# Rocket.Chat vs WriteFreely

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

| | Rocket.Chat | WriteFreely |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 65/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 13 in Instant Messaging | #2 of 24 in Blogging |
| GitHub stars | 46 348 ✓ | 5 276 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +187 ✓ | +19 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 36 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | 8.5.4 · 16 Oct 2026 ✓ | v0.17.2 · 10 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

Rocket.Chat scores 82/100 against 65/100 for WriteFreely, so it is the safer default.

Rocket.Chat ships more often: 36 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for WriteFreely.

Rocket.Chat is growing faster right now (+187 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Rocket.Chat](https://selfhost.directory/project/rocketchat) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/rocketchat.md)
- [WriteFreely](https://selfhost.directory/project/writefreely) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/writefreely.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/rocketchat-vs-writefreely