Mattermost vs WeeChat
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
WeeChat
Extensible terminal-based chat client
| Feature | Mattermost | WeeChat |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Team Chat | Chat & Communication |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, kubernetes | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 38,708 | ★ 3,366 |
| First released | 2016 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Slack, Microsoft Teams | Slack |
Why pick each one
Choose Mattermost if…
- Great for technical teams
- Strong security posture
- Good integrations
Choose WeeChat if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (3.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Mattermost or WeeChat 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 Mattermost and WeeChat free and open-source?
Yes. Mattermost is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and WeeChat under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mattermost and WeeChat with Docker?
Mattermost: yes. WeeChat: check the project docs for container support.