Dimension scores are derived from public data and fields; weighted into the composite. Reference only.
Hazel is an open-source real-time chat and collaboration platform for development teams, positioned as a Slack alternative. It offers channels, direct messages, threads, file and media previews, full-text search, a command palette, AI summaries, plus desktop apps for macOS, Windows, and Linux, as well as Web/PWA access. Within the communications/messaging category, Hazel is primarily a team IM collaboration tool; the available materials do not indicate email, SMS, or voice capabilities.
Hazel’s main selling point is its integration with developer workflows. The official copy explicitly supports GitHub PR, Issue, and deployment notifications; Linear Issue previews and status updates; Railway deployment status; and OpenStatus incident alerts. It also supports custom webhooks and bots. Hazel also highlights synchronization of messages, threads, and reactions across Slack, Discord, and Hazel, making it suitable for teams migrating from existing community or team chat tools. In terms of performance, the site repeatedly emphasizes real-time delivery, presence, typing indicators, fast navigation, and lightweight responsiveness, but it does not provide quantitative metrics such as delivery rate, latency, or availability SLA.
Hazel is currently free during its Public Beta. The Free plan is $0/month and includes unlimited members, unlimited channels and messages, GitHub integration, desktop and Web apps, full-text search, and community support. The copy also mentions future paid plans for larger teams, advanced features, priority support, and enterprise self-hosting support, but no specific pricing has been announced. Based on the current feature set and free allowance, Hazel offers strong value for early-stage team trials, though costs after full commercialization remain uncertain.
On the security side, Hazel claims to support encryption in transit and at rest, SSO/SAML via Clerk, RBAC, granular permissions, audit logs, self-hosting, and GDPR compliance. Its open-source nature is also helpful for code auditing and reducing vendor lock-in. However, Hazel is still in Beta, and its service stability, enterprise SLA, data residency details, and support response standards are not fully disclosed. The API Reference is still marked as Coming Soon, the REST API has not yet officially launched, and its system-level integration capabilities remain something to watch.
Hazel is best suited for development teams, open-source projects, startups, remote engineering teams across time zones, and technical organizations that rely on GitHub/Linear/Railway. If a company needs SMS, email marketing, voice notifications, or large-scale external outreach, this is not the right type of product. For access from China, the available materials do not provide information on nodes, ICP filing, payment methods, or localization, so real-world usability is unknown. Teams in China may also want to evaluate Feishu, WeCom, DingTalk, or open-source alternatives such as Mattermost and Rocket.Chat.
⚠ This review is compiled from public sources and does not constitute a purchase recommendation. Verify all facts on the vendor's official site. Verify on hazel.sh official site.
hazel.sh is an Unknown Chat Apps provider. TG4G tracks its product information, an overall rating of 7.0/10, and a China-accessibility score of Workable. Click "Visit Official Site" to reach hazel.sh directly.