# Mattermost review: self-hosted chat with data sovereignty

> Mattermost promises team chat on your own servers. Our editorial assessment against our criteria: features, data protection, security, pricing model and who it suits.

- URL: https://saascolumn.com/en/review/mattermost-review/
- Author: [SaaS Column Editorial Team](https://saascolumn.com/en/author/editorial-team/), Editorial team
- Published: 13 November 2026
- Other languages: DE https://saascolumn.com/test/mattermost-test/

## In short

Mattermost scores 8.0 out of 10 in our editorial assessment. Its strengths are self-hosting with a freely chosen server location, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and SSO from Professional. Its weaknesses are the operating effort, the limited history of the free Entry edition and annual-only billing. It suits companies with Linux skills or a hosting partner.

## Verdict

**Rating: 8/10**

Mattermost is the strongest choice for businesses that want to run team chat on their own servers. Data protection and security evidence are convincing, and the Professional plan covers up to 250 users with SSO. If you cannot look after a server, a cloud service is the better fit.

**Pros**

- Server location of your choice through self-hosting
- SOC 2 Type II and ISO/IEC 27001 according to the Trust Center
- SSO via SAML, OpenID Connect, Entra ID and LDAP from Professional
- Integrations for Jira, GitHub, GitLab and Zoom
- Free entry with Entry or Team Edition

**Cons**

- Operation requires Linux and database skills
- Entry shows only 10,000 messages of history
- Billed as a prepaid annual subscription
- Telemetry enabled by default

Mattermost is one of the best-known alternatives to Slack and Microsoft Teams for businesses that want to host their chat data themselves. We assess the platform against our criteria, based on public documentation, pricing and trust pages and our check of the DPF List. The information reflects November 2026. We did not carry out a long-term hands-on test.

## What is Mattermost?

**Mattermost is an open core team chat platform that you run on your own servers.** The company, Mattermost, Inc., is based in Palo Alto. According to its [documentation](https://docs.mattermost.com/product-overview/editions-and-offerings.html), there are two paths: the open source Team Edition under the MIT licence and the commercial Enterprise Edition. The latter runs without a licence as the free “Entry” edition and activates more features with a subscription.

According to the vendor, Team Edition is meant for small teams under 250 activated users that do not need single sign-on. Mattermost explicitly does not recommend it for sensitive business workloads.

## Which features does Mattermost offer?

**The core is a chat with teams, channels and threads.** It adds file sharing, unlimited search on paid plans and native apps for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS and Linux. The interface is available in many languages, including German.

- **Calls:** calls started directly from a channel.
- **Playbooks:** repeatable workflows with task lists and automated triggers.
- **AI features:** agents with your own language model, following a bring-your-own-LLM approach.
- **Guest access and groups:** from the Professional plan.

The free Entry edition includes all features of Enterprise Advanced, but with limits. It shows only 10,000 messages of history. Older ones stay in the database. Compliance features and high availability are missing. Mattermost has announced further limits, such as 40-minute calls, for a future release. According to the vendor, Entry suits teams under 50 users.

## Data protection and data location

**With self-hosting, you decide where the server is.** That is the biggest advantage over pure cloud services. Your messages sit on your server or with a hosting provider of your choice. If a provider runs the server, you conclude a [data processing agreement](https://saascolumn.com/en/blog/data-processing-agreement-saas/) with it.

According to its [Trust Center](https://trust.mattermost.com/), Mattermost itself offers a data processing addendum and publishes a list of sub-processors. Mattermost, Inc. was listed as active on the [EU-US Data Privacy Framework](https://saascolumn.com/en/blog/eu-us-data-privacy-framework-saas/) List when we checked on 13 November 2026. That matters for data that flows to the vendor, such as licence or support data.

One point deserves attention: according to the [documentation](https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/manage/telemetry.html), telemetry is enabled by default. The vendor says it contains no personally identifiable information and no message content. On self-hosted servers, administrators can switch off diagnostics and error reporting in the System Console.

> **Hinweis:**
>
> This article is not legal advice. It reflects the situation as of November 2026. For sensitive data such as health or HR data, involve your data protection officer.

## Security

**According to its Trust Center, Mattermost provides a SOC 2 Type II report and an ISO/IEC 27001 certificate.** From Professional upwards, it supports single sign-on via SAML, OpenID Connect, Entra ID and AD/LDAP as well as enforced multi-factor authentication. Security researchers report vulnerabilities through a Bugcrowd programme. Clustered high availability starts with Enterprise.

## Pricing and model

**Mattermost bills per seat as a prepaid annual subscription.** According to the [pricing page](https://mattermost.com/pricing/), these plans are available:

| Plan | Target group | Key points |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Entry | teams under 50 users | free, 10,000 messages of history, community support only |
| Professional | up to 250 users | SSO, enforced MFA, next business day support |
| Enterprise | larger organisations | compliance export, retention policies, high availability |
| Enterprise Advanced | high-security environments | zero trust controls, air-gapped deployment |

The pricing page only describes prepaid annual subscriptions. If you activate more users than you bought, you pay the difference quarterly on a prorated basis.

## Who is Mattermost for?

**Mattermost suits businesses that want data sovereignty and can run a Linux server.** That can be an in-house IT team or a managed hosting partner. For teams without technical skills, the operating effort is a real obstacle. Teams already working with Jira, GitHub or GitLab benefit from the ready-made integrations.

According to its documentation, Mattermost mainly targets organisations with strict security requirements, for example in defence and critical infrastructure. For small businesses this means some features and plans are aimed at much larger customers. Check first whether Entry or Professional already covers your needs.

## Alternatives

If you do not want to run a server, our [team chat comparison](https://saascolumn.com/en/compare/team-chat-tools-comparison/) covers Slack and Microsoft Teams as cloud options. Rocket.Chat is the closest self-hosted alternative. For tasks and projects, a tool such as [Asana](https://saascolumn.com/en/review/asana-review/) complements chat.

## How we rate

The overall score is based on six weighted sub-scores: features 25 percent, data protection and location 20 percent, pricing model and support 20 percent, security 15 percent, usability and onboarding 10 percent, integrations 10 percent. We assess usability from the documentation, not from our own measurements. The sub-scores add up to 7.975, rounded to 8.0. Details are on [How we evaluate software](https://saascolumn.com/en/how-we-evaluate-software/).

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mattermost free?

Yes, in two variants: Entry with all features but 10,000 messages of history, and the open source Team Edition. Both come with community support only.

### Can I host Mattermost in the EU?

Yes. With self-hosting you choose the server, including a data centre in the EU. If a hosting provider runs it, you conclude a DPA with that provider.

### Is there a cloud version of Mattermost?

According to the pricing page, Mattermost Cloud Enterprise is available as a single-tenant service on request. The focus is clearly on self-hosting.

### Can I migrate from Slack to Mattermost?

Mattermost offers a bulk import tool and guidance for migrating from Slack. Plan the transfer of channels and files with a test run first.

## Sources

1. [Editions and Offerings](https://docs.mattermost.com/product-overview/editions-and-offerings.html), Mattermost
2. [Mattermost pricing](https://mattermost.com/pricing/), Mattermost
3. [Mattermost Trust Center](https://trust.mattermost.com/), Mattermost
4. [Certifications and compliance](https://docs.mattermost.com/product-overview/certifications-and-compliance.html), Mattermost
5. [Telemetry](https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/manage/telemetry.html), Mattermost
6. [Data Privacy Framework List](https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/list), International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce