Rocket.Chat vs Shout
When comparing Rocket.Chat vs Shout, the Slant community recommends Rocket.Chat for most people. In the question“What are the best open source alternatives to Slack?” Rocket.Chat is ranked 2nd while Shout is ranked 6th. The most important reason people chose Rocket.Chat is:
Rocket.Chat is available for free. It's licensed under the MIT license with source code available on [GitHub](https://github.com/RocketChat/Rocket.Chat).
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Free and open source
Rocket.Chat is available for free. It's licensed under the MIT license with source code available on GitHub.
Pro 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.
Pro Understands markdown better than Slack does.
Links work properly, for instance, with square brackets followed by parentheses.
Pro Native apps for all major desktop and mobile platforms
Rocket.Chat has native apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
Pro Very active and helpful community
Pro Video conferencing support
Rocket.Chat supports video calls.
Pro Will allow for anonymous use
Pro Always connected
Unlike most other web IRC clients, Shout will stay connected even when you close the browser. It will allow you to see conversations that happened while you were away.
Cons
Con No way to block new registrations
Without the ability to disable registrations, there's no way to control access to the chat.
Con No native apps
It's only available as a webapp.
Con Can't send files
You can only share links to files, no way to share files directly between users.
Con Lacks searchable history
Con Doesn't manage presence
Users have to manually set away messages or away nicks to notify other users that they are not currently available.