget integration.
Try it in 60 seconds
Full serverless setup guide: Serverless (Lite).