head to head · open source
Rocket.Chat vs Openfire
Rocket.Chat has 46,361 GitHub stars, 14,076 forks, 4,023 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Openfire has 3,074 stars, 1,399 forks, 53 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Rocket.Chat leads on adoption by 1,408% (46,361 vs 3,074 stars). Rocket.Chat is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Openfire is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Rocket.Chat has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, Openfire 46%. Rocket.Chat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (collaboration, hacktoberfest), 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 | Openfire | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 14K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| 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 Openfire if
- You want the Openfire feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and Openfire fits your workflow better
About Rocket.Chat
The ultimate secure open source solution for team communications Rocket.Chat is an open source, secure, fully customizable communications platform developed in TypeScript for organizations with high standards of data protection. We are the ultimate solution for team communications, enabling real time conversations between colleagues, with other companies, and with your customers or citizens, regardless of how they connect with you. The result is an increase in productivity and user satisfaction rates. Every day, tens of millions of users in over 150 countries and in organizations such as Deutsche Bahn, The US…
read the full Rocket.Chat overview →
About Openfire
Openfire ======== About [Openfire] is a real time collaboration (RTC) server licensed under the Open Source Apache License. It uses the only widely adopted open protocol for instant messaging, XMPP (also called Jabber). Openfire is incredibly easy to set up and administer, but offers rock solid security and performance. [Openfire] is an XMPP server licensed under the Open Source Apache License. [Openfire] an [Ignite Realtime] community project. Bug Reporting Only a few users have access for filling bugs in the tracker. New users should: 1. Create a Discourse account 2. Login to a Discourse account 3. Click on…
read the full Openfire overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Rocket.Chat or Openfire more popular?
Rocket.Chat has 46,361 GitHub stars and Openfire has 3,074. Rocket.Chat has the larger community by that measure.
Are Rocket.Chat and Openfire free?
Both are open source. Rocket.Chat has no licence declared in this registry, and Openfire is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Rocket.Chat and Openfire?
Rocket.Chat is written in TypeScript and Openfire in Java. 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 Openfire?
Choose Rocket.Chat if you want the larger community (46,361 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Openfire if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.