Free Team Chat Apps
Which team chat apps a startup team can use for free today, how much message history the free plan keeps, how many members and integrations it allows, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each app's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Team chat apps change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the app's page before your team moves its conversations there.
Team chat apps a startup can use for free today include Pumble (Unlimited users and chat history), Zulip (Free self-hosted, all Zulip features), Slack (Free forever, chat and 1:1 meetings), Rocket.Chat (Free self-managed Community workspace), and Microsoft Teams (Free meetings up to 60 minutes). Each of the 10 free plans below links to the app's page that states it, with its main limit, how much message history it keeps, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
A team chat app is where a startup talks all day: channels, direct messages, quick calls and the integrations that post into them. Almost every team chat app has a free plan, and open-source ones are free to run yourself.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. A free plan can hide messages older than 90 days, cap members or integrations, or keep longer calls for paid plans. Each app below shows what is free, its main limit, how much history it keeps, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the app's own page with the date we read it.
Which apps we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which apps are listed or where.
Team chat apps with a free plan
Channels, direct messages and calls for a team, with a free plan to start.
- 1
Pumble
Teams that want unlimited users and history for free
Pumble's FREE plan allows unlimited users and the entire chat history, with up to 3 apps and integrations. Its Pro plan is US$ 2.49 per seat a month, billed annually.
- Message history
- Entire chat history, unlimited (source: pumble.com)
- First paid plan
- Pro: US$ 2.49 a seat a month, annual (source: pumble.com)
- 2
Slack
A familiar chat workspace with channels and 1:1 calls
Slack's Free plan is free forever, with 1:1 meetings, up to 10 apps and 90 days of message history.
- Message history
- 90 days (source: slack.com)
- 3
Microsoft Teams
Teams that want chat and video meetings at no cost
The free version of Teams offers meetings free for up to 60 minutes and up to 100 participants per meeting. Teams Essentials, the paid plan on Microsoft's comparison page, is $4.00 a user a month.
Start free at MicrosoftTerms read on microsoft.com on Microsoft Teams: the free allowance and how to start - 4
Zoho Cliq
Small teams that want chat, files and meetings in one app
Zoho Cliq's Free plan includes messaging, file storage and meetings with screen share, with up to 100 participants per meeting and 10,000 searchable messages. Standard is US$16.20 a month for up to 25 users, billed annually.
- Message history
- 10,000 searchable messages (source: zoho.com)
- 5
Chanty
Small teams of up to five with unlimited searchable history
Chanty's Free plan has unlimited public and private chats and unlimited searchable history, for up to 5 team members.
- Message history
- Unlimited searchable history (source: chanty.com)
- 6
Flock
Teams of up to 20 that need chat without a fee
Flock's Starter plan is free for teams with 1-20 members, with unlimited 1-1 and group messages, 10 public channels and 10,000 searchable messages.
- Message history
- 10,000 searchable messages (source: flock.com)
- 7
Discord
Communities and groups that talk in voice and text
Discord says its core voice and text communication will always be free, with no server, user cap or messaging fees. Nitro, the optional paid plan, is $2.99 a month.
- First paid plan
- Nitro: $2.99 a month (source: discord.com)
- 8
Twist
Teams that work in threads and accept one month of history
Twist's free plan keeps one month of comments and messages visible, with up to 5 GB of file storage and up to 5 integrations. Its paid Unlimited plan keeps the full history.
- Message history
- 1 month of comments and messages (source: twist.com)
Open-source team chat you can self-host
Free to run on your own servers, some with a free cloud tier.
- 1
Zulip
Teams that want a free cloud plan or to self-host for free
Zulip's Free cloud plan keeps 10,000 messages of search history with up to 5 GB of file storage. Self-hosting Zulip is free, and its Standard cloud plan is $6.67 a user a month, billed annually.
- Message history
- 10,000 messages of search history (source: zulip.com)
- First paid plan
- Standard cloud: $6.67 a user a month (source: zulip.com)
- 2
Rocket.Chat
Teams that want to host their own team chat
Rocket.Chat's Community edition is a free self-managed workspace, with core collaboration and security features included.
Start free at Rocket.ChatTerms read on rocket.chat on Rocket.Chat: the free allowance and how to start
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How this comparison is built
The list covers team chat apps a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each app's terms. Every term comes from the app's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A short message history or a cap on integrations can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the app states them. Some of these apps pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a app appears, and no app pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free team chat app?
It depends on what you need to keep. By the terms each app states, Pumble's free plan keeps unlimited users and chat history, Slack's free plan keeps 90 days of message history, Flock is free for teams of up to 20 members, and Zulip is free to self-host with all its features.
How long does Slack's free plan keep messages?
Slack's free plan keeps 90 days of message history, and includes chat and 1:1 meetings.
What is a free Slack alternative?
Pumble is free with unlimited users and history (up to 3 integrations), Zoho Cliq is free for chat, files and meetings, and Zulip and Rocket.Chat are open source and free to self-host.
Is Microsoft Teams free?
Microsoft Teams has a free version with meetings up to 60 minutes and up to 100 participants. Teams Essentials costs $4.00 a user a month.
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