# Zulip

> Zulip is a free, open-source app you can self-host in the team chat category. Zulip is a powerful, open source group chat application. It has 25,998 GitHub stars, is released under the Apache-2.0 license. It is a self-hosted alternative to Slack and Discord.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | https://github.com/zulip/zulip |
| Website | https://zulip.org/ |
| GitHub stars | 25,998 |
| Forks | 10,353 |
| Open issues | 1,173 |
| License | Apache-2.0 |
| License type | Open source |
| Language | Python |
| Docker image | No |
| Platforms | Python |
| Categories | Team Chat |
| Commits, last 12 months | 4,853 |
| Last commit | Oct 6, 2026 |
| Latest release | 12.3 (Sep 21, 2026) |
| Created | Sep 25, 2015 |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained |
| Archived | No |

Topics: zulip, python, python3, chat, javascript, collaboration, slack, foss, free, apache

## Install

Zulip installs natively; follow the README at https://github.com/zulip/zulip.

Need it installed for you? [appsgit installation help](https://appsgit.com/services/install): a fixed quote by email, single app installs from $79.

## Zulip replaces

- [Slack alternatives](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/slack): A team messaging platform with channels, threads and integrations.
- [Discord alternatives](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/discord): A voice, video and text chat platform built around communities and servers.

## Comparisons

- [Rocket.Chat vs Zulip](https://appsgit.com/compare/rocket-chat-vs-zulip): Pick Rocket.Chat if you want Slack-style channels plus omnichannel customer chat; pick Zulip if your team works asynchronously and wants topic-based threads that stay organized.
- [Mattermost vs Zulip](https://appsgit.com/compare/mattermost-vs-zulip): Pick Mattermost if you want Slack-style channels with DevOps workflows and enterprise options; pick Zulip if you want topic-based threading and a fully Apache-2.0 server.

## Similar apps in Team Chat

- [Rocket.Chat](https://appsgit.com/apps/rocket-chat): Communications platform that puts data protection first (alternative to Gitter.im and Slack). (46,213 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker)
- [Novu](https://appsgit.com/apps/novu): Notification infrastructure for developers. (40,118 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker)
- [Mattermost](https://appsgit.com/apps/mattermost): Platform for secure collaboration across the entire software development lifecycle, can be integrated with Gitlab (alternative to Slack). (39,271 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker)
- [Chatwoot](https://appsgit.com/apps/chatwoot): Customer communication platform (alternative to Intercom and Zendesk). (37,569 stars, MIT, Ruby, Docker)
- [ntfy](https://appsgit.com/apps/ntfy): Push notifications to phone or desktop using HTTP PUT/POST, with Android app, CLI and web app, similar to Pushover and Gotify. (34,644 stars, Apache-2.0, Go, Docker)
- [SimpleX Chat](https://appsgit.com/apps/simplex-chat): The most private and secure chat and applications platform - now with double ratchet E2E encryption. (19,521 stars, AGPL-3.0, Haskell)
- [Apprise](https://appsgit.com/apps/apprise): Apprise allows you to send a notification to almost all of the most popular notification services available to us today such as: Telegram, Discord, Slack, Amazon SNS, Gotify, etc. (17,531 stars, BSD-2-Clause, Python, Docker)
- [Gotify](https://appsgit.com/apps/gotify): Notification server with Android and CLI clients (alternative to PushBullet). (16,036 stars, MIT, Go, Docker)

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