Mattermost vs Rocket.Chat
Self-host pick — both replace Microsoft Teams (Team chat + video meetings).
Both Mattermost and Rocket.Chat self-host as a replacement for Microsoft Teams (Team chat + video meetings). Pick Mattermost if you want a AGPL-licensed codebase (AGPL-3.0); pick Rocket.Chat for MIT (MIT). Both run in roughly the same cost bracket — $10/mo vps for a 50-user team; postgres is the heaviest piece vs $10/mo vps; mongodb needs ram and growing index space.
| Mattermostopen-source | Rocket.Chatopen-source | |
|---|---|---|
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Setup time | 20min docker-compose (Go server + Postgres) | 20min docker-compose (Node + MongoDB) |
| Monthly cost | $10/mo VPS for a 50-user team; Postgres is the heaviest piece. | $10/mo VPS; MongoDB needs RAM and growing index space. |
| GitHub | mattermost/mattermost | RocketChat/Rocket.Chat |
| Replaces | Microsoft Teams + 2 other | Microsoft Teams + 1 other |
Good fit for
Mattermost
Engineering-heavy orgs that want Teams-shaped channel+thread chat with deeper integration hooks (Slack-compatible webhooks, slash commands, devops bots).
Weak at:Files / co-edit story is bring-your-own — pair with Nextcloud + Collabora to recover the docx co-edit half of Teams.
Rocket.Chat
Customer-facing scenarios (livechat plugin), regulated environments (on-prem with SSO + audit trail), and orgs that need omnichannel chat with email/WhatsApp gateways.
Weak at:MongoDB ops surface — backups and upgrades are more involved than Mattermost's Postgres.
Both also replace
- Slack— Team chat
In a terminal? npx -y github:SolvoHQ/os-alt-cli microsoft-teams prints Microsoft Teams's self-host options including both —
how the CLI works →
FAQ
Which is easier to self-host, Mattermost or Rocket.Chat?
Mattermost: 20min docker-compose (Go server + Postgres). Rocket.Chat: 20min docker-compose (Node + MongoDB).
What does each cost to run?
Mattermost: $10/mo VPS for a 50-user team; Postgres is the heaviest piece.. Rocket.Chat: $10/mo VPS; MongoDB needs RAM and growing index space.. Both projects are free and open source.
Do Mattermost and Rocket.Chat replace the same SaaS?
Yes — both are open-source alternatives to Microsoft Teams (and 1 other SaaS).