Mattermost
Team Chat & Messaging · mattermost.com
Mattermost is a channel-based collaboration and messaging platform for teams and enterprises, offered in self-hosted and cloud deployments with playbooks, integrations, and AI agent capabilities.
We only list alternatives we can defend with sourced pricing data.
Top Mattermost alternatives
We compared 12 products and found 12 alternatives · Mattermost pricing is still being verified, so savings are not computed yet · scenario: 10 seats, monthly billing, USD.
Mattermost’s own free plan covers this scenario. If you’re paying for features you don’t use, downgrading beats switching. The paid comparison below is for when you’ve outgrown free tiers — the “Free plans” view shows alternatives if you want free with different limits.
We list 11 assessed alternatives; Mattermost's own price is not verified yet, so no cheaper-than claim is made. Mattermost's own free plan covers this scenario, so downgrading may beat switching.
| Product | Match | Price | Annual savings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
TOP PICK Zulip Self-hosted Basic plan · missing: Workflow automation | 89% | $3.50/mo how? ⓘ | — | |
Zoho Cliq Standard plan · missing: Guest & external collaboration, SAML single sign-on, Self-hosted deployment, Compliance exports & audit logs, AI search & summaries | 44% | $18/mo how? ⓘ | — | |
Pumble PRO plan · missing: Self-hosted deployment, Compliance exports & audit logs, AI search & summaries, Workflow automation | 56% | $29.90/mo how? ⓘ | — | |
Chanty Business plan · missing: Threaded conversations, AI search & summaries, Workflow automation | 67% | $40/mo how? ⓘ | — | |
Microsoft Teams Teams Essentials plan · missing: Threaded conversations, Guest & external collaboration, SAML single sign-on, Self-hosted deployment, Compliance exports & audit logs, AI search & summaries, App integrations, Workflow automation collaboration suite — adjacent | 11% | $40/mo how? ⓘ | — | |
Flock PRO plan · missing: Threaded conversations, SAML single sign-on, Self-hosted deployment, AI search & summaries | 56% | $45/mo how? ⓘ | — | |
Twist Unlimited plan · missing: SAML single sign-on, Self-hosted deployment, Compliance exports & audit logs, AI search & summaries, Workflow automation | 44% | $60/mo how? ⓘ | — | |
Google Workspace Business Starter plan · missing: Threaded conversations, Guest & external collaboration, SAML single sign-on, Self-hosted deployment, App integrations collaboration suite — adjacent | 44% | $70/mo how? ⓘ | — | |
Slack Pro plan · missing: Self-hosted deployment | 89% | $87.50/mo how? ⓘ | — | |
Discord Nitro Basic plan | not yet assessed | $2.99/mo how? ⓘ | — |
Which Mattermost alternative for which situation
Picked by the numbers in this scenario — same subtype unless stated, assessed products only.
- Best full coverage
- Rocket.Chat — $0/mo (Starter plan) · covers 100%
- Best free plan
- Rocket.Chat — $0/mo (Starter plan) · covers 100%
- Best open source or self-hosted
- Rocket.Chat — $0/mo (Starter plan) · covers 100%
- Best paid drop-in
- Chanty — $40/mo (Business plan) · covers 67%
- Need channels & group messaging, threaded conversations, guest & external collaboration, SAML single sign-on, self-hosted deployment, compliance exports & audit logs, AI search & summaries, app integrations or workflow automation?
- Rocket.Chat — from $0/mo (Starter plan)
What you give up
Capabilities Mattermost has that the top alternatives lack.
- Guest & external collaboration — Invite people outside your organization into a conversation.Missing from Element.
- SAML single sign-on — Sign in through your company's SAML single sign-on.Missing from Element.
- Self-hosted deployment — Run the chat platform on your own infrastructure.Missing from Slack.
- AI search & summaries — Search and summarize conversations with an AI assistant.Missing from Element.
- Workflow automation — Automate routine steps directly within chat.Missing from Zulip, Element.
Price at your volume
The same comparison recomputed at three sizes. Plan caps change who is cheapest.
| Scenario | Mattermost | Cheapest assessed alternative |
|---|---|---|
| 3 seats | — | Rocket.Chat $0/mo (Starter) |
| 10 seats | — | Rocket.Chat $0/mo (Starter) |
| 25 seats | — | Rocket.Chat $0/mo (Starter) |
Feature comparison
Mattermost vs the top alternatives, on the 9 compared capabilities.
| Capability | Mattermost | Rocket.Chat | Slack | Zulip | Element |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channels & group messaging from Professional | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Threaded conversations from Professional | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Guest & external collaboration from Professional | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| SAML single sign-on from Professional | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self-hosted deployment from Professional | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Compliance exports & audit logs from Enterprise | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI search & summaries from Enterprise | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| App integrations from Professional | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Workflow automation from Enterprise | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Scenario price cheapest qualifying plan | — | $0/mo Starter | $0/mo Free | $0/mo Zulip Cloud Free | $0/mo Community |
✓ means the product offers the capability — possibly only on a higher tier than the plan priced below it. The price row shows the cheapest plan that qualifies for our comparison scenario, with its plan name; a $0 free plan may not include every checked capability.
What Mattermost covers
The capability set used for comparison. Grey entries are not available on self-serve plans.
- ✓ Channels & group messaging — from Professional
- ✓ Threaded conversations — from Professional
- ✓ Guest & external collaboration — from Professional
- ✓ SAML single sign-on — from Professional
- ✓ Self-hosted deployment — from Professional
- ✓ Compliance exports & audit logs — from Enterprise
- ✓ AI search & summaries — from Enterprise
- ✓ App integrations — from Professional
- ✓ Workflow automation — from Enterprise
Price ladder
Observed prices from the official pricing page.
Sources
Every claim traces to an official source and a check date.
- https://mattermost.com/pricing/ (official_pricing, checked 2026-09-07)
- https://mattermost.com/pricing/#skip-nav-target (official_pricing, checked 2026-09-07)
Frequently asked
Is there a free Mattermost alternative?
Yes. Rocket.Chat has a free plan that covers 100% of the 9 capabilities we compared against Mattermost.
What is the cheapest Mattermost alternative?
In our scenario (10 seats, monthly billing), Rocket.Chat is the cheapest assessed alternative at $0/mo (Starter plan).
What is the cheapest Mattermost alternative with Workflow automation?
Rocket.Chat covers Workflow automation and costs $0/mo (Starter plan) in our scenario.
Does Mattermost have a free plan?
Yes. Mattermost's free plan exists; its limits are not stated on the pricing page.
When were these prices checked?
Between 2026-08-25 and 2026-09-07, on the vendors' official pricing pages.
