head to head · open source
Rocket.Chat vs chitchatter
Rocket.Chat has 46,133 GitHub stars, 13,891 forks, 4,023 open issues and last shipped yesterday. chitchatter has 2,330 stars, 434 forks, 53 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Rocket.Chat leads on adoption by 1,880% (46,133 vs 2,330 stars). Rocket.Chat is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; chitchatter is written in TypeScript under GPL-2.0. Rocket.Chat has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, chitchatter 19%. 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 (chat), 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 | chitchatter | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 14K | ⑂ 434 |
| 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 chitchatter if
- You want the chitchatter feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and chitchatter 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 chitchatter
Chitchatter is a TypeScript web chat application released under GPL 2.0 that provides secure peer to peer communication without a required central API server. It lives in the decentralized web mesh ecosystem, using React, WebRTC, Trystero, WebTorrent, and TURN relays to connect browsers directly. The project is a free, open source collaboration tool for private conversations, video and audio chats, screen sharing, and file transfer.
read the full chitchatter overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Rocket.Chat or chitchatter more popular?
Rocket.Chat has 46,133 GitHub stars and chitchatter has 2,330. Rocket.Chat has the larger community by that measure.
Are Rocket.Chat and chitchatter free?
Both are open source. Rocket.Chat has no licence declared in this registry, and chitchatter is licensed under GPL-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Rocket.Chat and chitchatter?
Rocket.Chat is written in TypeScript and chitchatter in TypeScript. 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 chitchatter?
Choose Rocket.Chat if you want the larger community (46,133 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose chitchatter if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.