Rocket.Chat Reviews

Pros

The possibility of having a self-managed version of it, running on our own servers, for free. This ensured our data stayed ours. We also implemented a chatbot connected to our MySQL and automatized the work distribution.

Cons

There are over 1200 permission settings. Around 50% of the software is "okay" documented, the rest indicates it is "under development". Very complex to know exactly what impact will have each setting.

Alternatives Considered

Element, Gmail, Slack and Tuta Mail

Reasons for Switching to Rocket.Chat

Free community self-managed(hosted) version and it is OpenSource. This ensured we kept ownership on our data / ideas. It is much more effective than emails, and allow collaboration with hundreds of users for free. Great community working on it.

Pros

The core software is open-source, so the cost is low to get started. You have the option, but not forced to, to purchase business/enterprise support and upgrade for additional features, and Rocket.Chat company also provides hosting services. In case you want to modify the code (likely you won't need it), but you can, so it's a big plus for feeling in control.

Rocket.Chat supports OpenID Connect for SSO authentication out-of-the-box, which we integrate with FusionAuth and it works as expected. So really happy about this.

We also did submit some patches and enhancements to Rocket.Chat GitHub, and while response time varies, we were welcomed, some of our contributions were accepted, some were not accepted but with clear explanation. So we're very happy that we can collaborate directly with Rocket.Chat developers and hopefully having good relationship in the long term.

Cons

I still see stability issues, sometimes chats not refreshing, and random minor issues. It's quite hard to debug/diagnose the issue, and on GitHub some issues have been waiting for weeks or months. I understand this is complex code without various platforms connected together, and to be fair Rocket.Chat tried to provide several debugging options inside it, so they do put effort in this.

Configuring to use own Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) push notification is tricky, and requires deploying customized Android and iOS app... but this is to be expected and I'm not sure how it can be made easier.

It still feels that they're pushing for new features more than to fix bugs. Which can be both a good thing or bad thing, depending on which side you're getting.

Alternatives Considered

Zulip, Zoom Workplace, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet

Reasons for Choosing Rocket.Chat

Too basic

Switched From

WhatsApp

Reasons for Switching to Rocket.Chat

Open source, features, open platform, collaboration with developers

Pros

I liked being able to have group conversations.

Cons

trying to keep up with the conversations while typing my response.

Pros

1. I like the notification system. It's highly unlikely that you will miss a crucial notification. When the status is set to busy, the notifications will stay in the background
2. It is definitely cheaper compared to its competitors
3. It's good for team collaboration and communication with the ability to create changes
4. The emojis spice up the communication
5. It also offers SSO functionality where users can log in with their GSUITE credentials

Cons

1. The major con has to be the User Interface. It could definitely use a lot of improvements to make it smooth
2. When starting it for the first time, the servers actually take forever to load
3. It hangs quite a lot even with a very strong internet connection and high spec laptop
4. The file sharing option could be made smoother.
5. The video call option is still missing
6. It's very easy to miss notifications while using the mobile app

Pros

quick easy to the point. Not alot excess questions

Cons

All chats are annoying we want to talk to a person

Pros

- Supports LDAP authentication
- On-premises server
- Platform availability (both web, mobile and Desktop)
- Good & clean usability

Cons

- Some things are still not working in the mobile native app (e.g.: voting on polls)
- No support for threaded chat
- No straightforward integration with SharePoint
- Electron client app only, so notifications are a bit lacking

Alternatives Considered

Mattermost and Microsoft Teams

Reasons for Choosing Rocket.Chat

After many years of pain using Skype4Business there are finally plans by Microsoft to phase it out. So we decided to test out several platforms - RocketChat included, which we also ended up adopting in the end.

Pros

Rocket.chat is a great alternative to Slack with the possibility to run it without license costs on-premise. Documentation is good and a lot of Slack integrations also works with rocket.chat.

Cons

Push notifications has been bugging and recently limits has been introduced for the push gateway. Our users does not like it because it is not Slack.

Alternatives Considered

Slack

Reasons for Choosing Rocket.Chat

We switched from slack in 2016 to be in charge or our own data and to reduce costs.

Switched From

Slack

Reasons for Switching to Rocket.Chat

We switched back to Slack after a running Rocket.chat for about 4 years.

Pros

Rocket Chat is a completely open source and scalable platform. I love all the options that are offered from: message history, public & private channels, video, admin options, and more. The options are unlimited and I don't think I would ever use them all; but I'm glad they are there.

Cons

Support & Sales are diffcult to contact. I like talking to an actually person over the phone when making larger scale changes to my organization.

Alternatives Considered

Website Toolbox

Reasons for Choosing Rocket.Chat

Price

Reasons for Switching to Rocket.Chat

Rocket Chat can be customized to our needs and has a variety of implementations

Pros

One of the most important pro is the data protection, you know that all the info disclosed through messages are secured. It can be downloaded on different devices: Android, iOS, Windows, Linux. The app is really easy to use, has a lot of helpful features to maintain good communication.

Cons

There are only two things I would like to see Rocket.chat improve: the Search section (searching for a specific word won’t show the right results, but random messages), and that the new messages notification don’t always pop up.

Pros

easy to set up, not a lot of extra rubbish complicating things

Cons

we havent found anything we dont like as of yet

Pros

Rocket Chat was a welcome alternative to Slack when we were facing hefty monthly fees to continue using it. Rocket Chat pretty much can do exactly what Slack also can, but it costs absolutely nothing which is great.

Cons

You need to have basic skills in terms of Linux, webhosting etc. to be able to set up Rocket.Chat. Otherwise you're going to be in for a headache.

Alternatives Considered

Zoho Cliq

Reasons for Choosing Rocket.Chat

Slack was getting too expensive.

Switched From

Slack

Reasons for Switching to Rocket.Chat

Because it's 100% free all the time.

Pros

It can work on Your internal server, You can manage it by yourself, and thanks to that with the proper approach it can make your communication more secure.

Cons

Sometimes popups with new messages are disappearing or software behaves strangely.

Pros

Rocket.Chat has so many features it's crazy. I mean, there's a feature in here to authenticate using Wordpress! So cool! They have both React Native and native apps so getting this customized and deployed is pretty easy. It works pretty well out of the box minus a few bugs. It's got a large community backing most of the repositories which is a huge plus. Overall there's a lot going for it.

Cons

Bugs... OMG the bugs are ruthless. Right out of the gate the React Native version didn't have avatar uploading working. We had to pay $1000 to contract out a developer to fix the issue for us. The issue wasn't really a fix more than it was a hack so we weren't able to push it back into the main development branch.
There's also a problem with notifications right out of the box. That is really frustrating and we still don't have notifications working on our platforms.

Pros

I love the simplicity and functionality of Rocket.Chat, especially for an open source app. Integration with Active Directory was quick and easy, and the mobile, desktop, and Web apps work great!

Cons

My one niggle with RC is with the way notifications work when you're logged in on multiple devices and apps. When I read a message on my desktop app, it's not marked as read on my mobile apps. I've searched high and low in the admin settings and can't find anything that I can turn on to fix that.

Pros

Is great that you can have all your users and create different groups to mantain control of the correct communications.

Cons

The notifications do not always are synchronized in the mobile app.

Pros

It's an instant messaging software so you can use it in a workplace to get in touch with each other on a daily basis.

Cons

The UX/UI is not great. My manager/boss is in control of everything. They can read conversations and how much time you spend on it. They also restricted a lot of things. Maybe it's not how it's intended to be used but I really don't like this software. I have two workplace, and really Slack is way but ay better.

Pros

Can be deployed easily on your own infrastructure. Easy to integrate with other applications, using web hooks. The fact that it's open source makes it accessible to so many companies!

Cons

Some functionality doesn't seem to be thought through, for example the colour of the room title changes based on the room title and can't be customised. It would be great if you could just pick a colour. The current threaded conversations don't stop multiple conversations in a room turning into a complicated conversation. The slackbot equivalent 'Hubot' isn't heavily worked on, so lags behind Slack in this department.

Pros

Cost effective hosting
Good Integrations
Simple to use

Cons

Customer Support
Help documentation is a bit lacking

Pros

It is easy to setup and a good alternative to slack. It is easy to start channels and hold conversations.

Cons

On the phone app you can't actually start a thread. You can however on the computer which makes the channel a little disjointed at times.

Pros

I like that RocketChat can be deployed as self-hosted, this makes our work communication safe and highly-secure. All the necessary features are available: audio and video conferencing, screen sharing, chatting, file sharing, APIs etc.

Cons

RocketChat video conferencing was under development, so for these purposes we integrated Jitsi Meet into this software.

Pros

Firstly the sharing feature of this product is of unique importance that helps me to share unlimited files and folders to numerous people anywhere in the world in just few seconds. Another feature that I found more valuable is that I can easily receive material in order to make effective marketing programs through this special application.

Cons

It’s beneficial enough to maintain all the communication tasks on daily basis with a lot of ease. So, making good collaborative projects within certain time period is not less than a blessing for me. There are really no cons at all.

Pros

It can be used with my organizations' chat platform so that I can check messages from my project lead and team members even if I am not at my pc.

Cons

I do not get notifications at all, I am late to reply to so many messages because I do not get any of the notifications. And I have to refresh every time to check if I got any new messages.

Pros

The open APIs are great, we use a lot with other teamates.

Cons

It's not so easy to implement. It could be more intuitive.

Pros

I like it for live chat, making groups or discussions.

Cons

Sometimes its hard to use it on the mobile phone and icons are really small.

Pros

It was a great software that we used for internal communication. It was quick and easy to use for group chats.

Cons

The only thing that I did not like about this software was that you could not do voice calls which was the reason our company switched over to another software.