Mattermost vs Zulip
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted team chat options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Mattermost
Secure collaboration for developer teams
VS
Zulip
Threaded team chat that combines email and chat
| Feature | Mattermost | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Team Chat | Team Chat |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, kubernetes | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 38,708 | ★ 25,619 |
| First released | 2016 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Slack, Microsoft Teams | Slack, Microsoft Teams |
Why pick each one
Choose Mattermost if…
- Great for technical teams
- Strong security posture
- Good integrations
Choose Zulip if…
- Excellent conversation organization
- Strong async workflow
- Fully open source
Frequently asked questions
Is Mattermost or Zulip 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 Zulip free and open-source?
Yes. Mattermost is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Zulip under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mattermost and Zulip with Docker?
Mattermost: yes. Zulip: yes.