Rocket.Chat is an open source team chat platform you can self-host — a Slack and Microsoft Teams alternative that brings messaging, voice, video, and omnichannel customer chat together under your own control.

What is Rocket.Chat?

Rocket.Chat is an open source team communication platform that puts real-time messaging, voice and video calls, file sharing, and customer-facing chat in one place you control. It’s built on Node.js and MongoDB, ships under the MIT license, and runs on your own servers or in Rocket.Chat’s managed cloud.

What is Rocket.Chat best for?

Organizations that want the collaboration features of Slack or Microsoft Teams but can’t hand their conversations to a third-party cloud — regulated industries like healthcare, finance, government, and defense, plus privacy-focused teams that need to customize or extend their chat. It’s the strongest fit when data sovereignty and self-hosting matter more than a polished out-of-the-box experience.

What can Rocket.Chat do?

Real-time team messaging with channels, threads, mentions, and direct messages
Voice and video calls, plus conferencing through Jitsi or BigBlueButton integrations
Omnichannel (LiveChat): handle customer conversations from web, WhatsApp, email, and social in one inbox
Extend and integrate via the Apps-Engine framework, marketplace apps, webhooks, and a REST API
End-to-end encryption, role- and attribute-based access control, and LDAP/SAML/OAuth single sign-on
Federate across servers with the Matrix protocol to message users on other instances
Native desktop and mobile apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android

Is Rocket.Chat free?

Yes — the Community edition is free and open source under the MIT license, and you can self-host it at no licensing cost (you only pay for your own server). Paid Commercial, Government, and Defense plans plus managed cloud hosting add enterprise SSO, advanced compliance, scalability tooling, and support; that pricing is quote-based, so you contact sales rather than pick a published per-seat tier.

Where does Rocket.Chat fall short?

Video conferencing isn’t fully native — group calls usually lean on third-party integrations like Jitsi or BigBlueButton.
The interface and app ecosystem are less polished than Slack’s, it lacks niceties like Slack’s Workflow Builder and Canvas, and some users report weak message search.

What does Rocket.Chat replace?

Rocket.Chat is a self-hosted alternative to Slack and Microsoft Teams. It covers the same team-messaging job — channels, direct messages, calls, and integrations — but you own the data and the infrastructure instead of renting seats in someone else’s cloud.

FAQ

Is Rocket.Chat open source? Yes. The core platform is fully open source under the MIT license, developed in the open on GitHub. Paid Enterprise features sit on top of that open core.

Can I self-host Rocket.Chat for free? Yes. The Community edition is free to self-host; you only pay for the server it runs on. Managed cloud and Enterprise plans are the paid options.

Is Rocket.Chat a good Slack alternative? For teams that prioritize data control, compliance, and customization, yes. If you want the most polished UI and the largest app ecosystem with zero ops work, Slack or Teams may still feel easier.

What do I need to run Rocket.Chat? A server or container platform running the Rocket.Chat app on Node.js with a MongoDB database — deployable via Docker, Docker Compose, Kubernetes with Helm, or Podman.