Tinode vs Zulip (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Zulip grades higher than Tinode: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Zulip grades higher on the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Tinode
Open-source instant messaging server you host or rent
Zulip
Open-source team chat that organizes channels by topic
Which one is for you
Pick Tinode if
- Fits if you want to own your chat server and its data
- Works for developers adding chat to their own app
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you do not want to run a server, as the free edition is self-hosted
- Tight if you grow, since free self-hosting stops near 500 push notifications a day
- Watch out: the stock apps' notifications will not reach your server without your own builds or the push gateway
- Watch out: Cloud is arranged through a contact form, and the site footer reads 2023
- Pricey if you want the admin tool and branded apps, which start at $50 a month
Pick Zulip if
- Fits if your team is spread across time zones and reads chat hours after it happened
- Works for open-source projects and research groups, which can apply for a free Standard plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want voice and video calls built in, as they depend on an outside provider
- Tight if you stay on Cloud Free and need to search old messages, since it covers the latest 10,000 and 5 GB in all
- Not for you if you need SAML on Cloud with under 10 people, because Plus has a 10-user minimum
- Watch out: free self-hosting sends phone push notifications to 10 users only, unless you qualify as a community
- Pricey if you self-host with single sign-on for a small team, as Business has a 25-user minimum
How we grade them
| 2.2GPATinodeFair | 2.8GPAZulipGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BCloud is $1.50 a user a month, which would count as cheap, but it is arranged through a contact form. The free edition needs your own server. | BSelf-hosted Basic is $3.50 a user a month, in the cheapest quarter of team chat, and Cloud Standard is $6.67 billed annually, under the $7 middle. Open-source projects, research groups and small nonprofits can apply for Standard free, and schools pay from 67 cents a user. |
| Free plan and trial | CBasic is free to self-host, but capped at about 500 push notifications a day. You run the server. | BSelf-hosting is free with every feature. Two catches: mobile push notifications stop at 10 users unless you register as an eligible community, and Cloud Free searches only the latest 10,000 messages with 5 GB in total. |
| Features | CChat server, web and mobile clients, an extensible backend and chatbots over gRPC. Branding and the admin tool are paid. | CTopics you can rename, move and mark resolved, code highlighting, LaTeX, polls, reminders, 130-plus native integrations and a terminal app. The gap is calls. Zulip builds none, handing voice and video to Zoom, Jitsi or BigBlueButton. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. Self-hosting means installing and running a server yourself. | CNo App Store rating on record, and the topic model is a habit to learn: every message needs a topic, and a team that doesn't keep them tidy ends up worse off than with plain channels. Self-hosting, if you go that way, is a server to run as well. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android clients, with gRPC for bots. No desktop app. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android and a terminal app. More than 130 native integrations with thousands more through Zapier and IFTTT, a REST API, custom webhooks, and bridges that pass messages to and from Slack, Microsoft Teams and Matrix. |
| Best for | a chat server you host for your own app | chat you can catch up on hours later |
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: Tinode and Zulip. How we grade
Price against what you get
Tinode starts at $1.50 a month for each person and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zulip starts at $3.50 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
Zulip 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, 9 score higher than Tinode for less, and 3 score higher than Zulip 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
- Zulip also covers file sharing.
At a glance
| Tinode | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $1.50 per user / month (Cloud) | $3.50 per user / month self-hosted (billed monthly); Cloud from $6.67 billed annually |
| Free plan | Basic self-hosted edition is free for small teams: no more than 500 push notifications a day, roughly 350 messages a day. | Zulip Cloud Free: 10,000 messages of search history and 5 GB of file storage in total. Self-hosting is free with all features, with mobile notifications for up to 10 users. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Tinode LLC | Kandra Labs, Inc. |
| Price read from | tinode.co | zulip.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Tinode
- Self-hosted mobile apps need either your own builds or the push gateway, because the stock apps' notifications will not reach your server otherwise.
- Free self-hosting is for small teams; above roughly 500 push notifications a day a paid plan applies.
- Support contracts exclude third-party integrations, remote administration and support for end users.
- The site's footer reads 2023, and the Cloud plan is arranged through a contact form.
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.
Key features
Tinode
- Open-source clients and server
- The server is written in Go and can run as a cluster; the site says client software is under the Apache 2.0 license.
- Self-hosting tools
- TnAdmin gives a graphical console for looking up and suspending users, a push gateway handles mobile notifications and a Grafana dashboard is available for monitoring.
- Extensible backend
- Authentication schemes, database backends, file upload, push and credential validation are pluggable adapters, and bots can connect over gRPC.
- Mobile and web clients
- Android and iOS apps are listed in the stores, and a web client runs at web.tinode.co.
- Branded apps
- Paid plans can show your own name and logo in the mobile apps and configure the server connection automatically.
- Support contracts
- Named-contact email support with prioritized bug fixes is sold per installation, with an hourly rate for out-of-scope requests.
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.
Plans
Tinode
Basic$0
You install and run the server yourself. Includes the push gateway, production monitoring and community support.
Cloud$1.50
per user / month
Tinode runs it for you with 5 GB of file storage per user, custom-branded clients and gRPC access for chatbots. Arranged through the contact form.
Professional$50
per month, one self-hosted installation ($500 billed yearly)
Self-hosted. Adds the TnAdmin tool, auto-configured and custom-branded mobile apps and dedicated support. $25 a month per extra cluster node.
Enterprise$1,500
per year for a standalone installation
Everything in Professional plus assisted installation and email support; $2,500 a year for a 3-node cluster.
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.
Ways to pay less
Tinode
- Annual discount
Annual billing for Professional
The self-hosting page lists $50 a month for a standalone installation, or $500 when billed annually.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Tinode or Zulip?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Tinode is cheaper to start with: $1.50 a month for each person, against $3.50 a month for each person for Zulip. Tinode starts at $1.50 per user / month (Cloud), and Zulip starts at $3.50 per user / month self-hosted (billed monthly); Cloud from $6.67 billed annually.
Which has a free plan, Tinode or Zulip?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Tinode and Zulip have a free plan.
Which platforms do Tinode and Zulip run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Zulip lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app and 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.