Mattermost vs Slack
Mattermost and Slack are both team communication tools. Mattermost is aimed at enterprise and developers, while Slack is aimed at small businesses and enterprise. Both have a free plan.
Self-hosted secure collaboration
Channel-based team messaging
| Pricing | Open source | Freemium · $9 |
| Starting price | Not published | $8.75/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Enterprise, Developers | Small businesses, Enterprise |
| Platforms | web, macos, windows, linux, ios, android | web, macos, windows, linux, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2015 | US · 2013 |
| 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 Slack if
Teams of any size that are not already standardized on Microsoft Teams and value integrations.
- Best-in-class UX for team chat
- Huge integration ecosystem
- Slack Connect for working with partners
Look elsewhere if: Microsoft 365-centric organizations (Teams is included) or teams preferring async-first tools (Twist).
Mattermost vs Slack pricing
Mattermost
- Free$0Self-hosted, community support
- ProfessionalCustomAnnual seat licenses; SSO, access controls
- EnterpriseCustomCompliance, HA, 24x7 support
- Enterprise AdvancedCustomAir-gapped, Zero Trust, classified controls
Slack
- Free$090-day message history, 1:1 huddles
- Pro$8.75/user/mo$7.25/mo billed annually; unlimited history and apps, group huddles
- Business+$18/user/mo$15/mo billed annually; Slack AI, SAML SSO, data exports
- Enterprise+CustomEnterprise search, DLP, advanced security; contact sales
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
Slack · Key features
- Channels, threads, DMs and shared channels across companies (Slack Connect)
- Huddles with screen sharing and canvases for docs
- Workflow Builder and 2,600+ app integrations
- Slack AI: summaries, search answers, recaps
- Lists for lightweight task tracking
- Enterprise security: SSO, DLP, EKM, compliance exports
Cons
- Expensive per seat for large teams
- Free plan's 90-day history limit
- Notification overload without discipline
Mattermost vs Slack: FAQ
Do Mattermost and Slack have a free plan?
Yes, both Mattermost and Slack have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.
Which is better for small businesses, Mattermost or Slack?
Slack lists small businesses as a core audience, while Mattermost is aimed more at enterprise and developers.