Mattermost
Platform for secure collaboration across the entire software development lifecycle, can be integrated with Gitlab (alternative to Slack).
Mattermost 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
| Mattermost | Rocket.Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Platform for secure collaboration across the entire software development lifecycle, can be integrated with Gitlab (alternative to Slack). | Communications platform that puts data protection first (alternative to Gitter.im and Slack). |
| GitHub stars | 39,530 | 46,373 |
| Forks | – | 14.1k |
| Open issues (incl. PRs) | – | 4.3k |
| Commits (12 months) | 2.1k | 2.4k |
| Last activity | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-05 |
| Latest release | v12.1.0-rc3 (2026-11-04) | 9.0.0-rc.4 (2026-11-03) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | ⊘ Proprietary | MIT |
| Language / platform | Go, 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
- Mattermost and Rocket.Chat have a similar number of GitHub stars (39.5k vs 46.4k).
- Mattermost published a release more recently (v12.1.0-rc3 on 2026-11-04; Rocket.Chat's latest is 9.0.0-rc.4 on 2026-11-03).
- Mattermost is licensed under ⊘ Proprietary, Rocket.Chat under MIT.
- Mattermost is written in Go; Rocket.Chat in Nodejs.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Mattermost: Docker, K8S; Rocket.Chat: Docker, K8S.
Summary: On the numbers we track, Mattermost and Rocket.Chat are evenly matched. 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 Mattermost or Rocket.Chat more popular?
They are close: Mattermost has 39,530 GitHub stars and Rocket.Chat has 46,373 (as of 2026-11-05).
Which is more actively maintained, Mattermost or Rocket.Chat?
Commits in the last 12 months: Mattermost 2,118, Rocket.Chat 2,435. The last recorded activity was 2026-11-04 for Mattermost and 2026-11-05 for Rocket.Chat. Our health labels: Mattermost is “Active”, Rocket.Chat is “Active”.
What licenses do Mattermost and Rocket.Chat use?
Mattermost: ⊘ Proprietary. Rocket.Chat: MIT. Note: Mattermost includes a non-free license component.
Can I run Mattermost 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 Mattermost 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.