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BEST OF
Best self-hosted Slack alternatives for small teams
Four options you can run on your own server, what each is good at, and who should pick which. We make Dock, so we say where it falls short.
The shortlist
| Tool | Good at | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Dock | All-in-one workspace: chat, docs, Base, calendar, tasks, meetings | No external chats, no recording, not open source |
| Mattermost | Open source chat with DevOps workflows | Productivity apps are not the focus; check editions |
| Rocket.Chat | Open source with customer omnichannel | Check its deployment requirements |
| Zulip | Topic-based threading for async teams | Different mental model than channels |
How to choose
Pick by what you need besides chat. If open source is a hard requirement, choose Mattermost, Rocket.Chat or Zulip. If you want docs, tables, tasks, calendar and meetings in the same place, Dock covers them. Always check each product's current licence and pricing.
Questions
What is the easiest to run?
Dock runs as one Node process with a SQLite file. Others need more services; check their documentation.
Is self-hosting cheaper than Slack?
It depends on team size. Use the tool sprawl audit with your own prices.