Happy Valley

Mattermost vs Microsoft Teams

Mattermost and Microsoft Teams are both team communication tools. Mattermost is aimed at enterprise and developers, while Microsoft Teams is aimed at enterprise and small businesses. Both have a free plan.

Mattermost

Self-hosted secure collaboration

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft's chat, meetings and calling hub inside Microsoft 365

PricingOpen sourceFreemium · $4
Starting priceNot published$4/mo
Free planYesYes
Free trial—30 days
Built forEnterprise, DevelopersEnterprise, Small businesses
Platformsweb, macos, windows, linux, ios, androidweb, macos, windows, ios, android
CountryUS · 2015US · 2017
Rating——

Choose Mattermost if

Organizations needing self-hosted secure chat.

  • Full control and security
  • Open source
  • DevOps-focused

Look elsewhere if: Teams wanting Slack's ecosystem.

Choose Microsoft Teams if

Organisations already standardised on Microsoft 365 that want chat, meetings and files in one governed platform.

  • Included in most Microsoft 365 business plans at no extra cost
  • Deep integration with Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive and Office
  • Strong security, compliance and identity management via Entra ID

Look elsewhere if: Startups and developer teams that prefer fast chat and a large third-party app ecosystem, or Google Workspace users (Slack, Google Meet).

Mattermost vs Microsoft Teams pricing

Mattermost

  • Free$0Self-hosted, community support
  • ProfessionalCustomAnnual seat licenses; SSO, access controls
  • EnterpriseCustomCompliance, HA, 24x7 support
  • Enterprise AdvancedCustomAir-gapped, Zero Trust, classified controls

Microsoft Teams

  • Teams (free)$0Personal use; 60-minute group calls, up to 100 people
  • Teams Essentials$4/user/moAnnual commitment; standalone meetings and chat
  • M365 Business Basic$7/user/moAnnual commitment; Teams plus web Office, email, 1 TB
  • M365 Business Standard$14/user/moAnnual commitment; adds desktop Office apps, webinars
  • M365 Business Premium$22/user/moAnnual commitment; adds Intune and advanced security

Mattermost · Key features

  • Self-hosted team chat
  • Playbooks for incidents
  • Boards
  • DevOps integrations
  • Compliance and security
  • Air-gapped deployment

Cons

  • UX behind Slack
  • Self-hosting effort
  • Smaller app ecosystem

Microsoft Teams · Key features

  • Persistent channels, group chats and threaded conversations
  • Video meetings with recording, transcription and live captions
  • Webinars and town halls for large internal and external audiences
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot recaps, chat summaries and drafting
  • Real-time co-editing of Word, Excel and PowerPoint files in chats
  • Teams Phone add-on for cloud PBX calling

Cons

  • Heavier and slower than Slack for fast chat
  • File and permission model follows SharePoint and can confuse users
  • Best features such as Copilot and Premium cost extra

Mattermost vs Microsoft Teams: FAQ

Do Mattermost and Microsoft Teams have a free plan?

Yes, both Mattermost and Microsoft Teams have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.

Which is better for small businesses, Mattermost or Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams lists small businesses as a core audience, while Mattermost is aimed more at enterprise and developers.

Not sure yet?