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Zulip vs Campfire: catalog facts
Zulip	Campfire
Freemium The server and clients are free and open source and can be self-hosted at no cost. Zulip…	Free No subscription; the code is published on GitHub.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android	Web, Self-hosted
Topic-based threading inside channels, which makes catching up genuinely practical Self-hostable, or hosted, with free plans for open-source communities	Installs on your own server with one command Familiar layout for people coming from Slack or Teams
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	You have to run and maintain the server yourself Covers chat basics rather than a large integration ecosystem
Downloadable app	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: Apache-2.0	License: MIT
Account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Needs internet	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026

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