Confluence
Rocket.Chat
| Feature | Confluence | Rocket.Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $6.05/mo | Free / from $4/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5 | 4.1 / 5 |
| Best For | atlassian-users, enterprise, engineering-teams, product-teams | security-conscious-organizations, government, self-hosters, enterprises |
| Founded | 2004 | 2015 |
| Pages | ✓ | ✗ |
| Spaces | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Inline Comments | ✓ | ✗ |
| Macros | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Channels | ✗ | ✓ |
| Direct Messaging | ✗ | ✓ |
| Video Calls | ✗ | ✓ |
| Federation | ✗ | ✓ |
| E2e Encryption | ✗ | ✓ |
| Marketplace | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Confluence Pros
- Jira integration
- Structured spaces
- Templates
- Enterprise-ready
✗ Confluence Cons
- Can be slow
- Complex permissions
- Editing quirks
✓ Rocket.Chat Pros
- Fully open-source and self-hostable
- End-to-end encryption
- Federation support between instances
- Highly customizable
✗ Rocket.Chat Cons
- Self-hosted requires maintenance
- Mobile apps less polished than Slack
- Smaller app ecosystem
The Verdict
Confluence is built for atlassian users and enterprise, with a focus on pages and spaces. Rocket.Chat targets security conscious organizations and government and leads with channels and direct-messaging.
Pricing is close: Rocket.Chat starts at $4/mo versus $6.05/mo for Confluence — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
