# Portainer vs Rocket.Chat

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Portainer | Rocket.Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 44 in Container Management | #1 of 13 in Instant Messaging |
| GitHub stars | 38 736 | 46 348 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +187 | +187 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 21 | 36 ✓ |
| Latest release | 2.45.3 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ | 8.5.4 · 16 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Zlib | Other |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Rocket.Chat scores 82/100 against 77/100 for Portainer, so it is the safer default.

Rocket.Chat ships more often: 36 stable releases in the past year, against 21 for Portainer.

If you want the quickest setup, Portainer is easier to run; Rocket.Chat needs more configuration.

## Details

- [Portainer](https://selfhost.directory/project/portainer) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/portainer.md)
- [Rocket.Chat](https://selfhost.directory/project/rocketchat) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/rocketchat.md)

## Related comparisons

- [Discourse vs Rocket.Chat](https://selfhost.directory/compare/discourse-vs-rocketchat)
- [Rocket.Chat vs Zulip](https://selfhost.directory/compare/rocketchat-vs-zulip)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/portainer-vs-rocketchat