# Mattermost Professional vs Mattermost Team Edition (2026): Free Alternative to Mattermost Professional

Canonical: https://caniforkit.com/vs/mattermost-professional-vs-mattermost-team-edition
Last updated: 2026-08-10

Compare Mattermost Professional ($10/mo) vs Mattermost Team Edition ($0/mo open source MIT alternative to Mattermost Professional). Side-by-side breakdown of pricing, self-hosting setup, data storage, and practical trade-offs.

## Side-by-Side Comparison Matrix

| Feature / Metric | Mattermost Professional | Mattermost Team Edition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $10/mo | $0.00 / month |
| 1-Seat Annual Cost | $120/yr | $0.00 / year |
| 5-Person Team Annual Cost | $600/yr | $0.00 / year |
| 10-Person Team Annual Cost | $1,200/yr | $0.00 / year |
| License Model | Proprietary Commercial SaaS | MIT |
| Hosting / Runtime | Vendor Cloud | Self-host |
| Data Ownership | Stored on vendor servers | Channels, posts, users, and configuration live in PostgreSQL; file attachments live in the Mattermost data directory or configured S3-compatible object storage. |
| GitHub Stars | Closed Source | ★ 39k |
| Code Repository | None | https://github.com/mattermost/mattermost |
| The Catch / Trade-off | Recurring subscription cost | Team Edition keeps the core chat product, but Professional features such as enterprise authentication, advanced compliance and administration, support, and larger-scale assurances are absent. |

## About Mattermost Team Edition
Mattermost without the invoice: full team chat below 250 users, but no SSO and every server problem belongs to you.

- **Installation**: Install the official Linux binary with PostgreSQL, then configure systemd, TLS/reverse proxy, SMTP, and file storage
- **Setup Notes**: The first obstacle is a real Linux service deployment, PostgreSQL, SMTP, DNS/TLS, storage, backups, and upgrades, not an app-store install.
- **Data Storage**: Channels, posts, users, and configuration live in PostgreSQL; file attachments live in the Mattermost data directory or configured S3-compatible object storage.
- **Supported Platforms**: desktop, mobile, web, self-hosted, self-host, real ops
- **The Catch vs Mattermost Professional**: Team Edition keeps the core chat product, but Professional features such as enterprise authentication, advanced compliance and administration, support, and larger-scale assurances are absent.

## Cost Savings Breakdown
Switching from Mattermost Professional to Mattermost Team Edition eliminates ongoing per-seat subscriptions:
- **Solo / 1-seat**: Save **$120/year**
- **5-person team**: Save **$600/year**
- **10-person team**: Save **$1,200/year**

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is Mattermost Team Edition a good free alternative to Mattermost Professional?
Yes. Mattermost Team Edition is a verified open source (MIT) replacement for Mattermost Professional. Mattermost without the invoice: full team chat below 250 users, but no SSO and every server problem belongs to you.

### What is the catch when switching from Mattermost Professional to Mattermost Team Edition?
Team Edition keeps the core chat product, but Professional features such as enterprise authentication, advanced compliance and administration, support, and larger-scale assurances are absent.

## Related

- [All Mattermost Professional Alternatives](https://caniforkit.com/mattermost-professional)
- [Mattermost Team Edition Full Profile](https://caniforkit.com/fork/mattermost-team-edition)
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