Roam vs Yac (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Roam and Yac share a 2.4 GPA, and only Yac has a free plan.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Roam grades higher on features and platforms. Yac grades higher on value for money. 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.
Roam
Virtual office with drop-in meetings, chat and AI meeting notes
Which one is for you
Pick Roam if
- Fits if your remote company wants meetings, chat and presence in one tool with one bill
- Works for teams that drop in on each other for quick talks instead of scheduling calls
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if all you need is chat, at $19.50 per active member a month, nearly three times the $7 team chat typically starts at
- Skip it if you want a free plan, because all you get is 14 days per new member
- Not for you if you need a fixed bill, since it follows how many members were active that month
- Watch out: the rate rises on a published schedule to $20.88 in 2027, and there are no discounts or annual plans
- Too light for a team that won't learn nine products at once, as Theater, Lobby links, Magicast and On-It all take time
Pick Yac if
- Fits if you want to replace some meetings with short recorded messages
- Works for teams on Macs and phones that use Slack
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Windows, as no Windows or browser version is listed
- Tight if you stay free, since you cannot invite teammates and see only 100 messages
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $5 against $3 on yearly billing
- Watch out: the homepage says a new version is coming, and some pages carry a 2021 copyright
How we grade them
| 2.4GPARoamFair | 2.4GPAYacFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$19.50 per active member a month, going to $20.88 in 2027 on a published schedule. That's nearly three times the $7 team chat typically starts at and dearer than Gather at $12, and Roam says plainly it offers no discounts and no annual plans. You do get all nine products for it. | B$3 a user a month billed yearly, at the edge of the cheaper quarter, $5 if billed monthly. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. Every new team member gets 14 days before they appear on the bill, and it asks for no card. After that they're billed for any month they're active. | CFree for personal use with unlimited voice messages, but no teammates and only the last 100 messages. |
| Features | BOne bundle covers the lot: the live office map, knock-to-talk drop-in meetings, rooms with screen sharing and a whiteboard, AInbox chat with searchable full history, AI meeting summaries, a Theater for all-hands, a screen recorder and an AI assistant that schedules and follows up. | CVoice, screen and camera messages, channels and transcription search. Private groups, full history and the Slack link are paid. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record, and nine products arriving at once is a lot to meet. The map itself is the easy part, you click a seat and you're talking, but the Theater, Lobby links, Magicast and On-It all have to be learned before they earn their place. | CNo rating on record. A team has to be invited and the habit built before it helps. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. GitHub, Figma, Zapier, n8n and Datadog connect, and there's a developer site for building against it. | BMac, iPhone and Android, with Slack and Zapier. No Windows or web version appears on the pages read. |
| Best for | a whole remote company on one live map | voice and screen messages instead of meetings |
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: Roam and Yac. How we grade
Price against what you get
Roam starts at $19.50 a month for each person and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Yac starts at $3 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Roam scores higher, and starts $16.50 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other team communication apps on the chart, 6 score higher than Roam for less, and 9 score higher than Yac 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
- Roam also covers meeting notes, booking links and video calls.
At a glance
| Roam | Yac | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19.50 per active member / month, billed monthly | $3 per user / month, billed yearly ($5 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Unlimited voice messages, screen and camera recording, public sharing links, a Yac.com profile and channels, with the last 100 messages visible. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial for every new team member, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Roam HQ Inc. | Yac Inc. |
| Price read from | ro.am | yac.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Roam
- There is no free plan; each new member gets a 14-day trial before appearing on the bill.
- Roam states it offers no discounts and no annual plans. The only other price it publishes is a rupee rate for companies in India.
- The rate rises on a published schedule: $19.50 per active member a month in 2026 and $20.88 in 2027.
- Billing follows the number of active members each month, so the total can change from one bill to the next.
Yac
- Free accounts see only the last 100 messages and cannot invite teammates.
- The homepage says a new version of Yac is coming soon, with a waitlist.
- The Mac, iOS and Android apps are listed; no Windows or browser version appears on the pages read.
- The pricing and footer pages show a 2021 copyright line, so some pages may be older than the rest.
Key features
Roam
- Virtual office map
- A live view of who is in the office, who is meeting with whom and who is talking. Click a person to chat with them or an empty seat to enter their room.
- Drop-in meetings and meeting rooms
- Knock on a seat in someone's office to start an audio-only drop-in meeting, or use a meeting room for video with screen sharing and a whiteboard.
- AInbox group chat
- Direct messages, group chats and confidential chats with custom folders, pinned chats, bookmarks, scheduled messages and search across the full history.
- Magic Minutes
- Turns on a transcription and AI summary that every participant receives in a group chat, where they can ask questions about the meeting.
- Theater and On-Air
- Theater seats an all-hands audience in rows with a backstage, a Q&A microphone and a stadium mode for 100 or more people. On-Air hosts virtual events.
- Lobby, Magicast and On-It
- Lobby links let guests book time or drop in, Magicast records the screen with a transcript, and On-It is an AI assistant that schedules and follows up.
Yac
- Voice messages
- Record a message and share it in a channel or with one person, so teammates can reply when it suits them.
- Screen and camera recording
- Record your screen or camera to give feedback or report a bug. Included on the free plan.
- Channels and private groups
- Channels and personal connections are free; private groups and team management are on the paid plan.
- Transcription search
- Search the text of past voice messages. This needs the Teams plan.
- Public sharing links
- Share a recording through a link that can be opened outside the team.
- Slack and Zapier
- The Teams plan lists a Slack and Zapier integration; the page invites customers to ask about Asana and Jira.
Plans
Roam
Virtual Office Super Bundle$19.50
per active member / month, billed monthly (2026 rate)
All nine Roam products at one price, charged only for members active that month. Guests are free. The published 2027 rate is $20.88.
Yac
Free$0
For personal use. Inviting teammates or creating multiple teams needs a paid plan; message history is limited to the last 100.
Yac for Teams$3
per user / month, billed yearly ($5 billed monthly)
Unlimited message history, transcription search, team management, private groups and the Slack and Zapier integration.
Ways to pay less
Roam
- By country
Lower price for companies in India
On October 9, 2026 the pricing page gave ₹888 per active member a month (₹948 in 2027) for companies in India paying in rupees, against the US dollar rate of $19.50 ($20.88 in 2027).
Yac
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Roam or Yac?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Yac is cheaper to start with: $3 a month for each person, against $19.50 a month for each person for Roam. Roam starts at $19.50 per active member / month, billed monthly, and Yac starts at $3 per user / month, billed yearly ($5 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Roam or Yac?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Yac has a free plan. Roam does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Roam and Yac run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Roam lists a web app and Windows and Linux apps. Both list macOS, iOS and Android apps. 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.