InVision
Rocket.Chat
| Feature | InVision | Rocket.Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $7.95/mo | Free / from $4/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 3.8 / 5 | 4.1 / 5 |
| Best For | design-teams, product-managers, stakeholder-reviews, legacy-users | developers, self-hosted-teams, enterprises, customer-support-teams |
| Founded | 2011 | 2015 |
| Prototyping | ✓ | ✗ |
| Freehand Whiteboard | ✓ | ✗ |
| Design Systems | ✓ | ✗ |
| Inspect Mode | ✓ | ✗ |
| Commenting | ✓ | ✗ |
| User Testing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Channels | ✗ | ✓ |
| Direct Messaging | ✗ | ✓ |
| Video Conferencing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Omnichannel | ✗ | ✓ |
| Marketplace | ✗ | ✓ |
| Federation | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ InVision Pros
- Excellent prototyping with hotspots and transitions
- Freehand whiteboarding for brainstorming
- Design system manager (DSM) for consistency
- Good stakeholder review and commenting workflow
✗ InVision Cons
- Company has pivoted and scaled down significantly
- Studio product was discontinued
- Most teams have migrated to Figma
✓ Rocket.Chat Pros
- Fully open-source
- Self-hosted option
- Omnichannel customer support
- Highly customizable
✗ Rocket.Chat Cons
- Requires server resources to self-host
- Less polished than Slack
- Plugin quality varies
The Verdict
InVision is built for design teams and product managers, with a focus on prototyping and freehand-whiteboard. Rocket.Chat targets developers and self hosted teams and leads with channels and direct-messaging.
Pricing is close: Rocket.Chat starts at $4/mo versus $7.95/mo for InVision — 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.
Bottom line: Rocket.Chat has a slight overall edge — but if excellent prototyping with hotspots and transitions matters most to you, InVision may still be the right call.