Microsoft Teams vs Rocket.Chat: which to choose

Microsoft Teams vs Rocket.Chat: which fits a chat-first organization

Most teams comparing Microsoft Teams with Rocket.Chat are reacting to a renewal, a licensing change, a data residency rule or a wish to stop depending on one vendor for chat. Rocket.Chat fits best when chat is the center of work, the organization wants the server, its data and its upgrade schedule under its own control, and it is prepared to run a MongoDB replica set and keep the platform current. Teams is a strong fit where Microsoft 365 integration and built-in meetings matter most, because calls, calendars, files and identity already sit in the same suite and users know the tools. Neither answer is universal, so the decision turns on a few concrete questions rather than on features alone.

The first question is whether meetings must be built in. Rocket.Chat provides conference calls through marketplace apps for Jitsi, BigBlueButton, Pexip and Google Meet, and its documentation does not list a built-in video provider. Teams users who rely on one meeting entry point will need a video service chosen, hosted and integrated, and the call history and participant features differ by Rocket.Chat plan. The second question is where chat data must live and who can read it. The third is scale and connectivity: the free Starter plan covers up to 50 users, air-gapped deployment is a paid-plan capability, and the reference architectures change above 500 and above 5,000 concurrent users. Confirm the expected peak with Rocket.Chat before you size anything.

The last question is who will run the platform. Rocket.Chat standard releases are supported for 6 months and LTS releases for 12 months, and an unsupported version loses fixes and may lose the ability to connect with official clients. Budget for named operators, a patch cadence and a tested upgrade path, and ask any implementation partner to write those duties into the scope. If your organization cannot commit to that cadence, the operating burden may outweigh the licensing savings, and a Microsoft 365 suite without Teams or a managed Teams contract may be the more honest choice.

Which option fits which scenario

This table matches common buying situations to the platform that fits them better, with the condition under which each advantage holds. Read the why column first, because the advantage in each row depends on that condition staying true in your environment.

Scenario	Better fit	Why
A small team under 50 users wanting a free start	Rocket.Chat Starter	Starter is free for self-managed use with up to 50 users and includes SSO, MFA and retention. The advantage holds only while headcount stays at or under that limit.
A chat-first team that rarely needs video	Rocket.Chat	Channels, threads and Omnichannel are the core of the product. This holds if video is occasional, since calls run through a marketplace app such as Jitsi or BigBlueButton.
An organization whose meetings must be built in	Microsoft Teams	Teams includes meetings natively. Rocket.Chat depends on marketplace apps for conference calls and does not list a built-in video provider.
Data residency or sovereignty requiring self-hosting	Rocket.Chat or Mattermost, self-hosted	Both run in your own infrastructure. The choice between them depends on licensing terms and features you need, so confirm the edition and license with each vendor.
Air-gapped networks	Rocket.Chat Government or Defense plan	Air-gapped deployment is a paid-plan capability and is not available on Starter. Confirm the plan's offline update and push model before committing.
A Microsoft 365 estate depending on Outlook, SharePoint and Entra ID	Microsoft Teams	Native links into Microsoft 365 are not replicated by Rocket.Chat. Single sign-on can be configured, but Outlook and SharePoint integration will need custom work.
An organization with no in-house platform operations staff	Neither as a self-run install without support	Rocket.Chat needs MongoDB as a replica set, regular upgrades and paid plans for multi-instance designs. Plan for a managed support arrangement or a fixed-scope implementation partner.

What the Rocket.Chat free and paid editions actually include

The Community workspace is free and covers core messaging for up to 100 concurrent users. The Starter plan is also free and allows up to 50 users, adding LDAP and Active Directory authentication, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, end-to-end encryption, retention policies and read receipts. For a chat-first organization of modest size, Starter is the edition to test first, but confirm the user count against your real concurrency and headcount, since the limits are stated on the plans page and may change. Note that conference call features such as ringing users and the call history bar are Starter and paid-plan items, so a free Community workspace will not give you the full calling experience.

The Commercial, Government and Defense plans are priced by quote and are where the features an enterprise usually needs sit: SAML user group mapping, tamper-evident audit trails of messages, files and sessions, and built-in redundancy with automated failover. Air-gapped deployment is only available on paid plans, and the multi-instance and microservice reference architectures also require one. Ask the vendor to put in writing which plan covers air-gapped operation, multi-instance load balancing and Omnichannel, and whether support and upgrade terms are included, because those decisions drive the annual cost far more than the user count.

Licensing is split by directory. Code outside the enterprise directories is MIT licensed, while code under the ee directories uses Rocket.Chat's enterprise license, so the paid features are proprietary even though the core is open. Microsoft Teams is licensed either as part of a Microsoft 365 suite or as a standalone offering, and terms have changed since April 1, 2024. Confirm current Teams terms, and which Microsoft 365 suites still include Teams in your region, directly with Microsoft and your reseller before comparing costs, rather than relying on this page.

How video calls work when Rocket.Chat has no built-in meeting service

Microsoft Teams meetings are part of the Teams service itself, so chat, calendar invitations, recording and dial-in come from one vendor and one license. Staying on Teams for calls means Rocket.Chat handles only text chat, and the call workflow remains in Microsoft 365.

Starting a call: Users start meetings from Teams chat or Outlook, which is the default path for most Microsoft 365 users.
Operating load: Microsoft runs the meeting infrastructure, so your team manages licenses, tenant policies and conditional access rather than servers.
Feature scope: Ringing users, the call history bar and the joined-user list are Rocket.Chat features, so they do not apply to Teams calls.
Fit: This option suits organizations that drop Teams for chat only, or that keep Teams meetings during a phased move.

Before relying on this split, confirm with Microsoft how Teams meetings and their data are licensed and hosted for your tenant and region.

Capability comparison: Teams features against Rocket.Chat

This table compares the chat, meeting, identity, audit and resilience capabilities that matter most when moving from Teams to Rocket.Chat. Read the Rocket.Chat column with plan tier in mind, because several controls sit only on paid Commercial, Government or Defense plans, and read the Teams column as the list of points to confirm with Microsoft against your own license.

Capability	Microsoft Teams	Rocket.Chat
Channels and threads	Teams and channels within Microsoft 365, with threaded replies. Confirm current limits with Microsoft for your tenant.	Public and private channels and threaded messages in core messaging, including the free Community workspace. Confirm plan limits for your user count.
Direct messages	One-to-one and group chats inside the Teams client. Confirm retention and export behavior with Microsoft.	One-to-one and group direct messages in core messaging. Confirm retention settings on your plan.
Omnichannel for customer conversations	Not a native Teams function. Customer conversations usually run through separate Microsoft products; confirm your options with Microsoft.	Omnichannel is a built-in Rocket.Chat capability for customer conversations. Confirm which Omnichannel integrations your plan and version support.
Built-in meetings	Meetings are built into Teams. Confirm participant, recording and dial-in limits with Microsoft.	No built-in video provider. Calls run through marketplace apps for Jitsi, BigBlueButton, Pexip or Google Meet, and call features such as ringing and call history depend on plan.
Microsoft 365 and Outlook or SharePoint integration	Native integration with Outlook, SharePoint and the wider Microsoft 365 suite. Confirm what your license includes.	No native Microsoft 365 integration. Connections to Outlook or SharePoint require custom work or marketplace apps; confirm feasibility with the vendor.
SSO and directory sync	Entra ID sign-in is the usual model. Confirm the directory features in your license with Microsoft.	LDAP and Active Directory authentication and single sign-on are listed on Starter. LDAP and SAML user group mapping are paid-plan features.
MFA	Available through Microsoft 365 and Entra ID. Confirm the policies your tenant can enforce.	Multi-factor authentication is listed on the free Starter plan. Confirm enforcement options for your deployment.
End-to-end encryption	Confirm with Microsoft which Teams content and calls are covered and under what conditions.	End-to-end encryption is listed on the free Starter plan. Confirm which message types and calls it covers.
Audit trails	Confirm the audit and export options in your Microsoft 365 license with Microsoft.	Tamper-evident audit trails of messages, files and sessions are a paid-plan feature (Commercial, Government and Defense).
High availability and failover	Delivered as a Microsoft cloud service. Confirm service commitments with Microsoft.	Built-in redundancy with automated failover is a paid-plan feature. Self-hosted resilience also depends on your MongoDB replica set and load balancing design.
Air-gapped operation	Requires Microsoft cloud connectivity. Not available for disconnected networks.	Air-gapped deployment is a paid Government or Defense plan capability and is not available on Starter.

Where chat data lives and who controls it on each side

Teams and Rocket.Chat differ less in features than in who operates the servers, where the data sits and who answers when something breaks. The cards below set out each side's position so a buyer can match the choice to residency rules, identity architecture and the staff available to run the platform.

Teams data location and the EU Data Boundary

Teams runs on Microsoft's cloud, and the EU Data Boundary is Microsoft's own commitment about where it stores and processes customer data in the EU and EFTA. It is not a self-hosted claim, and it does not change who operates the service. This matters when a residency rule accepts a hyperscaler under contract but requires operational control. Ask Microsoft for the current data location terms that apply to your tenant and license.

Rocket.Chat in your own environment

A self-managed Rocket.Chat instance runs in your own cloud account, data center or air-gapped network, and the data stays with the infrastructure you control. Air-gapped deployment is a paid-plan capability and is not available on the free Starter plan. Confirm with Rocket.Chat which plan covers the deployment model you need before you design the architecture.

Identity integration with Entra ID or Active Directory

Teams authenticates through Microsoft Entra ID, so identity, conditional access and sign-in policy already sit in the Microsoft tenant. Rocket.Chat can use LDAP, Active Directory and single sign-on, and the Starter plan includes LDAP and Active Directory authentication and single sign-on. Map which directory is the source of truth, how groups become roles, and how leavers are removed on the Rocket.Chat side.

Compliance evidence and who produces it

DeployOpen prepares controls, configuration and evidence for compliance assessments, but it does not issue audit reports, attestations or certifications. Independent auditors and certification bodies issue those. On Teams, much of the control evidence comes from Microsoft's own assurance reports. On Rocket.Chat, the buyer must collect logs, access reviews and retention settings from its own environment and show them to the auditor.

Patching, backups and availability move to you

Self-hosting shifts patching, backups, failover and capacity planning to your team. Rocket.Chat standard releases are supported for 6 months and LTS releases for 12 months, and an unsupported version loses security fixes and may stop connecting with official clients. Rocket.Chat 8.x also needs MongoDB 8.0 or later running as a replica set. This trade-off matters most when no team can take on regular upgrades.

What drives the cost of each option

Each option carries a different mix of license fees, infrastructure, meeting hosting, implementation and upkeep. Teams spreads cost across per-user licensing, while self-hosted Rocket.Chat moves cost into servers, a database cluster, a meeting service and staff time. The cards below show what sets each component's size and what to request before signing a quote.

Microsoft Teams licensing

Teams is paid per user on a recurring basis, either bundled into a Microsoft 365 suite or bought as a standalone offering. Microsoft introduced suites without Teams outside the EEA and Switzerland, plus the standalone Teams offering, effective April 1, 2024, and existing suites with Teams are no longer sold to new subscribers worldwide, so the reason licensing changed is that Teams was unbundled. Check which SKU covers your users, how many users are licensed, and whether guest or external users need separate licenses. Ask for the renewal price, any price-change terms and which features sit in each SKU.

Rocket.Chat Starter and quoted plans

The Starter plan carries no license fee for up to 50 users and includes LDAP and Active Directory authentication, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption. Commercial, Government and Defense plans are priced by quote and are required for air-gapped deployment, multi-instance designs and the audit trail features. Cost rises with the plan tier, the user count and any sovereign or air-gapped requirement. Ask the vendor to confirm in writing which features each tier includes, the quoted user band, and whether support terms and upgrade rights are part of the price.

Application servers and MongoDB

Rocket.Chat 8.x requires MongoDB 8.0 or later running as a replica set, and a three-member replica set is strongly recommended for high availability. Node.js is bundled in the official Docker image and Helm chart, so the app tier is containers on your servers or cloud accounts. Size depends on concurrent users: the reference architectures describe one instance with a replica set up to 500 concurrent users, load-balanced instances linked by NATS above that, and Kubernetes with the official Helm chart above 5,000. Ask your team or partner to model compute, storage, backups and the number of database nodes per environment.

Meeting service hosting

Rocket.Chat does not include a built-in video provider. Calls run through marketplace apps for Jitsi, BigBlueButton, Pexip or Google Meet, so the meeting cost depends on the app you choose. Self-hosted Jitsi or BigBlueButton adds media servers, bandwidth and recording storage that you operate. Pexip and Google Meet are commercial services with their own licensing. Ask for the expected concurrent participants, whether recording and dial-in are required, and which marketplace app versions your deployment will run.

Implementation and migration fees

Most engagements are fixed-scope, so the cost of design, Slack or Teams data import, SSO setup, channel mapping, hardening and cutover is agreed in writing before work starts. Rocket.Chat has no Teams importer, so Teams history must be extracted through Microsoft Graph and converted to the CSV format the importer accepts. Ask for a written scope listing each deliverable, the environments covered, the data volume assumed, what the client must provide, and what happens if the import needs rework.

Staff time for upgrades

Rocket.Chat standard releases are supported for 6 months and LTS releases for 12 months. After end of life, a version receives no security or bug fixes, and cloud services such as the push notification gateway, Marketplace and Omnichannel integrations stop working. Unsupported versions may also lose connection to the official mobile and desktop clients. Budget recurring staff time for patching the app, MongoDB and meeting apps, testing upgrades, and tracking the support window. Ask whether a retainer covers upgrades and continuous operations.

What moving chat from Teams to Rocket.Chat involves

The sequence runs from Graph consent and export through a CSV conversion, room mapping, SSO, meetings, a pilot and cutover, and ends with Teams chat retired and an owner for upgrades.

Confirm Graph consent and Teams licenses
A Microsoft 365 global or application administrator grants admin-approved application permissions for the Teams Export APIs in Microsoft Graph, and you confirm that every user whose content you will export holds an active Teams license, since the export depends on it. Ask the admin to record which permissions were consented and which accounts are in scope. This step is done when a test export returns messages for a sample channel and a sample 1:1 chat. Note that Rocket.Chat's Slack import route does not apply here, because Teams exports are not Slack exports.
Extract 1:1, group, meeting and channel messages
Pull 1:1 chats, group chats, meeting chat and channel messages through the Teams Export APIs, along with any meeting recording and transcript links the export returns. Store the raw output in a controlled location with access limited to the migration team, because it contains personal data and may need to follow your retention rules. This step is complete when message counts per team and chat type are reconciled against a sample check in the Teams admin view, and gaps are listed for the owner to decide on.
Convert the export for the CSV importer
Rocket.Chat has no Teams importer, so a developer or integrator converts the extracted data into the CSV format its importer accepts, mapping users, rooms, timestamps and attachments. Split large output into files under 15 MB, as Rocket.Chat's import documentation recommends, and import each file through Manage, Workspace, Import. The step is done when a test file imports cleanly and the imported messages match the source for a sample channel, including thread order and file links.
Map teams and channels to Rocket.Chat rooms
A named business owner decides how each Teams team and channel becomes a public channel, private group or direct message in Rocket.Chat, and which roles, members and moderators carry over. Rebuild permissions by hand or through the import mapping, then check that private content stays private and that archived teams are handled as agreed. Rocket.Chat's paid plans offer LDAP and SAML user group mapping, which can keep group membership aligned with your directory. The step is done when the owner signs off a mapping sheet covering every team.
Configure SSO and MFA
An identity administrator connects Rocket.Chat to the directory in use, through LDAP or Active Directory, or single sign-on, and enables multi-factor authentication for all accounts. The Starter plan includes these authentication options for up to 50 users, and paid plans add SAML user group mapping. Confirm which features your chosen plan includes before you design the login flow. The step is done when test accounts sign in through the intended path and MFA enrollment is verified.
Choose and rebuild the meeting app
Rocket.Chat does not include a built-in video service, so the team selects a marketplace app for Jitsi, BigBlueButton, Pexip or Google Meet, then installs and hosts the chosen service. Teams calls and meetings are not migrated as media, so schedules, links and recording policy must be rebuilt. Check which conference call features your plan includes, such as ringing users and the call history bar. The step is done when a test call works between internal users and external guests.
Run a pilot with a defined group
Select a pilot group that represents the main teams, invite them to the imported workspace and run normal work for a set period agreed with the owner. Collect feedback on missing history, notification behavior, mobile client connection and file access. The pilot is complete when the owner accepts the open issues list and every blocking defect has a fix or a documented workaround.
Cut over, retire Teams chat and plan upgrades
Announce the cutover date, lock new Teams chat where your policy allows, run a final incremental export, and point users to Rocket.Chat channels. Keep the Teams export archive under your retention policy. Name an operations owner for upgrades, since Rocket.Chat standard releases are supported for 6 months and LTS releases for 12 months, and unsupported versions lose security fixes and may stop working with the official mobile and desktop clients. The step is done when Teams chat is retired and the upgrade calendar is in place.

What buyers ask before choosing Rocket.Chat over Teams

How much does moving from Teams to self-hosted Rocket.Chat cost?

The cost has three parts: the Rocket.Chat edition you choose, the infrastructure you run it on, and the people who migrate, operate and upgrade it. Starter is free to download and run for up to 50 users, while Commercial, Government and Defense plans are priced by quote, so ask Rocket.Chat for a written quote matched to your user count and deployment model. Infrastructure, MongoDB replica set hosting, backups and meeting servers recur every month, and migration effort is largely one-time. Costs rise with user count, the need for multi-instance or Kubernetes designs, and compliance needs such as audit trails. Ask Rocket.Chat and any implementation partner for line items so you can compare them with your current Teams licensing.

How long does a Teams to Rocket.Chat migration take?

The duration depends on how much history you move, how many teams and channels you map, how many integrations you rebuild, and how many users you cut over in waves. Rocket.Chat has no Teams importer, so extracting messages through the Microsoft Graph Teams Export APIs and converting them for the CSV importer is usually the longest step. Plan for a pilot group before the full cutover, and confirm the timeline in writing with whoever delivers the work. No fixed duration applies to every organization.

Can our own IT team run the migration without outside help?

Yes, if your team has the skills to cover the work. You need staff who can administer Microsoft Entra ID and Graph permissions, operate MongoDB as a replica set, manage Docker or Kubernetes, and handle reverse proxy and TLS configuration. Someone must also script the Teams export, transform it to the CSV format and test the import on a copy before production. Many organizations split the work, keeping day-to-day operation in-house and bringing in outside help for design, hardening or the cutover. DeployOpen plans, implements, integrates, hardens and documents self-hosted platforms in your own infrastructure under a fixed-scope written agreement.

Is the free Starter plan enough for our organization?

Starter is free and allows up to 50 users, and it includes LDAP and Active Directory authentication, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, end-to-end encryption, retention and read receipts. It is a reasonable fit for evaluation and small teams. Consider a paid plan if you exceed 50 users, need air-gapped deployment, need SAML group mapping, tamper-evident audit trails or built-in failover, or plan a multi-instance or microservice design. Reference architectures suggest multi-instance setups above 500 concurrent users and Kubernetes microservices above 5,000, and those designs require a paid plan.

Can meetings stay in Teams while we move chat to Rocket.Chat?

Yes, chat and meetings can be moved separately. Rocket.Chat does not include a built-in video provider. Instead, conference calls run through marketplace apps for Jitsi, BigBlueButton, Pexip or Google Meet, so you choose and host the meeting service yourself. Some organizations keep Teams meetings during a transition and move chat first, then add a self-hosted meeting service once it is tested. Confirm which app supports your scale, recording and dial-in needs before you plan the cutover.

What happens to an unsupported Rocket.Chat version, and why do upgrades matter?

Standard releases are supported for 6 months and LTS releases for 12 months. After end of life, a version receives no security or bug fixes, and cloud services such as the push notification gateway, Marketplace and Omnichannel integrations stop working. Unsupported versions may also lose the ability to connect with the official mobile and desktop clients. Regular upgrades are therefore part of operating Rocket.Chat, and you should budget staff time for them. Ask who will perform and test upgrades, and whether that is included in your support arrangement.

Can Rocket.Chat run air-gapped, and which plan does that need?

Rocket.Chat supports on-premises, air-gapped and sovereign deployments, but air-gapped deployment is a paid-plan capability and is not available on Starter. The Government and Defense plans are the relevant options for disconnected networks, and they are priced by quote. Plan how you will deliver software updates, container images and Marketplace apps into an isolated network, and confirm with Rocket.Chat how those updates arrive and what features work without internet access. Verify these details against your own network controls before you commit.

What does a fixed-scope DeployOpen engagement cover?

A fixed-scope engagement covers the work agreed in writing before it starts, which normally includes the deliverables, the timelines and the boundaries of what is included. For a chat migration, that can cover planning, deploying Rocket.Chat in your cloud account, data center or air-gapped network, migration support, integration, hardening, backup configuration and documentation. DeployOpen does not publish a price list, so a quote follows from the written scope. Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as separate retainers. DeployOpen prepares systems and evidence for compliance assessments but does not issue audit reports or certifications.

How DeployOpen helps you evaluate, implement and migrate Rocket.Chat

DeployOpen is a Chainscore Labs company that plans, implements, integrates, hardens, backs up, upgrades and documents self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped networks. For Microsoft Teams vs Rocket.Chat, we start with the decision your organization actually faces, then build and hand over a Rocket.Chat environment that fits it.

How we scope

We confirm which Teams chat, channel and meeting use cases must move, and which can stay where they are.
We map your identity setup, such as Entra ID or Active Directory, to the Rocket.Chat authentication options your plan includes.
We agree the scope, deliverables and timelines in writing before work starts, since most engagements are fixed-scope.

How we build

We size the Rocket.Chat deployment against your user count, MongoDB replica set and the reference architecture that applies.
We configure channels, retention, SSO and meeting integrations through marketplace apps such as Jitsi, BigBlueButton, Pexip or Google Meet.
We test the migration path from a Teams export and verify messages, threads and files load as expected before cutover.

How we hand over

We document the architecture, configuration, runbooks and the compliance evidence your assessors will ask for.
We train your administrators on user management, upgrades and backup and restore procedures for the environment.
We confirm with you which licensing tier, plan features and support terms apply, so you know what runs in your environment.

How we support

Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as retainers after handover.
We plan regular upgrades within Rocket.Chat's standard and LTS release support windows so the environment stays supported.
We are available to review plan changes, new releases and security testing results as your requirements evolve.

Microsoft Teams vs Rocket.Chat