Rocket.Chat vs Tinode (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Rocket.Chat grades higher than Tinode: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Rocket.Chat grades higher on the free plan and platforms. Tinode grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Rocket.Chat
Open-source, self-managed chat for security-focused teams
Tinode
Open-source instant messaging server you host or rent
Which one is for you
Pick Rocket.Chat if
- Fits if your organization must host its own chat on its own servers
- Works for teams of up to 50 with someone who can run a server
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you've nobody to install and maintain a server, since the free options are self-managed
- Not for you if you need a price before you talk to sales, as none is published
- Tight if you're past 50 users and hoped to stay on Starter, which stops there and can't run air-gapped
- Watch out: Starter has community support only, and the free Community edition caps 100 concurrent users and isn't meant for production
- Too light for teams that want calls built in, as Rocket.Chat routes them through Pexip, Jitsi, Meet or Zoom
Pick Tinode if
- Fits if you want to own your chat server and its data
- Works for developers adding chat to their own app
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you do not want to run a server, as the free edition is self-hosted
- Tight if you grow, since free self-hosting stops near 500 push notifications a day
- Watch out: the stock apps' notifications will not reach your server without your own builds or the push gateway
- Watch out: Cloud is arranged through a contact form, and the site footer reads 2023
- Pricey if you want the admin tool and branded apps, which start at $50 a month
How we grade them
| 2.4GPARocket.ChatFair | 2.2GPATinodeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published: Commercial, Government and Defense are all quoted by sales, so there's nothing to set against the $7 a month this category typically starts at. What you can price is the free end, and that's $0 for up to 50 self-managed users. | BCloud is $1.50 a user a month, which would count as cheap, but it is arranged through a contact form. The free edition needs your own server. |
| Free plan and trial | BStarter costs nothing for 50 self-managed users with single sign-on, LDAP, multi-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption. The lines are drawn too, though. Support is community-only with no option to buy it, and air-gapped deployment needs a paid plan. | CBasic is free to self-host, but capped at about 500 push notifications a day. You run the server. |
| Features | CChannels, groups, direct messages and threads with searchable history in 64 languages, access controls, retention policies and Matrix federation. The hole is calls: Rocket.Chat hosts none itself, routing them through Pexip, Jitsi, BigBlueButton, Meet or Zoom, and Community handles only the first two. | CChat server, web and mobile clients, an extensible backend and chatbots over gRPC. Branding and the admin tool are paid. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record, and both free routes are self-managed, so your team installs the server and keeps it running. Rocket.Chat-run hosting only arrives with a paid plan, which means a conversation with sales first. | DNo rating on record. Self-hosting means installing and running a server yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. There's an open API, a Marketplace and the Apps Engine for building your own, ready-made links to Jitsi, Pexip, BigBlueButton, Google Meet and Zoom, and Matrix federation to share channels with other organizations. | BWeb, iPhone and Android clients, with gRPC for bots. No desktop app. |
| Best for | chat that never leaves your own servers | a chat server you host for your own app |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Rocket.Chat and Tinode. How we grade
Where they differ
- Rocket.Chat is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Rocket.Chat also covers file sharing.
At a glance
| Rocket.Chat | Tinode | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $1.50 per user / month (Cloud) |
| Free plan | Starter: a free self-managed workspace for up to 50 users with single sign-on, end-to-end encryption and community support. The MIT-licensed Community edition is also free. | Basic self-hosted edition is free for small teams: no more than 500 push notifications a day, roughly 350 messages a day. |
| Free trial | Qualifying government, defense and critical infrastructure organizations can get a free guided, hosted evaluation. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Rocket.Chat Technologies Corp. | Tinode LLC |
| Price read from | rocket.chat | tinode.co |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Rocket.Chat
- Paid plan prices are not published; Commercial, Government and Defense are quoted by sales.
- Starter stops at 50 users, cannot be deployed air-gapped and has community support only, with no option to buy support.
- The Community edition has core messaging only and 100 concurrent users, and the vendor says it is not suited to business-critical production use.
- The free options are self-managed, so the team installs and maintains the server; Rocket.Chat-run hosting comes with paid plans.
Tinode
- Self-hosted mobile apps need either your own builds or the push gateway, because the stock apps' notifications will not reach your server otherwise.
- Free self-hosting is for small teams; above roughly 500 push notifications a day a paid plan applies.
- Support contracts exclude third-party integrations, remote administration and support for end users.
- The site's footer reads 2023, and the Cloud plan is arranged through a contact form.
Key features
Rocket.Chat
- Channels, direct messages and threads
- Channels, groups, direct messages and threaded discussions with multimedia and file sharing, searchable message history, read receipts and an interface in 64 languages.
- Deployment on your own terms
- Workspaces run on-premises, in a private or sovereign cloud, or on Rocket.Chat's dedicated hosting. Air-gapped deployment is available on paid plans only.
- Identity and access controls
- Active Directory and LDAP authentication, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication and role-based access control are included from the free Starter plan.
- Encryption and data policies
- End-to-end encryption can be switched on for messages and files, alongside data retention policies, data loss prevention and content moderation.
- Video through integrations
- Calls connect through Pexip, Jitsi, BigBlueButton, Google Meet or Zoom on Starter. The Community edition supports Jitsi and BigBlueButton only.
- Federation, apps and API
- Matrix protocol federation links separate organizations in shared channels, and the Marketplace, Apps Engine and open API cover custom apps and integrations.
Tinode
- Open-source clients and server
- The server is written in Go and can run as a cluster; the site says client software is under the Apache 2.0 license.
- Self-hosting tools
- TnAdmin gives a graphical console for looking up and suspending users, a push gateway handles mobile notifications and a Grafana dashboard is available for monitoring.
- Extensible backend
- Authentication schemes, database backends, file upload, push and credential validation are pluggable adapters, and bots can connect over gRPC.
- Mobile and web clients
- Android and iOS apps are listed in the stores, and a web client runs at web.tinode.co.
- Branded apps
- Paid plans can show your own name and logo in the mobile apps and configure the server connection automatically.
- Support contracts
- Named-contact email support with prioritized bug fixes is sold per installation, with an hourly rate for out-of-scope requests.
Plans
Rocket.Chat
Starter$0
Self-managed workspace for up to 50 users with SSO, LDAP, multi-factor authentication, end-to-end encryption and community-only support.
Community$0
Open-source (MIT) edition with core messaging only, up to 100 concurrent users and push notifications capped at 10,000 a month.
CommercialCustom
For commercial enterprises: on-premises, private cloud or dedicated cloud hosting, high availability and regulatory compliance features.
GovernmentCustom
For public sector agencies: on-premises or sovereign cloud deployment, tamper-evident audit logs, retention policies and Matrix federation.
DefenseCustom
For defense and intelligence: air-gapped deployment, DoD ATO up to IL6, FIPS 140-3 validated cryptography and clearance-based access control.
Tinode
Basic$0
You install and run the server yourself. Includes the push gateway, production monitoring and community support.
Cloud$1.50
per user / month
Tinode runs it for you with 5 GB of file storage per user, custom-branded clients and gRPC access for chatbots. Arranged through the contact form.
Professional$50
per month, one self-hosted installation ($500 billed yearly)
Self-hosted. Adds the TnAdmin tool, auto-configured and custom-branded mobile apps and dedicated support. $25 a month per extra cluster node.
Enterprise$1,500
per year for a standalone installation
Everything in Professional plus assisted installation and email support; $2,500 a year for a 3-node cluster.
Ways to pay less
Rocket.Chat
No public discounts listed.
Tinode
- Annual discount
Annual billing for Professional
The self-hosting page lists $50 a month for a standalone installation, or $500 when billed annually.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Rocket.Chat or Tinode?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Rocket.Chat publishes no starting price, and Tinode starts at $1.50 per user / month (Cloud).
Which has a free plan, Rocket.Chat or Tinode?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Rocket.Chat and Tinode have a free plan.
Which platforms do Rocket.Chat and Tinode run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Rocket.Chat lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.