SHSelfHostIndex

Spark IM 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.

Not the right match-up?
SP Spark IM Cross-platform XMPP instant messaging client VS RO Rocket.Chat Open-source team chat and collaboration platform
FeatureSpark IMRocket.Chat
CategoryTeam ChatTeam Chat
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageJavaTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcedocker, snap, kubernetes
GitHub stars★ 601★ 45,947
First released20042015
ReplacesSlack, SkypeSlack, Microsoft Teams

Why pick each one

Choose Spark IM if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in Java
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Spark IM details

Choose Rocket.Chat if…

  • Feature-rich Slack alternative
  • Strong integrations
  • Self-hostable
Rocket.Chat details

Frequently asked questions

Is Spark IM or Rocket.Chat better?

Neither is universally better. Rocket.Chat has the larger community, while Spark IM is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Spark IM and Rocket.Chat free and open-source?

Yes. Spark IM is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Rocket.Chat under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Spark IM and Rocket.Chat with Docker?

Spark IM: check the project docs for container support. Rocket.Chat: yes.

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