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Comparison · Collab
Rocket.Chat vs SiYuan
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Rocket.Chat and SiYuan — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Rocket.Chat vs SiYuan: at a glance
What is Rocket.Chat?
All the substance lands in rc.0 — this cycle it's phishing-resistant MFA
Rocket.Chat publishes a release candidate per patch, and the shape is consistent: rc.0 carries the actual changes and every candidate after it is a Meteor version bump with dependency updates. In the 8.7 cycle, rc.0 introduced phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication via a server-side OAuth flow, plus a current field on DeviceManagementSession so the sessions endpoint can flag the caller's own active session. The 8.6 candidates in this window carry nothing but version bumps. Engine versions are pinned across the line at Node 22, Deno 2.3 and MongoDB 8.
What is SiYuan?
SiYuan ships polish at alpha-train speed while turning database blocks into a core surface.
SiYuan is a local-first notebook shipping on a near-daily pre-release train: four v3.7.4 alphas in nine days on top of the v3.7.3 stable. The work is overwhelmingly refinement — drag-and-drop cues, paste handling, font loading, dialog ordering, export correctness. The one area getting structural attention is the database block, which gained column alignment, relation backlinks, per-item templates and deep links in v3.7.3.
Rocket.Chat vs SiYuan: editorial side-by-side
Rocket.Chat
6.3COLLAB
All the substance lands in rc.0 — this cycle it's phishing-resistant MFA
◆ Current state
Rocket.Chat publishes a release candidate per patch, and the shape is consistent: rc.0 carries the actual changes and every candidate after it is a Meteor version bump with dependency updates. In the 8.7 cycle, rc.0 introduced phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication via a server-side OAuth flow, plus a current field on DeviceManagementSession so the sessions endpoint can flag the caller's own active session. The 8.6 candidates in this window carry nothing but version bumps. Engine versions are pinned across the line at Node 22, Deno 2.3 and MongoDB 8.
◆ Where it's heading
The work visible here is identity and session control rather than messaging features — who is authenticated, how strongly, and which device is asking. Phishing-resistant MFA and caller-session identification are both procurement concerns for the regulated and self-hosting buyers Rocket.Chat competes for, and they arrive together. The release-candidate pattern means the feed's cadence overstates activity: six entries in this window represent two substantive changes.
◆ Prediction
Expect the 8.7 line to reach general availability with the MFA flow as its headline, and further session and device-management controls to follow on the same identity track.
SiYuan
5.0COLLAB
SiYuan ships polish at alpha-train speed while turning database blocks into a core surface.
◆ Current state
SiYuan is a local-first notebook shipping on a near-daily pre-release train: four v3.7.4 alphas in nine days on top of the v3.7.3 stable. The work is overwhelmingly refinement — drag-and-drop cues, paste handling, font loading, dialog ordering, export correctness. The one area getting structural attention is the database block, which gained column alignment, relation backlinks, per-item templates and deep links in v3.7.3.
◆ Where it's heading
Two threads run through this window. Mobile parity is the louder one: Android, iOS and HarmonyOS keep getting treatment at the same time as the desktop build rather than trailing it, with audio recording, S Pen hover popovers, batch file insert and custom font import all landing on mobile first. The quieter thread promotes the database block from a table widget toward an addressable object with its own templates, links and backlinks. Neither has produced a headline release; both advance one version at a time.
◆ Prediction
The alpha train points to v3.7.4 landing as a stable release assembled from this mobile and database work. The entries give no signal about anything beyond that.
Alternatives to Rocket.Chat and SiYuan
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 Rocket.Chat or SiYuan.
Flarum
Flarum's 2.0 has been in release-candidate territory for most of a year.
Notion
Notion is turning Custom Agents into event-driven workers with their own runtime and billing.
Slack
Slack is shipping its developer platform to coding agents, not only to developers.
Hive
AI Proofing gets its manual controls back while Hive builds out creative review and resourcing.
AFFiNE
AFFiNE ships twice a day on two trains, and it is all storage plumbing and window polish.
See all Rocket.Chat alternatives → · See all SiYuan alternatives →
Recent activity from Rocket.Chat and SiYuan
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 14h agoSiYuanS Pen hover, mobile audio recording, faster sync
- 1d agoRocket.ChatRelease candidate bumps the Meteor version only
- 2d agoSiYuanAudio recording on Android and HarmonyOS, sync performance
- 5d agoSiYuanRelation-selector row opening fix
- 7d agoSiYuanCallout blocks become flashcards; export fixes
- 9d agoRocket.ChatRelease candidate bumps the Meteor version only
- 9d agoRocket.ChatRelease candidate bumps the Meteor version only
- 11d agoSiYuanDatabase items gain templates, deep links and backlinks
- 11d agoRocket.ChatRocket.Chat 8.7 adds phishing-resistant MFA and caller-session flagging ⚡
- 12d agoSiYuanPre-release staging for v3.7.3
- 29d agoRocket.ChatRelease candidate bumps the Meteor version only
- 1mo agoRocket.ChatRelease candidate bumps the Meteor version only
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Rocket.Chat and SiYuan?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Rocket.Chat is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Rocket.Chat better than SiYuan?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Rocket.Chat is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Rocket.Chat?
Top Rocket.Chat alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Rocket.Chat alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rocket-chat for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to SiYuan?
Top SiYuan alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SiYuan alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/siyuan for the full list with editorial commentary on each.