Rocket.Chat vs Troop Messenger

Rocket.Chat

• Organizations that must host chat themselves for data sovereignty
• Small teams of up to 50 that can run their own server
• Government and defense groups that need air-gapped deployment
• Agencies that federate with partners over the Matrix protocol

Troop Messenger

• Organizations that want to host their chat on their own servers
• Government and defense organizations, a segment the vendor targets directly
• Teams looking for chat and calls at a low per-user price

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.

Troop Messenger

• No free plan is shown: the pricing page offers a 7-day trial of the Enterprise plan.
• Screen sharing, group calling, Burnout and LDAP/SSO need the Enterprise plan; Premium has audio calls and 1:1 video calls only.
• A Superior tier for 500+ users is marked as coming soon on the pricing page, and the vendor's own pages disagree on its price.
• The vendor's FAQ says video calling and screen sharing do not work in the UAE.

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.

Troop Messenger

Messaging and groups

One-to-one and group chats with replies, forwarding, message edit and recall, and voice and video messages. Airtime groups let only admins and moderators post.

Audio and video calls

1:1 and group audio-video calls with screen sharing, plus Join Now for entering a group call already in progress. Group calling and screen sharing are Enterprise features.

Burnout

A one-to-one private chat window for confidential exchanges. Its messages vanish when a preset timer runs out and no chat backup is kept.

Forkout and Orange Member

Forkout sends one message or attachment to many users and groups in a single step. Orange Member invites customers and other non-employees as guest users.

AI features

AI File Summary gives in-chat summaries of shared files and AI Smart Suggestions proposes replies to incoming messages. The homepage also promotes translation and an AI Buddy assistant.

SaaS or on-premise hosting

Use the hosted service or run Troop Messenger on your own servers. LDAP, Active Directory and SSO integration is part of the Enterprise plan.

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.

Troop Messenger

• Premium$2.50

  per user / month

  One-to-one and group messaging, file sharing, audio calls and 1:1 video calls, guest users (Orange Member), Forkout and 150 GB of storage.

• Enterprise$5

  per user / month

  Premium plus screen sharing, group calling and video conferencing, Burnout chats, read receipts, LDAP/Active Directory/SSO and 1 TB of storage.

Rocket.Chat

No public discounts listed.

Troop Messenger

• Education

  70% off Enterprise for education

  The education pricing page invites schools, universities and training institutes to apply for 70% off the Enterprise subscription, with a 15-day free trial.

• Nonprofit

  70% off Enterprise for NGOs

  The NGO pricing page invites nonprofits and foundations to apply for 70% off the Enterprise subscription, with a 15-day free trial.