Compare software

Microsoft Teams (free)Zulip
Freemium

Free edition available; Teams Essentials costs $4 per user per month, paid yearly.

 Freemium

The server and clients are free and open source and can be self-hosted at no cost. Zulip…

Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Web Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
  • Chat, file sharing and meetings in one app
  • Meetings of up to 100 participants on the free tier
  • Topic-based threading inside channels, which makes catching up genuinely practical
  • Self-hostable, or hosted, with free plans for open-source communities
  • Requires a Microsoft account
  • Proprietary and tied to Microsoft services
  • The topic model takes getting used to and needs team discipline to work
  • The desktop client shares most of its code with the web app, so it inherits its quirks
Downloadable app, Web application Downloadable app
Closed source Open source
License not stated License: Apache-2.0
Account needed Account needed
Needs internet Needs internet

Checked September 23, 2026

Checked September 21, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.