Discord vs Zulip

Discord

• Gaming groups and friends who want always-open voice chats
• Online communities that need a free place to gather
• Groups that stream games or screens to each other
• Developers building bots and apps on a chat API

Zulip

• Distributed teams that prefer asynchronous, topic-organized conversations
• Open-source projects, research groups and communities seeking sponsored plans
• Organizations that want to self-host open-source chat
• Classes and schools, which get education pricing

Discord

• The paid plans are personal Nitro subscriptions; the site lists no per-seat business plan or admin tier for companies.
• Uploads are capped at 50 MB on Nitro Basic and 1 GB on Nitro, and HD streaming needs Nitro.
• Discord says Nitro prices vary by country and plan, so the US prices listed here may not match what the app shows elsewhere.

Zulip

• Zulip Cloud Free searches only the most recent 10,000 messages and has 5 GB of file storage for the whole organization.
• SAML single sign-on and SCIM on Zulip Cloud need the Plus plan, which has a 10-user minimum; self-hosted Business has a 25-user minimum.
• Voice and video calls depend on an outside provider such as Zoom or Jitsi.
• Self-hosted Free limits mobile push notifications to 10 users unless the organization registers as an eligible community.

Discord

Servers with text and voice chats

A server is a customizable space for a group or community. Members hop in and out of its voice or text chats without having to call or invite anyone.

Video chat and streaming

Video chat and screen share work in direct messages and group DMs, and Go Live streams a game to a server. HD streaming is a Nitro perk.

Direct messages and group DMs

A friends list lets people talk outside of servers, with voice calls, video chat and screen sharing available directly in DMs and group DMs.

Activities and Soundboard

Activities let a group watch videos or play built-in games together inside Discord, and the Soundboard plays sound clips during voice calls.

Custom emoji and profiles

Servers can upload their own emoji and stickers. Nitro lets a member use them anywhere and adds custom profiles, app icons and color themes.

Apps and API

Discord has an official API, a developer portal and an App Directory, and consoles can be linked so PlayStation and Xbox players join the same chats.

Zulip

Topic-based threading

A new conversation starts by giving it a brief topic inside a channel, and replies stay in that context. Messages can be moved between topics, and topics marked as resolved.

Cloud or self-hosted

The same 100% open-source software runs on Zulip Cloud or on your own server, and export and import tools let an organization move between them.

Apps for every platform

Zulip has a web app for any modern browser, desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux, mobile apps for iOS and Android, and a terminal app.

Calls through a provider

1:1 and group voice and video calls open in a configurable call provider such as Zoom, Jitsi or BigBlueButton.

Integrations and API

More than 130 native integrations, thousands more through Zapier and IFTTT, custom webhooks, a REST API, and chat bridges to Slack, Microsoft Teams and Matrix.

Formatting and lightweight workflows

Messages support code syntax highlighting and LaTeX, plus polls and to-do lists, scheduled sends, reminders and extensive keyboard shortcuts.

Discord

• Free$0

  Text, voice and video chat, servers, direct messages and group DMs, without the Nitro perks.

• Nitro Basic$2.99

  per month

  A selection of Nitro perks: custom emoji anywhere, 50 MB uploads and custom app icons.

• Nitro$9.99

  per month ($99.99 yearly on the US App Store)

  Everything in Basic plus 1 GB uploads, HD streaming, custom profiles, 2 server Boosts, messages up to 4,000 characters and up to 200 servers.

Zulip

• Free$0

  On Zulip Cloud: 10,000 messages of search history and 5 GB of storage in total. Self-hosted: every feature, with mobile notifications for up to 10 users.

• Self-hosted Basic$3.50

  per user / month, billed monthly

  Self-hosted server with all Zulip features and unlimited mobile notifications.

• Cloud Standard$6.67

  per user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)

  Unlimited search history, 5 GB of file storage per user, message retention policies, custom groups and priority commercial support.

• Self-hosted Business$6.67

  per user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)

  25 users minimum. Email and chat support for SAML and Entra ID single sign-on, AD/LDAP user sync, compliance exports and retention policies.

• Cloud Plus$10

  per user / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)

  10 users minimum. Adds 25 GB of file storage per user, SAML single sign-on, SCIM user and group sync, and a custom domain.

• Self-hosted EnterpriseCustom

  Email, chat and phone support, OpenID Connect single sign-on, group sync, implementation consulting and custom feature development.

Discord

• Annual discount

  About 17% off Nitro when paid yearly

  Discord's US App Store listing shows Nitro Yearly at $99.99 against $9.99 a month, about 17% less than twelve monthly payments.

Zulip

• Annual discount

  About 17% less with annual billing

  Cloud Standard and self-hosted Business cost $6.67 per user / month billed annually against $8 billed monthly, and Cloud Plus is $10 against $12.

• Other savings

  $20 a month off self-hosted plans in year one

  The plans page advertises $20 per month off the self-hosted Basic and Business plans for the first year.

• Nonprofit

  Free Standard plan for eligible organizations

  Open-source projects, academic research, non-profit events and non-profits with no paid staff are generally eligible for a free Zulip Cloud Standard plan, by application.

• Education

  Education pricing from $0.67 per user

  Standard for Education costs $0.67 per user / month for non-profit institutions and $1 for for-profit ones with annual billing, or $0.80 and $1.20 billed monthly.