sitealternatives
Team chat · 12 alternatives

Instead of Zulip, try one of these 12.

Every alternative is lined up against Zulip on what people actually switch for: price, open source, self-hosting, offline use and platforms. Zulip sits in the first row, so you can see what you give up.

Show onlySorted by likes · 12 of 12
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
ZulipWhat you have now
Threaded team chat that keeps busy conversations organised.
PriceFreemium
from $7/seat
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
WhatsApp#1
The world’s default messaging app, tied to a phone number.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Slack#2
Channel-based messaging for teams and companies.
PriceFreemium
from $8/seat
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Telegram#3
Cloud chat with channels, bots and large group support.
PriceFree
premium $5/mo
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Signal#4
End-to-end encrypted messaging from a nonprofit.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Discord#5
Voice, video and text chat for communities and friends.
PriceFreemium
Nitro $10/mo
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Element#6
Decentralised, encrypted chat built on the Matrix protocol.
PriceFree
hosting from $5
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Mattermost#7
Secure, self-hostable collaboration for technical teams.
PriceFreemium
from $10/seat
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Rocket.Chat#8
Open-source communications platform with omnichannel support.
PriceFreemium
from $4/seat
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Tox#9
Peer-to-peer encrypted chat and video calls
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · Android
Matrix#10
Open federated protocol powering decentralized chat and calls.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Wire#11
Encrypted messaging and calls aimed at business users.
PriceFreemium
from $7/mo
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
SimpleX Chat#12
Messaging with no identifiers at all — not even a username.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · iOS · Android · Mac · Linux · Win

How to read this. “Yes” means fully supported by the maker. “Partial” means it works with caveats. Likes reflect community popularity; vendors can’t pay for them or for placement. How we compare.

Zulip alternatives at a glance

Zulip is a freemium team chat app (from $7/seat). We compared 12 alternatives: 8 are open source, 7 are completely free, 4 can be self-hosted and 1 works fully offline. The most popular is WhatsApp, with 4.2k likes.

Most liked overallWhatsApp

The world’s default messaging app, tied to a phone number.

Free
Best free optionTelegram

Cloud chat with channels, bots and large group support.

Free
Best open-source optionSignal

End-to-end encrypted messaging from a nonprofit.

Free · Open source
Best to self-hostElement

Decentralised, encrypted chat built on the Matrix protocol.

Free · Open source · Self‑hostable

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