Rocket.Chat
Windmill
| Feature | Rocket.Chat | Windmill |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $4/mo | Free / from $10/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | security-conscious-organizations, government, self-hosters, enterprises | developers, devops-teams, internal-tools, data-pipelines |
| Founded | 2015 | 2022 |
| Channels | ✓ | ✗ |
| Direct Messaging | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video Calls | ✓ | ✗ |
| Federation | ✓ | ✗ |
| E2e Encryption | ✓ | ✗ |
| Marketplace | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflow Editor | ✗ | ✓ |
| Script To Ui | ✗ | ✓ |
| Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| Approval Flows | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Language | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hostable | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audit Logs | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Windmill Pros
- Open-source and self-hostable
- Supports Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash, SQL natively
- Auto-generates UI from script parameters
- Excellent scheduling and workflow orchestration
✗ Windmill Cons
- Smaller community than Zapier/n8n
- Self-hosting requires infrastructure knowledge
- Less polished documentation for beginners
The Verdict
Rocket.Chat is built for security conscious organizations and government, with a focus on channels and direct-messaging. Windmill targets developers and devops teams and leads with workflow-editor and script-to-ui.
On pricing, Rocket.Chat is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $4/mo compared to $10/mo for Windmill. 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.
Windmill edges out on user ratings (4.4 vs 4.1). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Feature-wise, Windmill offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Rocket.Chat takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Bottom line: Windmill has a slight overall edge — but if fully open-source and self-hostable matters most to you, Rocket.Chat may still be the right call.