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Omegle alternatives that still work in 2026
Omegle closed in November 2023. These are the sites people moved to - random video and text chat with strangers, ranked by how close they get to the old Omegle feel.
Checked September 14, 2026 · 8 platforms · ranked by fit, not by who pays. How we rank
Omegle shut down on November 8, 2023. Its founder posted a long goodbye explaining that running it had become impossible - the moderation load, the lawsuits, the cost. Fourteen years of 'talk to strangers' ended with a gravestone graphic on the homepage. If you're here, you probably typed omegle.com out of habit and found it.
Nothing replaced it exactly, because nothing has Omegle's combination of no sign-up, huge crowd, and a text mode sitting right next to the video one. But the pieces exist across a few sites, and this list is organised by which piece you miss.
If you miss the size and speed - open the page, get a person - OmeTV and Chatroulette are the two that still feel like that. If you miss the text-only mode, Emerald Chat's text mode and TalkWithStranger are the closest, and Emerald adds interest matching that Omegle only half had. If what you actually want is Omegle without the things that killed it, CamSurf is the moderated version.
One thing to know: a lot of sites launched after the shutdown with 'omegle' in the name. Most are thin clones with tiny crowds, and some exist to harvest your camera permission and show ads. None of them are on this list. Everything here existed before Omegle closed and is still busy now.
The rules that kept you safe on Omegle apply here too. No personal details, no clicking pasted links, and report the people who deserve it.
1OmeTV
Best for: A big, international crowd with proper phone apps and moderators watching the feed.
Closest to old Omegle in size and speed
OmeTV is one of the larger random video chat services and it shows: you rarely wait for a match, and the mix of countries is wide. It runs in a browser and as apps on both phone platforms. Moderation is active, with reports handled fast, and the site publishes rules that get enforced. There's a country filter if you want it, and you can chat by text inside the video call, which helps when the languages don't line up.
- Big crowd, short waits at any hour
- Country filter and in-call text with translation
- Native apps for iOS and Android
- Some filters and extras are paid
- Ban system can be blunt
- Plenty of language mismatches without the filter
2Chatroulette
Best for: The original roulette experience in a browser tab - no app, no sign-up, next stranger in one click.
The other original - same idea, still running
Chatroulette is the site that started the whole genre, and it still works the same way: open the page, allow the camera, hit start, and you're face to face with a random person. Skip is instant. There's no app to install and nothing to fill in. Moderation got a lot stricter over the years, so nudity gets you banned quickly, which makes it calmer than it was in 2010 but also means matches are heavily skewed toward men looking for women.
- No download, no account to get started
- Skip is instant and the queue is always busy
- Strict moderation keeps it cleaner than its reputation
- Mostly men, so women get flooded and men wait
- No gender or country filter
- Bans can hit by mistake and there's nobody to appeal to
3Emerald Chat
Best for: Matching by shared interests instead of pure luck, with text, video and group rooms in one place.
Text mode plus interest matching - the Omegle text tab, done better
Emerald Chat tries to fix the thing that makes random chat tiring: talking to people you have nothing in common with. You add a few interests, and it leans matches toward people who picked the same ones. It has one-on-one text, one-on-one video and group chat rooms, plus a karma score that rewards people who don't get reported. You can use it without an account, but the account unlocks the matching and keeps your karma.
- Interest matching actually changes who you meet
- Text, video and group rooms in one tab
- Karma score keeps repeat offenders away from everyone else
- Free tier shows ads between matches
- Gender filter is paid
- Web only - the mobile site works but there's no proper app
4CamSurf
Best for: A moderated, family-safe random video chat that takes its own rules seriously.
What Omegle would have been with real moderation
CamSurf positions itself as the clean one, and it mostly lives up to that. Moderators watch the feed, nudity and harassment get people removed, and the tone is friendlier than most. No sign-up is needed. It has apps for both phone platforms and a website. The crowd is smaller than the big names, so you may wait a bit at night, but what you get is more likely to be a person who actually wants to talk.
- Active moderation you can actually notice
- No account, apps on both platforms
- Friendlier crowd for first-timers
- Smaller pool, repeats when you skip a lot
- Country filter is paid
- Quieter late at night
5Shagle
Best for: Country and gender filters plus virtual masks, in a browser, with a busy crowd.
Free country filter, no account
Shagle is close to Chatspin in what it does - random video chat with masks and filters - but it lives in the browser only and the crowd feels a bit larger. You can pick a country for free, and gender filtering is part of the paid tier. Virtual masks hide your face if you want them to. There's a text-only mode too. The interface is plain and quick, which is a compliment on a site where the whole point is skipping fast.
- Free country filter
- Virtual masks and a text-only mode
- Fast, plain interface
- Gender filter is paid
- No native app
- Moderation is lighter than the bigger sites
6Monkey
Best for: Fifteen-second video matches on your phone - if you both tap to add time, the chat continues.
Omegle's energy, on your phone
Monkey is built around one rule: you get 15 seconds with a stranger, and the call only continues if both of you tap to extend it. That tiny mechanic changes the mood. Nobody feels trapped, so people are more relaxed in the first few seconds, and the ones who stay are actually interested. It's phone-first, the audience skews young adult, and it's loud - filters, music, quick banter. The company's terms require users to be 18 or older.
- 15-second matches take the pressure off the first hello
- Proper iOS and Android apps, not a wrapped website
- Duo mode lets you match with a friend beside you
- Account required, tied to your phone
- Loud and fast - not for long conversations
- 18+ by its own terms, so no under-18 audience
7Chatrandom
Best for: Random video plus themed chat rooms, so you can pick a topic instead of pure luck.
Random video plus rooms
Chatrandom has been around since the early days and it's grown into a bundle: the standard random video chat, a gender filter, and a set of chat rooms organised by topic and language. If random matching wears you out, the rooms let you drop into a group with a shared interest instead. It has apps and a website. Free covers the basics; the gender filter and ad removal are paid.
- Topic and language rooms next to the random mode
- Free country filter
- Apps on iOS and Android
- Gender filter is paid
- Interface pushes the premium tier
- Average moderation
8TalkWithStranger
Best for: Text-only chat rooms and one-on-one chats without a camera, an account, or an app.
For people who only ever used Omegle's text mode
TalkWithStranger is a text chat site: rooms by topic, one-on-one random text, and forum threads for slower conversation. Nothing asks for your camera. You pick a nickname and go. That makes it the easy choice for anonymous chat when you're bored but don't want to be seen. The rooms have moderators and the site has been around long enough to have a regular crowd, so it's rarely empty even at strange hours.
- No camera, no account, no app
- Topic rooms plus random one-on-one
- Active at most hours
- Ads
- Spam and contact-fishing in random mode
- Old-fashioned design
Side by side
| # | Platform | Type | Video | Account | Free | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OmeTV | Random video chat | Yes | Optional | Yes | web, iOS, Android |
| 2 | Chatroulette | Random video chat | Yes | Optional | Yes | web |
| 3 | Emerald Chat | Random video chat | Yes | Optional | Yes | web |
| 4 | CamSurf | Random video chat | Yes | Not needed | Yes | web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | Shagle | Random video chat | Yes | Optional | Yes | web |
| 6 | Monkey | Random video chat | Yes | Required | Yes | iOS, Android, web |
| 7 | Chatrandom | Random video chat | Yes | Optional | Yes | web, iOS, Android |
| 8 | TalkWithStranger | Text chat | No | Not needed | Yes | web |
Questions people ask
Why did Omegle shut down?
The founder, Leif K-Brooks, said the site could no longer sustain the fight against misuse, and that the stress and expense of moderation and legal battles had become too much. He shut it down in November 2023 rather than sell it or hand it over.
Is there a new Omegle?
No official successor. Several sites use the name for search traffic, but none are connected to the original. The sites above are the ones with real, active crowds.
Which alternative is closest to Omegle's text chat?
Emerald Chat's text mode with interests, or TalkWithStranger for a no-account text room. Neither has Omegle's volume in text mode, but both work.
Can I still use Omegle somehow?
No. The site is gone and the domain shows the farewell notice. Anything claiming to be Omegle now is a different service using the name.