What is the difference between Mattermost and Chanty?

Mattermost is best for Teams that need self-hosted, privacy-first messaging, while Chanty is best for Small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat. Mattermost starts at Free (self-hosted) and Chanty starts at Free.

Is Mattermost or Chanty cheaper?

Mattermost starts at Free (self-hosted) and is free. Chanty starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Chanty?

Both Mattermost and Chanty offer free tiers.

Mattermost vs Chanty

Mattermost is open-source, self-hosted team messaging platform for organizations that need data sovereignty, while Chanty is simple team messaging with tasks, video calls, and unlimited message history on the free plan. Mattermost is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. Mattermost is built for teams that need self-hosted, privacy-first messaging, whereas Chanty targets small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat.

At a glance

	Mattermost	Chanty
Best for	Teams that need self-hosted, privacy-first messaging	Small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat
Starting price	Free (self-hosted)	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Channels	✓	—
Compliance	✓	—
Integrations	✓	—
Playbooks	✓	—
Self-Hosted	✓	—
Tasks	—	✓
Threads	—	✓
Unlimited History	—	✓
Video Calls	—	✓

Mattermost

Strengths

Self-hosted — full control over your data
Open source with active community
Slack-compatible interface, easy migration
Strong compliance and security features

Weaknesses

Requires server management if self-hosting
Smaller integration ecosystem than Slack
Cloud-hosted version is more expensive than Slack
Mobile apps lag behind Slack and Teams in polish

Try Mattermost → Full review

Chanty

Strengths

Unlimited message history on every plan — nothing gets lost or archived
Includes Tasks as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
Free for up to 5 members — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes video calls alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Notification overload is a real problem as the number of channels grows
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Chanty → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Mattermost and Chanty are free. You can try both without spending a dollar.

Feature gaps: Mattermost offers Channels, Compliance and Integrations that Chanty lacks. Chanty brings Tasks, Threads and Unlimited History that Mattermost does not have.

Team fit: Mattermost is geared toward mid-size teams teams, while Chanty is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Mattermost is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Chanty is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Mattermost's biggest strengths are: self-hosted — full control over your data. open source with active community. Chanty's biggest strengths are: unlimited message history on every plan — nothing gets lost or archived. includes tasks as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows.

Watch out for: With Mattermost, users commonly note that requires server management if self-hosting. With Chanty, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Mattermost if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams that need self-hosted, privacy-first messaging
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Channels and Compliance
You care about open source with active community
Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Mattermost is designed for

Choose Chanty if...

You need a tool built for small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat
You specifically need Tasks and Threads
You care about includes tasks as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Chanty is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for up to 5 members