Microsoft Teams is an alternative
to Zulip
$40/mo (Teams Essentials) vs Zulip Self-hosted Basic at $35/mo for 10 seats ($3.50/seat) — covering 56% of the 9 compared capabilities.
Same job. Compare the fees.
Comparison scenario
Every cheaper-than claim is tied to a defined scenario — never a bare list price.
10 seats, monthly billing · USD · prices as observed on official pricing pages.
Self-hosted Basic plan at $35/mo ($3.50/seat × 10 seats), the cheapest paid plan.
Teams Essentials: 48 USD/yearly; 9 extra seat(s) × 48 USD.
Zulip costs $35/mo on the Self-hosted Basic plan at 10 seats, monthly billing. Microsoft Teams costs $40/mo (Teams Essentials plan), which is not cheaper than Zulip Self-hosted Basic at $35/mo in this scenario.
Capability comparison
Microsoft Teams covers 56% of the 9 capabilities compared against Zulip. ✓ native · ◐ via integration · ✗ not found.
| Capability | Microsoft Teams | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| App integrations | ✓ | ✓ |
| SAML single sign-on | ✗ | ✓ |
| Compliance exports & audit logs | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self-hosted deployment | ✗ | ✓ |
| Channels & group messaging | ✓ | ✓ |
| Threaded conversations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audio/video calls & screen sharing | ✓ | ◐ |
| Guest & external collaboration | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI search & summaries | ✓ | ◐ |
What you give up
Capabilities Zulip has that Microsoft Teams lacks.
- SAML single sign-on — Sign in through your company's SAML single sign-on.Missing from Microsoft Teams.
- Compliance exports & audit logs — Export message history and audit logs for compliance.Missing from Microsoft Teams.
- Self-hosted deployment — Run the chat platform on your own infrastructure.Missing from Microsoft Teams.
- Threaded conversations — Reply within a thread instead of the main channel feed.Missing from Microsoft Teams.
Price at your volume
The same comparison recomputed at three sizes. Plan caps change who is cheapest.
| Usage | Zulip | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| 3 seats | $10.50/moSelf-hosted Basic | $12/mocosts moreTeams Essentials |
| 10 seats | $35/moSelf-hosted Basic | $40/mocosts moreTeams Essentials |
| 25 seats | $87.50/moSelf-hosted Basic | $100/mocosts moreTeams Essentials |
Plans & pricing, side by side
Advertised prices in USD as observed on the official pricing pages — per-seat and transaction-fee plans are marked.
| Teams Essentials | $4/seat/mo (billed yearly) |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | $7/seat/mo (billed yearly) |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | $23.50/seat/mo (billed yearly) |
| Zulip Cloud Free | Free |
| Zulip Cloud Standard | $8/seat/mo |
| Zulip Cloud Plus | $12/seat/mo |
| Self-hosted Free | Free |
| Self-hosted Basic | $3.50/seat/mo |
| Self-hosted Business | $8/seat/mo |
| Self-hosted Enterprise | Contact sales |
Frequently asked
What does Microsoft Teams lack compared with Zulip?
SAML single sign-on, Compliance exports & audit logs, Self-hosted deployment, Threaded conversations — 4 of the 9 compared capabilities.
When were these prices checked?
Zulip: 2026-10-28; Microsoft Teams: 2026-10-28 — on the official pricing pages.
Who switched
Anonymous: no account, no email, no IP stored. Reports are shown once a switch has 3 or more and never change ranking or order — alternatives are computed from prices and capabilities only.
Sources & freshness
- https://zulip.com/plans/ (official_pricing, checked 2026-10-28)
- Microsoft Teams data last verified 2026-10-28