Let's Chat vs Rocket.Chat
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted team chat options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Rocket.Chat
Open-source team chat and collaboration platform
| Feature | Let's Chat | Rocket.Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 100 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Team Chat | Team Chat |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, snap, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,797 | ★ 46,160 |
| First released | 2014 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Slack, HipChat | Slack, Microsoft Teams |
What are Let's Chat and Rocket.Chat?
Let's Chat
Let's Chat is a persistent messaging application for small teams, offering chat rooms, file uploads, and history search. It is a lightweight Node.js application backed by MongoDB.
- Persistent chat rooms
- File uploads and image embeds
- Searchable history
- LDAP/Kerberos authentication
Rocket.Chat
Rocket.Chat is an open-source team communication platform offering channels, direct messages, voice, video, and omnichannel support. It targets organizations wanting a self-hosted Slack alternative. It is deployed via Docker or Snap.
- Channels, DMs and threads
- Voice and video calls
- Omnichannel customer support
- Apps and integrations
Let's Chat vs Rocket.Chat: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Let's Chat's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Rocket.Chat is actively maintained. Let's Chat is written in JavaScript, while Rocket.Chat is built with TypeScript. Let's Chat is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Rocket.Chat. Rocket.Chat has the considerably larger community, at 46,160 GitHub stars versus 9,797.
Why pick each one
Choose Let's Chat if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.8k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Watch out for
- No longer actively developed
- Dated interface
Choose Rocket.Chat if…
- Feature-rich Slack alternative
- Strong integrations
- Self-hostable
Watch out for
- Heavy resource use
- Some features gated to paid plans
Frequently asked questions
Is Let's Chat or Rocket.Chat better?
Neither is universally better. Rocket.Chat has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Let's Chat and Rocket.Chat free and open-source?
Yes. Let's Chat is licensed under MIT and Rocket.Chat under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Let's Chat and Rocket.Chat with Docker?
Let's Chat: yes. Rocket.Chat: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Let's Chat or Rocket.Chat?
Let's Chat has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Rocket.Chat. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.