Matterbridge vs Mattermost
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted team chat options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Matterbridge
Bridge messages between many chat platforms
VS
Mattermost
Secure collaboration for developer teams
| Feature | Matterbridge | Mattermost |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 23 · At risk | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Team Chat | Team Chat |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,573 | ★ 39,167 |
| First released | 2016 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Slack | Slack, Microsoft Teams |
What are Matterbridge and Mattermost?
Matterbridge
Matterbridge is a simple chat bridge that connects messages between a wide range of platforms including Matrix, Mattermost, IRC, XMPP, Discord, Telegram, and more. It lets disparate communities stay connected across services.
- Bridges 15+ chat protocols
- Single static binary
- Simple TOML configuration
- Relays files and attachments
Mattermost
Mattermost is an open-source, self-hostable messaging platform focused on secure collaboration for technical teams. It targets organizations with privacy or compliance needs. It is deployed via Docker, packages, or Kubernetes.
- Channels, threads and search
- Strong DevOps integrations
- Self-hosted and on-prem focus
- Playbooks and boards
Matterbridge vs Mattermost: key differences
Matterbridge is written in Go, while Mattermost is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Matterbridge versus AGPL-3.0 for Mattermost. Matterbridge is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Mattermost. Mattermost has the considerably larger community, at 39,167 GitHub stars versus 7,573.
Why pick each one
Choose Matterbridge if…
- Connects otherwise isolated communities
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- No persistent message history
- Bridging quirks per platform
Choose Mattermost if…
- Great for technical teams
- Strong security posture
- Good integrations
Watch out for
- Enterprise features gated
- Needs a real database
Frequently asked questions
Is Matterbridge or Mattermost better?
Neither is universally better. Mattermost has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Matterbridge and Mattermost free and open-source?
Yes. Matterbridge is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mattermost under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Matterbridge and Mattermost with Docker?
Matterbridge: yes. Mattermost: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Matterbridge or Mattermost?
Matterbridge has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Mattermost. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.