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Zulip

Unclaimed Editor reviewed

Open-source team chat with threads

Team Chat Communication Internal Comms

4.8(308 across the web)

FreemiumVisit Website

Reviews onG2Capterra

308 reviews tracked

The Bottom Line

Entry price

Free plan available, paid tiers above

Biggest pro

Organized team chat

Biggest con

UI dated

TL;DR - Zulip

Zulip is an open-source team chat with threaded conversations
It organizes discussions by topic for better context and search
Free self-hosted option, Cloud from $6.67/user/month

Pricing: Free plan available

Best for: Growing teams

4.8/5 across review platforms

What is Zulip?

Editorial review

Zulip organizes conversations with threaded topics. Chat with structure-team communication that doesn't lose context. The threading is the feature. The organization helps. The open-source version works. Teams wanting organized chat use Zulip for threaded team communication.

Available on: Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android

LCLouis CorneloupUpdated May 26, 2026 · how we evaluateSourcezulip.com ↗

Pros & Cons

Pros

Organized team chat
Topic threading
Open source
Self-hostable
Good for large teams

Cons

UI dated
Learning curve
Less adoption than Slack
Mobile apps basic
Threading confusing initially

Ratings Across the Web

4.8(308 reviews)

Capterra195 reviews

Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more

Key Features

Team chatThreadingTopicsSearchSelf-hostedOpen source

Pricing Plans

Free

Free

Full-featured chat
Hundreds of integrations
10,000 message search history
5GB file storage
Guest accounts

Standard

$6.67/user/month

All Free features
Unlimited search history
10GB storage per user
Message retention policy
Custom branding
Priority support

Plus

$10/user/month

All Standard features
Stream groups
50GB storage per user
SAML authentication
SCIM provisioning
Custom domain

Calculate your cost View full pricing

Reviews

4.8/5

Across 308 verified user reviews on Capterra, G2

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Best Zulip Alternatives

Top alternatives based on features, pricing, and user needs.

View full list →

Microsoft TeamsFreemium

Unite chat, meetings, and files with Microsoft 365

DiscordFreemium

Your place to talk and hang out

BettermodeFreemium

Community platform with forums and knowledge base

A mobile selfie video-messaging application for team communication and community engagement.

Community platform with customization

ChallengermodeFreemium

Competitive gaming infrastructure for engaging experiences at any scale.

Create immersive virtual spaces for team collaboration and events.

Empower your team with a secure, private, and customizable internal social network.

See all Team Chat tools →

Still deciding?

Most buyers shortlist 2 or 3 tools before committing. Pull a side-by-side comparison or browse the full alternatives shortlist below.

All Zulip alternatives8+ tools ranked, pricing + verdict per pick Zulip vs Microsoft TeamsHead-to-head: features, pricing, who wins Zulip vs DiscordHead-to-head: features, pricing, who wins Zulip vs BettermodeHead-to-head: features, pricing, who wins

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Zulip FAQ

Is Zulip free?

Self-hosted is free and open source. Cloud free for 10K messages. Standard from $6.67/user/month.

What is Zulip?

Zulip is team chat with topic-based threading. Every message has a topic. Reduces chat chaos.

Zulip vs Slack?

Zulip has better threading with topics. Slack is more popular. Zulip for organized discussions; Slack for familiarity.

What are Zulip topics?

Every message belongs to a topic within a stream. Conversations stay organized. Easy to catch up on specific topics.

Source: zulip.com

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