DingTalk vs Lark (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Lark grades higher than DingTalk: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
DingTalk grades higher on the free plan and features. Lark grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
DingTalk
Chat, meetings, docs and approvals in one work platform
Lark
All-in-one suite of chat, meetings, docs, email and workflows
Which one is for you
Pick DingTalk if
- Fits if a small company wants chat, meetings and approvals in one account
- Works for teams that want a free tier for up to 10 people
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if store ratings matter to you, as the iOS app averages 1.4 from about 14,000 ratings
- Tight if you are over 10 people on Free, or over 300 on Basic
- Tight if you hold long meetings on Free, as they stop at 40 minutes
- Watch out: the lower price is assumed to be the annual rate, so confirm it
- Watch out: only an iOS app was confirmed, and no other platforms are named
Pick Lark if
- Fits if your team of up to 20 wants chat, docs and email in one free app
- Works for teams that write in several languages, since message translation is on every plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if group video calls matter and you won't pay for Pro at $12, as Starter and Basic are 1-on-1
- Tight if your free team passes 20 people, 100 GB or 1,000 automations a month, or needs history past 18 months
- Not for you if you need single sign-on or more than 500 users, as both mean Enterprise, priced by quote
- Pricey if you want AI meeting summaries, a paid add-on at $1,699 for 1,800 notes
- Watch out: Basic isn't sold in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan or South Korea, and no public API is listed
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADingTalkFair | 2.2GPALarkFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is $4 per user a month at the annual rate ($4.80 monthly), just above the $3.50 that marks the cheaper quarter of team-chat tools. The middle is $7. | CBasic is $6 a user a month billed annually, about the going rate for team chat, and it buys 500 users, 5 TB and unlimited history. The sting is Pro at $12 for group video meetings, and AI Meeting Notes is a separate add-on at $1,699 for 1,800 notes. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree covers up to 10 users with 100 GB of storage, 40-minute meetings, 300 AI speech-to-text minutes per user and 180 days of chat history. A small team could use it, and paid plans get a free month. | CStarter is free with no card and 100 GB of storage. But the caps are real: 20 users, 18 months of message history, 1,000 automations a month and 1-on-1 video meetings only, so a team of 25 that wants a group call is already paying. |
| Features | BChat, meetings, docs, drive, mail, calendar, AI minutes, an AI table, approvals and attendance. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core chat job. | CIt covers messenger with live translation, docs, slides, wiki, email, calendar, Approval and Base for no-code workflows. One gap undercuts it, and the listing names it: Starter and Basic do 1-on-1 video only, so there's no group meeting until Pro, and SSO waits for Enterprise. |
| Ease of use | FThe App Store listing shows 1.4 from about 14,000 ratings, and the recent reviews shown date from 2020. | CNo App Store rating on record, and this is a big suite to meet on day one: chat, docs, wiki, email, calendar, approvals and Base tables, all in one window. One sign-in covers the lot, but there's plenty to find your way around. |
| Platforms and integrations | COnly an iOS app was confirmed from the listing, and the English pages name no other platforms. No API or integration list is shown. | BWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, the full set of devices. The connecting is thinner: the integrations on record are Outlook, Exchange, Google Calendar and Gmail, all email and calendar, with no public API listed. |
| Best for | a chat, meetings and approvals suite for a small company | chat, docs, email and meetings in one app |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: DingTalk and Lark. How we grade
Price against what you get
DingTalk starts at $4 a month for each person and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Lark starts at $6 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Lark scores higher, and starts $2 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other team communication apps on the chart, 14 score higher than DingTalk for less, and 12 score higher than Lark for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- DingTalk also covers meeting notes.
- Lark also covers wiki, workflow automation and documents.
At a glance
| DingTalk | Lark | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.00 per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly) | $6 per user / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | Free plan for up to 10 users: 100 GB storage, HD video meetings up to 40 minutes, 300 AI speech-to-text minutes per user a month, and 180 days of chat history. | Starter plan: up to 20 users, 100 GB of storage, 1-on-1 video meetings, 18 months of message history, and 1,000 automations a month. No credit card needed. |
| Free trial | Free 1-month trial on paid plans | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | DingTalk (Singapore) Private Limited | Lark Technologies Pte. Ltd. |
| Price read from | dingtalk.com | larksuite.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
DingTalk
- The pricing page was read through a Monthly or Annually toggle; the lower price is assumed to be the annual rate and a person should confirm it.
- Free is capped at 10 users and 40-minute meetings, and Basic stops at 300 users.
- Only an iOS app was confirmed from the App Store listing; the English pages name no other platforms.
- The App Store listing shows a 1.4 average from about 14,000 ratings, and the most recent reviews shown are from 2020.
Lark
- The free Starter plan stops at 20 users, 100 GB of storage and 18 months of message history.
- Starter and Basic allow only 1-on-1 video meetings; group meetings need Pro at $12 per user / month.
- Single sign-on and advanced security controls are limited to Enterprise, and Basic and Pro stop at 500 users.
- Lark Basic is not sold in the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan or South Korea, and payment is in USD, SGD or JPY depending on country.
Key features
DingTalk
- Chat with long retention
- Messaging history is kept for 180 days on Free, 2 years on Basic, 10 years on Standard and 20 years on Premium.
- Video meetings
- Meetings run in HD on Free and Full HD on paid plans, with limits of 100, 300 or 500 participants depending on the plan.
- AI Minutes
- Speech-to-text and AI-generated meeting summaries are metered per user each month: 300 minutes and 5 summaries, or 1,500 and 50 on Premium.
- AI Table
- Spreadsheet-style tables for building business apps with automations, with row limits from 2,000 to 50,000 per sheet and monthly automation runs.
- Docs, drive, mail and calendar
- The same suite includes cloud docs, a drive with per-user storage, mail with attachment limits and a calendar.
- Approvals and attendance
- The English download page lists clock-in, clock-out and leave approval features, and the Chinese site lists approval and attendance products.
Lark
- Messenger
- Team chat with real-time message translation on every plan. Starter keeps 18 months of message history, and the paid plans keep it without a limit.
- Video meetings
- Starter and Basic are limited to 1-on-1 video meetings. Pro and Enterprise host up to 500 participants, and Pro lists single meetings of up to 24 hours.
- Minutes and AI Meeting Notes
- Minutes turns meetings into searchable transcripts. AI Meeting Notes, which writes summaries and tracks action items, is a paid add-on at $1,699 for 1,800 notes.
- Docs, Slides and Wiki
- Documents, sheets and slides are created and shared inside Lark, and Wiki works as a central team knowledge base.
- Base and Approval
- Base builds workflows and dashboards without code, and Approval automates sign-offs. Tables hold 2,000 rows on Starter and Basic and 20,000 on Pro.
- Email and Calendar
- Lark includes team email and a shared calendar, with direct integrations for Exchange, Outlook, Google Calendar and Gmail.
Plans
DingTalk
Free$0.00
Up to 10 users, 100 GB storage, 100 participants per meeting and chat retained for 180 days.
Basic$4.00
per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly)
Up to 300 users, 2 TB plus 5 GB per user, Full HD meetings up to 24 hours and chat retained for 2 years.
Standard$8.00
per user / month, annual rate ($9.60 billed monthly)
From 3 users with no upper limit, 300 meeting participants, 500 GB mailboxes and chat retained for 10 years.
Premium$15.00
per user / month, annual rate ($18.00 billed monthly)
500 meeting participants, 1,500 AI speech-to-text minutes per user, 5 TB mailboxes and chat retained for 20 years.
Lark
Starter$0
Up to 20 users, 100 GB of storage, 1-on-1 video meetings, 18 months of message history and 1,000 automations a month.
Basic$6
per user / month, billed annually
Up to 500 users, 5 TB of storage and unlimited message history. Video meetings stay 1-on-1.
Pro$12
per user / month, billed annually
Up to 500 users, 15 TB of storage, 500-participant video meetings, 50,000 automations a month and Base advanced permissions.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited users, 15 TB plus 30 GB per user, single sign-on, 500,000 automations a month and advanced security and compliance controls.
Ways to pay less
DingTalk
- Annual discount
About 17% off with annual billing
The pricing section shows annual rates roughly 17% below the monthly figures, for example $4.00 against $4.80 for Basic.
Lark
- Annual discount
Save 16.6% with yearly billing
Lark's plans page states a 16.6% saving for yearly billing. Monthly subscriptions are available for Basic and Pro at a higher rate.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, DingTalk or Lark?
As of Nov 12, 2026, DingTalk is cheaper to start with: $4 a month for each person, against $6 a month for each person for Lark. DingTalk starts at $4.00 per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly), and Lark starts at $6 per user / month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, DingTalk or Lark?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both DingTalk and Lark have a free plan.
Which platforms do DingTalk and Lark run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Lark lists a web app and macOS, Windows, Linux and Android apps. Both list an iOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.