Rocket.Chat is 100% cheaper
than Zulip
$0/mo (Starter) vs Zulip Self-hosted Basic at $3.50/mo — covering 100% of the 9 compared capabilities.
Same job. Way less money.
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 $3.50/mo, the cheapest paid plan.
Starter: 0 USD/monthly.
Zulip costs $3.50/mo on the Self-hosted Basic plan at 10 seats, monthly billing. We found 1 assessed alternative that is cheaper in this scenario; 1 of them covers at least 75% of the 9 compared capabilities. The cheapest option that covers everything we compared is Rocket.Chat at $0/mo (Starter plan), 100% less.
Capability comparison
Rocket.Chat covers 100% of the 9 capabilities compared against Zulip. ✓ native · ◐ via integration · ✗ not found.
| Capability | Rocket.Chat | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Channels & group messaging | ✓ | ✓ |
| Threaded conversations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Audio/video calls & screen sharing | ✓ | ◐ |
| Guest & external collaboration | ✓ | ✓ |
| App integrations | ✓ | ✓ |
| SAML single sign-on | ✓ | ✓ |
| Compliance exports & audit logs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Self-hosted deployment | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI search & summaries | ✓ | ◐ |
Price at your volume
The same comparison recomputed at three sizes. Plan caps change who is cheapest.
| Scenario | Zulip | Rocket.Chat |
|---|---|---|
| 3 seats | $3.50/mo | $0/mo (Starter) |
| 10 seats | $3.50/mo | $0/mo (Starter) |
| 25 seats | $3.50/mo | $0/mo (Starter) |
Plans & pricing, side by side
Advertised prices in USD as observed on the official pricing pages — per-seat and transaction-fee plans are marked.
| Starter | Free |
| Commercial | Contact sales |
| Government | Contact sales |
| Defense | Contact sales |
| 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/mo |
| Self-hosted Business | $8/seat/mo |
| Self-hosted Enterprise | Contact sales |
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Frequently asked
How much cheaper is Rocket.Chat than Zulip?
100% cheaper in our scenario (10 seats, monthly billing): $0/mo on Starter vs $3.50/mo on Self-hosted Basic. That is $42 a year.
What does Rocket.Chat lack compared with Zulip?
Nothing among the 9 capabilities we compared.
When were these prices checked?
Zulip: 2026-09-07; Rocket.Chat: 2026-08-31 — on the official pricing pages.
Sources & freshness
- https://zulip.com/plans/ (official_pricing, checked 2026-09-07)
- Rocket.Chat data last verified 2026-08-31