zulip
by zulip
Zulip is an open-source team chat app that organises conversations into topics within channels, so discussions stay easy to follow. It is for teams who want a self-hosted or hosted alternative to Slack, especially where people work remotely or in different time zones.
- Stars
- 26.1k
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Runs on
- A small server
- Setup
- Moderate
- Language
- Python
- Age
- 4049 days
What you can do with it
- Run a team chat server with channels and topic-based threads
- Hold live and asynchronous conversations that are easy to catch up on later
- Self-host on Ubuntu, Debian or Docker, or use the hosted Zulip Cloud
Make money with it
An individual could offer setup, hosting and support of Zulip servers to small businesses that want a private team chat.
An idea, not financial advice. Check the licence before charging for anything built on it.
Ways a business could use it
- Replace a paid team chat subscription by self-hosting it for your staff or contractors
- Keep client and project discussions organised by topic so nothing gets lost between time zones
Can you use it commercially?
Free to use, change and sell, including in paid products. Keep the copyright notice.
Not legal advice. Read the project's licence file before building a product on it.
Getting it running
Install it on Ubuntu or Debian Linux, with Docker, or from prebuilt Digital Ocean or Render images; alternatively use the paid Zulip Cloud hosting.
Follow the official instructions in the project README.
Who's talking about it
- Tech Basket (Sumit): 20 Best Self-Hosted Alternatives to Popular SaaS Apps Featured in a roundup
Checked 27 Oct 2026. Summary drafted by AI from the project's README.
