Compare / Zulip vs Mattermost
Zulip vs Mattermost
Pick Mattermost if you want Slack/Teams-shaped rooms and the published Microsoft Teams stack. Pick Zulip if conversations should live in topic threads so async work stays searchable.
Facts checked 17 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
Zulip in the catalog Mattermost in the catalogStart on Railway
How they compare
| Zulip | Mattermost | |
|---|---|---|
| License | Apache-2.0 (catalog) source | AGPLv3 source; compiled binaries MIT; commercial option source |
| Language | Python (catalog) | TypeScript (catalog) |
| GitHub activity | 26,057 stars in the catalog source | 39,359 stars in the catalog source |
| Self-host | Topic-threaded team chat. No c17 one-click template. | Published as /stacks/mattermost-teams. |
| Best for | Async discussions that should stay searchable. | Chat, playbooks, and calls you host. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
Mattermost is /stacks/mattermost-teams (Postgres + volume). Zulip is a Python app (zulip/zulip, Apache-2.0). Zulip is not a published c17 Railway template. Rocket.Chat remains the Slack stack.
FAQ
- Is Zulip a Slack clone?
- No. Zulip is organized by topics inside streams. Mattermost and Rocket.Chat are closer to Slack/Teams rooms.
- Mattermost or Rocket.Chat?
- See /compare/mattermost-vs-rocket-chat. Slack → Rocket.Chat. Teams → Mattermost.
- Are these free?
- Zulip is Apache-2.0. Mattermost source is AGPLv3. You pay hosting.
- How do I deploy Mattermost?
- Open /stacks/mattermost-teams. Postgres + a volume. Set SiteURL.
Related pages
Stack of the Week
Get one stack a week that replaces a SaaS bill.