AntimatterAntimatter and other chat apps
How Antimatter compares with the chat apps teams use most, feature by feature. Every Antimatter feature is free software and included, with nothing held back for a paid edition.
| Feature | Antimatter | Slack | Mattermost | Rocket.Chat | Discord | Microsoft Teams | Element (Matrix) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting and licensing | |||||||
| Self-hosted on your own servers | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
| Open-source server | ✓ YesAGPL v3 | ✕ No | ◐ Partlyenterprise features are proprietary | ◐ Partlyenterprise features are proprietary | ✕ No | ✕ No | ◐ Partlyenterprise features are proprietary |
| Every feature without a paid plan | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✕ No | ◐ Partlyperks with Nitro | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Runs offline, without internet access | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
| Messaging | |||||||
| Channels, direct messages and threads | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Unlimited message history | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partlylimited on the free plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Scheduled messages and reminders | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partlyreminders through apps | ✕ No | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Message priority and acknowledgements | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ◐ Partlyacknowledgements on paid plans | ✕ No | ✕ No | ◐ Partlyurgent messages, no acknowledgements | ✕ No |
| Self-destructing (burn-on-read) messages | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ◐ PartlyEnterprise Advanced | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Automatic translation of channels | ✓ Yesself-hosted models | ✕ No | ◐ PartlyEnterprise Advanced | ◐ Partlywith a translation provider | ✕ No | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Calls | |||||||
| Voice and video calls with screen sharing | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partly1:1 only on the free plan | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partlythrough a conference app | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ YesElement Call |
| Always-open voice channels | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partlyhuddles | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ◐ Partlyvideo rooms, experimental |
| Live captions and call transcripts | ✓ Yesyour own speech-to-text | ◐ Partlypaid plans | ◐ PartlyEnterprise | ✕ No | ✕ No | ◐ Partlydepends on the license | ✕ No |
| Apps and AI | |||||||
| Collaborative notes and documents | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yescanvases | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ YesLoop | ✕ No |
| Whiteboards | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Kanban boards | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partlylists | ◐ Partlycommunity plugin | ✕ No | ✕ No | ◐ PartlyPlanner | ✕ No |
| Incident and process checklists | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partlyworkflows | ✓ YesPlaybooks | ✕ No | ✕ No | ◐ Partlythrough Power Automate | ✕ No |
| Polls | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partlythrough apps | ◐ Partlyplugin | ◐ Partlythrough apps | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| AI assistants with the models you choose, self-hosted included | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partlypaid add-on, vendor models | ◐ Partlypaid plans | ◐ Partlypaid plans | ✕ No | ◐ PartlyCopilot, paid add-on | ✕ No |
| Security and administration | |||||||
| Single sign-on (SAML, OpenID Connect) | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partlypaid plans | ◐ Partlypaid plans | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ YesMicrosoft Entra | ✓ Yes |
| LDAP and Active Directory sync | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ◐ Partlypaid plans | ◐ Partlyadvanced sync on paid plans | ✕ No | ✓ YesMicrosoft Entra | ◐ Partlysync in the paid server suite |
| Data retention and compliance export | ✓ Yes | ◐ PartlyEnterprise | ◐ PartlyEnterprise | ◐ Partlypaid plans | ✕ No | ◐ Partlydepends on the license | ◐ Partlycompliance tools in the paid server suite |
| Federation with other servers | ✓ Yesshared channels | ◐ PartlySlack Connect, paid plans | ◐ PartlyEnterprise | ✓ YesMatrix | ✕ No | ◐ Partlyexternal access | ✓ YesMatrix |
| End-to-end encryption of messages | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partlycalls only | ◐ Partlyone-to-one calls | ✓ Yes |
"Partly" means the feature needs a paid plan, an add-on or a plugin, or exists in a limited form; the note says which. Based on each product's public documentation as of October 2026: plans and features change, so check the vendor's own site before deciding. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
One app at a time
Each comparison also says when the other app may suit you better.
Antimatter vs Slack
Slack is the best-known team chat. It runs only in Slack's cloud, and much of it is behind paid plans.
Antimatter vs Mattermost
Antimatter is a fork of Mattermost: it keeps its server, its APIs and its integrations. What differs is the licensing, the interface and the apps.
Antimatter vs Rocket.Chat
Rocket.Chat is another open-source, self-hostable chat, with a focus on omnichannel customer service and federation.
Antimatter vs Discord
Discord popularised voice channels and community servers. It is built for communities and gaming, and runs only in Discord's cloud.
Antimatter vs Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams comes with Microsoft 365. It is deeply tied to Microsoft's cloud and licensing.
Antimatter vs Element (Matrix)
Element is the best-known app of Matrix, an open, federated protocol for secure chat. Its server can be self-hosted, with a paid suite for larger organisations.