--- title: Zulip Reviews meta_title: 'Zulip Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 117 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Zulip works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.6 review_count: 117 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-08-09' parent_category: name: Internal Communications url: https://www.g2.com/categories/internal-communications --- # Zulip Reviews **Vendor:** Kandra Labs **Category:** [Business Instant Messaging Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/business-instant-messaging) **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 117 ## About Zulip Zulip is an organized team chat application for distributed teams. Zulip’s 100% open-source software is available as a cloud service or a self-hosted solution. With conversations organized by topic, Zulip is ideal for both live and asynchronous communication Zulip serves startups, and small and mid-sized businesses, as well as communities with up to tens of thousands of members. It’s used by thousands of organizations around the world. Developed as an open-source project since 2015, Zulip is stewarded and financially supported by a values-driven company designed for long-term sustainable development. ## Zulip Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users find Zulip's **ease of use** exceptional, benefiting from intuitive conversation organization and user-friendly features. (32 reviews) - Users appreciate the **abundant features** of Zulip, including organized discussions, threading, and seamless communication for collaborative work. (29 reviews) - Users praise Zulip's **excellent organization** of discussions, enhancing clarity and efficiency in communication. (26 reviews) - Users value the **effective communication** provided by Zulip, enhancing collaboration and organization within teams. (22 reviews) - Users find Zulip's **intuitive interface** greatly improves communication and collaboration, making discussions organized and efficient. (16 reviews) - Users value the **intuitive thread organization** in Zulip, enhancing team collaboration and discussion management significantly. (13 reviews) - Daily Use (10 reviews) - User Interface (10 reviews) - Convenience (9 reviews) - Setup Ease (9 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users find Zulip has a steep **learning curve** , making adoption and usability challenging for new users. (11 reviews) - Users experience **integration issues** with Zulip, facing confusion, unreliable features, and difficulties with onboarding and usage. (7 reviews) - Users find the mobile app **not intuitive** , struggling with navigation and often misposting in the wrong channels. (7 reviews) - Users are frustrated with the **missing features** in Zulip, especially in the Android app and navigation options. (6 reviews) - Users experience **connectivity issues** with Zulip, including lagging messages and unreliable mobile app performance. (4 reviews) - Users face **file sharing issues** with limited attachment sizes and experience bugs affecting notifications and loading times. (4 reviews) - Users experience a **lack of clarity** in posting locations, causing confusion and unintended messages in channels. (4 reviews) - Performance Issues (4 reviews) - Software Glitches (4 reviews) - Complexity (3 reviews) ## Zulip Reviews ### 1. Good idea, rough edges, painful for broad adoption **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 20, 2026 **What do you like best about Zulip?** The topic/thread model is smart, when it works you can follow discussions without drowning in noise. It keeps conversations organized and integrations route notifications well. For engineering teams it can reduce pointless pings when everyone follows topics correctly. **What do you dislike about Zulip?** In practice, Zulip is harder to adopt than people expect. New users are confused by streams/topics, admins spend time training people, and the mobile app is unreliable. notifications are inconsistent and often duplicated. Search is weak for older threads, and some integrations behave erratically. The UI feels dated and clunky compared to Slack or Teams, which makes onboarding slower. For self-hosting, upgrades and scaling can be painful without strong ops experience. **What problems is Zulip solving and how is that benefiting you?** It does keep threads discoverable, reducing some meetings, but the overhead to maintain discipline (topics, muting, notification rules) often offsets those gains for larger, less-disciplined teams. ### 2. Effortless Topic Management and Seamless Integrations **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 10, 2025 **What do you like best about Zulip?** Zulip has become our go-to tool for daily communication. The way it organizes conversations into topics feels intuitive and helps keep discussions focused. It's especially well-suited for technical staff, since it supports straightforward formatting with MarkDown. If you need to add more functionality, the API is user-friendly and makes it easy to create new integrations quickly. Reaching out to support is also convenient, as you can contact them directly through their own Zulip instance. In my experience, their responses are usually prompt and courteous. **What do you dislike about Zulip?** Unfortunately, our non-technical departments struggle to get started with Zulip because of its primarily text-based interface. Introducing a non-power user mode, perhaps with a more WYSIWYG approach, would make onboarding these teams faster and reduce their initial resistance. **What problems is Zulip solving and how is that benefiting you?** This is a straightforward and efficient solution for chat communication. ### 3. LaTeX + Code Rendering, Great for Academia **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Research | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 31, 2025 **What do you like best about Zulip?** LaTeX & Code rendering. Sponsored Pro plan for academic teams. **What do you dislike about Zulip?** Topic structure is unfamiliar to new users. **What problems is Zulip solving and how is that benefiting you?** Team communication ### 4. Amazing tool for managing a community **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Lloyd M. | Work group co-chair, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 31, 2024 **What do you like best about Zulip?** Our standards organization started using Zulip about 8 years ago. The ability to differentiate between streams (high-level collections of discussion threads users can follow or not) from threads is hugely powerful. We often have 5-20 different conversations happening simultaneously in the same stream and without threading, everything would be a muddled mess. The ability to add plugins to support specific software languages or other specialized content has been icing on the cake. The ability to monitor streams, to filter streams by keyword, to search within or across streams, the ability to link to any discussion and make the stream public have all been essential for a public-facing organization like ours. I've needed to use a variety of other tools in the same spacewith various customers and within my own company and none of them compare in terms of functionality or ease-of-use. (And the support we receive from the Zulip maintainers has been spectacular.) **What do you dislike about Zulip?** Newcomers sometimes struggle to understand the distinction between streams and threads and occasionally post to the wrong place, but it's easy enough for community moderators to move content as necessary and the learning curve is shallow enough that everyone gets the hang of things pretty quickly. **What problems is Zulip solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use it to support communication in a community of over 25k active users. Our volunteer organization has a large number of work groups, each of which has a variety of projects and areas of interest. Participants span the globe. Zulip is our primary tool for coordination of project work as well as our means of supporting the community. Our shared discussions offer a goldmine of content for those new to the organization and help us maintain an institutional memory as participants come and go. The private message and private group functions make it easy to have quick discussions between individuals, leadership, or other closed groups. ### 5. A comprehensive team chat solution for collaborative teams **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Kelly K. | Product manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 02, 2025 **What do you like best about Zulip?** It allows users to organize conversations by topic, making it easy to follow discussions and find information **What do you dislike about Zulip?** The unique threading model and features overwhelming, requiring time to adjust and learn **What problems is Zulip solving and how is that benefiting you?** streamlined communication features, such as @-mentions and direct messages, facilitate efficient communication among team members. ### 6. Versatile messaging platform for a research center **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rasmus P. | Professor, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 01, 2024 **What do you like best about Zulip?** We have used Zulip as the internal messaging platform for the BARC research center at University of Copenhagen for over two years. Users are BARC researchers, visitors and students. It is used for everything from organizing social activities to coordinating research projects and papers. The user interface is friendly and the threaded nature of channels is powerful. We will definitely keep using it for the foreseeable future. **What do you dislike about Zulip?** Getting used to threads can be confusing for new users (sometimes messages end up in the wrong thread by mistake). Also, don't expect a lot of integrations with other tools -- at least we tend to use Zulip as stand-alone, using links to point to external resources. **What problems is Zulip solving and how is that benefiting you?** See above ### 7. Zula does it better **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Dan M. | President, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 26, 2024 **What do you like best about Zulip?** Zulip serves as a communication hub for a dispersed community of small groups. It provides privacy for each of the groups and also the flexibility of creating channels for collaboration among them. One of the best features of the platform is the ability to thread discussions within the private channels. No more having to sort through different topics that come in during the same time frame. To be able to discuss specific issues in a single thread within a private channel is a game changer. It isn't enough to have posts in chronological order. We need to be able to sort by topic. Zulip does this and I don't know any other platform that does. Also, it is private and self-contained and it is open source. You don't get nagging to upgrade or or pay more for something. What a relief! Most of our users use zulip for our extended community only, which means that anything that comes to them through the platform is separate from their other media streams. Finally, there is a feature list that is a mile long. It seems like every week or so I discovered something that zulip does that I didn't know it did. Kudos to the development team! I am an enthusiastic advocate of Zulip. I think some of my friends get tired of me nudging them to make better use of its capabilities. **What do you dislike about Zulip?** The downside to zulip is that it is unfamiliar. Users are inclined to resist using it because it isn't slack or something else that they already know. Very frustrating. Moreover, the extra functionality is sometimes difficult for people to grasp. Once they do, it's beautiful. Another downside may be strictly cosmetic. It doesn't have a lot of the flash and flowers that make some communication portals look pretty. As an administrator I prefer function over aesthetics, but I suspect some users are disappointed that there aren't more ways to beautify the interface. They Wonder if zulip is a second class substitute for the more flashy stuff they've used before. Be assured that it isn't, but I wonder if some users think that way. I think the app could stand some tweaking to enhance usability and attaching files take some getting used to. **What problems is Zulip solving and how is that benefiting you?** Communication within small groups. Communication among small groups. Direct messaging between individuals. Flexibility to create groups for special interests and needs. We need a comprehensive communication tool that allows channels to function autonomously but also collaborate with other groups. Moreover, it is helpful to bring direct messaging into the same platform. Finally, we conduct a lot of meetings which results in group decisions. To be able to refer to the history of discussions is extremely helpful. It is the equivalent of taking detailed minutes of meetings. ### 8. Experience with Zulip while managing a research lab **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Arani B. | Assistant Professor, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 01, 2024 **What do you like best about Zulip?** (1) Very easy to organize discussion using the concept of topics (2) Good support for Linux-based and Android systems (3) Easy posting of source code using markdown language **What do you dislike about Zulip?** If you are moving from Slack, the interface takes getting used to **What problems is Zulip solving and how is that benefiting you?** We have a large number of users joining in the lab, and then leaving after they graduate or their internships are completed. Zulip allows open communication with them. ### 9. Zulip makes communication within rust-lang possible **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Marco I. | Infrastructure Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 01, 2024 **What do you like best about Zulip?** I like how Zulip handles topic and channels, enabling to unsubscribe to topic you're not interested in. I find that the approach of threads (used by many competitors) might lead to people loosing valuable messages. **What do you dislike about Zulip?** Zulip takes some time to learn how to use it, but once you get used to it, it's great! **What problems is Zulip solving and how is that benefiting you?** Communicating with other team members and with other teams. ### 10. Great free open source collaboration platforms **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Tal A. | Professor, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 31, 2024 **What do you like best about Zulip?** It has everything that other platforms (Slack, Teams) have, but it if free! **What do you dislike about Zulip?** opening and nesting new channels is not always straightforward **What problems is Zulip solving and how is that benefiting you?** smooth and modular communication between team members, with full searchable record of all history ### 11. Zulip for communication in a research group **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Biotechnology | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 04, 2024 **What do you like best about Zulip?** Zulip offers a powerful communication platform at an affordable price point, backed by a responsive and user-friendly open-source software. Its versatility and customizability make it an attractive option for businesses and individuals alike. **What do you dislike about Zulip?** While the platform's flexibility allows users to create unique topics, it might require some initial effort to navigate. **What problems is Zulip solving and how is that benefiting you?** Communicate very fast, substituting the emails in the work enviroment ## Zulip Discussions - [Does Zulip have an app?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/does-zulip-have-an-app) - 1 comment - [View Zulip pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/zulip/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1156873&qs=pros-and-cons§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-14+21%3A21%3A02+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=76f0ab09-dcb7-4dcb-8ca0-bf2e2162bdd8&secure%5Btoken%5D=fa2ec4b70a2c84285ecb794f2f04a05b6b5b980f01bb1488f23a3b1ece02be7e&format=llm_user) ## Zulip Integrations - [GitHub](https://www.g2.com/products/github/reviews) - [GitLab](https://www.g2.com/products/gitlab/reviews) - [Jira](https://www.g2.com/products/jira/reviews) ## Zulip Features **Additional Functionality** - Third-Party Integrations - To-Do List - @mentions - Single Sign On - File Management - Activity Dashboard - Drag & Drop - Alerts/Notifications - Prioritization - Access Controls/Permissions - Screen Sharing - Content Management - Brainstorming - AI Copilot - File Transfer - Calendar Management - Status Tracking - Real-Time Notifications - Version Control - Task Management - Activity Tracking - Real Time Editing - Communication Management - Chat/Messaging - Tagging - Generative AI - Assignment Management - Task Scheduling - Project Management - Collaboration Tools - Workflow Management - Secure Data Storage - File Sharing - Document Storage - Task Progress Tracking - Discussions/Forums - Commenting/Notes - Reporting & Statistics - Contact Management - Video Conferencing - Progress Tracking - Mobile Access - API - Document Management - Customizable Branding **Business Instant Messaging** - File Sharing - Notifications - Search - Screen Sharing - Alerts/Notifications **Business Instant Messaging ** - Audio Conferencing - Video Conferencing - Two-Way Audio & Video - Conferencing **Business Instant Messaging** - Mobile Application - Web Application - Third-Party Integrations - Active Directory Integration **Generative AI - Business Instant Messaging** - Text Summarization **AI - Business Instant Messaging** - AI Powered Search - Smart Notifications - AI Powered Language Translation - Content Generation - Generative AI **Agentic AI - Business Instant Messaging** - Cross-system Integration - Natural Language Interaction - Multi-Language **Additional Functionality** - Group Messaging - Bulk Send - Meeting Management - Mobile Access - Rich Text Editor - Role-Based Permissions - Discussions/Forums - Transcripts/Chat History - Contact Management - User Management - Message Recall - Canned Responses - Document Storage - Collaboration Tools - Activity Dashboard - Reporting & Statistics - Multi-Channel Communication - Workflow Configuration - Single Sign On - Access Controls/Permissions - Task Management - Reminders - Read Receipts - @mentions - API - AI Copilot - Real-Time Chat - SSL Security - Data Import/Export - Email Management - Search/Filter - Secure Data Storage - Activity Tracking - Broadcast Messaging - Customizable Branding - Drag & Drop - Commenting/Notes - Employee Database - One-to-One Messaging - Event Calendar - Tagging - Customizable Templates - Real-Time Updates - Employee Photos - Mobile Alerts - Engagement Tracking - Blogs ## Top Zulip Alternatives - [Slack](https://www.g2.com/products/slack/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (37,517 reviews) - [Rocket.Chat](https://www.g2.com/products/rocket-chat/reviews) - 4.2/5.0 (348 reviews) - [Mattermost](https://www.g2.com/products/mattermost/reviews) - 4.3/5.0 (354 reviews)