Google Chat vs Zoho Cliq
We give Google Chat a 3.0 GPA and Zoho Cliq a 3.6, out of 4.0. Zoho Cliq grades higher on value for money, features and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Google Chat
Team messaging and spaces built into Google Workspace
Zoho Cliq
Team chat, calls and meetings from the Zoho suite
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAGoogle ChatVery good | 3.6GPAZoho CliqExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BIt comes with every Workspace plan from $7 a person, next to Gmail, Drive and Meet. Already on Workspace? It costs nothing extra. If you're not, it's a whole office suite to buy for a chat app. | AStandard is $16.20 a month for up to 25 people on yearly billing. Not each. All of them. Professional is $1.80 a person. Slack Pro is $7.25 and Teams Essentials is $4. |
| Free plan and trial | BA personal Google Account can use Chat for nothing, with direct messages and spaces. That's not a team setup, though: no announcement spaces and no webhooks. For work it's a 14-day Workspace trial. | BFree for the whole team, with chat, channels, 100 GB of storage and meetings for up to 100 people. But only 10,000 messages are searchable, and meetings end at 60 minutes. |
| Features | BDirect messages, spaces with threads, huddles, voice and video messages, tasks and decent search. Gemini summaries need Business Standard. One fan on Hacker News still misses being able to archive a space. | AChats, channels, threads, voice and video messages, calls and meetings with screen sharing, plus bots, slash commands and widgets you can build yourself. Chat summaries need Professional. |
| Ease of use | B4.6 from about 306,000 App Store ratings. It's already in Gmail's sidebar, so there's nothing new to open. But the split between direct messages and spaces has confused plenty of reviewers. | B4.8 from about 6,500 App Store ratings, and recent reviewers call it easy. Older ones tell of crashes and menus you get lost in. The plans take some working out too, with one flat price and two per-person ones. |
| Platforms and integrations | BBrowser, iPhone and Android, with an API, webhooks and apps for Jira, GitHub, Asana and Salesforce. The desktop "app" is a web app you install through Chrome, so it's not a real one. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android, plus Apple Watch, CarPlay and Android Auto. There's a REST API, and it hooks into Google Drive, GitHub, Zendesk and Dropbox as well as Zoho's own apps. |
| Best for | teams already on Google Workspace | cheap team chat, especially if you use Zoho |
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: Google Chat and Zoho Cliq. How we grade
Where they differ
- Google Chat starts at $7 per user / month with a 1-year commitment (Google Workspace). Zoho Cliq starts at $16.20 per month for up to 25 users, billed annually (Standard).
- Only Zoho Cliq lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Google Chat also covers tasks.
- Zoho Cliq also covers whiteboard, workflow automation and video calls.
At a glance
| Google Chat | Zoho Cliq | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $7 per user / month with a 1-year commitment (Google Workspace) | $16.20 per month for up to 25 users, billed annually (Standard) |
| Free plan | Google says Chat is included for consumer Google Workspace users as well as business and education customers; some premium features need a paid subscription. | 10,000 searchable messages, 100 GB of file storage per organization, 100 participants per group or channel, and meetings of up to 100 people limited to 60 minutes. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Google Workspace. | Free trial of the paid plans: 15 days according to the homepage, 14 days according to the pricing FAQ |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Zoho Corporation | |
| Price read from | workspace.google.com | zoho.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Google Chat
- Organizations already paying for Google Workspace
- Teams that work in Gmail and want chat in the same window
- Companies moving chat history over from Slack or Teams
Zoho Cliq
- Organizations already using Zoho apps such as Zoho Projects, Desk or Mail
- Small teams: Standard is a flat monthly price for up to 25 users
- Teams that want to build bots, commands and widgets inside chat
Worth knowing
Google Chat
- Chat is not sold on its own: a business gets it by paying for a Google Workspace plan that also covers Gmail, Drive and Meet.
- Gemini in Chat is left out of Business Starter, and Google marks some listed features as coming soon or limited to Business and Enterprise plans.
- There is no native desktop app: computers use the web interface, Chat inside Gmail, or a standalone web app installed through Chrome. The store apps are for phones and tablets.
- Business Starter, Standard and Plus can be bought for a maximum of 300 users.
Zoho Cliq
- The Free plan searches only 10,000 messages, caps meetings at 60 minutes and has no call recording or external channels.
- Standard is a flat price covering up to 25 users, while Professional and Enterprise are per user with a 10-user minimum.
- Guest chat, task management, roles and permissions, and live events need Professional or Enterprise.
- Audit history, eDiscovery and data loss prevention are limited to Enterprise.
Key features
Google Chat
- Direct messages and spaces
- Chat covers direct messages, group messaging and persistent spaces with threaded conversations. Google says a space can hold up to 500,000 members on eligible plans.
- Huddles and voice or video messages
- Huddles let teammates connect in real time for drop-in collaboration, and updates can be shared as recorded audio or video messages.
- Gemini in Chat
- Gemini summarizes conversations, lists action items and translates messages. The pricing table includes it from Business Standard up, not in Business Starter.
- Built into Gmail and Workspace
- Chat appears in Gmail's left navigation and works with Drive, Calendar, Meet and Tasks, so files, meetings and assigned tasks are handled from a conversation.
- Chat apps and API
- Chat apps cover tools such as Asana, Jira, GitHub and Salesforce. Custom apps can be built with the Chat API, webhooks and Apps Script, or without code in AppSheet.
- Migration and interoperability
- Existing data can be migrated from Slack or Teams, and interoperability products from Mio and NextPlane connect Chat with other messaging platforms.
Zoho Cliq
- Chats, channels and threads
- Unlimited 1-1 and group chats on every plan, with organization and personal channels, threads, read receipts and @mentions. Paid plans raise groups to 500 participants.
- Calls and meetings
- 1-1 audio and video calls, screen sharing and meetings for up to 100 participants. Professional and Enterprise allow 1,000 active participants and 10,000 viewers.
- Voice and video messages
- Audio and video messages and screen recordings can be sent in chat, limited to 5 minutes on Free, 15 on Standard and 60 on Professional and Enterprise.
- External channels and Networks
- From Standard, external channels bring in people from other organizations, 5 per user license. Networks, a separate space for partners, is a paid add-on; Professional and Enterprise include 3.
- Developer platform
- Bots, slash commands, message actions, functions, schedulers, databases and widgets are available on every plan with per-plan quotas, alongside a REST API.
- On-demand chat summary
- Professional and Enterprise can generate a summary of a chat on request, part of what Zoho describes as AI-powered conversations.
Plans
Google Chat
Consumer (Google Account)$0
Chat for consumer Google Workspace users. Google notes that some premium features require a paid subscription.
Business Starter$7
per user / month, 1-year commitment, billed monthly
Google Workspace suite plan that includes Chat, with 30 GB of pooled storage per user. Gemini in Chat is not included.
Business Standard$14
per user / month, 1-year commitment, billed monthly
Suite plan with Chat plus Gemini in Chat to find, summarize and translate conversations, and 2 TB of pooled storage per user.
Business Plus$22
per user / month, 1-year commitment, billed monthly
Suite plan with 5 TB of pooled storage per user, Vault to retain and search data, and advanced endpoint management.
EnterpriseCustom
Suite plan with data loss prevention, context-aware access and data regions, with no minimum or maximum number of users.
Zoho Cliq
Free$0
Chats and channels, 10,000 searchable messages, 100 GB of storage per organization, and meetings for up to 100 participants capped at 60 minutes.
Standard$16.20
per month for up to 25 users, billed annually ($18 billed monthly)
Flat price covering up to 25 users. Unlimited searchable messages, external channels, call recording, 24-hour meetings, custom domain and basic usage reports.
Professional$1.80
per user / month, billed annually ($2 billed monthly)
10 users minimum. 100 GB of storage per user, guest chat, task and team management, roles and permissions, live events and on-demand chat summaries.
Enterprise$3.60
per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly)
10 users minimum. Adds audit history, advanced usage reports, eDiscovery, data loss prevention and branded meetings.
Ways to pay less
Google Chat
- Annual discount
Save 16% with a 1-year commitment
Google's pricing page says the Annual plan saves 16% compared with paying without a commitment. The listed prices are the Annual ones, billed monthly.
- Other savings
Up to 50% off the first 3 months
New Google Workspace customers get up to 50% off their first 3 months, a limited-time offer with no end date given. The discount on each plan differed between copies of the US page from October 4 and 7.
- Nonprofit
Free Google Workspace for Nonprofits
Eligible nonprofits get Google Workspace for Nonprofits, which includes Chat, at $0 per user, and Business Standard for $3.50 per user / month on a 1-year commitment.
- Education
Education Fundamentals at no charge
Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, which includes Chat, is available at no charge to qualifying institutions. Education Plus is a paid edition.
- By country
Lower price shown to buyers in India
On October 9, 2026 Google's pricing page showed Starter at ₹270 per user / month to a visitor in India, against $7 in the US version, and listed a Base plan at ₹99 that the US version does not show.
Zoho Cliq
- Annual discount
Save 10% with yearly billing
Zoho's pricing page lists a 10% saving for yearly billing: Professional is $1.80 per user / month billed annually against $2 billed monthly.
- Nonprofit
Special pricing for nonprofits and schools
The pricing page says discounts and special pricing apply to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions, arranged by contacting Zoho. No amounts are published.
- By country
Lower price shown to buyers in India
On October 9, 2026 the pricing page showed Standard at ₹675 a month for up to 25 users, billed annually, to a reader in India. The price data the page loads lists $16.20 in US dollars.
