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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Web App

Zulip

Open-source team chat where every conversation has a topic, so threads stay readable.

Visit Zulip4.5

  • Rating

    4.5 / 5

  • Pricing

    Freemium

  • Difficulty

    Intermediate

  • Works on

    Web, macOS, Windows

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What is Zulip?

Zulip is open-source team chat (Apache 2.0) that organises messages into channels and topics, so you can catch up on one conversation at a time instead of scrolling a single stream. Zulip Cloud has a free plan with 10,000 messages of search history and 5 GB of file storage, and the self-hosted version is free with every feature included. Paid cloud plans start at $6.67 per user a month billed annually.

Pros: what Zulip does well

  • Topics keep busy channels easy to follow asynchronously
  • Free self-hosted version with all features
  • Open source under Apache 2.0

Cons: where it falls short

  • Free cloud plan only searches the latest 10,000 messages
  • The topic model takes a little getting used to

Who Zulip is for

Remote and open-source teams that work asynchronously across time zones.

Who can skip it

Small groups that just want a quick, casual chat.

Compare Zulip

See how Zulip stacks up, side by side, plus the lists it made.

Zulip alternatives

Not sold on Zulip? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All Communication resources

Mattermost

Focus: devops. Shares team chat and self-hosted with Zulip. Rated 4.4 (Zulip: 4.5).

Web AppFree planWeb, Windows
4.4Visit

Rocket.Chat

Focus: omnichannel. Shares team chat and self-hosted with Zulip. Rated 4.2 (Zulip: 4.5).

Web AppFree planWeb, Windows
4.2Visit

Twist

Focus: async communication. Shares team chat and threads with Zulip. Rated 4.4 (Zulip: 4.5).

Web AppFree planWeb
4.4Visit

Element

Focus: matrix and messaging. Shares open source and self-hosted with Zulip. Rated 4.3 (Zulip: 4.5).

Web AppFree planWeb, Windows
4.3Visit

Pumble

Focus: messaging, channels and free plan. Shares team chat and slack alternative with Zulip. Rated 4.4 (Zulip: 4.5).

Web AppFree planWeb, macOS
4.4Visit

Mumble

Focus: voice chat, audio and github. Shares self-hosted and open source with Zulip. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Zulip: Freemium). Rated 4.4 (Zulip: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit

Free alternatives to Zulip

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

Docmost

Focus: wiki, documentation and confluence alternative. Shares self-hosted and open source with Zulip. Free (Zulip: Freemium). Rated 4.7 (Zulip: 4.5).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.7Visit

Screenity

Focus: screen recorder, loom alternative and annotation. Shares open source with Zulip. A browser extension, not a web app. Free (Zulip: Freemium). Adds Chrome. Rated 4.7 (Zulip: 4.5).

Browser ExtensionFreeChrome
4.7Visit

BookStack

Focus: wiki, documentation and github. Shares self-hosted and open source with Zulip. Free (Zulip: Freemium). Rated 4.6 (Zulip: 4.5).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.6Visit

Gitea

Focus: git hosting, code review and issues. Shares self-hosted and open source with Zulip. Free (Zulip: Freemium). Rated 4.6 (Zulip: 4.5).

Web AppFreeWeb, Linux
4.6Visit

NetBird

Focus: vpn, private network and wireguard. Shares open source with Zulip. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Zulip: Freemium). Rated 4.6 (Zulip: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit

Wiki.js

Focus: wiki, documentation and github. Shares self-hosted and open source with Zulip. Free (Zulip: Freemium). Rated 4.6 (Zulip: 4.5).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.6Visit
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