Best Lark Alternatives in 2026
The top Lark alternatives are Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoho Cliq: 15 team chat apps our editors would look at instead of Lark, in our ranking order.
Lark: A broad collaboration workspace with valuable free access and paid tiers for scale. Where it falls short: starter is limited to 20 users and 18 months of message history.
Switching from Lark? For most team chat apps buyers the best Lark alternative is Microsoft Teams, built for organizations using Microsoft 365. On a budget, Pumble starts at $2.49/seat/mo. Zoho Cliq offers the most maximum members (100000 users).
Why People Look for a Lark Alternative
- Starter is limited to 20 users and 18 months of message history
- Paid plans are billed annually at their listed per-user rates
- Advanced security and compliance controls are limited to Enterprise
Quick Picks by What You Need
- Best overallMicrosoft Teams9.4
Organizations using Microsoft 365
Visit Microsoft Teams - Lowest pricePumble8.0
Paid plans from $2.49/seat/mo
Visit Pumble - Best free optionMicrosoft Teams9.4
Has a free plan
Visit Microsoft Teams - Most maximum membersZoho Cliq9.1
100000 users
Visit Zoho Cliq
All 15 Lark Alternatives, Ranked
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
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Best forOrganizations using Microsoft 365
- Better than Lark:
- Editor score 9.4 vs 8.6
A broad team chat workspace with a free plan and deep Microsoft 365 integration.
- Guest access
- Channels
9.4/10★★★★★Try Microsoft Teams -
Best forIntegration-heavy teams
- Better than Lark:
- Editor score 9.3 vs 8.6
A capable team-chat hub for integration-heavy teams, with limited free history.
- Guest access
- Channels
9.3/10★★★★★Visit Slack -
Best forTeams in the Zoho ecosystem
- Better than Lark:
- Editor score 9.1 vs 8.6
A broad team chat suite with strong Zoho ecosystem fit and a capable free plan.
- Guest access
- Channels
9.1/10★★★★★Visit Zoho Cliq -
Best forSelf-hosted technical teams
- Better than Lark:
- Editor score 8.9 vs 8.6
A flexible team chat platform for technical teams that need self-hosting and automation.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit Mattermost -
Best forOrganizations needing controlled deployments
- Better than Lark:
- Editor score 8.8 vs 8.6
A flexible, open-source chat platform for controlled and isolated deployments.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit Rocket.Chat -
Best forTeams that prefer topic-based discussions
- Better than Lark:
- Editor score 8.7 vs 8.6
A flexible, topic-focused team chat with cloud and self-hosted plans.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit Zulip -
Best forTeams wanting free chat plus work tools
A broad team chat workspace with a capable free Starter plan and useful work tools.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit Flock -
Best forCommunities centered on voice and live interaction
A capable community chat platform built around voice, live interaction, and streaming.
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Discord -
Best forNextcloud and self-hosted organizations
A flexible open-source team chat option for Nextcloud and self-hosted organizations.
- Guest access
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Nextcloud Talk -
Best forSecurity-focused organizations needing federation
A security-focused team chat app with federation, encryption, and broad client support.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Wire -
Best forPrivacy-focused and sovereign teams
A privacy-focused, open-source chat platform for teams needing control and federation.
- Guest access
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Element -
Best forTeams seeking low-cost full chat
A low-cost team chat app with unlimited history and a broad feature set.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Pumble -
Best forBudget-conscious collaborative teams
A low-cost team workspace combining chat, collaboration tools, and searchable history.
- Guest access
- Channels
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Chanty -
Best forRegulated teams needing external interoperability
A compliance-focused team chat platform for regulated financial-services organizations.
- Guest access
- Channels
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit Symphony -
Best forAsync, thread-focused teams
A structured team chat app for asynchronous, thread-focused collaboration.
- Guest access
- Channels
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Twist
Lark Alternatives: Common Questions
What is the best alternative to Lark?
Microsoft Teams: #1 in our Team Chat Apps ranking, with an editor score of 9.4 out of 10. A broad team chat workspace with a free plan and deep Microsoft 365 integration.
Is there a free alternative to Lark?
Yes. Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoho Cliq, Mattermost and Rocket.Chat have a free plan or a free tier (13 of the 15 alternatives on this page).
What is the cheapest paid alternative to Lark?
Of the alternatives here that publish a price, Pumble starts lowest, at $2.49/seat/mo.
Why do people look for Lark alternatives?
Starter is limited to 20 users and 18 months of message history; Paid plans are billed annually at their listed per-user rates; Advanced security and compliance controls are limited to Enterprise.
Which Lark alternative has the most maximum members?
Zoho Cliq, with 100000 users.
How do I switch from Lark?
Export your data from Lark (most tools have an export in their settings). Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one. Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on. Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Lark.
How to Switch from Lark
- Export your data from Lark (most tools have an export in their settings).
- Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one.
- Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on.
- Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Lark.
Lark vs Each Alternative
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Channels | Guest access | Message history | Integrations | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Lark | Yes | Yes | Limited | Exchange, Outlook, Google Calendar, Gmail, AnyCross, Lark Developer, Lark Base | 8.6 | ||
| 1 | Microsoft Teams | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Microsoft 365, SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, Exchange, Planner, Forms, Power BI, OneNote, Power Apps, Power Automate, LinkedIn | 9.4 | |
| 2 | Slack | Yes | $7.25/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Limited | Salesforce, Jira, Google Drive, ChatGPT, Asana, Miro, Notion, Zoom, GitHub, GitLab, PagerDuty, Box, Dropbox, Zendesk, Freshdesk, HubSpot | 9.3 |
| 3 | Zoho Cliq | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Zoho People, Zoho Projects, Zoho Calendar, Zoho Notebook, Office 365, Twitter, third-party extensions | 9.1 | |
| 4 | Mattermost | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365, Outlook, ServiceNow, Zoom, Pexip, Splunk, Zapier | 8.9 | |
| 5 | Rocket.Chat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | GitHub, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Meet, Jira Cloud, Microsoft Teams, Pexip, Telegram, Trello, WhatsApp, Zapier, Zoom | 8.8 | |
| 6 | Zulip | Yes | $3.50/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Limited | GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Calendar, Zoom, Jitsi Meet, Zapier, IFTTT, Sentry, Zendesk | 8.7 |
| 7 | Flock | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited | Google Drive, Google Calendar, GitHub, Trello, Dropbox, Twitter, Bitbucket, Asana, Jira, Zapier, Zoom, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Todoist, GitLab, Zendesk, Freshdesk, OneDrive, Mailchimp | 8.5 | |
| 8 | Discord | Yes | $29.99/user/yr | 8.4 | ||||
| 9 | Nextcloud Talk | €71.29/user/yr | No | Yes | Nextcloud Files, Nextcloud Groupware, Nextcloud Calendar, Nextcloud Deck, Nextcloud Whiteboard, Matterbridge, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Matrix, IRC, Slack, Mattermost, XMPP, Pexip, SIP | 8.3 | ||
| 10 | Wire | Yes | €7.45/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Poll, Reminder, GitHub | 8.2 | |
| 11 | Element | Yes | No | Yes | Unlimited | Etherpad, Grafana, Google Calendar, Jitsi, Spotify, YouTube, Ethercalc, TradingView, GitHub, RSS Bot, GitLab, Jira, Webhooks | 8.1 | |
| 12 | Pumble | Yes | $2.49/seat/mo | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Google Calendar, Plaky, Clockify, AI Assistant, Calendly, Email, GitHub, GitLab, Gmail, Google Drive, Jira, Polls, RSS, Zapier | 8.0 |
| 13 | Chanty | Yes | $3/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Zapier, Giphy, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, YouTube, Vimeo, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Trello, Asana, Google Calendar, Mailchimp, Jira, Box, ClickUp, Clockify, Loom, Basecamp, Wrike, Process Street, Make, Monday.com, HubSpot, n8n | 7.9 |
| 14 | Symphony | No | Yes | Yes | DTCC, FinTech Studios, FlexTrade, Hammerstone Markets, HSBC Global Research, ipushpull, Morgan Stanley Research, Saphyre, Taskize, TradingView, Appian, DataParser, Genesis, Jira, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Symantec, Unqork, LINE, Microsoft Teams, SMS, WeChat, WhatsApp, Zoom | 7.8 | ||
| 15 | Twist | Yes | $6/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Limited | Todoist, Asana, CircleCI, GitHub, GitLab, Jira Software, Make, n8n, Pipedream, Zapier, Google Calendar, Calendly, Jitsi Meet, Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Sheets, OneDrive, Box, Trello | 7.7 |
Head-to-Head
- Lark vs Microsoft Teams
- Lark vs Slack
- Lark vs Zoho Cliq
- Lark vs Mattermost
- Lark vs Rocket.Chat
- Lark vs Zulip
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update