Zulip

Rating: 4.4

User Satisfaction: 87%

Zulip is a tool that provides threaded chat for teams and communities so they can stay organized, collaborate across time zones, and manage discussions more clearly.

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Overview

Zulip is a chat and collaboration platform designed around the idea of topic-threaded discussions rather than just free-flowing chat streams. It offers both a cloud-hosted version and a self-hosted version (open source) so you can pick the deployment model that fits you.

If you’ve ever felt lost in a long chat channel (lots of side-conversations, hard to catch up), Zulip’s model helps you keep discussions organized. Teams working asynchronously (remote, across time-zones) benefit especially: you can jump into the conversation where you left off, or start a topic without disrupting other threads. Because it’s open-source and offers self-hosting, it also appeals to organizations concerned about data control, compliance, or budget.

Details

Tool Launch / Founded Date

Approx. 2012-01 (project originated in 2012)

Best for

Distributed (remote/time-zone) teams that need structured discussions Open-source projects, academic/research groups that prefer self-hosting or open-source tools Organizations keen on data control/compliance or self-hosting to reduce vendor lock-in

Access Type

Cloud (SaaS) subscription model Self-hosted (open-source, you host your own server)

Licensing Model

The software is 100% open-source (Apache License 2.0) for self-hosting. For the cloud version, you subscribe under their terms; your data is yours and you can export/import.

Feature

Structured threading: each channel/stream contains topics so messages stay organised.
Full-stack apps: web browser, desktop (Windows/Mac/Linux), mobile (iOS/Android) and even terminal clients.
Large integration ecosystem: 130+ native integrations, thousands via Zapier/IFTTT, custom webhooks/API for bots.
Self-hosting option: full control over data, compliance, open-source code base.
Flexible deployment: you can start with cloud and move to self-host (and vice-versa) thanks to data import/export tools.Permissions & enterprise features: custom user roles, guest accounts, SSO/SCIM (on higher plans) etc.

Pricing Tables

Free

10,000 messages of search history
File storage up to 5 GB total
Complete team chat solution
Hundreds of integrations
Advanced roles and permissions
Guest accounts
Many organizations are eligible for a free Standard plan

Standard

$6.67 /user/month

Unlimited search history
File storage up to 5 GB per user
Flexible permissions with custom groups
Message retention policies
Brand Zulip with your logo
Priority commercial support
Public access option

Plus

$10 /user/month

All Standard plan features
SSO with SAML (Okta, OneLogIn, etc.)
SCIM user and group sync
Custom domain
Limit user list access for guests
Priority commercial support

Analytics

Traffic Analysis

Domain Rating
73

Organic Traffic
169650

Majority Users
United States

Visits Over Time

No visit data found.

Traffic Sources

No traffic data found.

Last Update Date: 2025-11-16

FAQ

Can I use Zulip commercially and own my data? ▼

Yes. With the cloud version your data lives in Zulip’s infrastructure but you retain ownership and can export/import. With self-hosting you fully control your data.

What’s the limit on messages or users? ▼

On the Free cloud plan you’re limited to 10,000 searchable messages and 5 GB storage total. For larger usage you need the Standard or Plus plan.

Can I customize or build integrations? ▼

Absolutely. Zulip offers a REST API, webhooks, bots framework and supports integrations via Zapier/IFTTT. You can build custom logic, send messages to streams, respond to events.

Does Zulip support video calls natively? ▼

It supports voice/video calls via any external provider you configure (Zoom, Jitsi, BigBlueButton etc.), rather than being a full native video conferencing platform.

If I'm self-hosting, how often are new features released? ▼

For Zulip Cloud you get updates every few weeks. For self-hosting, feature releases are about twice a year with maintenance in between.

What do I get in the top plan vs starter? ▼

In the Plus plan you get enterprise-grade features like SAML/SCIM, custom domain, guest access controls and priority support. In the Free plan you get full chat basics but less history/search/storage and fewer enterprise features