Alternatives to Rocket.Chat Desktop
Connect to Rocket.Chat workspaces from a desktop client. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Rocket.Chat Desktop
Connect to Rocket.Chat workspaces from a desktop client.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Rocket.Chat Desktop.
Mattermost
A self-hosted team chat platform with a desktop client, aimed at organisations that want Slack without the cloud.
Mattermost is a self-hosted team chat with a desktop client and Boards and Playbooks tabs, licensed Apache-2.0, with some server features reserved for paid editions.
Zulip
Team chat organised by topic inside each channel, so conversations stay readable when you come back hours later.
Zulip organises team chat by topic inside each channel, can be self-hosted or hosted, and its desktop client signs in to multiple organisations.
Element
The reference Matrix client: end-to-end encrypted chat on a network you can host yourself.
Element uses the federated Matrix network with end-to-end encryption and bridges to Slack and IRC, and runs on desktop, web and mobile.
Microsoft Teams (free)
The free edition of Microsoft Teams for chat, file sharing and video meetings.
Microsoft Teams (free) adds meetings of up to 100 people, but it is proprietary, requires a Microsoft account and cannot be self-hosted.
Wire
End-to-end encrypted messaging, calls and file sharing for organisations.
Wire offers end-to-end encrypted messaging, calls and file sharing for organisations, with a self-hostable server and a free tier that is limited.
Stoat
An open-source group chat app with servers, channels, voice chat and role-based moderation for communities.
Stoat provides servers, channels, voice chat and role-based moderation aimed at communities, with apps for desktop, mobile and web.
Slack
A team chat platform organized into channels, with huddles, file sharing, app integrations and AI features.
Slack moves team chat to a closed-source hosted service with many integrations and huddles, with messages stored on Slack's servers.
Nextcloud Talk
Chat, video calls and webinars that run on your own Nextcloud server.
Nextcloud Talk provides self-hosted chat, calls and webinars but requires a Nextcloud server and integrates with its files.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Rocket.Chat Desktop as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Campfire
A self-hosted group chat system from 37signals with rooms, direct messages and @mentions.
Rocket.Chat Desktop connects to Rocket.Chat workspaces with open-source desktop clients, while workspace access and server licensing are handled separately from the client.
Chanty
A hosted team chat workspace for organizing internal and external communication, with a free plan.
Rocket.Chat Desktop is an open-source client for Rocket.Chat workspaces on Windows, macOS and Linux, with server access and licensing handled separately.
Flock
A team messaging app with channels, voice and video calls, screen sharing and file sharing.
Rocket.Chat Desktop is an open-source client for Rocket.Chat workspaces on Windows, macOS and Linux, with workspace access and server licensing arranged separately.
Google Chat
Google's team messaging app with spaces, direct messages and threaded conversations.
Rocket.Chat Desktop is an open-source client for Rocket.Chat workspaces on Windows, macOS and Linux, with server access and licensing handled separately.
Pumble
A team messaging app with channels, threads, direct messages and voice and video calls.
Rocket.Chat Desktop is an open-source client for Rocket.Chat workspaces on Windows, macOS and Linux, with server access and licensing handled separately.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Zoho Workplace
An online suite from Zoho combining mail, team chat, meetings, file storage and office editors.
Google Workspace
Google's online office suite with Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail, Drive and Meet in one account.
Matrix Hookshot
A self-hosted Matrix bot that bridges GitHub, GitLab, Jira, feeds and generic webhooks into rooms.
Ferdium
Combines your messaging and web services into one window with workspaces, as a community fork of Franz with the restrictions removed.
Webex
Cisco's collaboration suite for video meetings, calling, team messaging, webinars and whiteboarding.
Missive
A collaborative email app for teams that combines shared inboxes, internal chat and task assignment.
