head to head · open source
Rocket.Chat vs Zulip
Rocket.Chat has 46,133 GitHub stars, 13,891 forks, 4,023 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zulip has 25,921 stars, 10,247 forks, 2,008 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Rocket.Chat leads on adoption by 78% (46,133 vs 25,921 stars). Rocket.Chat is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Zulip is written in Python under Apache-2.0. Rocket.Chat has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, Zulip 40%. Rocket.Chat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 6 topic tags (chat, collaboration, foss, free), 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 | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 26K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 14K | ⑂ 10K |
| 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 Zulip if
- You want the Zulip feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Zulip 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 Zulip
Zulip is an open source organized team chat application built on topic based threading, aimed at distributed teams that need live and asynchronous conversation in one place, and it is positioned as an open alternative to Slack.
read the full Zulip overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Rocket.Chat or Zulip more popular?
Rocket.Chat has 46,133 GitHub stars and Zulip has 25,921. Rocket.Chat has the larger community by that measure.
Are Rocket.Chat and Zulip free?
Both are open source. Rocket.Chat has no licence declared in this registry, and Zulip is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Rocket.Chat and Zulip?
Rocket.Chat is written in TypeScript and Zulip in Python. 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 Zulip?
Choose Rocket.Chat if you want the larger community (46,133 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Zulip if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.