Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots

Better Messages is the most feature-rich realtime private messaging system for WordPress, with native integrations for BuddyPress, BuddyBoss Platform, Ultimate Member, PeepSo and any other WordPress powered websites.

Transform your WordPress site into a powerful communication platform with private messaging, chat rooms, video and audio calls, group video calls with recording, AI chat bots, and native mobile apps.

Whether you’re building a private or public community, social network, intranet, chat-rooms site, marketplace, membership site, dating platform, or creator economy site – Better Messages provides enterprise-level messaging features with an easy-to-use interface.

Try Better Messages:

• Live Demo — fully functional demo site

• Documentation & Knowledge Base — setup guides, features, FAQ

• All Integrations — every supported plugin and theme

• Pricing — free vs WebSocket version comparison

• Blog & Tutorials — guides, walkthroughs, integration deep-dives

For developers:

• REST API Reference — every endpoint and parameter

• PHP Hooks — actions, filters, helper functions

• JavaScript Hooks — frontend events and customization API

• Changelog — every release and bug fix

• Roadmap — upcoming features and votes

Popular use cases:

• Private communities — members-only platforms, cohorts and coaching circles, role-restricted messaging, AI Chat Bots, end-to-end encryption

• Public communities and social networks — BuddyPress, BuddyBoss, PeepSo and FluentCommunity sites, group conversations, chat rooms, mini chat widgets

• Intranet and corporate websites — team channels, access by WordPress role, file sharing, calls for remote teams

• Chat rooms websites — public and private topic rooms, guest access for unregistered visitors

• Dating and matchmaking sites — private 1-on-1 chat, photos and videos, calls, chat buttons on member directories

• Creator economy and paid DMs — paid messaging per message or call via GamiPress or MyCRED, mass messaging to fans

• Coaching and mentorship platforms — client-to-coach DMs, video calls, voice messages, file sharing

• Online stores ( WooCommerce ) — pre-sales chat on product pages, order support, inbox in My Account

• Marketplaces, classifieds and real estate — buyer-to-seller and agent chat on every listing, guest chat for visitors

• Online courses (LMS) — course chat rooms, instructor-to-student DMs

• Forums and Q&A communities — Private Message link on every reply

• Live events and webinars — event lobby chat rooms, guest access, group calls for AMAs

• Booking and appointment platforms — guest-to-host messaging on listings and bookings

• Crypto and Web3 communities — token-gated chat rooms, AMA group calls, AI knowledge bots

“ Better Messages ” plugin is formerly called “ BP Better Messages “.

Translate Better Messages to your language

Core Messaging Features:

• AJAX or WebSocket powered realtime conversations

• Private one-to-one conversations

• Group conversations with unlimited participants

• Chat Rooms with guest access support

• Messages for BuddyPress Groups, PeepSo Groups, Ultimate Member Groups, FluentCommunity Groups

• Subjects for conversations

• Search across all messages

• Mark messages as favorite

• Pin important messages to conversation top

• Pin favorite conversations to list top

• Filter conversations list to show only unread conversations

• Reply to specific messages

• Edit sent messages (with edit indicator)

• Delete messages

• Forward messages to other conversations

• Mark conversations as unread

• Mute conversation notifications, for good or for a set time

• Message draft autosave with recovery

AI & Automation:

• AI Chat Bots powered by OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude) and Google Gemini

• AI Chat Bots in group conversations with mention-based responses

• Conversation summarization and scheduled digests with AI

• Token usage and cost tracking, with a price list of the models kept up to date from WordPlus Cloud

• Voice message transcription powered by Better Messages Cloud AI or OpenAI

• Web Search capability for AI bots

• File Search tool for AI bots

• Image generation with AI

• PDF file support for AI conversations

Media & Content:

• File sharing with resumable uploads and ability to protect files from direct access (images, videos, documents)

• Cloud Storage for attachments in Cloudflare R2, Bunny.net Storage, Amazon S3 or any S3-compatible service, with files uploaded straight from the browser

• Upload limits for each type of file

• Image and video optimization in the browser: format conversion, quality control, metadata stripping

• Photo cropping and editing before sending

• Location messages with a map picker and nearby place suggestions

• Voice messages and video messages (available as addon)

• Embedded links with thumbnails and descriptions

• oEmbed support for YouTube, Vimeo, Spotify, SoundCloud, Flickr and 20+ services

• Emoji selector

• Built-in sticker packs with role-based access and per-locale support

• GIF integration with GIPHY and Klipy providers

• Inline sticker suggestions while typing

• Markdown text formatting support

Notifications:

• Email notifications for unread messages (customizable templates)

• Notification levels for group conversations and chat rooms: All messages, Mentions and replies, or Nothing, chosen by each member

• Unsubscribe link support in emails

• Sound notifications for new messages

• On-site toast notifications anywhere on your website

Moderation & Security:

• AI Content Moderation by Better Messages Moderation AI (included with the WebSocket license, no API keys) or the free OpenAI Moderation API

• Custom moderation rules in plain text, and conversation context awareness that catches patterns split across messages

• “Flag Only” (recommended) or “Hold for Review” moderation actions

• Pre-Moderated Messages – review messages before delivery

• Report messages feature

• Bad words filter with customizable blacklist

• Block user feature

• Role-based access control

• User whitelist/blacklist for moderation

• Site moderators: roles that open the Administration page, with a flag in the messenger while reports or held messages wait

• Chat room moderators who mute, ban and remove members, with bans that say until when and system messages that can name the moderator

Engagement Features:

• Reactions to messages

• Mentions (@username), and @all to mention everyone in a group conversation or chat room

• Mass messaging from WP Admin with scheduling, file attachments, and background processing

• Suggested conversations for new users

Mini Widgets:

• Embed conversation entry points anywhere on your site without using shortcodes

• Five widgets: Friends, Groups, Users, AI Bots, Chat Rooms

• Two display styles: Classic Bar or Floating Bubble (with chat heads)

• Three placement surfaces: bottom bar, side panel, mobile tab bar

• Per-widget icon picker, search box, role restrictions, and “Hide Tab When Empty” toggle

• Users widget with three display modes (all / by role / hand-picked) and sorting by last activity or registration date

• Customizable order of tabs in mini widgets, side panel and mobile view

Customization:

• Modern, fully customizable design

• Appearance tab — repaint every part of the messenger, reshape its corners and spacing and tune dark mode, with a live preview

• Custom tabs on the widget bar, the side panel and the mobile tab bar: a link, a page or shortcode content, and new names for the built-in tabs

• Custom notification sounds

• RTL layout support

• White label solution

• Fully translatable

• Auto-delete old messages option

Setup and help:

• Get started page that sets up the Messages page, chat with visitors, a chat room on its own page and the plugins on your site, one click each

• Better Messages Assistant on the Support page, an AI assistant that answers from the documentation and your settings and prepares setting changes for you to review, free version included

Privacy & GDPR:

• Dedicated Privacy & GDPR settings page

• All message data stored on your own server

• AI moderation, when enabled, sends message content for analysis — Better Messages Cloud stores none of it

• WordPress personal data export and erasure support

• Suggested privacy policy text that follows the enabled features

• Self-hosted emoji images option — no external CDN requests

• Privacy-friendly video embeds — YouTube, Vimeo load only after user clicks

• No cookies set, no analytics or tracking scripts

• Privacy & GDPR documentation

This is not a complete list of features — many smaller features and options are not listed, and new ones come with every release.

Compatible plugins & themes — 35+ native integrations:

Better Messages works on any WordPress site out of the box, and plugs straight into the community, LMS, marketplace and directory plugins below, with their members, groups, courses and listings.

Community & Membership Platforms — replaces the built-in messenger and inherits members, profiles, friends, and groups:

• BuddyPress

• BuddyBoss Platform — including BuddyBoss Theme and ReadyLaunch

• PeepSo

• Ultimate Member

• FluentCommunity — including Spaces and Courses

• SureDash

• ProfileGrid

• UsersWP

• WP User Manager

• Block, Suspend, Report for BuddyPress — its blocks apply to conversations too

Learning Management Systems (LMS) — course chat rooms, instructor messaging, and student-to-student conversations:

• LearnDash — including Instructor Role add-on

• LearnPress

• Tutor LMS

• MasterStudy LMS

• FluentCommunity Courses

E-commerce — WooCommerce — pre-sales and order support chat for online stores:

• WooCommerce — Contact buttons on product, cart, checkout and order pages that post the cart or the order into the conversation as a card, product links shown as product cards, and the inbox inside My Account. HPOS-compatible, works with guest checkout, in both the free and WebSocket versions.

Marketplaces & Multi-Vendor — buyer-to-vendor chat on top of WooCommerce, with per-vendor opt-in and contact buttons on vendor stores, product pages, and order details:

• Dokan Marketplace

• MultiVendorX

• WCFM

• WC Vendors

Listings, Directories & Classifieds — contact buttons on every listing, with per-listing threads:

• HivePress

• Directorist

• GeoDirectory

• Classified Listing

• Motors – Car Dealer, Classifieds & Listing

• WP Job Manager

Real Estate Themes — agent and inquiry messaging on property listings:

• Houzez

• RealHomes

Forums — Private Message link on every reply:

• wpForo

• bbPress

Gamification, Points & Paid Access — charge per message or call with per-role pricing and balance display:

• GamiPress

• MyCRED

Automation & Page Builders:

• Uncanny Automator — triggers and actions for chat events

• AutomatorWP — triggers and actions for chat events

• Crocoblock JetEngine Profile Builder — profile and chat shortcodes for JetEngine listings

Push & PWA:

• FluentNotify — web push through your own Firebase project

• OneSignal — web push notifications

• Progressify PWA — install-to-home-screen prompts on the messenger

Multilingual sites — the messenger follows the language of the page:

• GTranslate

• Weglot

Live streaming (WebSocket version):

• Live Stream — a host streams from the browser or OBS into a chat room, which is the chat of the stream

Universal Shortcode Builder — add chat to anything else:

Don’t see your plugin or theme in the list? The Shortcode Builder at WP Admin → Better Messages → Shortcodes adds a Live Chat Button to any custom post type, listing, profile or page builder block without writing PHP: point it at a sample post, choose who receives the messages (the post author, a user ID from post meta or a fixed inbox) and paste the shortcode into Gutenberg, Elementor, Bricks, Divi or a theme template. Every post gets a conversation of its own.

Full list of integrations

Report any incompatibility or request an integration — it helps improve Better Messages!

WebSocket version:

The WebSocket version is a paid subscription from WordPlus Cloud, with a free trial.

It connects your site and its members through dedicated realtime servers. Messages stay in your database: the servers pass them on encrypted and keep only the last few minutes of each conversation, also encrypted, so pages reload and reconnect at once.

Performance & Reliability:

• Significantly reduces the load on your server

• Instant message delivery in realtime, up to 200x faster than AJAX

• Works with any hosting including shared hosting

• No limits on concurrent connections or monthly active users

Video & Audio Calls:

• HD one-to-one video and audio calls

• Group video and group audio calls with no fixed size: each site includes 32 people on video or 50 on audio at once, and more join with WordPlus Cloud credits

• Screen sharing in one-to-one and group calls

• Call recording of group calls, with a transcript and captions

• Background blur, virtual backgrounds and AI Noise Removal

• Device settings with a camera preview and microphone and speaker tests

• Host Controls: Mute Everyone, Lock Room, Broadcast Mode, End for Everyone, Spotlight for Everyone, and Remove and Ban from Calls

• Raised hands, Participants, Auto, Speaker and Tiled layouts, picture in picture and keyboard shortcuts

• Optional end-to-end encryption of group calls

• Group call alerts by push, email and pop-up when a call starts

Mobile Apps:

• iOS and Android apps under your own name and developer accounts, built from WP Admin

• Push notifications for messages and calls, and VoIP notifications for incoming calls

• Native call screens for one-to-one and group calls

• Website sign-in through your site’s login page, with its two-factor authentication and login plugins

• App lock with Face ID, Touch ID or the fingerprint

• Links that open the app, signed-in devices with sign-out, and Delete Account

• A login screen in your brand, with a logo for dark mode

Realtime Features:

• Messages Delivery Status (sent, delivered, seen)

• Typing, voice recording and file uploading activity indicators

• Online/Offline presence indicator

• User statuses (Online, Away, Do Not Disturb)

• Mini Chats – chat windows anywhere on your site

• Mini Conversations widget – list and continue recent threads from any page

• Online-only filter and online-first ordering for the Users mini widget

Better Messages Cloud AI:

• Automatic message translation in private and group conversations — 53 languages, auto-detection

• AI Content Moderation — 23 categories, custom rules, conversation context awareness

• Voice message transcription — 99+ languages with auto-detection

• No third-party API keys required — included with WebSocket license at no additional cost

Security & Encryption:

• Optional End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) — can be enabled at the website level and per conversation, messages and files encrypted in users’ browsers with AES-256-GCM, server never sees plaintext

• Local browser encryption (AES256) for offline message storage

• Web Push Notifications (works even when the browser is closed)

• All data encrypted in transit, so we can’t read it on our servers

Support:

• Priority email support

• Regular updates and new features

WebSocket version pricing | Terms of Use

Translate the plugin to your language with Loco Translate or participate in plugin translation.