Mattermost vs Rocket.Chat vs Zulip
Mattermost, Rocket.Chat, Zulip compared on license, free-edition limits, deployment and project health. Change a project below to compare something else.
| Mattermost | Rocket.Chat | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Communication | Communication | Communication |
| License | GNU Affero General Public License v3.0Open source (OSI) | MIT LicenseOpen source (OSI) | Apache License 2.0Open source (OSI) |
| Free edition | Some features paywalled | Some features paywalled | Not confirmed |
| Deployment | Self-hosted · Cloud | Self-hosted · Cloud | Self-hosted · Cloud |
| Self-hosting setup | Needs a database | Multi-service setup | Multi-service setup |
| SSO / SAML | Not confirmed | Paid | Free |
| Role-based access control | Paid | Not confirmed | Free |
| Audit logs | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Free |
| Multi-user / teams | Free | Not confirmed | Free |
| Backups and restore | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Free |
| API access | Free | Not confirmed | Free |
| Support SLA | Paid | Paid | Paid |
| GitHub stars | 39k | 46k | 26k |
| Last release | Sep 24, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 | Sep 21, 2026 |
| Alternative to | Slack | Slack, Microsoft Teams | Slack |
In short
- Mattermost is licensed GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (open source (osi)). Free edition: some features paywalled.
- Rocket.Chat is licensed MIT License (open source (osi)). Free edition: some features paywalled.
- Zulip is licensed Apache License 2.0 (open source (osi)). Free edition: not confirmed.
Each project page lists the official sources behind these answers. Where the official pages do not say, the table shows “Not confirmed”.