Rocket.Chat vs Slack: Which Is Better for Teams?

Rocket.Chat: The Complete Guide for 2025Rocket.Chat remains one of the most feature-rich open-source communication platforms for teams, communities, and organizations seeking control, privacy, and extensibility. This guide covers what Rocket.Chat is in 2025, key features and improvements, deployment and architecture options, security and compliance considerations, customization and integrations, administration and scaling best practices, migration tips from other platforms, pricing and community ecosystem, and future outlook.

What is Rocket.Chat in 2025?

Rocket.Chat is an open-source, self-hostable team chat and collaboration platform that supports real-time messaging, audio/video calls, file sharing, threaded conversations, and integrations with third-party services. Since its initial releases, Rocket.Chat has evolved to target enterprises and communities that require data ownership, extensive customization, and compliance capabilities. In 2025 the platform continues to emphasize:

• Self-hosting and hybrid deployment options (cloud-managed or on-premises).
• Modular architecture with apps framework for custom features.
• Native support for voice/video conferencing and screen sharing.
• Enhanced privacy-focused features and admin controls.

Key Features and Improvements in 2025

• Real-time messaging with advanced threading, reactions, and message actions.
• Built-in low-latency audio/video powered by WebRTC and optional SFU backends for large calls.
• End-to-end encryption (E2EE) for direct messages and selected channels, with improvements in key management and usability.
• Federated collaboration (inter-server messaging) allowing multiple Rocket.Chat instances to communicate while retaining local control of data.
• App Framework and Marketplace for integrations, bots, and UI extensions.
• Mobile apps (iOS/Android) with push notifications and offline message sync.
• Rich moderation tools: message retention policies, moderation queues, audit logs, and role-based permissions.
• Improved accessibility and internationalization, including UI translations and right-to-left support.

Deployment & Architecture Options

1. Self-hosted (on-premises or IaaS)

   • Full control over data and infrastructure.
   • Common stacks: Node.js backend, MongoDB database, and optional real-time engines (Redis for presence/queueing).
   • Recommended for organizations with strict compliance or data residency needs.

2. Cloud-managed (Rocket.Chat Cloud or partner-hosted)

   • Less operational overhead; vendor manages uptime, scaling, and backups.
   • Suitable for teams that want SaaS convenience but still leverage Rocket.Chat’s features.

3. Hybrid

   • Combine on-premises message servers with cloud-based media relay/SFU.
   • Useful when regulatory constraints limit data location but scalable media handling is desired.

4. Kubernetes / Containerized deployments

   • Helm charts and Kubernetes operators simplify scaling and upgrades.
   • Use PersistentVolumes for MongoDB (or managed DB services) and configure probes and autoscaling for app pods.

Security & Compliance

• Authentication & SSO: Supports OAuth2, SAML, LDAP, and enterprise SSO providers. Integrate with identity providers (Okta, Azure AD, Keycloak) for centralized access control.
• Encryption: TLS for in-transit encryption; E2EE for direct/private conversations. Administrators should understand trade-offs: E2EE can limit server-side features like message indexing and some moderation tools.
• Access Controls: Granular roles and permissions, channel-level restrictions, invite controls, and guest access configurations.
• Logging & Auditing: Audit logs capture administrative actions; integrate logs with SIEM tools (ELK, Splunk) for compliance monitoring.
• Data Retention & Legal Hold: Configure message retention policies, exports, and legal-hold procedures to meet regulatory obligations (GDPR, HIPAA where applicable).
• Hardening: Keep Node, MongoDB, and reverse proxies (nginx) patched; enforce CSP headers, rate-limiting, and network segmentation.

Customization, Apps & Integrations

• App Framework: Build custom apps in TypeScript/JavaScript using the Rocket.Chat Apps Engine. Apps can add slash commands, UI components, message handlers, and REST endpoints.
• Marketplace: Browse vetted apps for CI/CD notifications, CRM connectors, bots, translation services, and analytics.
• Webhooks & REST API: Ingest events and send messages programmatically. Use Outgoing and Incoming Webhooks for automations.
• Bots & Automation: Use Rocket.Chat’s bot SDK or popular frameworks (Botpress, Rasa) to automate workflows, triage support requests, and surface knowledge-base articles.
• Integrations: Common integrations include GitHub/GitLab, Jira, PagerDuty, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and calendar services. Use federation or bridges to connect with Matrix or XMPP networks.

Administration & Scaling Best Practices

• Monitoring: Track metrics (message rate, CPU/memory, MongoDB replication lag, WebRTC SFU usage). Use Prometheus + Grafana or cloud provider monitoring.
• High Availability: Deploy multiple app instances behind a load balancer; use MongoDB replica sets and ensure sticky sessions only where necessary.
• Media & SFU: For large meetings, offload media to SFU (Jitsi, Janus, or commercial SFUs). Ensure sufficient bandwidth and use TURN servers for NAT traversal.
• Backups: Regular MongoDB backups, file storage backups for uploaded files, and tested restore procedures.
• Performance Tuning: Index MongoDB appropriately, enable clustering for real-time events (Redis), and profile slow queries/messages.
• Capacity Planning: Model expected concurrent users, peak message throughput, and media usage. Plan autoscaling thresholds and database IOPS accordingly.

Migration: From Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Others

• Data export: Use Rocket.Chat import tools and community scripts to migrate channels, messages, and attachments from Slack, Mattermost, or other platforms. Slack export formats are commonly supported.
• User provisioning: Integrate with AD/LDAP or SCIM to synchronize users and groups.
• Training & Change Management: Communicate differences in workflows, provide guides for threads, channel organization, and app usage. Offer office hours or recorded walkthroughs.
• Phased rollout: Start with pilot teams, iterate on configuration and apps, then expand organization-wide.

Pricing & Community Ecosystem

• Open-source core: Free to use, modify, and self-host.
• Commercial tiers: Rocket.Chat offers paid cloud plans and enterprise support with advanced features, SLAs, and professional services.
• Community & Marketplace: Active community forums, GitHub repo, and third-party vendors providing managed hosting, integrations, and custom development.
• When choosing between self-hosted vs cloud, weigh operational costs, required compliance, and internal DevOps capability.

Example Use Cases

• Enterprises needing on-premises hosting for regulated data.
• Open-source communities and projects coordinating development and support.
• Customer support centers integrating chat with ticketing systems.
• Educational institutions creating private collaboration spaces for students and staff.

Troubleshooting: Common Issues & Fixes

• Slow message delivery: Check MongoDB performance, network latency, and message indexing.
• Push notifications not arriving: Verify mobile SDK config, push gateway credentials (APNs/FCM), and app server connectivity.
• Video call failures: Confirm TURN/STUN and SFU setup, check firewall rules for required ports.
• Login/SSO failures: Validate identity provider configs, certificates, and callback URLs.

Future Outlook (2025+)

• Continued improvements in federation and interoperability with Matrix and other open protocols.
• Stronger privacy tooling and default protections, balancing moderation and compliance.
• More AI-assisted features (summaries, moderation helpers, smart search) while preserving data ownership and E2EE compatibility.
• Expanded marketplace of apps and managed services to lower adoption friction for enterprises.

References and further reading

• Official Rocket.Chat documentation and GitHub repository
• Community forums and ecosystem partners