head to head · open source
Rocket.Chat vs Chatwoot
Rocket.Chat has 46,136 GitHub stars, 13,893 forks, 4,023 open issues and last shipped today. Chatwoot has 36,920 stars, 8,963 forks, 1,377 open issues and last shipped today. Rocket.Chat leads on adoption by 25% (46,136 vs 36,920 stars). Rocket.Chat is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Chatwoot is written in Ruby under a custom or non-standard licence. Rocket.Chat has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, Chatwoot 24%. Rocket.Chat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (javascript), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Rocket.Chat | Chatwoot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 37K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Ruby |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 14K | ⑂ 9.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Rocket.Chat if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Chatwoot if
- You want the Chatwoot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You evaluated both and Chatwoot fits your workflow better
About Rocket.Chat
Rocket.Chat is an open source, self hostable team communications platform written in TypeScript that gives organisations full ownership of their messaging, voice, and federation infrastructure instead of renting it from a closed SaaS vendor.
read the full Rocket.Chat overview →
About Chatwoot
Chatwoot is a Ruby based, open source, self hosted customer support platform that consolidates live chat, email, and social messaging into one omnichannel inbox, positioned as an open alternative to Intercom, Twilio, Zendesk, and Salesforce Service Cloud.
read the full Chatwoot overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Rocket.Chat or Chatwoot more popular?
Rocket.Chat has 46,136 GitHub stars and Chatwoot has 36,920. Rocket.Chat has the larger community by that measure.
Are Rocket.Chat and Chatwoot free?
Neither Rocket.Chat nor Chatwoot declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Rocket.Chat and Chatwoot?
Rocket.Chat is written in TypeScript and Chatwoot in Ruby. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Rocket.Chat or Chatwoot?
Choose Rocket.Chat if you want the larger community (46,136 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Chatwoot if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.