HEY Email vs Rocket.Chat
The ultimate side-by-side head-to-head analysis for 2026.
Short answer
- Price: not directly comparable — HEY Email is from $8/user/mo, Rocket.Chat is free tier available.
- How to start: HEY Email is from $8/user/mo, Rocket.Chat is free tier available.
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. We do not publish a quality score, because we do not have one we can stand behind. They cannot tell you which tool fits your workflow — the sections below are there for that. How we score tools.
HEY Email
Rocket.Chat
Category
Communication
Communication
Base Price
$8/user/mo
Free tier
Public API
No
Yes
Mobile app
Yes
Yes
Open source / self-hostable
No
Yes
SSO (SAML)
No
Yes
Choose HEY Email if:
Privacy Seekers and Busy Professionals who hate email.
Choose Rocket.Chat if:
Organisations that must keep messaging on their own infrastructure.
HEY Email: pros & cons
- Total Privacy: Automatically blocks all tracking pixels used by marketers.
- Screening: No more spam or unwanted emails ever—you approve every new sender.
- Aesthetic UI: A completely fresh, modern take on what an email app looks like.
- Productivity: Features like 'Reply Later' and 'Set Aside' keep your inbox clean.
- Subscription Only: There is no free version of HEY; it is a premium service.
- No Folders: It uses a specific organization system that might be jarring at first.
- Locked Domain: Requires using an @hey.com address (unless you use the more expensive custom domain plan).
Rocket.Chat: pros & cons
- Fully self-hostable and open source
- Omnichannel customer messaging included
- Highly customisable
- Setup and maintenance are on you
- Interface less refined than commercial rivals
- Mobile apps have rough edges
Our verdict on HEY Email
The most innovative and peaceful way to handle email in the 21st century.
Our verdict on Rocket.Chat
Strong when self-hosting is required. Otherwise commercial chat is less work.