Slack vs Zulip
Slack
slack.comZulip
zulip.comSide by side
| Figure | Slack | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $8.75/mo | $3.50/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 7 |
| Spec score · Team chat apps | 9.5 (#2) | 9.4 (#3) |
| Spec score · Instant Messaging Software | 8.9 (#4) | 8.6 (#9) |
| Spec score · Business Instant Messaging - Enterprise Software | 8.9 (#3) | 8.6 (#8) |
| Spec score · Business Instant Messaging - Midmarket Software | 8.9 (#4) | 8.6 (#9) |
| Spec score · Team Communication Software | 8.8 (#5) | 8.6 (#8) |
| Spec score · Remote Working software | 9.0 (#7) | 8.6 (#12) |
| Spec score · Team Collaboration Software | 8.8 (#9) | 8.6 (#12) |
| Channels | Yes | Channels define the audience for conversations and can be public or private. |
| Data encryption | Slack encrypts data at rest and in transit by default. | Clients use TLS over HTTPS, Cloud data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and mobile push content uses end-to-end encryption that hides message metadata from push providers. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Guest access | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Salesforce,Jira,Google Drive,ChatGPT,Asana,Miro,Notion,Zoom,GitHub,GitLab,PagerDuty,Box,Dropbox,Zendesk,Freshdesk,HubSpot | Zulip lists more than 130 native integrations and hundreds more through Zapier and IFTTT. |
| Message history | limited | limited |
| Supported platforms | web,windows,macos,linux,ios,android,api | web,Windows,macOS,Linux,iOS,Android,API |
| Security controls | Security features include two-factor authentication, access logs, SSO, device management, and data loss prevention. | Self-hosted deployments can run behind firewalls or on air-gapped networks and offer configurable password, session, timeout, log-rotation and API-rate-limit policies. |
| Paid from | 7.25 | 3.5 |
Plans
Zulip
- Cloud FreeFree
- Cloud Standard$6.67 a month
- Cloud Plus$10 a month
- Self-hosted FreeFree
- Self-hosted Basic$3.50 a month
- Self-hosted Business$6.67 a month
- Self-hosted EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Slack
Slack is a team collaboration platform organized around messages, channels and connected apps. It supports guest access and integrations including Salesforce, Jira, Google Drive, Asana, Zoom, GitHub and Notion; its App Directory offers over 2,600 apps. Slack runs on the web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, and supports an API. The free plan is ₹0 and free forever, with 90 days of searchable message history and up to ten apps. Free users can hold one-to-one audio and video meetings with screen sharing, and send one-to-one external messages through Slack Connect. Paid plans offer unlimited message history and group external messaging with up to 250 organizations. Annual billing starts at $7.25 per user per month; monthly Pro is $8.75 per month. Workflow Builder automates routine tasks without coding. AI features include summaries, search, daily recaps, file summaries, Slackbot and workflow generation. Slack encrypts data at rest and in transit by default; security controls include two-factor authentication, access logs, SSO, device management and data loss prevention.
Zulip
Zulip is team chat software that organizes conversations in channels and supports guest access. It runs on the web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, and also supports an API. Listed integrations include GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Calendar, Zoom, Jitsi Meet, Zapier, IFTTT, Sentry, and Zendesk. Zulip offers cloud and self-hosted plans. Cloud Free costs nothing and includes 10,000 messages of search history and 5 GB total file storage. Cloud Standard is $6.67 a month, billed annually, with 5 GB file storage per user. Self-hosted Basic is $3.50 a month, billed monthly. Other options include Cloud Plus, Self-hosted Free, Self-hosted Business, and Self-hosted Enterprise. Cloud Plus and Self-hosted Business have minimum user counts of 10 and 25, respectively. Zulip was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States.