Kitsmith / Utilities / Mattermost
Mattermost
Free limited-use evaluation edition (“Mattermost Entry”) for self-hosting; Professional, Enterprise, and Enterprise Advanced plans are all “contact sales” — no public per-seat price listed on the official pricing page · Open source
Price checked at source August 29, 2026.
Open-source, self-hosted team chat — Homebrew’s own listing calls it exactly that: a “Slack-alternative.”
Our take
The most directly-labeled Slack alternative in this list — Homebrew’s own cask description reads “Open-source, self-hosted Slack-alternative,” independent of anything Mattermost says about itself. Channel-based messaging, threaded discussions, and 1:1 calls with screen sharing all ship in the Professional tier, with native desktop apps for Mac alongside web, Windows, iOS, and Android. The tradeoff: Mattermost has repositioned hard toward government and “mission-critical” enterprise deployments (FedRAMP, STIG-hardened images, and air-gapped installs feature prominently on its own site), and its current pricing page lists no public self-serve number — Professional, Enterprise, and Enterprise Advanced are all “contact sales,” with only a limited-use technical-evaluation edition offered for free.
- Price
- Free limited-use evaluation edition (“Mattermost Entry”) for self-hosting; Professional, Enterprise, and Enterprise Advanced plans are all “contact sales” — no public per-seat price listed on the official pricing page
- License
- Open source
- Requires
- macOS 12 or newer, Apple Silicon or Intel, per the Homebrew cask (separate per-architecture builds listed).
- Get it via
- Homebrew · Direct
- Developer
- Mattermost, Inc.
Do you use Mattermost?
Who made this
Mattermost’s own site credits CEO and co-founder Ian Tien, who previously founded the gaming company SpinPunch and led product for Microsoft SkyDrive (now OneDrive) and Hotmail (now Outlook.com) before pivoting to build team chat.
What it does
Channel-based team messaging
Public and private channels, 1:1 and group messaging, file sharing, and link previews across web, Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android.
Threaded discussions
Follow-up conversations stay attached to their original message via a thread inbox, rather than scattering across the channel.
1:1 calls with screen sharing
Built-in audio calling and screen share ship in the Professional tier without a separate video app.
The deal
- Free limited-use evaluation edition (“Mattermost Entry”), for technical evaluation of Enterprise Advanced
- Professional: contact sales, no public price listed
- Enterprise: contact sales, no public price listed
- Enterprise Advanced: request quote, no public price listed
Worth knowing: Mattermost’s official pricing page lists no public self-serve dollar figure for any paid plan — Professional, Enterprise, and Enterprise Advanced are all gated behind “contact sales” or “request quote.” Price is marked from the free evaluation edition only, rather than borrowed from older or third-party figures.
Mattermost — questions people ask
Is Mattermost a Slack alternative?
Yes — Homebrew’s own package description for the Mac cask calls it exactly that: an “Open-source, self-hosted Slack-alternative.”
How much does Mattermost cost?
Not publicly listed at the time of this review — Professional, Enterprise, and Enterprise Advanced are all quote-based on Mattermost’s own pricing page. A free, limited-use evaluation edition is offered for self-hosted technical evaluation.
Who makes Mattermost?
Mattermost, Inc., led by CEO and co-founder Ian Tien, per the company’s own About page.
Is Mattermost free?
Mattermost is free to use with optional paid unlocks.
Does Mattermost work alongside a notch app like Alcove?
Yes — Mattermost lives in the screen, so it runs happily alongside any Dynamic Island hub or notch app.
Where can I download Mattermost?
Mattermost is available via Homebrew, Direct.
Is Mattermost open source?
Yes — Mattermost is open source.
Reviews
No public ratings yet. Reader reviews are coming to Kitsmith soon.
Listing hand-verified August 29, 2026 from the developer's site and public sources.
How Mattermost compares
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Discord
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Feishu
unknownByteDance’s all-in-one team workspace — channel-based chat alongside docs, calendar, and video meetings, positioned as a Slack-and-Notion-style alternative.
Chanty
Free (up to 5 team members, 20GB team storage); Business from $3/user/mo billed annually ($4/user/mo billed monthly); Enterprise is custom pricingTeam chat with unlimited message history and a built-in task manager — free for small teams, from $3/user/mo for the rest.
Twist
Free forever (1 month of message history, up to 500 members, 5GB storage); Unlimited plan $6/user/mo for full history and unlimited storageThread-based team chat from the makers of Todoist, built to replace always-on chat with asynchronous, on-topic conversations — free forever, or $6/user/mo for full history.