Mattermost

About Mattermost

**Mattermost** is an open-source, self-hosted collaboration platform designed for mission-critical secure communication, positioning itself as the enterprise-grade alternative to Slack for organizations requiring complete data sovereignty. Built in Go with a React frontend, Mattermost delivers real-time messaging, file sharing, audio/video calls, screen sharing, and workflow automation (Playbooks) in a single platform that can be deployed on-premises, in private clouds, or air-gapped networks. Trusted by the US Air Force, NASA, US Space Force, Samsung, Qualcomm, and critical infrastructure organizations worldwide, Mattermost is purpose-built for defense, government, financial services, and industries with stringent security and compliance requirements. The platform ranked #1 as the "Most Loved" Slack alternative in the Stack Overflow 2022 Developer Survey. **Category:** Team Communication / Collaboration Platform / Secure Messaging / Self-Hosted Tools / DevOps ChatOps **Webstudio Integration:** Mattermost integrates with Webstudio through **webhooks and automation platforms**. Configure Webstudio forms to POST data to Mattermost incoming webhook URLs, enabling instant team notifications when users submit contact forms, support requests, or lead captures—messages appear directly in designated channels. For more complex workflows, connect Webstudio to Mattermost via **n8n, Zapier, or Make**: form submission → process data → post formatted message to Mattermost channel → trigger additional actions. Mattermost's outgoing webhooks can also call external services when specific trigger words appear in channels, enabling bi-directional communication. The comprehensive REST API allows custom integrations—build bots that fetch Webstudio site data and post updates to team channels. For complete infrastructure control, self-host both Mattermost and Webstudio, connecting them through internal APIs without external dependencies. **Strengths:** **Complete data sovereignty**—self-host on your own infrastructure, behind your firewall, with full control over all data. Open-source core (MIT license for Team Edition) with transparent, auditable code. Extensive security certifications: FIPS 140-3 compliant, STIG-hardened images for DoD standards, SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA support. Deploys in air-gapped and disconnected environments (DDIL—Disconnected, Degraded, Intermittent, Limited). Pre-packaged integrations with developer tools: Jira, GitHub, GitLab, ServiceNow, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and more. Slack-compatible webhooks enable easy migration. Native 1:1 and group audio calls with screen sharing (up to \~50 users per call). Playbooks provide checklist-based workflow automation for incident response, DevOps processes, and repeatable procedures. AI-first features: bring-your-own LLM integration, contextual summarization, AI agents, real-time transcription. Scales to 200,000+ concurrent users with high-availability cluster deployment. Available in 20+ languages. Native apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Active open-source community with continuous development since 2015. **Weaknesses:** Pricing is not transparent—Professional and Enterprise plans require contacting sales, making cost comparison difficult. Self-hosting requires significant technical expertise (server administration, PostgreSQL, security hardening, updates). The free "Entry" tier has limitations: 10,000 message history, limited features. More limited app marketplace compared to Slack's 2,600+ apps. Advanced features like SSO/SAML, AD/LDAP group sync, compliance exports, and high availability require paid Enterprise licenses. Video calls require external integrations (Zoom, Pexip, Jitsi) rather than being fully native. Learning curve for Playbooks and advanced automation features. Can feel over-engineered for small teams wanting simple chat. Some features scheduled for "later in 2025" are not yet available. **Pricing:** Mattermost uses a **per-user annual subscription** model with quarterly true-up reporting: - **Entry (Free):** Self-hosted, limited-use version of Enterprise Advanced. Includes all features with restrictions: 10,000 channel message history (older messages stored but not viewable/searchable), intended for teams under 50 users evaluating before purchase - **Team Edition (Free):** Open-source MIT-licensed version for small teams under 250 users. Core features only—no SSO, limited enterprise capabilities. Bundled with GitLab Omnibus - **Professional:** Contact sales for pricing. Adds SSO (GitLab OAuth), AD/LDAP sync, MFA, advanced access controls, guest accounts, group calling, next business day support. For teams needing collaboration features - **Enterprise:** Contact sales for pricing. Adds SAML SSO, AD/LDAP group sync, compliance exports, legal hold, high availability, Kubernetes support, scale to 50,000 users, Microsoft Teams integration, shared channels, 24/7 support with 4-hour response SLA - **Enterprise Advanced:** Contact sales for pricing. Mission-critical features: Zero Trust security, air-gapped deployment, FIPS 140-3 compliance, post-quantum encryption, mobile security (biometrics, screenshot prevention, jailbreak detection), scale to 200,000+ users, cross-domain collaboration, U.S.-based premier support Self-hosting infrastructure typically costs $5–50/month for small deployments (VPS + PostgreSQL). Minimum license purchase is 11 users. Non-profit and educational discounts available. Mattermost Cloud Enterprise available as single-tenant managed hosting for organizations preferring not to self-host.