Rocket.Chat vs Wire

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

Wire

• Organizations that need end-to-end encryption for messages, calls and files
• Governments and regulated sectors that require on-premises deployment
• Teams that bring outside partners in as guests or externals
• NGOs, which are offered a 40% discount

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.

Wire

• Prices are listed in euros only.
• Wire for Free stops at 5 team members and cannot start a conference call with more than 2 participants.
• The SMB plan covers teams of up to 100 people; larger organizations need a custom Enterprise quote.
• The Linux desktop app is a community-supported experimental build, and browser calling works only in Chrome.

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.

Wire

Encrypted messaging

Group and 1:1 conversations with search, reactions, sketches, audio and video messages and self-deleting messages, all end-to-end encrypted with MLS.

Calls and conferences

Audio and video conferencing for up to 150 participants on web, desktop and mobile, with screen sharing and moderation tools such as muting participants.

Wire Drive

Integrated file management and online document collaboration, with files kept inside conversations tied to verified group membership.

Guests and externals

Externals are team members with limited access rights, while guests can join a conversation from a web browser without an account.

Cloud, on-premises or hybrid

Wire can be deployed in its cloud, on your own infrastructure or both, and federation lets separate Wire backends interact as if they were one.

SSO, SCIM and admin controls

Paid plans add SAML-based single sign-on, SCIM provisioning, administrative controls and feature configurations such as restricting file sharing.

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.

Wire

• Wire for Free€0

  For small teams of up to 5 people: collaboration essentials on all platforms and up to 8 devices.

• Wire for SMB€7.45

  per person / month, paid annually (€8.94 paid monthly)

  Teams of up to 100 people. Video conferences with up to 150 participants, SSO and SCIM, administrative controls, and external and guest roles.

• Wire for EnterpriseCustom

  More than 100 people. Federation with Wire Cloud, ID Shield, full deployment support, data sovereignty and multi-tenancy.

Rocket.Chat

No public discounts listed.

Wire

• Annual discount

  About 17% less with annual payment

  Wire for SMB costs €7.45 per person / month with annual payment against €8.94 with monthly payment.

• Nonprofit

  40% discount for NGOs

  Wire's pricing FAQ says it offers NGOs a 40% discount, applied for by contacting the company.