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Head-to-head · Team Chat Apps

Zoho Cliq vs Zulip

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score Zoho Cliq #3 in Team Chat Apps 9.1/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Zoho Cliq
Zulip #6 in Team Chat Apps 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Zulip

Zoho Cliq leads on 0 checks, Zulip on 0, and 3 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 3 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreZoho Cliq · 9.1/10
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialonly Zoho Cliq

Zoho Cliq scores higher on our rubric for team chat apps: 9.1 against 8.7 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #6.

On message history, Zoho Cliq gives you Unlimited where Zulip offers Limited.

Zoho Cliq is the better fit for teams in the Zoho ecosystem. Zulip is the better fit for teams that prefer topic-based discussions.

  • Zoho Cliq fits best

    Teams in the Zoho ecosystem

  • Zulip fits best

    Teams that prefer topic-based discussions

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Side by side

Feature Zoho Cliq 9.1/10 Visit ↗ Zulip 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.1 8.7
Ranking #3 in Team Chat Apps #6 in Team Chat Apps
Best for Teams in the Zoho ecosystem Teams that prefer topic-based discussions
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price — $3.50/user/mo
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial 14 days —
Deployment Cloud, Desktop, Mobile Cloud, Self-hosted, Desktop, Mobile
Platforms Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
Support Email, Live chat, Phone, Community, Docs Email, Live chat, Phone, Community, Docs
Compliance GDPR, 2FA GDPR, SSO/SAML
Integrations 7 integrations 130+ integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Zoho Cliq 2/2 · Zulip 2/2
Channels ✓ ✓
Guest access ✓ ✓
Specs
Message history Unlimited Limited
Integrations Zoho People, Zoho Projects, Zoho Calendar, Zoho Notebook, Office 365, Twitter, third-party extensions GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Calendar, Zoom, Jitsi Meet, Zapier, IFTTT, Sentry, Zendesk
Supported platforms web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, API web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, API
Maximum members 100000 users Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Free plan includes messaging, meetings, screen sharing, and file storage
  • Covers channels, calls, tasks, bots, administration, and external collaboration
  • Runs across web, desktop, mobile, Linux, and API environments
  • Topic-based threads keep discussions organized and searchable
  • 130+ native integrations plus API, webhooks, Zapier and IFTTT
  • Cloud and self-hosted options support varied deployment needs
Cons
  • Free message history is limited
  • Paid plan prices are not shown here
  • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple chat teams
  • Cloud Free limits searchable history to 10,000 messages
  • Cloud Plus requires a 10-user minimum
  • Self-hosted Free has limited mobile notifications for some organizations
Our verdict

Zoho Cliq is a business communication and collaboration platform for organizations and distributed teams. It brings one-to-one and group messaging, organization and team channels, searchable conversations, file sharing, audio and video…

Read the review →

Zulip is an open-source team chat application for organizations ranging from small teams to thousands of users. Its central design is topic-based threading inside channels, which supports both real-time and asynchronous communication.…

Read the review →
  1. Zoho CliqTeam Chat Apps 9.1Free plan · 14-day trial
  2. ZulipTeam Chat Apps 8.7Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Zoho Cliq — where it wins

    • Free plan includes messaging, meetings, screen sharing, and file storage
    • Covers channels, calls, tasks, bots, administration, and external collaboration
    • Runs across web, desktop, mobile, Linux, and API environments

    Where it doesn't

    • Free message history is limited
    • Paid plan prices are not shown here
    • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple chat teams

  • Zulip — where it wins

    • Topic-based threads keep discussions organized and searchable
    • 130+ native integrations plus API, webhooks, Zapier and IFTTT
    • Cloud and self-hosted options support varied deployment needs

    Where it doesn't

    • Cloud Free limits searchable history to 10,000 messages
    • Cloud Plus requires a 10-user minimum
    • Self-hosted Free has limited mobile notifications for some organizations

More comparisons

All team chat apps comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update