← Back to home
Comparison · Collab

EGroupware vs Mattermost

A side-by-side editorial comparison of EGroupware and Mattermost — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

EGroupware vs Mattermost: at a glance

FeatureEGroupwareMattermost
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themessecurity, self-hosting, groupware, end-of-lifeabac, access-control, air-gapped, agentic-ai
Last editorial update7d ago11h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is EGroupware?

EGroupware's feed has become a security treadmill, with the 23.1 branch days from end of life.

Almost every release in this window is a security release, and most ship as a pair — one build for 26.x, an identical-scope backport for 23.1. Feature work exists but arrives as single lines inside those security notes: WebAuthN two-factor moving out of the former EPL add-on, OpenID bumped to current upstream libraries, invoice XML gaining reverse-charge exemption codes. The recurring theme in the fixes themselves is authentication — OAuth bearer tokens, OpenID regressions, an inverted email_verified check, passkeys broken by a missing proxy config.

Read the full EGroupware trajectory →

What is Mattermost?

Every v11 release pushes ABAC further out; the blog sells the air-gap story around it.

Mattermost ships a v11.x release roughly monthly, and each one extends attribute-based access control another layer: v11.9 reached channel-level policies and ranked attributes, v11.10 adds team-level ABAC membership and native user attributes. Between releases the feed is marketing content aimed at defense, federal, and other air-gapped buyers. The product work and the publishing calendar are pulling in the same direction.

Read the full Mattermost trajectory →

EGroupware vs Mattermost: editorial side-by-side

E5.0

EGroupware's feed has become a security treadmill, with the 23.1 branch days from end of life.

◆ Current state

Almost every release in this window is a security release, and most ship as a pair — one build for 26.x, an identical-scope backport for 23.1. Feature work exists but arrives as single lines inside those security notes: WebAuthN two-factor moving out of the former EPL add-on, OpenID bumped to current upstream libraries, invoice XML gaining reverse-charge exemption codes. The recurring theme in the fixes themselves is authentication — OAuth bearer tokens, OpenID regressions, an inverted email_verified check, passkeys broken by a missing proxy config.

◆ Where it's heading

The project is consolidating everyone onto 26.x and has put a date on it: security coverage for 23.1 ends August 15, 2026, repeated as a warning in every 23.1 build since July. After that the twin-release pattern should stop and the cadence should halve. The authentication stack is the least settled part of the codebase right now — the July and August releases keep re-fixing OpenID and WebAuthN regressions introduced by their own predecessors.

◆ Prediction

Expect 23.1 builds to cease after August 15 and the feed to become single-track 26.x. On the evidence of the last six releases, expect at least one more OpenID or WebAuthN regression fix to follow the recent upstream library bump.

M5.0

Every v11 release pushes ABAC further out; the blog sells the air-gap story around it.

◆ Current state

Mattermost ships a v11.x release roughly monthly, and each one extends attribute-based access control another layer: v11.9 reached channel-level policies and ranked attributes, v11.10 adds team-level ABAC membership and native user attributes. Between releases the feed is marketing content aimed at defense, federal, and other air-gapped buyers. The product work and the publishing calendar are pulling in the same direction.

◆ Where it's heading

ABAC is being built out as the organizing primitive — first channels, now teams, with user attributes moving from an integration concern into the platform itself. The surrounding posts on agentic AI in disconnected environments read as demand-shaping for the AI features shipping in the same releases. Expect the two lines to converge on running agents inside a network that cannot call out.

◆ Prediction

The next v11 release should extend ABAC to a further scope or add policy administration tooling, and the agent features will keep being framed around operating without external model APIs.

Alternatives to EGroupware and Mattermost

Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either EGroupware or Mattermost.

See all EGroupware alternatives → · See all Mattermost alternatives →

Recent activity from EGroupware and Mattermost

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1d agoMattermostCan Agentic AI Work in Air-Gapped Environments?
  2. 5d agoMattermostMattermost v11.10: Team ABAC Membership, Native User Attributes in ABAC, AI Agent Enhancements & More
  3. 8d agoEGroupwareSecurity release fixes passkey regression and OAuth token errors
  4. 9d agoMattermostWhat Is an Air-Gapped Network?
  5. 12d agoMattermostYour Teams Are Already Translating Sensitive Data. The Question Is Where It Goes.
  6. 15d agoEGroupware23.1 security release; branch support ends August 15
  7. 15d agoEGroupwareWebAuthN two-factor moves into core, plus security fixes
  8. 16d agoMattermostThe Collaboration Gap in Zero Trust: Why Sovereignty Can’t Stop at the Perimeter
  9. 21d agoMattermostAgentic AI for Mission-Critical Operations: What Enterprise Leaders Need to Know
  10. 26d agoEGroupwareSecurity release repairs merge-print and ImportExport regressions
  11. 26d agoEGroupware23.1 security backport with end-of-support warning
  12. 1mo agoEGroupwareTwo more security fixes for the 23.1 branch

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between EGroupware and Mattermost?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. EGroupware and Mattermost are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is EGroupware better than Mattermost?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. EGroupware and Mattermost are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to EGroupware?

Top EGroupware alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "EGroupware alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/egroupware for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Mattermost?

Top Mattermost alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Mattermost alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mattermost for the full list with editorial commentary on each.