Self-host Rocket.Chat

updated Jul 2026deployed & timed by usprices checked · Aug 2026Install verified on Ubuntu 26.04 · Jul 2026 · how we test

A feature-packed open-source team chat with channels, voice, video, and omnichannel support built in. The most extensible self-hosted Slack alternative if you want everything in one platform.

Slack / yr$96

Self-hosted / yr~$55

You keep$41/yr

Pocket the difference — spin it up on a cheap VPS in minutes.Start free on Kamatera →

Key facts

CategoryTeam chat

LicenseMIT

StackNode.js, MongoDB

Min RAM2048 MB

Dockeryes

Difficulty

What you need

Any VPS with at least 2048 MB of RAM
A domain you control — most self-hosted setups need HTTPS in front of them
About an afternoon — budget time for troubleshooting

Install

Run these commands on your server:

# Rocket.Chat — official compose (app + MongoDB replica set)
curl -L https://go.rocket.chat/i/docker-compose.yml -o docker-compose.yml
# set ROOT_URL and MongoDB env in .env, then:
docker compose up -d  #  →  http://SERVER_IP:3000

vps picksBest VPS for self-hostingbenchmarked quarterly · re-priced monthly

An alternative to

Slack →

Head-to-head

Team chatJun 2026

Rocket.Chat

Mattermost

Fast and Slack-like vs. all-in-one platform.

Read the verdict →

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