Alternatives to Zulip
Open source team chat with topic-based threading
Zulip ranks #3 of 8 in Team chat, with an Alt Score of 78. It is licensed under Apache-2.0, open source with paid hosting from $6.67/user/mo and available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and Web. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Distributed teams, open-source projects, research groups, and organizations that need many parallel conversations to stay organized without getting lost — from small companies to large enterprises, universities, and communities.
An open-source team chat app organized into channels, with every message assigned to a topic so separate discussions stay distinct and easy to follow even when many are happening at once. It's available as a hosted Zulip Cloud service or self-hosted on your own infrastructure. An inbox view surfaces unread conversations across channels and topics, letting you catch up asynchronously instead of scrolling a live feed.
You post into a channel and give the message a short topic label, which creates or continues a threaded conversation; replies stay attached to that topic so multiple discussions can run in the same channel without interleaving. Users browse and reply via the inbox or channel/topic list at their own pace.
Why people leave Zulip
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
How Zulip compares with its alternatives, feature by feature.
| Team chat checklist | Zulip | Mattermost | Microsoft Teams | Rocket.Chat | Element | Discord |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
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| License | ||||||
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| Message history limit (free) | ||||||
| Threads | ||||||
| Huddles / audio rooms | ||||||
| Video calls | ||||||
| Guest access | ||||||
| Federation | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| E2E encryption | ||||||
| Integrations count | ||||||
| Workflow automations | ||||||
| Search quality (filters) | ||||||
| Compliance exports |
Every fact and feature listed for Zulip is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License Apache-2.0 verified 2026-07-10
Apache License / Version 2.0, January 2004 / http://www.apache.org/licenses/
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zulip/zulip/main/LICENSE -
Pricing model OSS + paid hosting verified 2026-07-10
Sign up for a managed cloud solution, or self-host our 100% open-source software. Get started for free.
https://zulip.com/plans/ -
Starts at $6.67/user/mo verified 2026-07-10
$6.67 /user/month billed annually or $8 billed monthly
https://zulip.com/plans/ -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web verified 2026-07-10
Download the Zulip app for your device
https://zulip.com/apps/ -
Status active verified 2026-07-10
With over 1,500 contributors merging over 500 commits a month, Zulip is the largest and fastest growing open source team chat project.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zulip/zulip/main/README.md -
Message history limit (free) Yes verified 2026-07-10
Free plan: 10,000-message search history limit.
How does having 10,000 messages of search history on Zulip Cloud Free work
https://zulip.com/plans/ -
Threads Yes verified 2026-07-10
Zulip is an open-source organized team chat app with unique topic-based threading that combines the best of email and chat
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zulip/zulip/main/README.md -
Huddles / audio rooms Partial verified 2026-07-10
Group DMs + call-link integration; no dedicated persistent audio room.
Zulip makes it convenient to add a video or voice call link to any message, using the call provider (Jitsi, Zoom, etc.)
https://zulip.com/help/start-a-call -
Video calls Partial verified 2026-07-10
Via configured provider, not built-in.
Zulip makes it convenient to add a video or voice call link to any message, using the call provider (Jitsi, Zoom, etc.) configured by your organization's administrators.
https://zulip.com/help/start-a-call -
Guest access Yes verified 2026-07-10
You can add users who should have restricted access to your organization as guests. For example, this may be a good choice for contractors or customers invited to a company's Zulip chat.
https://zulip.com/help/guest-users -
Federation No verified 2026-07-10
No federation; instances are independent (inferred from absence).
Zulip comes with over a hundred native integrations out of the box, and integrates with Zapier and IFTTT to provide hundreds more
https://zulip.com/integrations/ -
Self-hostable Yes verified 2026-07-10
Retain full control over your data. 100% open-source software.
https://zulip.com/self-hosting/ -
E2E encryption No verified 2026-07-10
TLS-in-transit + server-side; no E2EE.
Retain full control over your data.
https://zulip.com/plans/ -
Integrations count Yes verified 2026-07-10
Zulip comes with over a hundred native integrations out of the box, and integrates with Zapier and IFTTT to provide hundreds more
https://zulip.com/integrations/ -
Workflow automations Yes verified 2026-07-10
Zulip comes with over a hundred native integrations out of the box, and integrates with Zapier and IFTTT to provide hundreds more
https://zulip.com/integrations/ -
Search quality (filters) Yes verified 2026-07-10
It's easy to find the right conversation with Zulip's powerful search. When you find the message you were looking for, go directly to its topic for full context.
https://zulip.com/help/search-for-messages -
Compliance exports Yes verified 2026-07-10
Export your organization | Zulip help center
https://zulip.com/help/export-your-organization
FAQ
Yes. Microsoft Teams, Discord and Twist have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Rocket.Chat and Element — every license claim links its source.