Mattermost
Relay.app
| Feature | Mattermost | Relay.app |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10/mo | Free / from $16/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | devops-teams, security-conscious-orgs, government, enterprise | operations-teams, agencies, small-businesses, compliance-teams |
| Founded | 2015 | 2021 |
| Messaging | ✓ | ✗ |
| Channels | ✓ | ✗ |
| Playbooks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Compliance | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflow Builder | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Steps | ✗ | ✓ |
| Human Approvals | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multiplayer Editing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Conditional Logic | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Mattermost Pros
- Self-hostable
- Open source
- DevOps integrations
- Secure
✗ Mattermost Cons
- Smaller ecosystem
- Fewer integrations than Slack
- Self-hosting complexity
✓ Relay.app Pros
- Human-in-the-loop approvals
- AI steps built in
- Collaborative workflows
- Clean modern interface
✗ Relay.app Cons
- Fewer integrations than Zapier
- Newer platform
- Limited advanced logic
The Verdict
Mattermost is built for devops teams and security conscious orgs, with a focus on messaging and channels. Relay.app targets operations teams and agencies and leads with workflow-builder and ai-steps.
On pricing, Mattermost is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $10/mo compared to $16/mo for Relay.app. That $6/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
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.