Toolradar Benchmark
What team chat apps really cost for a team of 5, 20 and 50 (2026)
Toolradar data: For a team of 20 users, team chat app costs from $18 a month (Zoho Cliq Standard, billed monthly) to $145 (Slack Pro), with a median of $100 across 8 tools, on prices confirmed on each vendor's pricing page between November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026.
A team chat app gives a company channels, direct messages and calls in one place, replacing internal email for day-to-day work. Most are sold per active user.
Data as of November 5, 2026. Prices confirmed on vendor pages between November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026; re-confirmed every few days.
Key findings
- For a team of 5 users, the cheapest confirmed team chat app is Troop Messenger Premium at $12.50 a month (billed annually); the median of 8 tools is $25 and the highest is Ryver Starter at $69.
- For a team of 20 users, the cheapest confirmed team chat app is Zoho Cliq Standard at $18 a month (billed monthly); the median of 8 tools is $100 and the highest is Slack Pro at $145.
- For a team of 50 users, the cheapest confirmed team chat app is Zoho Cliq Professional at $90 a month (billed annually); the median of 7 tools is $200 and the highest is Slack Pro at $362.50.
- Billing annually instead of monthly lowers the bill by a median of 16.9% across the 4 tools that publish both prices on the same plan, for a team of 20.
- 1 tool also offer a free plan that covers 5 users: Chanty. Free plans are listed apart and never counted as the cost.
Source: Toolradar benchmark, prices confirmed on each vendor's US pricing page between November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026.
8
tools compared under the same method
4 left out, reasons below
$25
median monthly cost for 5 users
$5 per user, n = 8
$100
median monthly cost for 20 users
$5 per user, n = 8
$200
median monthly cost for 50 users
$4 per user, n = 7
How every row is computed
- For each team size, the cheapest paid plan with a published US price in USD that allows that many users. Plans sold only on quote are not counted.
- Monthly billing and annual billing are computed apart; annual is the yearly total divided by 12. A price with no billing term next to it is not counted, except a price per month on a page that offers no yearly billing at all (no monthly or annual switch, no mention of yearly billing), which is counted as month to month.
- Seat minimums, seat packs and user caps are applied, required add-ons and mandatory vendor fees are added, one-time setup fees are shown apart. A free plan is never the cost; whether it covers the team is shown apart.
- Each price is confirmed on the vendor's live page by two AI checkers from different model families, each quoting the page word for word. A price that is not confirmed is left out; a higher plan left out this way is skipped only when, at its last read price, it costs more than the cheapest confirmed plan.
- Not counted: taxes, usage (AI credits, contacts, tickets, overages), plans capped by usage volume (tickets or conversations a month), discounts shown only in the cart, behind a code or for a limited time, and optional add-ons.
- Rows are ordered by computed cost. No score, no rank of our own; sponsored or paid status never changes inclusion or order.
- A confirmation counts for 14 days: a tool not re-confirmed in that time leaves the tables until it is.
What a team of 5 users pays
| Tool | Billed monthly | Billed annually | Per user | How it was counted | Pricing page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troop Messenger | not confirmed | $12.50/mo Premium, $150/yr | $2.50 | no monthly price confirmed | troopmessenger.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Chanty | $20/mo Business | $15/mo Business, $180/yr | $3 | its free plan also covers 5 (up to 5) | chanty.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Zoho Cliq | $18/mo Standard | not confirmed | $3.60 | flat price, up to 25 users included; no annual price confirmed | zoho.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Microsoft Teams | not confirmed | $20/mo Microsoft Teams Essentials, $240/yr | $4 | no monthly price confirmed | microsoft.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Flock | $30/mo PRO | not confirmed | $6 | no annual price confirmed | flock.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Zulip | $40/mo Standard | $33.35/mo Standard, $400.20/yr | $6.67 | per-seat price x team size | zulip.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Slack | $43.75/mo Pro | $36.25/mo Pro, $435/yr | $7.25 | per-seat price x team size | slack.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Ryver | $69/mo Starter | $69/mo Starter, $828/yr | $13.80 | flat price, up to 12 users included | ryver.comconfirmed Nov 5, 2026 |
What a team of 20 users pays
| Tool | Billed monthly | Billed annually | Per user | How it was counted | Pricing page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Cliq | $18/mo Standard | not confirmed | $0.90 | flat price, up to 25 users included; no annual price confirmed | zoho.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Troop Messenger | not confirmed | $50/mo Premium, $600/yr | $2.50 | no monthly price confirmed | troopmessenger.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Chanty | $80/mo Business | $60/mo Business, $720/yr | $3 | per-seat price x team size | chanty.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Microsoft Teams | not confirmed | $80/mo Microsoft Teams Essentials, $960/yr | $4 | no monthly price confirmed | microsoft.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Flock | $120/mo PRO | not confirmed | $6 | no annual price confirmed | flock.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Ryver | $129/mo Standard | $129/mo Standard, $1,548/yr | $6.45 | flat price, up to 30 users included | ryver.comconfirmed Nov 5, 2026 |
| Zulip | $160/mo Standard | $133.40/mo Standard, $1,600.80/yr | $6.67 | per-seat price x team size | zulip.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Slack | $175/mo Pro | $145/mo Pro, $1,740/yr | $7.25 | per-seat price x team size | slack.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
What a team of 50 users pays
| Tool | Billed monthly | Billed annually | Per user | How it was counted | Pricing page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Cliq | $100/mo Professional | $90/mo Professional, $1,080/yr | $1.80 | per-seat price x team size | zoho.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Troop Messenger | not confirmed | $125/mo Premium, $1,500/yr | $2.50 | no monthly price confirmed | troopmessenger.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Chanty | $200/mo Business | $150/mo Business, $1,800/yr | $3 | per-seat price x team size | chanty.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Microsoft Teams | not confirmed | $200/mo Microsoft Teams Essentials, $2,400/yr | $4 | no monthly price confirmed | microsoft.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Flock | $300/mo PRO | not confirmed | $6 | no annual price confirmed | flock.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Zulip | $400/mo Standard | $333.50/mo Standard, $4,002/yr | $6.67 | per-seat price x team size | zulip.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Slack | $437.50/mo Pro | $362.50/mo Pro, $4,350/yr | $7.25 | per-seat price x team size | slack.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
No confirmed figure for 50 users: Ryver (no plan that allows 50 users had its price confirmed on this read).
Excluded, and why
- Mattermost: Its pricing page shows no price: Professional is sold through Contact Sales and Enterprise through Get Pricing.
- Pumble: Its plan prices load by script for the visitor's region and are missing from every read of the page.
- Rocket.Chat: Its pricing page shows no price: every paid plan (Commercial, Government, Defense) is sold through sales.
- Wire: Its pricing page shows prices in euros only, and Wire for SMB is bought through Contact Us.
What each price leaves out
Plans, add-ons and usage charges not in the figures, tool by tool
- Chanty: Enterprise: Contact sales; Black Friday 40% off banner: promotional, not counted; Chanty onPremise and Chanty for Communities: on quote
- Flock: Enterprise (100+ members): Get a quote; Non-profit pricing: on request; not confirmed on this read, left out: PRO (annual billing)
- Microsoft Teams: Microsoft 365 Business Basic (no Teams) $5.40 and Business Standard with Copilot (no Teams) $20.30: plans without Teams; Monthly billing: offered for Microsoft 365 plans per the FAQ, monthly prices are not on this page; Teams Phone ($10.00 to $34.00 per user a month), Teams Rooms Pro ($40.00 per room) and Teams Premium ($10.00 per user): optional add-ons; Microsoft 365 Copilot Business add-on: optional, shown at $18.00 instead of $21.00
- Ryver: First 3 months at half price ($34.50 and $64.50 a month) or 3 months free on annual: promotional, not counted; Medium Pack: $4/user for 30+ users ($2/user for the first 3 months), billing term not stated; Enterprise: Tell Me More, price on request
- Slack: Pro and Business+: 50% off for 3 months on monthly billing ($4.38 and $9), promotional, regular prices used; Enterprise+: Contact sales for pricing; Free: $0, 90 days of message history, its user limit is not stated on this page
- Troop Messenger: Superior: $9.00 per user a month billed annually, Coming soon; Monthly billing: a Monthly toggle is shown, its prices are not in the page text as read; TM Monitor add-on: optional, $1 per user a month; More than 500 users or private deployment: Talk to sales; On-Premise priced apart
- Zoho Cliq: Free: its user limit is not stated on this page; Flexi Subscription (mixed license tiers) and Zoho Workplace or Zoho One bundles: not counted; Networks add-on: optional; not confirmed on this read, left out: Standard (annual billing)
- Zulip: Cloud Free: 10,000 messages of search history, its user limit is not stated on this page; Self-hosted Basic: $3.50 per user a month billed monthly ($20 a month off the first year), runs on your own server; Self-hosted Business: $6.67 per user a month billed annually or $8 monthly, 25 users minimum, runs on your own server; Self-hosted Enterprise: Contact sales
Questions
How much does team chat app cost for a team of 5?
Across 8 tools whose prices Toolradar confirmed on the vendor's pricing page (November 4, 2026 to November 5, 2026), the cheapest paid plan for 5 users costs from $12.50 a month (Troop Messenger Premium, billed annually) to $69 (Ryver Starter), median $25 a month, or $5 per user. Taxes, usage and optional add-ons are not included.
How much does team chat app cost for a team of 20?
Across 8 tools whose prices Toolradar confirmed on the vendor's pricing page (November 4, 2026 to November 5, 2026), the cheapest paid plan for 20 users costs from $18 a month (Zoho Cliq Standard, billed monthly) to $145 (Slack Pro), median $100 a month, or $5 per user. Taxes, usage and optional add-ons are not included.
How much does team chat app cost for a team of 50?
Across 7 tools whose prices Toolradar confirmed on the vendor's pricing page (November 4, 2026 to November 5, 2026), the cheapest paid plan for 50 users costs from $90 a month (Zoho Cliq Professional, billed annually) to $362.50 (Slack Pro), median $200 a month, or $4 per user. Taxes, usage and optional add-ons are not included.
Which team chat app tools were left out of this benchmark?
4 tools were left out: Mattermost (Its pricing page shows no price: Professional is sold through Contact Sales and Enterprise through Get Pricing); Pumble (Its plan prices load by script for the visitor's region and are missing from every read of the page); Rocket.Chat (Its pricing page shows no price: every paid plan (Commercial, Government, Defense) is sold through sales); Wire (Its pricing page shows prices in euros only, and Wire for SMB is bought through Contact Us).
About this benchmark
Why it exists. A vendor's page tells you its own price per user. This page applies one method to every tool, under the same conditions, so the totals can be compared: seat minimums, seat packs, user caps and required fees are applied the same way for all.
Independence. Toolradar sells advertising, including sponsored placements on some pages. Sponsored or paid status never changes which tools are included here or their order: inclusion is the list of tools considered (all shown, in the tables or under Excluded) and order is the computed cost. There is no score or rank of our own on this page. See how we rate.
Related. Best team chat app tools · Team chat app statistics · All benchmarks
Reuse. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page. Cite this: Toolradar, “What team chat apps really cost for a team of 5, 20 and 50”, prices confirmed November 4, 2026 to November 5, 2026, toolradar.com/benchmarks/team-chat-app-cost. Machine-readable: JSON, CSV.