ONCE Campfire vs Zulip

ONCE Campfire

• Teams that want group chat without a recurring subscription
• Organizations that must keep chat data on their own servers
• Air-gapped or high-security networks with no internet access
• A separate private chat for a board, an event or a community

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

ONCE Campfire

• There is no hosted version: someone has to install and maintain it on a server you control.
• There are no native iOS or Android apps; phones use the mobile web or a Progressive Web App.
• Slack and Teams data cannot be imported.
• The site describes text chat only and mentions no voice or video calling.

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.

ONCE Campfire

Rooms and direct messages

Rooms can be open to everyone in the organization or private to some members, with direct messages alongside. Rooms with unread messages are highlighted.

@mentions and search

@mentions call out specific people, and previous searches are saved to the sidebar so they can be run again.

Mobile web app

Works in a mobile browser or as a Progressive Web App launched from the home screen, with icon badges and push notifications.

One-command installation

Installed through the ONCE CLI with a single command on a laptop, an office server or a cloud host. 2 GB of RAM and 1 CPU are listed for 250 concurrent users.

Automatic updates

Each installation checks for updates once a day and installs them automatically; this can be switched off to update by hand.

Chatbots over an HTTP API

Bots can be built for an instance with a simple HTTP API for sending and receiving messages and attachments.

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.

ONCE Campfire

• Campfire$0

  Easy installation, free updates and the full source code. Self-hosted only.

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.

ONCE Campfire

No public discounts listed.

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.