Team Chat and Messaging Software
Rocket.Chat review
Self-hostable, open source team chat platform aimed at government, defense and regulated organizations that need to control where data lives.
Rocket.Chat at a glance
- Category
- Team Chat and Messaging Software
- Starting price
- Contact sales
- Pricing model
- custom
- Public pricing
- No
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- No
- Contract
- Enterprise licensing and multi-year agreements available
- G2 rating
- 4.2 (356 reviews)
- Founded
- 2015
- Employees
- 150+
- Security
- ISO/IEC 27001, SOC (report type not specified on the about page), GDPR, HIPAA (badge listed on homepage)
- Integrations
- Matrix (federation), XMPP (federation), Microsoft Teams (bridge)
Buying Rocket.Chat: security, admin and contract
- SAML SSO
- Listed (SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0, OIDC, LDAP, AD); plan-level entitlement not verifiable, Government plan lists SSO explicitly.
- Audit logs
- Government plan lists tamper-evident audit logs; plan-level entitlement for others not verified.
- Data residency
- On-premises, private cloud, sovereign cloud (EU) or air-gapped, per plan.
- Contract
- Enterprise licensing and multi-year agreements available; free Starter for pilots.
- Support
- Standard support included in all plans; mission critical support is a paid add-on.
Questions to ask Rocket.Chat before you sign
- Is SCIM provisioning included, or a paid add-on?
- Can we sign your standard DPA without changes?
- What will the price be at renewal, and is the increase capped?
Questions are listed where Rocket.Chat's public pages leave the answer open.
Who Rocket.Chat is for
Choose Rocket.Chat if
- Regulated or public-sector organizations that need on-premises, air-gapped or sovereign-cloud chat.
- Teams that want federation with Matrix or XMPP instead of a closed network.
- Technical teams that can start on the free self-managed Starter workspace.
Look elsewhere if
- Small teams that want a published per-user price and quick self-serve checkout.
- Buyers who want a polished consumer-style chat UI, since reviewers cite UI and setup complexity.
Rocket.Chat pricing
| Plan | Price | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | self-managed workspace | For technical evaluation, small businesses and non-profits |
| Commercial | Get pricing | No public price | |
| Government | Custom quote | ||
| Defense | Contact us |
No per-user price published on rocket.chat/pricing. Qualifying non-profits can get a reduced-price Commercial subscription. Standard support is included in all plans; mission critical support and professional services are paid add-ons.
Rocket.Chat features by buying criteria
| Criterion | What we found |
|---|---|
| Channels and threading | Channels, teams, discussions, direct messages and threaded replies. |
| Built-in video and huddles | Voice, video and screen sharing listed as core features. |
| App integrations and bots | Custom apps, workflows, REST APIs, SDKs, and an app marketplace (labeled new) |
| Guest and external access | Not documented on the homepage; partner collaboration is done via federation with Matrix and XMPP. |
| Security and admin controls | SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, LDAP/AD SSO; audit trails; retention policies; RBAC/ABAC. |
| Mobile app and frontline fit | Mobile and desktop apps available; frontline features not documented. |
| Pricing model and transparency | Custom quote per tier; free self-managed Starter. |
| Target company size | Mid-size to enterprise, government, defense and critical infrastructure. |
What reviewers say about Rocket.Chat
Praised for
- Flexible and controllable, with strong data control and privacy options.
- Reviewers generally find it easy to use and feature-rich.
Common complaints
- UI feels less polished than mainstream chat tools.
- Setup and customization can be complex.
Themes paraphrased from public reviews on G2 and similar sites, not quotes.
What most Rocket.Chat reviews leave out
- Free self-managed Starter workspace; paid tiers (Commercial, Government, Defense) have no public prices.
- Deployment choices include on-premises, private cloud, EU sovereign cloud and air-gapped.
- Native server-to-server federation with Matrix and XMPP without a bridge.
- Positioned at government, defense and critical infrastructure rather than general SMB chat.
- Fully remote company; 2015 origin as a side project of four friends.
Rocket.Chat alternatives
MattermostOrganizations that must self-host or run air-gapped chat.Contact sales
SlackTeams wanting channel-based chat with a large app ecosystem.$8.75/user/month monthly, about $7.25/user/month billed annually (Pro)
Microsoft TeamsOrganizations already on Microsoft 365 and Entra ID.$4.00/user/month paid yearly (Teams Essentials)
Zoho CliqTeams already on Zoho apps (CRM, Projects, Workplace) that want chat inside that suite.Free; paid Standard plan (USD amount not verified)
ChantySmall teams wanting cheap per-user chat with tasks.Free up to 5 members; Business 3 EUR per user/month billed annually (EUR only)
ConnecteamFrontline and deskless teams needing scheduling, forms and chat in one mobile app.Free for up to 10 users; paid from $29/month (Basic, first 30 users) per hub
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from Rocket.Chat's own pricing, product or documentation pages, G2 and company records, checked on October 24, 2026. Unknown values are left out instead of estimated.