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Zulip vs Microsoft Teams (free): catalog facts
Zulip	Microsoft Teams (free)
Freemium The server and clients are free and open source and can be self-hosted at no cost. Zulip…	Freemium Free edition available; Teams Essentials costs $4 per user per month, paid yearly.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Web
Topic-based threading inside channels, which makes catching up genuinely practical Self-hostable, or hosted, with free plans for open-source communities	Chat, file sharing and meetings in one app Meetings of up to 100 participants on the free tier
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	Requires a Microsoft account Proprietary and tied to Microsoft services
Downloadable app	Downloadable app, Web application
Open source	Closed source
License: Apache-2.0	License not stated
Account needed	Account needed
Needs internet	Needs internet
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

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