Chatwoot
Customer communication platform (alternative to Intercom and Zendesk).
Chatwoot vs Rocket.Chat
Two self-hosted Communication - Custom Communication Systems apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Chatwoot | Rocket.Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Customer communication platform (alternative to Intercom and Zendesk). | Communications platform that puts data protection first (alternative to Gitter.im and Slack). |
| GitHub stars | 38,889 | 46,373 |
| Forks | – | 14.1k |
| Open issues (incl. PRs) | – | 4.3k |
| Commits (12 months) | 1.5k | 2.4k |
| Last activity | 2026-11-05 | 2026-11-05 |
| Latest release | v4.19.1 (2026-10-24) | 9.0.0-rc.4 (2026-11-03) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | ⊘ Proprietary | MIT |
| Language / platform | Ruby, Docker, K8S | Nodejs, Docker, K8S |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~2 GB, 1 vCPU | ~2 GB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $10/mo | $10/mo |
| Categories | Communication - Custom Communication Systems | Communication - Custom Communication Systems |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- Chatwoot and Rocket.Chat have a similar number of GitHub stars (38.9k vs 46.4k).
- Rocket.Chat had more commits in the last 12 months (2,435 vs 1,461).
- Rocket.Chat published a release more recently (9.0.0-rc.4 on 2026-11-03; Chatwoot's latest is v4.19.1 on 2026-10-24).
- Chatwoot is licensed under ⊘ Proprietary, Rocket.Chat under MIT.
- Chatwoot is written in Ruby; Rocket.Chat in Nodejs.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Chatwoot: Docker, K8S; Rocket.Chat: Docker, K8S.
Summary: Rocket.Chat leads on commit activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chatwoot or Rocket.Chat more popular?
They are close: Chatwoot has 38,889 GitHub stars and Rocket.Chat has 46,373 (as of 2026-11-05).
Which is more actively maintained, Chatwoot or Rocket.Chat?
Rocket.Chat had more commits over the last 12 months (2,435 vs 1,461). Both had repository activity on 2026-11-05. Our health labels: Chatwoot is “Active”, Rocket.Chat is “Active”.
What licenses do Chatwoot and Rocket.Chat use?
Chatwoot: ⊘ Proprietary. Rocket.Chat: MIT. Note: Chatwoot includes a non-free license component.
Can I run Chatwoot and Rocket.Chat with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. The upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option for Chatwoot and Rocket.Chat. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
Rocket.Chat
Communications platform that puts data protection first (alternative to Gitter.im and Slack).
Browse all self-hosted Communication - Custom Communication Systems apps.