Is Mattermost or Telegram better?

Neither clearly leads. Mattermost starts at On request and Telegram at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Mattermost or Telegram?

Telegram has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Mattermost and Free for Telegram.

Does Mattermost or Telegram run on more platforms?

Mattermost runs on Web. Telegram runs on Web, Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android.

Can I use Telegram for free?

Yes. Telegram has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mattermost starts at On request.

What is Mattermost best used for?

Mattermost is most often used for team messaging and collaboration, secure enterprise communication, on-premise or self-hosted deployment. Of those, team messaging and collaboration and secure enterprise communication are not what Telegram is typically brought in for.

What can Mattermost do that Telegram cannot?

Telegram covers Cloud-based messaging, End-to-end encryption, Self-destructing messages, Large group chats.

Communication · head to head

Mattermost vs Telegram

Mattermost

Communication

Channel-centric collaboration for secure workflows

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Communication

Pure instant messaging — simple, fast, secure, and synced across all your devices

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Telegram has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Mattermost no published pricing on public website; requires sales contact for all tiers; Telegram end-to-end encryption applies only to Secret Chats; private and group Cloud Chats use server-client encryption, so Telegram holds the data
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mattermost and Telegram actually diverge.

Attributes where Mattermost and Telegram differ
Attribute	Mattermost	Telegram
Starting price	On request	Free
Pricing model	quote	freemium
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web	Web, Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android
Founded	Unknown	2013

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Communication).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Mattermost

Nothing recorded that Telegram does not also cover.

Only in Telegram

Cloud-based messaging
End-to-end encryption
Self-destructing messages
Large group chats
Voice and video calls
Bot platform
Channels and broadcasts
Cross-platform sync

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Mattermost

Team messaging and collaborationnot Telegram
Secure enterprise communicationnot Telegram
On-premise or self-hosted deploymentnot Telegram

Group messaging and large channels with files of any type and sizenot Mattermost
Private device-bound conversations with self-destructing messagesnot Mattermost
Running bots and broadcast channels for an audiencenot Mattermost

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Mattermost

No published pricing on public website; requires sales contact for all tiers
Three tiers (Professional, Enterprise, Enterprise Advanced) have feature differences but no cost transparency
User scaling caps differ between tiers without public price justification

End-to-end encryption applies only to Secret Chats; private and group Cloud Chats use server-client encryption, so Telegram holds the data
Secret Chats are device-specific and are not part of the Telegram cloud, so they can only be read on the device they started on
Logging out destroys all of your Secret Chats
The Secret Chat self-destruct timer applies only to messages sent after the timer is set and has no effect on earlier messages
Telegram states screenshot detection cannot be guaranteed on some Android and Windows Phone devices, so screenshots of Secret Chats can be taken silently
Messages cannot be forwarded out of Secret Chats
The self-destruct timer in cloud chats covers media only, not text

Pricing, plan by plan

Mattermost

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Mattermost review.

Free

FreeFree
- Unlimited messages
- 2GB file sharing
- Group chats up to 200K members
Telegram Premium$4.99/month
- Everything in Free
- 4GB file uploads
- Faster downloads

Which should you pick?

Choose Mattermost if

Nothing in the data separates Mattermost from Telegram on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Mattermost review

Choose Telegram if

You need cloud-based messaging.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android.
You also want end-to-end encryption.

Telegram review

Questions people ask

Is Mattermost or Telegram better?: Neither clearly leads. Mattermost starts at On request and Telegram at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mattermost or Telegram?: Telegram has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Mattermost and Free for Telegram.
Does Mattermost or Telegram run on more platforms?: Mattermost runs on Web. Telegram runs on Web, Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android.
Can I use Telegram for free?: Yes. Telegram has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mattermost starts at On request.
What is Mattermost best used for?: Mattermost is most often used for team messaging and collaboration, secure enterprise communication, on-premise or self-hosted deployment. Of those, team messaging and collaboration and secure enterprise communication are not what Telegram is typically brought in for.
What can Mattermost do that Telegram cannot?: Telegram covers Cloud-based messaging, End-to-end encryption, Self-destructing messages, Large group chats.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mattermost: What user limits apply to each Mattermost pricing tier?

Professional tier supports maximum 250 users. Enterprise scales to 50,000 concurrent users. Enterprise Advanced scales to 200,000 concurrent users. Exact per-user costs not stated.

Source

Telegram: Does Telegram cost money?

Telegram is a completely free messaging application. There are no subscription plans, in-app purchases, or ads. The service is funded through cryptocurrency investments.

Source

Mattermost: What support response times are included with each plan?

Professional includes community support plus business hours professional support with next business day response. Enterprise includes 24x7 support with 4-hour response time. Enterprise Advanced includes 24x7 with Premier Support option.

Source

Mattermost: How much does Mattermost cost for teams under 250 users?

Pricing for Professional tier with user counts under 250 is not disclosed publicly. Contact Mattermost sales for specific quotes.

Source

Mattermost vs Telegram

Mattermost

Telegram

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Mattermost

Only in Telegram

What people use each for

Mattermost

Telegram

Where each one falls short

Mattermost

Telegram

Pricing, plan by plan

Mattermost

Telegram

Which should you pick?

Choose Mattermost if

Choose Telegram if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Mattermost

More on Telegram

Keep looking

Other head to heads