4.3/5
Average rating
648 verified reviews across G2, Capterra, Software Advice
Report
Should I Use Rocket.Chat?
Centralize real-time messaging, voice, video, AI, and apps for secure, reliable and unified communication among internal and external stakeholders.
Depends
DependsBuy if you're a government, defense, or regulated organization needing air-gapped, sovereign messaging with RBAC and E2EE.
Built for DoD-grade secure comms. Great if you're regulated; overkill and clunkier than Slack for everyone else.
Confidence: Medium
4.2/5
G2 rating
338 reviews
Yes
Free tier
Free self-managed workspace
4.2/5
App Store rating
Apple App Store
Value for money
4
Free open-source core; enterprise pricing opaque
Ease of use
3
Chat basics praised; search and polish criticized
Feature depth
4
Messaging, voice, video, AI unified; gaps reported
Security posture
4
E2EE, RBAC, air-gapped, WCAG 2.1 AA; one CVE
Pros
- Open-source and fully customizable, developed in TypeScript³
- Deploys in cloud, on-premises, or air-gapped for data sovereignty²
- Built-in end-to-end encryption, identity management, role-based access control³
- Unifies messaging, voice, video, AI, and apps in one platform¹
- 90% of top Capterra reviewers recommend it⁸
Cons
Gotchas
- mediumMost tier pricing is hidden behind 'contact sales' — no public numbers in sources²
- mediumFree workspace is self-managed: you own ops, upgrades, and patching²
- mediumCVE-2026-28514: password-validation flaw — patch quickly if self-hosting⁹
- mediumUsers report weaker search and fewer features than Slack⁵
Best for
- Government and defense agencies
- Critical infrastructure and healthcare
- Teams replacing Skype for Business Server
- Orgs needing on-prem or air-gapped deployment
Not for
- Small teams wanting a simple Slack replacement
- Non-technical teams with no admin or ops capacity
- Anyone who needs polished search or huddles
- Companies without compliance or data-sovereignty requirements
Pricing
Free self-managed workspace
Free
- Core collaboration and security features included
Team Collaboration
Not published in sources
- Requires contacting sales
Citizen Engagement
Not published in sources
- Government/citizen-facing use cases
Security
Strong posture: end-to-end encryption, RBAC, air-gapped deployment, WCAG 2.1 AA conformance; one published CVE.
- CVE-2026-28514Missing await on an asynchronous password-validation call returns a Promise object, breaking password validation logic.⁹
What users say
Users average ~4.3/5, praising solid chat, channels, and document sharing while criticizing search and Slack-parity gaps.
“Yes, it's open source, but it's not as good as Slack. Search is really bad. Does not include audio huddles or video calls.”
“My journey so far with Rocket.Chat has been a satisfying one, it's been a great tool for instant chat, channels and document sharing.”
“Works like a charm.”
Alternatives
Compare Rocket.Chat with each alternative.
Slack
Slicker mainstream choice for commercial teams
Rocket.Chat vs SlackMicrosoft Teams
Better fit if you already run Microsoft 365
Rocket.Chat vs Microsoft TeamsMattermost
Closest self-hosted rival, also targets regulated teams
Rocket.Chat vs MattermostZulip
Simpler open-source chat for smaller teams
Rocket.Chat vs ZulipFull analysis
Based on 14 public sources across official pages, reviews, and a security advisory. No named enterprise customers found in sources.
Sources
- Rocket.Chat homepagerocket.chatofficial
- Rocket.Chat product security pagerocket.chatofficial
- RocketChat/Rocket.Chat on GitHubgithub.comofficial
- Introducing Secure CommsOS (blog)rocket.chatofficial
- Apple App Store reviewsapps.apple.comreview
- Capterra reviewscapterra.careview
- GetApp reviewsgetapp.com.aureview
- checkthat.ai review aggregatecheckthat.aireview
- NVD CVE-2026-28514nvd.nist.govsecurity
news
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