Zoho Cliq
Team Chat & Messaging · www.zoho.com
Zoho Cliq is a team chat and UCaaS platform offering messaging, channels, audio/video meetings and admin controls for organizations.
Switching to Slack saves $216 / year and covers 100% of the compared capabilities.
Find my alternative
Way less money.
Top Zoho Cliq alternatives
We compared 12 products and found 9 cheaper alternatives · vs Zoho Cliq Standard at $18/mo for 10 seats ($1.80/seat) · scenario: 10 seats, monthly billing, USD.
Zoho Cliq’s own free plan covers this scenario. If you’re paying for features you don’t use, downgrading beats switching. The paid comparison below is for when you’ve outgrown free tiers — the “Free plans” view shows alternatives if you want free with different limits.
Zoho Cliq costs $18/mo on the Standard plan at 10 seats, monthly billing. We found 9 assessed alternatives that are cheaper in this scenario; 7 of them cover at least 75% of the 5 compared capabilities. The cheapest option that covers everything we compared is Slack at $0/mo (Free plan), 100% less. Zoho Cliq's own free plan covers this scenario, so downgrading may beat switching.
| Product | Match | Price | Annual savings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Discord Nitro Basic plan · missing: Channels & group messaging, Threaded conversations, App integrations, Workflow automation | 20% | $2.99/mo how? ⓘ | $180.12 / year 83% cheaper | |
TOP PICK Zulip Self-hosted Basic plan · missing: Workflow automation | 80% | $3.50/mo how? ⓘ | $174 / year 81% cheaper |
Which Zoho Cliq alternative for which situation
Picked by the numbers in this scenario — same subtype unless stated, assessed products only.
- Best full coverage
- Slack — $0/mo (Free plan) · covers 100%
- Best free plan
- Slack — $0/mo (Free plan) · covers 100%
- Best open source or self-hosted
- Rocket.Chat — $0/mo (Starter plan) · covers 100%
- Need channels & group messaging, threaded conversations, audio/video calls & screen sharing, app integrations or workflow automation?
- Slack — from $0/mo (Free plan)
What you give up
Capabilities Zoho Cliq has that the top alternatives lack.
- Audio/video calls & screen sharing — Make audio or video calls with screen sharing.Missing from Mattermost.
- Workflow automation — Automate routine steps directly within chat.Missing from Element.
Price at your volume
The same comparison recomputed at three sizes. Plan caps change who is cheapest.
Feature comparison
Zoho Cliq vs the top alternatives, on the 5 compared capabilities.
| Capability | Zoho Cliq | Slack | Rocket.Chat | Mattermost | Element |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channels & group messaging from Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Threaded conversations from Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Audio/video calls & screen sharing from Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| App integrations from Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Workflow automation from Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scenario price cheapest qualifying plan | $18/mo Standard | $0/mo Free | $0/mo Starter | $0/mo Entry | $0/mo Community |
✓ means the product offers the capability — possibly only on a higher tier than the plan priced below it. The price row shows the cheapest plan that qualifies for our comparison scenario, with its plan name; a $0 free plan may not include every checked capability.
What Zoho Cliq covers
The capability set used for comparison. Grey entries are not available on self-serve plans.
- ✓ Channels & group messaging — from Free
- ✓ Threaded conversations — from Free
- ✓ Audio/video calls & screen sharing — from Free
- ✓ App integrations — from Free
- ✓ Workflow automation — from Free
Price ladder
Observed prices from the official pricing page.
Sources
Every claim traces to an official source and a check date.
- https://www.zoho.com/cliq/pricing.html (official_pricing, checked 2026-09-07)
- https://www.zoho.com/cliq/pricing/support-plans.html (official_pricing, checked 2026-09-07)
Frequently asked
How much does Zoho Cliq cost?
Zoho Cliq's Standard plan costs $18/mo in our scenario (10 seats, monthly billing). A free plan exists.
Is there a free Zoho Cliq alternative?
Yes. Slack has a free plan that covers 100% of the 5 capabilities we compared against Zoho Cliq.
What is the cheapest Zoho Cliq alternative?
In our scenario (10 seats, monthly billing), Slack is the cheapest assessed alternative at $0/mo (Free plan).
What is the cheapest Zoho Cliq alternative with Audio/video calls & screen sharing?
Slack covers Audio/video calls & screen sharing and costs $0/mo (Free plan) in our scenario.
Does Zoho Cliq have a free plan?
Yes. Zoho Cliq's free plan exists; its limits are not stated on the pricing page.
When were these prices checked?
Between 2026-08-25 and 2026-09-07, on the vendors' official pricing pages.