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What is the best corporate IM solution?

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Matrix vs Signal vs Rocket Chat

 vs Mattermost vs Whaller vs Slack vs IRC vs AstraChat vs Discord vs Microsoft Teams vs Zulip vs Riot vs MyChat

Specs

Platforms

Mac/Windows/Linux/Android/Browser/iOS/and more

VoIP

Yes

Price

FREE

Open source

Yes

Decentralized

Yes

DIY integrations

-

Audio recording

-

Media

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

License

-

iOS Client

-

Mac OS Client

-

Videoconferencing

-

Message history

-

Private Channels

-

IRC Gateway

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

-

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

-

Platforms

Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, Mac OS X

VoIP

Yes

Price

-

Open source

All

Decentralized

No

DIY integrations

Yes

Audio recording

Yes

Media

images / audio / video / files / contacts / GIFs / location

Publisher

Open Whisper Systems

End-to-end encryption

Yes

Open Source

Yes

Proprietary Dependencies

Yes

Service integrations

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

License

-

iOS Client

-

Mac OS Client

-

Videoconferencing

-

Message history

-

Private Channels

-

IRC Gateway

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

-

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

-

Platforms

Web iOS Android OSX Windows Linux

VoIP

-

Price

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

DIY integrations

Yes

Audio recording

-

Media

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Yes

Hosting options

On premises & On Rocket.Chat

Screensharing

Yes

License

M.I.T.

iOS Client

Yes

Mac OS Client

Yes

Videoconferencing

Yes

Message history

Unlimited

Private Channels

Yes

IRC Gateway

Yes

Real-time collaboration

Yes

Push Notifications

Yes

Integrations

Unlimited

Support

Yes

File Sharing

Yes

Custom Domain

Yes

Public Channels

Yes

LiveChat

Yes

Broadcast Channel

Yes

Social Network Login

Yes

Audio to Text Conversion

Yes

High Scalability cluster

Yes

Omni-channel Integrations

Messenger, Twillio, Whatsapp, Slack

Analytics Reporting

Yes

Read Receipt

Yes

Customizable User Permission

Yes

Desktop App

Windows, MacOs, Linux

Multifactor Authentication

Yes

Audit Logs

Yes

Live Streaming

Yes

Multi-language Interface

Yes

White Label

Yes

Discussion

Yes

Threads

Yes

Migration Assistance

Yes

Auditing Panel

Yes

LDAP / Active Directory

Real Time Sync

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

-

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

-

Platforms

Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS, Linux

VoIP

-

Price

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

DIY integrations

Yes - API Library, OAuth 2.0 Apps, Zapier App with over 700 Integrations

Audio recording

-

Media

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Yes - Atlassian, Webhooks, Chatbots, Extensions

Hosting options

Self-hosted

Screensharing

-

License

MIT

iOS Client

-

Mac OS Client

-

Videoconferencing

-

Message history

-

Private Channels

-

IRC Gateway

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

-

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

-

Platforms

Web iOS Android

VoIP

-

Price

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

DIY integrations

-

Audio recording

-

Media

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Yes

Hosting options

Hosted & self-hosted

Screensharing

Yes via integration

License

-

iOS Client

-

Mac OS Client

-

Videoconferencing

-

Message history

-

Private Channels

-

IRC Gateway

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

Yes

iOS Client

Yes

Private message within the group

Yes

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

-

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

-

Platforms

Chrome, iOS, Android, Mac OS, Windows

VoIP

-

Price

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

DIY integrations

-

Audio recording

-

Media

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Yes

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

Yes

License

-

iOS Client

-

Mac OS Client

-

Videoconferencing

-

Message history

-

Private Channels

-

IRC Gateway

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

-

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

-

Platforms

Web iOS Android WP OSX Windows Linux

VoIP

-

Price

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

DIY integrations

Yes

Audio recording

-

Media

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

No

Hosting options

Hosted & self-hosted

Screensharing

No

License

-

iOS Client

-

Mac OS Client

-

Videoconferencing

-

Message history

-

Private Channels

-

IRC Gateway

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

No

Groups

-

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

-

Platforms

Windows , Linux , Mac , Android , iOS

VoIP

Yes

Price

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

DIY integrations

-

Audio recording

-

Media

Yes

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Windows , Linux , Mac , Android , iOS

Hosting options

Hosted & self-hosted

Screensharing

-

License

-

iOS Client

-

Mac OS Client

-

Videoconferencing

-

Message history

Yes

Private Channels

-

IRC Gateway

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

Yes

Locationsharing

Yes

Lockable

Yes

Emoticons

Yes, including Sticker from 3rd party such as Gboard

Off the Record Messaging

Optional

Voice message

Yes

Website

www.astrachat.com

GIF

Yes, support 3rd party such as Gboard

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Price

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

DIY integrations

-

Audio recording

no

Media

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

yes

License

-

iOS Client

-

Mac OS Client

-

Videoconferencing

Yes

Message history

-

Private Channels

Yes

IRC Gateway

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

yes

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

8 MB free, 50 MB paid

Search

Yes

Video recording

no

Open-Source

No

Server Stored Messages

Permanent

Security Score

15/20

User Groups

Yes

Channel Settings

Yes

Peer-to-Peer

No

Jurisdiction

United States

XMPP Gateway

-

Platforms

Web, Windows, OS X, iOS, Android

VoIP

-

Price

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

DIY integrations

-

Audio recording

-

Media

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

License

-

iOS Client

Yes

Mac OS Client

Yes

Videoconferencing

-

Message history

-

Private Channels

-

IRC Gateway

No

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

-

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

No

Platforms

Web, iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS, Linux, terminal

VoIP

-

Price

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

DIY integrations

Yes

Audio recording

-

Media

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

Yes

Hosting options

Hosted and Self-hosted

Screensharing

-

License

Apache 2

iOS Client

Yes

Mac OS Client

Yes

Videoconferencing

-

Message history

-

Private Channels

-

IRC Gateway

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

-

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Price

-

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

DIY integrations

-

Audio recording

-

Media

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

License

-

iOS Client

-

Mac OS Client

-

Videoconferencing

-

Message history

-

Private Channels

-

IRC Gateway

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

-

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

-

Platforms

-

VoIP

-

Price

Paid/Free

Open source

-

Decentralized

-

DIY integrations

-

Audio recording

-

Media

-

Publisher

-

End-to-end encryption

-

Open Source

-

Proprietary Dependencies

-

Service integrations

-

Hosting options

-

Screensharing

-

License

-

iOS Client

-

Mac OS Client

-

Videoconferencing

-

Message history

-

Private Channels

-

IRC Gateway

-

Real-time collaboration

-

Push Notifications

-

Integrations

-

Support

-

File Sharing

-

Custom Domain

-

Public Channels

-

LiveChat

-

Broadcast Channel

-

Social Network Login

-

Audio to Text Conversion

-

High Scalability cluster

-

Omni-channel Integrations

-

Analytics Reporting

-

Read Receipt

-

Customizable User Permission

-

Desktop App

-

Multifactor Authentication

-

Audit Logs

-

Live Streaming

-

Multi-language Interface

-

White Label

-

Discussion

-

Threads

-

Migration Assistance

-

Auditing Panel

-

LDAP / Active Directory

-

Android Client

-

iOS Client

-

Private message within the group

-

Native videoconferencing

-

Groups

-

Locationsharing

-

Lockable

-

Emoticons

-

Off the Record Messaging

-

Voice message

-

Website

-

GIF

-

File Size

-

Search

-

Video recording

-

Open-Source

-

Server Stored Messages

-

Security Score

-

User Groups

-

Channel Settings

-

Peer-to-Peer

-

Jurisdiction

-

XMPP Gateway

-

Pros + Cons

Pro
 Free and Open source

Matrix is an open protocol with free and open source implementations. The reference one is hosted on Github and released under the Apache License.
Comment

Pro
 End-to-end encryption

Matrix features end-to-end encrypted chats which are syncronized accross all your devices. E2E is [implemented in the matrix-js-sdk library and Riot.im client](http://matrix.org/git/olm/about, http://matrix.org/git/olm/tree/docs/megolm.rst, http://matrix.org/speculator/spec/drafts%252Fe2e/client_server/unstable.html#end-to-end-encryption).
Comment

Pro
 Good feature and quality parity across desktop and mobile Riot

Comment

Pro
 All major desktop and mobile platforms covered

Comment

Pro
 Maintains full conversation history

Comment

Pro
 Integrates with many web services

Integrates with multiple web services. You can find the full list of supported services on the Matrix website.
Comment

Pro
 Offers choice of clients

Which can be found here.
Comment

Pro
 Can be integrated with existing communication services

Matrix is designed to support Instant Messaging, VoIP/WebRTC signalling and Internet of Things communication and allows cross-communication between those services. Meaning one person could be using IRC and another Slack for IMs, or one person could be using Skype and another Google Hangouts for videoconferencing.
Comment

Pro
 Bridges other networks into a single decentralised network

Matrix has bridges to IRC (freenode, moznet, oftc, snoonet etc), Slack, Gitter, Rocket.Chat, XMPP, SMS, SIP and others. The point is to 'matrix' all the different networks out there into one single decentralised network.
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Pro
 Has an app store for 3rd party integrations & bots

Riot.im includes an app store with integrations for Github, JIRA, Jenkins, Giphy etc - and anyone can add more via Matrix.
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 Has an active community behind it

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 Lots of public communities for discussions

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 Has lightweight desktop clients, not only bulky Electron apps

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 Has an easy to use client called Riot

Riot.im is the easiest way to use Matrix, with great clients for Web, iOS and Android (and Fdroid).
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Pro
 Built on an open standard

Matrix is an open standard, defining simple HTTP APIs so that devs can easily write their own clients, bots, bridges or servers. You're not locked into a specific set of implementations.
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Pro
 Supports different kinds of communication

Matrix is designed to support Instant Messaging, VoIP/WebRTC signalling (voice and video) and Internet of Things communication.
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 Does not require a centralized server to establish a connection between two users

Matrix is decentralized, there's no one central point that the information goes through and so no once central point of failure or control.
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Pro
 Matrix prioritizes direct messaging with people the same as Slack-style groups

Matrix aims to "provide an analogous ecosystem to email - one where you can communicate with pretty much anyone, without caring what app or server they are using" using a neutral identity system.
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Con
 Can only "redact" a posted message but neither "delete" nor "edit" it

The ability to edit a posted message is a powerful feature that has come to be expected since the rise of social media. Several other major chat platforms include this feature. Matrix.org's protocols enable you to "redact" a message (mark it as redacted whereas it is removed from view), but not truly delete or edit it. Deletion and editing are in the works, but in the meantime...
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Pro
 Provides security and privacy

Signal uses an advanced end to end encryption protocol that provides privacy for every message every time.
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Pro
 Free and open source

Signal is free and open source software, enabling anyone to verify its security by auditing the code. It's the only private messenger that uses open source, peer-reviewed cryptographic protocols to keep your messages safe.
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 Supports encrypted group chats

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Con
 Uses message mirroring

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Con
 Servers hosted in the US

A security risk due to National Security letters, which require giving up data to the US state, and making it illegal to disclose that.
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Con
 If SMS/MMS imported, other apps can't read SMS

For those using Join, Pushbullet, or similar apps to send and receive SMS/MMS from web or desktop, putting your SMS in Signal somehow breaks this functionally. The dev is aware but plans to remedy the situation have not been named a priority
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Con
 Unreliable notifications

Sometimes messages won't be received if the Signal app has been closed for a long time or hasn't been opened after booting the device.
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Con
 Single device

Signal can only be registered to one mobile device at a time. But you can link Signal to Signal Desktop.
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Con
 Needs access to your phone number and contacts to work

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Pro
 Easy to customise as needed

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 Ability to control access rights easily

Registrations can be disabled and authentication integrated to corporate AD, LDAP, Crowd if needed
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 Free and open source

Rocket.Chat is available for free. It's licensed under the MIT license with source code available on GitHub.
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 Supports a wide variety of authentication methods

In addition to the usual email / username + password combination, Rocket.Chat supports authenticating via Facebook, Github, Gitlab, Google, Linkedin, Meteor and Twitter accounts.
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Pro
 Native apps for all major desktop and mobile platforms

Rocket.Chat has native apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
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 Complete Administration Interface

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 Features a Slack bridge

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 Offers a LiveChat to integrate in existing services

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 Video conferencing support

Rocket.Chat supports video calls.
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 Understands markdown better than Slack does

Links work properly, for instance, with square brackets followed by parentheses.
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 Very active and helpful community

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Con
 iOS app is poorly made

The iOS application is not native, being just a browser container. This means that the UX is quite poor, slow, buttons unresponsive. At this moment they do not provide a decent experience.
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Con
 Centralized

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Con
 Features not available out of the box

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Con
 No chat audit for enterprise

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 Poor security implementations / protocols

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Con
 Privacy settings are absent

Privacy settings for the server are absent, for instance, you don't have the ability to disable registrations, there's no way to control access to the chat.
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Con
 Android app is poorly made

The Android application is just a badly wrapped web-view which does not perform well and has no form of offline caching whatsoever.
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Con
 No web browser support

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Con
 Email required for registration

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 No theme customization

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Pro
 Free and open source

Mattermost is a free and open source project, it's hosted on Github and is released under the MIT License.
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 Integrates with many web services

Integrates with multiple web services. You can find the full list of supported services on the Mattermost website.
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 Official Docker images

With Docker set up, you can set up Mattermost on a single machine with a single command. See https://hub.docker.com/r/mattermost/platform/
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 Android and iOS apps available

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 On Premise, Hybrid or Private Cloud Deployments

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Con
 Poor Android application

Mattermost's Android application is thus far (2017-01-10) still just a poorly wrapped web view with the usual performance problems and a lack of offline functionality.
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Pro
 You can choose who will be notified by your message

You can decide who in the group will read your message. Thus, no one will be bothered by a notification that is not necessary.
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 Lots of integrations with third-party services

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 Drag & drop files in channels

You can upload a file to any channel over HTTPS simply by dragging and dropping.
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Con
 "Native" desktop apps are web apps

While it's great that Slack provides installable apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux, they're just the Slack web app wrapped in Electron shell. This means they don't offer the same level of native UX that a truly native toolkit app would.
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Con
 Awful performance and constant glitches, since it is Chromium-based

You will experience a lot of hangs and glitches and it eats immense (for as basic as UI is) amount of RAM.
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Con
 Proprietary (non-free/libre)

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Con
 No self-hosting available

If you are worried about third-parties getting access to your data you should consider self-hosting. With self-hosting you are in control over where your data is stored, who has access to it. You will also not be vulnerable to exploits of a third-party provider.
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Con
 Too many notifications

If you're a large organization, you might want to consider skipping Slack. There are so many notifications that it could affect your productivity.
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Pro
 Less distracting

Compared to other common solutions, IRC can be ignored when you are occupied doing something else. Most clients don't pester you with sounds or distracting visuals.
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 Versatile

IRC offers choice. Choice in clients (mobile, desktop, web), in scripts those clients run, in servers and features those servers have. You can even set up your own server.
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 Open protocol

The IRC protocol is public and open, it is mature and stable, and has been implemented in numerous projects. This means that it can be used freely, for both open-source and commercial projects.
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 Mentions

Every notable IRC client supports mentions - notifying you when your name is mentioned in the chat.
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 Hundreds of avaliable clients

IRC has been around since 1988, so there is a ton of existing software to work with it. Everything from clients, to chat bots, to bouncers is already built.
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 No account necessary

No need to sign up for access, confirm your e-mail address. Just choose a nickname and you're done.
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 Great historic importance

Twitter hashtags came from IRC channel names.
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 IRC networks are not centralized

You can choose your favorite server for an IRC network.
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Pro
 Cross-platform

Runs on any system, starting from ones running on an ARM chip and ending on a quantum computer
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Con
 Can be addictive

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Con
 No message persistence

If your users don't manage their own chat daemon, they won't be able to view any message sent in their absence.
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 Secure

Messages are received from clients using secured (TLS or SSL) XMPP (jabber) protocol.
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 Supports a lot of protocol

RFC-3920:Core RFC-3921:Instant Messaging and Presence XEP-0012 Last Activity XEP-0016 Privact lists XEP-0054 VCARD-temp XEP-0085 Chat State Notifications XEP-0153 vCard-Based Avatars XEP-0172 User Nickname XEP-0184 Message delivery receipts XEP-0191 Blocking commands XEP-0198 Stream Management XEP-0199 XMPP Ping XEP-0176: Jingle ICE-UDP XEP-0136: Message Archiving XEP-0045: Multi-User Chat
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 Direct connect

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 Network efficient

AstraChat is tuned to make very efficient use of the network connection and processor so you can be confident that it will use very little of your battery or data allowance.
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Con
 No OTR service

Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR) is a cryptographic protocol that provides encryption for instant messaging conversations. Astrachat doesn't include this protocol, that it is often included in other XMPP services.
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Con
 Developer's previous company was sued for privacy violations, among other things

See: http://classactionlawsuitsinthenews.com/class-action-lawsuit-complaints/openfeint-green-international-privacy-class-action-lawsuit-complaint/ https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/closing-letters/openfeint-inc Discord's privacy policy also states that while they might not sell your data, a company they get sold to will quite possibly attain said data and thus may be in "more" shady hands.
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Pro
 The tab interface is great

Using the tab interface you can integrate an Asana list, an entire Trello board, a power bi report, a Word page, a ppt presentation and let everyone edit it and view the edits in the tab. You can also add a file manager thanks to Onedrive or Sharepoint or a video training hub.
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Con
 No IRC or XMLL gateways

Microsoft has a very bad track of not using standards, such an example was when they dropped the Skype API after buying it. Doubtful Microsoft Teams would contradict it.
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 Apps for every platform

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 Hosted or on-premise, with data export tools so you can migrate

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 Easy asynchronous conversations

Its threaded model helps people working in different timezone's communicate effectively.
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 Helps keep track of different conversations

Instead of rooms or channels Zulip is built around topics. This allows you to have multiple conversations at the same time without conversations interfering with each another. It also allows you to reference conversations without clutter.
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 Free and open source software

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 Open source

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 Free in the cloud

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 Great iOS/Android app

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 End-to-end encryption

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 corporate collaboration tools

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 Own server

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Con
 No iOS support

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