Mattermost vs Rocket.Chat: Self-Hosted Team Chat Compared
Mattermost vs Rocket.Chat: Self-Hosted Team Chat Compared
Mattermost and Rocket.Chat are the two heavyweights of open source team chat. Both replace Slack. Both are self-hosted. But they take different approaches — Mattermost is focused and developer-oriented; Rocket.Chat is feature-packed and omnichannel. Here's how to decide.
Quick Verdict
Choose Mattermost for a focused, developer-friendly Slack replacement with excellent DevOps integrations. Choose Rocket.Chat for an omnichannel communication platform with video, livechat, and WhatsApp integration.
The Comparison
| Feature | Mattermost | Rocket.Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Core focus | Team messaging | Omnichannel communication |
| GitHub stars | 30K+ | 41K+ |
| Stack | Go, React | Node.js (Meteor), React |
| License | MIT (TE: proprietary) | MIT |
| Channels | ✅ | ✅ |
| Threads | ✅ | ✅ |
| Direct messages | ✅ | ✅ |
| File sharing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Search | ✅ (Elasticsearch optional) | ✅ |
| Video calls | Plugin (Jitsi, Zoom) | ✅ Built-in |
| Screen sharing | Via plugin | ✅ Built-in |
| Livechat/widget | ❌ | ✅ |
| Omnichannel | ❌ | ✅ (WhatsApp, SMS, etc.) |
| Bots | ✅ | ✅ |
| Webhooks | ✅ | ✅ |
| Slash commands | ✅ | ✅ |
| App marketplace | ✅ | ✅ |
| LDAP/SAML | ✅ | ✅ |
| E2E encryption | Enterprise | ✅ |
| Federation | Enterprise | ✅ (Matrix bridge) |
| Desktop app | ✅ | ✅ |
| Mobile app | ✅ | ✅ |
| DevOps integrations | ✅ (best) | ✅ |
| RAM usage | 500MB-1GB | 1-2GB |
| Performance | Faster (Go) | Heavier (Node.js) |
Deep Dive: Mattermost
Strengths:
- Performance: Go backend is faster and uses less memory than Rocket.Chat's Node.js
- DevOps focus: Best-in-class integrations with Jira, GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, PagerDuty
- Playbooks: Built-in incident management and runbooks
- Boards: Focalboard integrated for project management alongside chat
- Plugin ecosystem: Well-documented plugin API
- Enterprise backing: Strong commercial company, predictable roadmap
Weaknesses:
- No built-in video calling (requires Jitsi/Zoom plugin)
- No livechat widget for websites
- Some features gated to Enterprise Edition
- No omnichannel (WhatsApp, SMS integration)
Deep Dive: Rocket.Chat
Strengths:
- Omnichannel: WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SMS, email, livechat in one platform
- Built-in video: Video calling and screen sharing without plugins
- Livechat widget: Embeddable customer support chat
- Federation: Matrix protocol bridge for cross-server communication
- End-to-end encryption: Available in community edition
- More features: Out of the box, Rocket.Chat does more
Weaknesses:
- Heavier resource usage (Meteor/Node.js stack)
- Can feel slower with large teams
- UI is busier and less polished than Mattermost
- Some features deprecated or changed frequently
- Smaller enterprise market compared to Mattermost
Deployment Comparison
Mattermost:
docker run -d --name mattermost \
-p 8065:8065 \
-v mattermost-data:/mattermost/data \
-v mattermost-config:/mattermost/config \
mattermost/mattermost-team-edition
Rocket.Chat:
docker compose up -d # Requires MongoDB
| Mattermost | Rocket.Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Database | PostgreSQL/MySQL | MongoDB |
| Min RAM | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| Min CPU | 1 core | 2 cores |
| Disk | 10 GB | 10 GB |
When to Choose Mattermost
- Developer and DevOps teams
- Organizations wanting Slack-like focus
- Performance-sensitive deployments
- Teams needing Jira/GitHub/GitLab integration
- Enterprises wanting predictable, well-backed OSS
When to Choose Rocket.Chat
- Customer support teams (livechat widget)
- Organizations needing omnichannel (WhatsApp, SMS)
- Teams wanting built-in video calling
- Deployments requiring Matrix federation
- Organizations needing E2E encryption in community edition
The Bottom Line
Mattermost is the better Slack replacement — focused, fast, and developer-friendly. Rocket.Chat is the better communication platform — omnichannel, livechat, video, and federation in one. If you just need team chat, go Mattermost. If you need customer communication too, go Rocket.Chat.
Compare Mattermost, Rocket.Chat, and more on OSSAlt — features, performance, and community activity side by side.