Mattermost vs Rocket.Chat
Both are self-hostable chat platforms with a United States base, and neither posts a price for its paid tier. Mattermost is shaped around engineering and security teams, with a source licence of AGPL v3. Rocket.Chat keeps most of its repository under MIT and now aims its pricing page at sovereign and public-sector buyers.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderVendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Choose Mattermost ifyou run an engineering or security organisation, want a vendor-managed single-tenant cloud as an alternative to on-premises, and can accept a quote-based route.
Choose Rocket.Chat ifyou want most of the code under the MIT licence, a Starter plan to trial with, and a public-sector or critical-infrastructure setting.
Mattermost and Rocket.Chat side by side
| Mattermost | Rocket.Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Our team messaging software rank | #4 of 14 | #7 of 14 |
| Established in | United States | United States |
| List price, 3 November 2026 | Professional, Enterprise and Enterprise Advanced are quoted by sales; a limited-use evaluation edition is offered | Commercial plan quoted by sales; Starter plan for evaluation; free self-managed workspace offered |
| Free tier | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Built for | Security-conscious engineering organisations that must host chat inside their own network | Public-sector and regulated organisations deploying chat on infrastructure they control |
| Not for | Small teams wanting a cheap card-and-go chat tool | Small commercial teams comparing posted per-seat prices side by side |
Both are reviewed in full in our team messaging software ranking: Mattermost and Rocket.Chat.
Where they differ
Mattermost 0 · Rocket.Chat 2 · open 2- 01
Is any price visible?
Mattermost's pricing page lists Professional, Enterprise and Enterprise Advanced with contact buttons and no amounts. Rocket.Chat shows a Commercial plan with a Get pricing button and no amounts either. Neither lets a buyer compare per-seat cost before talking to sales, so this round is level.
Depends on the buyer
- 02
Trying it before buying
Mattermost offers a limited-use edition of Enterprise Advanced, described as being for technical evaluation. Rocket.Chat advertises a free self-managed workspace and a Starter plan for evaluation, small businesses and non-profits. Rocket.Chat names small businesses and non-profits as the audience, so it is the friendlier starting point.
Edge: Rocket.Chat
- 03
Licence of the code
Mattermost's licence file says compiled builds from Mattermost, Inc. are MIT, while the source is usable under AGPL v3 or a commercial licence. Rocket.Chat's repository licence puts everything outside its ee directories under MIT, with those directories on a separate licence. Rocket.Chat is simpler for source reuse, though not all of it is MIT.
Edge: Rocket.Chat
- 04
Isolated and air-gapped use
Mattermost lists air-gapped and DDIL environments and zero trust on Enterprise Advanced, plus group calling for about 50 concurrent users per self-hosted server. Rocket.Chat lists on-premises, private cloud, isolated VPC and air-gapped deployment, or dedicated cloud run by the vendor. Both cover the case, and the pages do not separate them on capability.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
If you want a posted per-seat price or a plain card-and-go signup, neither fits well. Zulip and Element are the other self-hostable options in our team messaging category.
Mattermost or Rocket.Chat: questions
3 answersDo Mattermost and Rocket.Chat publish prices?
No, neither pricing page we read shows an amount. Mattermost uses contact sales, get pricing and request quote buttons, and Rocket.Chat uses a Get pricing button.
Can both be hosted by the vendor?
Yes. Mattermost offers a managed private single-tenant cloud, and Rocket.Chat offers dedicated cloud hosting run by the vendor.
Where are the companies based?
Our data lists both as United States companies: Mattermost with an office in Palo Alto, California, and Rocket.Chat with its headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware and R&D in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Sources
Checked 3 November 2026- Mattermost pricing: Three tiers with contact buttons and no amounts, the evaluation edition, air-gapped and zero trust options, and the group calling figure.
- Mattermost deployment: Managed private single-tenant cloud or on-premises deployment.
- Mattermost licence: MIT compiled builds, AGPL v3 or commercial source licence.
- Mattermost about: Palo Alto, California office.
- Rocket.Chat pricing: Commercial plan without amounts, Starter plan audience, deployment options, free self-managed workspace.
- Rocket.Chat licence: MIT outside the ee directories, separate licence inside them.
- Rocket.Chat contact: Wilmington, Delaware headquarters and Porto Alegre R&D.