Zulip alternatives
Team Chat & Messaging · zulip.com
Zulip is an open-source team chat application with topic-based threading, available as a managed cloud service or self-hosted deployment.
Switching to Slack, which covers 67% of the compared capabilities.
Find my alternative
Way less money.
Top Zulip alternatives
We compared 12 products and found 5 cheaper options (1 of them covers at least half the compared features) · vs Zulip Self-hosted Basic at $35/mo for 10 seats ($3.50/seat) · scenario: 10 seats, monthly billing, USD.
Zulip costs $35/mo on the Self-hosted Basic plan at 10 seats, monthly billing. We found 5 assessed alternatives that are cheaper in this scenario; 0 of them cover at least 75% of the 9 compared capabilities.
| Product | Match | Price | Annual savings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Discord Nitro Basic plan · missing: Audio/video calls & screen sharing, Guest & external collaboration, SAML single sign-on, Compliance exports & audit logs, Self-hosted deployment, AI search & summaries | 33% | $2.99/mo how? ⓘ | $384.12 / year 91% cheaper | |
Zoho Cliq Standard plan · missing: Guest & external collaboration, SAML single sign-on, Compliance exports & audit logs, Self-hosted deployment, AI search & summaries | 44% | $18/mo how? ⓘ | $204 / year 49% cheaper | |
Pumble PRO plan · missing: Guest & external collaboration, SAML single sign-on, Compliance exports & audit logs, Self-hosted deployment, AI search & summaries | 44% | $29.90/mo how? ⓘ | $61.20 / year 15% cheaper |
Which Zulip alternative for which situation
Picked by the numbers in this scenario — same subtype unless stated, assessed products only.
- Best free plan
- Slack — $0/mo (Free plan) · covers 67%
- Best paid drop-in
- Discord — $2.99/mo (Nitro Basic plan) · covers 33%
- Need channels & group messaging, threaded conversations, audio/video calls & screen sharing, guest & external collaboration, app integrations or AI search & summaries?
- Slack — from $0/mo (Free plan)
What you give up
Capabilities Zulip has that the top alternatives lack.
- Audio/video calls & screen sharing — Make audio or video calls with screen sharing.Missing from Twist.
- Guest & external collaboration — Invite people outside your organization into a conversation.Missing from Pumble, Zoho Cliq.
- SAML single sign-on — Sign in through your company's SAML single sign-on.Missing from Slack, Pumble, Twist, Zoho Cliq.
- Compliance exports & audit logs — Export message history and audit logs for compliance.Missing from Slack, Pumble, Twist, Zoho Cliq.
- Self-hosted deployment — Run the chat platform on your own infrastructure.Missing from Slack, Pumble, Twist, Zoho Cliq.
- AI search & summaries — Search and summarize conversations with an AI assistant.Missing from Pumble, Twist, Zoho Cliq.
Price at your volume
The same comparison recomputed at three sizes. Plan caps change who is cheapest.
Feature comparison
Zulip vs the top alternatives, on the 9 compared capabilities.
| Capability | Zulip | Slack | Pumble | Twist | Zoho Cliq |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channels & group messaging from Zulip Cloud Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Threaded conversations from Zulip Cloud Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Audio/video calls & screen sharing from Zulip Cloud Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Guest & external collaboration from Zulip Cloud Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| App integrations from Zulip Cloud Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SAML single sign-on from Zulip Cloud Plus | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Compliance exports & audit logs | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Self-hosted deployment from Self-hosted Free | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AI search & summaries | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Scenario price cheapest qualifying plan | $35/mo Self-hosted Basic | $0/mo Free | $0/mo FREE | $0/mo Free | $0/mo Free |
✓ 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 Zulip covers
The capability set used for comparison. Grey entries are not available on self-serve plans.
- ✓ Channels & group messaging — from Zulip Cloud Free
- ✓ Threaded conversations — from Zulip Cloud Free
- ✓ Audio/video calls & screen sharing — from Zulip Cloud Free
- ✓ Guest & external collaboration — from Zulip Cloud Free
- ✓ App integrations — from Zulip Cloud Free
- ✓ SAML single sign-on — from Zulip Cloud Plus
- ✓ Compliance exports & audit logs
- ✓ Self-hosted deployment — from Self-hosted Free
- ✓ AI search & summaries
Price ladder
Observed prices from the official pricing page.
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
Every claim traces to an official source and a check date.
- https://zulip.com/plans/ (official_pricing, checked 2026-10-28)
Frequently asked
How much does Zulip cost?
Zulip's Self-hosted Basic plan costs $35/mo in our scenario (10 seats, monthly billing). A free plan exists.
Is there a free Zulip alternative?
Yes. Slack has a free plan that covers 67% of the 9 capabilities we compared against Zulip.
What is the cheapest Zulip alternative?
In our scenario (10 seats, monthly billing), Slack is the cheapest assessed alternative at $0/mo (Free plan).
Does Zulip have a free plan?
Yes. Zulip's free plan exists; its limits are not stated on the pricing page.
When were these prices checked?
Between 2026-10-26 and 2026-10-29, on the vendors' official pricing pages.