Mattermost vs Nheko
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Mattermost
Secure collaboration for developer teams
VS
Nheko
Desktop Matrix client with native Qt interface
| Feature | Mattermost | Nheko |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Team Chat | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, kubernetes | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 38,708 | ★ 2,472 |
| First released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Slack, Microsoft Teams | Slack, Discord |
Why pick each one
Choose Mattermost if…
- Great for technical teams
- Strong security posture
- Good integrations
Choose Nheko if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Mattermost or Nheko better?
Neither is universally better. Mattermost has the larger community, while Nheko is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mattermost and Nheko free and open-source?
Yes. Mattermost is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Nheko under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mattermost and Nheko with Docker?
Mattermost: yes. Nheko: check the project docs for container support.