What is the difference between Microsoft Teams and Rocket.Chat?

Microsoft Teams is best for Organizations already using Microsoft 365, while Rocket.Chat is best for Teams that want self-hosted chat with customer-facing features. Microsoft Teams starts at $4/user/mo and Rocket.Chat starts at Free (self-hosted).

Is Microsoft Teams or Rocket.Chat cheaper?

Microsoft Teams starts at $4/user/mo with a free tier. Rocket.Chat starts at Free (self-hosted) and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Rocket.Chat?

Both Microsoft Teams and Rocket.Chat offer free tiers.

Microsoft Teams vs Rocket.Chat

Microsoft Teams is all-in-one communication platform with chat, video meetings, and Office 365 integration, while Rocket.Chat is open-source communication platform with team chat, video, and omnichannel customer engagement. The biggest difference up front: Rocket.Chat is free, while Microsoft Teams starts at $4/user/mo. Microsoft Teams is built for organizations already using microsoft 365, whereas Rocket.Chat targets teams that want self-hosted chat with customer-facing features.

At a glance

	Microsoft Teams	Rocket.Chat
Best for	Organizations already using Microsoft 365	Teams that want self-hosted chat with customer-facing features
Starting price	$4/user/mo	Free (self-hosted)
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Bots	—	✓
Channels	✓	—
Federation	—	✓
File Sharing	✓	—
Office 365 Integration	✓	—
Omnichannel	—	✓
Self-Hosted	—	✓
Video Calls	—	✓
Video Meetings	✓	—
Webinars	✓	—

Microsoft Teams

Strengths

Included with Microsoft 365 subscriptions
Deep integration with Office apps (Word, Excel, SharePoint)
Strong video conferencing with large meeting support
Enterprise-grade security and compliance

Weaknesses

Interface can feel cluttered and confusing
Heavy on system resources
Navigation between chats, teams, and channels is unintuitive
Notifications management is frustrating

Try Microsoft Teams → Full review

Rocket.Chat

Strengths

Self-hosted with full data ownership
Combines internal chat and customer-facing messaging
Active open-source community
Federation support for cross-organization chat

Weaknesses

UI feels dated compared to Slack
Self-hosting requires significant DevOps effort
Fewer integrations than mainstream alternatives
Can be resource-intensive to run

Try Rocket.Chat → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Rocket.Chat is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Microsoft Teams starts at $4/user/mo, but Free basic chat and video meetings. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Microsoft Teams offers Channels, File Sharing and Office 365 Integration that Rocket.Chat lacks. Rocket.Chat brings Bots, Federation and Omnichannel that Microsoft Teams does not have.

Team fit: Microsoft Teams is geared toward enterprise teams, while Rocket.Chat is aimed at mid-size 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: Rocket.Chat is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Microsoft Teams is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Microsoft Teams's biggest strengths are: included with microsoft 365 subscriptions. deep integration with office apps (word, excel, sharepoint). Rocket.Chat's biggest strengths are: self-hosted with full data ownership. combines internal chat and customer-facing messaging.

Watch out for: With Microsoft Teams, users commonly note that interface can feel cluttered and confusing. With Rocket.Chat, the main complaint is that ui feels dated compared to slack.

Choose Microsoft Teams if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: organizations already using microsoft 365
You specifically need Channels and File Sharing
You care about deep integration with office apps (word, excel, sharepoint)
Your team size fits the enterprise profile Microsoft Teams is designed for
The free tier works for you: free basic chat and video meetings

Choose Rocket.Chat if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams that want self-hosted chat with customer-facing features
Budget is a hard constraint — Rocket.Chat is free, Microsoft Teams is not
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Bots and Federation
You care about combines internal chat and customer-facing messaging