---
title: "Zulip Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra"
description: "Is Zulip the right Remote Work solution for you? Explore 196 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice."
source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/197945/Zulip/reviews/"
page_type: "reviews"
language: "en"
publication_date: "2026-09-28"
---

Zulip

4.9 (196)

[View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/197945/Zulip/alternatives/)

Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/)

* * *

Last updated September 28th, 2026

# Reviews of Zulip

Ease of use

4.6

Customer Service

4.8

## Pros and Cons in Reviews

JM

Jessica M

CEOFinancial Services, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years.

“Zulip is exactly the right structure -- each topic is its own conversation thread -- to make the chat history easy to review and retrieve information from even at high conversation volume.“

October 31, 2025

KB

Karin B

Operations ManagerRetail, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years.

“Closing out the app does not change the status. When a user is invisible we don't know if they are not currently working or whether they are just immersed in work in another window and the Zulip app has gone idle.“

December 6, 2024

TP

Tommaso P

Associate professorHigher Education, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years.

“We use Zulip for discussions between devs and maintainers, and to offer support for users. Since ns-3 is made by many models, I love that the discussions can be organised by channels and threads. Plus, Zulip gives us a simple way to check at a glance the status of issues and merge requests on GitLab, which is great.“

December 6, 2024

KB

Karin B

Operations ManagerRetail, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years.

“Can't save customized status posts and does not automate an off-duty status when user closes app.“

December 6, 2024

NC

Niels C

CEOBiotechnology, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years.

“Great value for money, Opinionated and strictly sorted in topics, New stable mobile app, Secure, Custom emojis are fun, Simple user management“

October 31, 2025

RR

Roxanne R

Assistant ProfessorResearch, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months.

“It could be user error but I'm supposed to get desktop notifications and they don't appear, on my bookmarks bar the red # showing messages is very delayed.“

December 12, 2024

SG

Stefano G

ResearcherResearch, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months.

“Everything works smoothly, you can create channels, manage private messages, share files, organize meetings, be notified of what you care about“

December 9, 2024

KB

Krzysztof B

CEOComputer Software, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years.

“Search does not always work, looking for a "youtube" do not find links to youtube.“

October 31, 2025

## Showing most helpful reviews

Showing 1-25 of 196 Reviews

Sort by:

Most Helpful

Rating

Company Size

Reviewer's Role

Length of Use

Frequency of Use

Alberto M.  
Researcher  
Research  
Used the software for: 6-12 months

### "Excellent framework for managing research groups"

December 6, 2024

5.0

Pros

Very simple and intuitive. Possibility to write latex and markdown. Free.

Cons

iPad app is the same of the mobile one. But I think that it deserves an app similar to the desktop. The mobile app is too simple, with many options not already available.

Switched from

[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

This supports natively Latex formulas, which are essentials for very fast calculations.

Review Source

RL

Rasmus L.  
CEO  
Computer Software  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Great product with great features and pricing"

November 10, 2025

5.0

We have been using Zulip for more than 5 years, and it just grows on you. It works really well, and the more you use it, the better it seems. For many products this is the other way around. We are a company of 30 and have around 70 users including guests. Zulip is our main communication channel - we barely use e-mail any longer. We chose Zulip over Slack (and many other alternatives) after an extensive research period. Zulip is not perfect, but we have never regretted our choice.

Pros

It's threaded by default, efficient and feature-rich. Love the structure of it all. Reasonable priced. Guests are free (hosted version). Search actually works, and there are many notification settings.

Cons

Some media, such as embedded images/video, could be displayed nicer. Some notification settings are missed, e.g.: "don't disturb in these hours" etc. Design and UX polish is getting better, but it still seems a bit lagging compared to other competitors.

Alternatives considered

[Google Chat](https://www.capterra.com/p/175800/Chat/)[Rocket.Chat](https://www.capterra.com/p/161575/Rocket-Chat/)[Discord](https://www.capterra.com/p/240238/Discord/)[Mattermost](https://www.capterra.com/p/170524/Mattermost/)[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

Better pricing. Better feature set for us (threading enforced). Open Source - possible to self-host.

Review Source

PZ

Paul Z.  
Associate director  
Education Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Perfect chat for serious asynchronous collaboration "

December 6, 2024

5.0

Wonderful. Makes me feel like I’m flying at 30000 feet.

Pros

Ease of use; intelligent threading. Ideal for detailed asynchronous discussion. I use it for math-heavy work with teams of 100 or so. And great, fast support!

Cons

Hard to clone old orgs to make new orgs. I’d like to duplicate some channels.

Alternatives considered

[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

Better and was easier to use and it has better math features and markdown integration

Review Source

JC

Jen C.  
Chief of Staff  
Information Technology and Services  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Great alternative to big name chat systems"

October 30, 2025

5.0

We use it as our primary channel of comms at our company and it's been easy to use, everybody uses it, and we really appreciate the ability to host it on our own internal hardware and control the privacy settings

Pros

It's easy to use, I like the color-coding and ability to create channels & topics. If you've used any other type of group chat you'll pick it up

Cons

if you have a lot of channels & topics it can take a while to scroll through relevant ones or sometimes it's hard to find what I'm looking for, especially when it auto-collapses between DM and channels

Switched from

[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

my boss didn't like slack and wanted to use a non corporate platform

Review Source

YS

Yorgos S.  
Software Engineer  
Non-Profit Organization Management  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Finally! Threads, done right! Thank you Zulip!"

November 17, 2025

5.0

Pros

Zulip is like a breath of fresh air after working with slack / discord and the like for so many years and struggling with their "threads" implementation. In Zulip, you can - wait for it - \*\*move messages\*\* to the right topic! Once a thread goes off-topic, it's so easy to spin off a different discussion and just move all the messages to the right place. With Zulip, you can finally have \*\*on-topic\*\*, organised, discussions in an instant messaging app! So, not only does Zulip improve on the UX of instant messaging, but it's also Open Source and can be self-hosted. What more to ask for ?

Cons

Not much. There was a little bit of a learning curve with streams / topics, but it's one of those things that makes it worth it so much that there's no going back.

Switched from

[Discord](https://www.capterra.com/p/240238/Discord/)[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Improved UX plus the important option of self-hosting and owning your data.

Review Source

JW

Jacob W.  
Maintainer  
Computer Software  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Fast, high quality team chat"

January 31, 2026

5.0

Pros

Zulip's interface is very fast, and both the web and mobile apps work well. When we reported a bug in Zulip, the team responded extremely quickly with both a fix and deploying the updated code. There's a wealth of options for private and public channels, types of notifications and their behavior, and robust permissions.

Cons

Zulip has some unique preferences about threading in channels, where every post is intended to be associated with a "topic". It makes sense once you are used to it, but it requires a little relearning.

Switched from

[Element](https://www.capterra.com/p/214578/Element/)

I found Element/Matrix to be slow and we had issues getting support for issues from the main homeserver. Notifications frequently misbehaved and the banner feature for us, the IRC bridge, was shut down.

Review Source

CB

Cole B.  
Associate Professor of Pediatrics  
Research  
Used the software for: Less than 6 months

### "Zulip for a 100% remote academic research group"

November 3, 2025

5.0

Zulip has been a game changer for our group’s collaboration. It combines the immediacy of chat with the structure of email, allowing complex projects and parallel discussions to stay organized without chaos. We no longer lose context between meetings; every idea, file, and decision is easy to find and build on. It has fundamentally improved how we communicate, document, and coordinate our research.

Pros

Zulip has been an exceptional tool for our research group. Its threaded messaging makes it far easier to follow multiple topics at once compared to chat platforms that collapse everything into one stream. The search and navigation features are excellent; messages are easy to retrieve months later, which has made it ideal for keeping track of discussions and shared resources between meetings. The value for money is outstanding, especially for an academic setting (academic sponsorship FTW!). The integration and automation options (bots/webhooks, GitHub/Zoom integrations) have streamlined our workflow. It’s also an excellent way to organize knowledge between meetings, so important context doesn’t get lost.

Cons

The learning curve can be a bit steep for new users unfamiliar with streams and topics, but this is rare in the real-world. The mobile app interface feels less fluid than the desktop or web versions, but is still a great convenience. A few minor integrations require manual setup or API familiarity.

Alternatives considered

[GitHub](https://www.capterra.com/p/129067/GitHub/)[Microsoft Teams](https://www.capterra.com/p/168668/Microsoft-Teams/)[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

MS Teams is just awful; GitHub didn't have all the features we needed; Slack doesn't have the features we needed

Review Source

LC

Luca C.  
CTO  
Information Technology and Services  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Zulip at Yonderlabs"

October 31, 2025

5.0

Pros

Ease to use. Customizable. Transparent. Fair. Moreover, they have a responsive and competent customer support, for the one time we needed it.

Cons

Channel threading is a great option, until you don't need it. The UI is less polished, compared to other competitors, but in the end this turned out to be a plus: We are here for the functionalities, not for the gifs.

Alternatives considered

[Discord](https://www.capterra.com/p/240238/Discord/)[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

Because its more open and fair, and they don't try to sell you the greatest experience ever ever, it's an honest product that does its job well.

Switched from

[Microsoft Teams](https://www.capterra.com/p/168668/Microsoft-Teams/)

(Skype could not be chosen in the menu above...) Skype was discontinued, but honestly, it was about time.

Review Source

Response from Kandra Labs

November 3, 2025

Hi Luca, I'd like to make sure you're aware of the relatively new option to disable topics in a channel. https://zulip.com/help/general-chat-channels I hope that helps!

VR

Verified Reviewer  
Tech Lead  
Computer Software  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Highly recommended"

December 11, 2024

5.0

We have been using it successfully at work for some years now, I'm very glad we chose Zulip instead of Slack or Teams.

Pros

Most organized communication/"chat" tool. Easy to catch up on conversations. Solves the problem of "cross-talking" in channels. Also the most programmer-friendly tool, the syntax highlighting, markdown and LaTeX support are extraordinary.

Cons

Doesn't have an integrated video meeting + screen sharing tool, but it can integrate with other tools.

Switched from

[Rocket.Chat](https://www.capterra.com/p/161575/Rocket-Chat/)

Rocket chat was getting "old" and harder to maintain.

Review Source

VR

Verified Reviewer  
Executive Director  
Non-Profit Organization Management  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "We really like it!"

December 6, 2024

5.0

Radically improved my team's communication.

Pros

You can move conversations between topics. Totally a game-changer for us.

Cons

This is a really small thing, but the "follow this topic" thing is something I'd like to turn off – I just want to follow all topics. Also, it would be nice if you could use check boxes to select message that you'd like to move (as opposed to just "all following" or "only this one").

Alternatives considered

[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

Moving threads was a cool feature that we wanted to try.

Review Source

AS

Adam S.  
CTO  
Political Organization  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "A breath of fresh air after Slack, Telegram, Discord etc.!"

December 7, 2024

5.0

I love Zulip and wish I never had to use Slack or Telegram again.

Pros

Zulip’s unique topic-based threading model is a complete game-changer in terms of being able to prioritize attention to discussions which matter the most. In contrast, Slack's anonymous threading model is about as sensible as if email was designed without any Subject header. Imagine if your email inbox was full of messages none of which you were able to know what they were about without opening up and reading each one individually! Being able to move messages between topics to keep conversation threads clean and easy to follow is magical. Furthermore, the fact that it's Open Source guarantees long-term freedom to use and enhance however anyone wants.

Cons

Zulip doesn't enjoy the same network effects as Slack and Discord, therefore there are a lot fewer third party integrations. Also there are one or two gaps in the keyboard shortcuts, e.g. switching between channels should be easier, but it should be easy to fix these.

Alternatives considered

[Telegram](https://www.capterra.com/p/180347/Telegram/)[Rocket.Chat](https://www.capterra.com/p/161575/Rocket-Chat/)[Discord](https://www.capterra.com/p/240238/Discord/)[Mattermost](https://www.capterra.com/p/170524/Mattermost/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

Zulip’s unique topic-based threading model makes communication much more efficient and stress-free.

Switched from

[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Zulip’s unique topic-based threading model makes communication much more efficient and stress-free.

Review Source

DJ

Dirk J.  
Owner  
Computer Software  
Used the software for: 6-12 months

### "Excellent Small Business Collaboration Tool"

December 6, 2024

5.0

As a business owner, I have used Slack, Guilded, and other tools to communicate with my team, and once we switched to Zulip, we have never looked back. It feels like a glove on the hand - you know its there, but it is not in the way and you can focus on the work at hand.

Pros

Clean interface. Elegant UI decisions. Has every feature I'd want in a team collaboration tool. It is always available.

Cons

I honestly have no complaints about Zulip. I've had no issues with it, and it always performs as expected. It is rock-solid.

Alternatives considered

[Discord](https://www.capterra.com/p/240238/Discord/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

Discord is not really focused on small businesses.

Switched from

[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Slack was too expensive and Guilded changed their policies so I could not use it any more.

Review Source

R-

Rihards -.  
Community member  
Non-Profit Organization Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Zulip makes chat actually useful"

December 10, 2024

5.0

Pros

The chat functionality in the web client is awesome for distributed teams - well, for any team, actually. Splitting in topics, all the formatting options, integration of automation really great. If somebody has only used, let's say, MSTeams chat, Zulip will blow them out of water. From excitement.

Cons

The mobile app didn't seem to be as polished - for example, the recent topic view could not be found anywhere.

Alternatives considered

[Telegram](https://www.capterra.com/p/180347/Telegram/)[Discord](https://www.capterra.com/p/240238/Discord/)[Microsoft Teams](https://www.capterra.com/p/168668/Microsoft-Teams/)[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

Other solutions were much worse functionally or very closed, proprietary.

Switched from

[Discord](https://www.capterra.com/p/240238/Discord/)[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Ease of access, great organisation in topics, very easy to follow conversations in real time and jumping in every now and then, public archive, opensource.

Review Source

IP

Inessa P.  
Open Source Program Manager  
Computer Software  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Delightful, reliable, open source"

December 6, 2024

5.0

Using Zulip has been a delightful experience, and its open source model makes it an even more compelling choice.

Pros

Zulip's unique threading model stands out as its strongest feature, making it easy to follow multiple conversations within a single channel without losing context. The ability to search across streams and topics with advanced filters is another highlight for me.

Cons

The mobile app occasionally lags behind in performance compared to the desktop version.

Switched from

[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

The changes to the free plan rendered it impractical for our needs.

Review Source

AL

Ash L.  
Founder  
Computer Software  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Slack, but Free and Superior"

December 6, 2024

5.0

We've had a pretty seamless and positive experience with Zulip.

Pros

It's such high-quality software for it to be an open-source tool. Despite some advanced features requiring payment, you can get most of the fundamentals along with some really cool tools on the completely free plan.

Cons

It would be nice if you could attach your personal Zoom room to the "Start Meeting" button. This may already be a feature, or be a paid feature, but I'm not entirely sure that it's available. The channel structure of Zulip relying on topic threads does require slightly more manual organization than a continuously running channel.

Switched from

[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Slack is too expensive and not really worth the investment, especially for small teams. It also has a clunky design.

Review Source

GC

Grant C.  
CEO  
Information Technology and Services  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Zulip ROCKS!"

December 8, 2024

5.0

It is the best chat system. I've used Microsoft Teams, Slack, Discord, Google Chat (Hangouts) and many others. Zulip is the best.

Pros

The interface with Channels, Topics, and Private chats

Cons

It's missing a notes feature, but that's not its core function.

Alternatives considered

[Signal](https://www.capterra.com/p/231395/Signal/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

Mostly because it is free and open source

Switched from

[Telegram](https://www.capterra.com/p/180347/Telegram/)

Privacy matters to us and it is a free open source project

Review Source

DK

Dave K.  
Director of Programs  
Education Management  
Used the software for: 6-12 months

### "Fantastic! A+++"

December 7, 2024

5.0

Pros

It's a wonderful, smooth, secure alternative to Slack - perfect for our growing community.

Cons

Nothing - all great! I only wish I had found it earlier.

Alternatives considered

[Discord](https://www.capterra.com/p/240238/Discord/)[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

Ease of use. Functionality. Cost. Display of math.

Switched from

[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Security, cost and ease of displaying math

Review Source

CL

Christine L.  
Chair and president  
Primary/Secondary Education  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "User friendly tech solution for most communication platform issues"

December 6, 2024

5.0

We love it, its been great. Would highly recommend for any other not for profit, volunteer run organization, or otherwise!

Pros

The ease of everything. Organization, ease of access, emails with message details. Its all really great

Cons

For those less familiar with software like slack or teams, it can be a little bit challenging to learn.

Alternatives considered

[Microsoft Teams](https://www.capterra.com/p/168668/Microsoft-Teams/)[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

Functionality and document management primarily

Switched from

[Zoom Workplace](https://www.capterra.com/p/144037/Zoom-Video-Conferencing/)

Not everyone had access to a premium subscription, making communications challenging

Review Source

KB

Krzysztof B.  
CEO  
Computer Software  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Golden review from Warsaw Dynamics"

October 31, 2025

5.0

I like UI, channels/topics organization. Please to use it. Totally would recommend to other software teams/companies.

Pros

Zulip comes at reasonable price. Whenever we contacted Zulip support we received response in timely manner. People familiar with Slack do not have problem with switching to Zulip. Web version works great. I love plain and simple markdown. Bots integration works well.

Cons

Notifications on phone do not work. Not a problem for me because after work I do not need notifications. Search does not always work, looking for a "youtube" do not find links to youtube.Often content of code snippets are excluded from search.

Review Source

SD

Stefano D.  
Researcher  
Research  
Used the software for: 6-12 months

### "Zulip is great for researchers"

November 2, 2025

5.0

Very, very positive. I use it for my research activity, where I share news with my collaborators across the globe.

Pros

The platform is free for researchers, works on every OS, and allows you to type in markdown. It’s well-structured for multi-directional conversations.

Cons

It has a few bugs when refreshing, and often I have to restart the application. When this happens, I miss messages for my collaborators.

Review Source

Ryan S.  
Associate Professor  
Information Services  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Zulip is great for communicating with students"

December 10, 2024

5.0

Zulip is fantastic software written by people who clearly use it themselves.

Pros

I use Zulip to communicate with classes of 25–40 students. It is far more efficient than using the communication tools in Canvas, and the mobile app is great for students and for me. Plus there is fantastic support for Markdown, code blocks, images and videos, etc.

Cons

There is really nothing I find lacking about this software.

Switched from

[Canvas](https://www.capterra.com/p/127214/CANVAS/)

Zulip’s far superior communication tools

Review Source

RR

Roxanne R.  
Assistant Professor  
Research  
Used the software for: 6-12 months

### "Zulip is a logistical boost for new professors/research groups!"

December 12, 2024

5.0

As a new professor, I thought it was a great way to stay organized with my growing/new lab members and also people who wish to collaborate with me, and I'm also on other folks' Zulips. I also like that it's easy to link in pages to other places that I use actively like Notion.

Pros

The easy ways to organize information and people on separate channels. Usually I think being hyper-compartmentalized on other platforms makes things worse, here I think it actually works. I really like breaking down projects/topics more and pulling in who I want on a channel.

Cons

The notifications on my browser aren't effective. It could be user error but I'm supposed to get desktop notifications and they don't appear, on my bookmarks bar the red # showing messages is very delayed. I also think visually when writing a reply in a channel, it gets messy so I often choose to start a new message than reply directly to one.

Review Source

SG

Siddhartha G.  
Professor  
Research  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Zulip just works for Maths and Code"

December 6, 2024

5.0

I learnt of Zulip because of its use by the Lean community, where it has been superb. Over the years I have seen software communities (mainly scala earlier) move between various discussion forums, always trying to tradeoff. With Zulip everything is essentially as it should be, allowing asynchronous coordination of workflows involving code and mathematics in an intuitive and clean fashion. Except for the phase when Gitter was well maintained, Zulip is the first forum which just works.

Pros

\* It has excellent support for code and mathematics, and also images. \* Its markdown-based composition support is also excellent, including nice features like timezone independent times. \* It has a very convenient streams and threads model, allowing for focussed discussions over time. \* The apps are good, especially the desktop app. \* The developers are responsive to feature requests and issues raised.

Cons

I have not faced any real issues with Zulip.

Review Source

TP

Tommaso P.  
Associate professor  
Higher Education  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "It does things well, and it doesn't try to mess with your other tools (unless you want to)."

December 6, 2024

5.0

We use Zulip for discussions between devs and maintainers, and to offer support for users. Since ns-3 is made by many models, I love that the discussions can be organised by channels and threads. Plus, Zulip gives us a simple way to check at a glance the status of issues and merge requests on GitLab, which is great. Overall experience: 7 out of 5.

Pros

Simple, direct, integrated with the tools we use (GitLab and GitHu mainly). However, the thing I love the most is that it does its job and doesn't try to do everything (like managing my calendar and email).

Cons

Bots are not intuitive, especially if you're using the could version.

Alternatives considered

[Rocket.Chat](https://www.capterra.com/p/161575/Rocket-Chat/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

It did fit our needs more than RocketChat

Review Source

JLG

Juan Luis G.  
Vice-President  
Research  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Excellent app"

December 7, 2024

5.0

Pros

Open source Flexibility Diversity of functions Improvement over time Great desktop app

Cons

The smartphone app could be improved, in particular the handling of several organizations simultaneously

Alternatives considered

[Discord](https://www.capterra.com/p/240238/Discord/)[Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)

Reason for choosing Zulip

It's open source. It has no ads. It's free.

Review Source

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