Mattermost vs Zulip: What are the differences?

Introduction:

Mattermost and Zulip are both team communication platforms with various features designed to improve collaboration within organizations. Despite having some similarities, there are several key differences between the two platforms.

1. Deployment Options: Mattermost offers flexible deployment options, allowing users to choose between using Mattermost's cloud hosting service or hosting it on their own infrastructure. On the other hand, Zulip primarily focuses on self-hosted deployments, providing less emphasis on cloud hosting.

2. Conversation Structure: Mattermost uses a channel-based conversation structure similar to popular platforms like Slack, where users communicate in channels dedicated to specific topics or teams. In contrast, Zulip has a unique topic-based conversation structure, organizing conversations around specific topics and providing a more organized and streamlined communication flow.

3. Threaded Conversations: Zulip offers robust threaded conversations, allowing users to reply to a specific message within a conversation, keeping discussions focused and reducing noise. Mattermost, in comparison, provides basic threading capabilities, where replies are not as easily distinguishable from the main conversation.

4. Wide Range of Integrations: Mattermost boasts a vast array of integrations with popular third-party tools and services, allowing users to connect and automate processes seamlessly. Zulip supports integrations as well, but its selection is relatively smaller compared to Mattermost.

5. Pricing Model: Mattermost adopts a freemium pricing model, where users can utilize a limited set of features for free with the option to upgrade for additional functionality and advanced features. Conversely, Zulip follows an open-source model, providing its complete set of features for free without any subscription charges.

6. User Interface: Mattermost offers a more familiar and visually appealing user interface, resembling other popular team communication platforms. Zulip, on the other hand, has a distinct look and feel, with a multi-column layout that may require some adaptation for users accustomed to more traditional interfaces.

In Summary, Mattermost provides flexible deployment options, a channel-based conversation structure, basic threading, extensive integrations, follows a freemium pricing model, and has a more familiar user interface. Zulip primarily focuses on self-hosted deployments, utilizes a topic-based conversation structure, offers robust threaded conversations, has a smaller range of integrations, follows an open-source pricing model, and has a distinct user interface.