Zulip Cloud billing

This page answers some frequently asked questions about Zulip Cloud plans and pricing. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to reach out at sales@zulip.com.

Upgrade to a Zulip Cloud Standard or Plus plan

  1. Click on the gear () icon in the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.

  2. Select Plans and pricing.

  3. Under the Cloud Standard pricing plan, click Upgrade to Standard.

  4. Select your preferred option from the Payment schedule dropdown.

  5. Click Add card to enter your payment details.

  6. Click Purchase Zulip Cloud Standard.

  1. Click on the gear () icon in the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.

  2. Select Plans and pricing.

  3. Under the Cloud Plus pricing plan, click Contact sales.

Manage billing

  1. Click on the gear () icon in the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.

  2. Select Billing.

Cancel paid plan

If you cancel your plan, your organization will be downgraded to Zulip Cloud Free at the end of the current billing period.

  1. Click on the gear () icon in the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.

  2. Select Billing.

  3. At the bottom of the page, click Cancel plan.

  4. Click Downgrade to confirm.

Free and discounted Zulip Cloud Standard

Zulip sponsors free plans for over 1000 worthy organizations. The following types of organizations are generally eligible for a free Zulip Cloud Standard plan.

  • Open-source projects, including projects with a small paid team.
  • Research in an academic setting, such as research groups, cross-institutional collaborations, etc.
  • Academic conferences and other non-profit events.
  • Non-profits with no paid staff.
  • Most communities that need features beyond the Free plan in order to use Zulip.

The following types of organizations are generally eligible for significant discounts on Zulip Cloud Standard.

  • Education organizations are eligible for education pricing.

  • Discounts are available for organizations based in the developing world.

  • Non-profits and other organizations where many users are not paid staff are generally eligible for a discount.

If there are any circumstances that make regular pricing unaffordable for your organization, contact sales@zulip.com to discuss your situation.

Apply for sponsorship

Submit a sponsorship request to apply for a free or discounted Zulip Cloud Standard plan. If you do not have a Zulip organization yet, contact sales@zulip.com to inquire about sponsorship eligibility.

  1. Click on the gear () icon in the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.

  2. Click the Request sponsorship link at the top of the gear menu.

  3. Fill out the requested information, and click Submit.

  1. Click on the gear () icon in the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.

  2. Click the Request education pricing link at the top of the gear menu.

  3. Fill out the requested information, and click Submit.

Differences between Zulip Cloud plans

How does having 10,000 messages of search history on Zulip Cloud Free work?

Only the most recent 10,000 messages can be viewed and searched on the Zulip Cloud Free plan. Older messages are still stored and will become available again if the organization is upgraded to Zulip Cloud Standard.

Will you switch to limiting Zulip Cloud Free history to messages sent in the last 90 days (like Slack has)?

No. As discussed in this blog post, a time-based limit to message history is simply a bad model for a collaboration tool.

Payment methods

Can I pay by credit card and/or invoice?

You can always use a credit card to pay. If you would like to pay by invoice, you will need to sign up for an annual plan.

How does automatic billing work?

Automatic billing is recommended unless you have a specific reason to choose manual billing.

With automatic billing, you automatically purchase a Zulip license for each user in your organization at the start of each billing period (month or year), and whenever you need additional licenses.

  • Deactivating a user frees up their license for reuse. No refunds are given for unused licenses you have purchased. For example, if you start a billing period with 10 users, deactivate 5 users, and then add 2 new users, you will be billed for 10 licenses for the entire billing period.

  • If you have no free licenses when you add a user, you will be automatically billed for an additional license. You will be charged only for the remaining part of the billing period. For example, if you are on a $8/user/month monthly plan, you will be billed $4 for a user added half way through the month. Each month, you will see a single charge for all licenses added that month.

How does manual billing work?

With manual billing, you choose and pay for a preset user limit. If the limit is reached, no more users can join until licenses are manually added.

Manually manage licenses

If your organization is on a manual billing plan, you can manage the number of licenses on your organization's billing page.

  1. Click on the gear () icon in the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.

  2. Select Billing.

  3. Modify Number of licenses for current billing period or Number of licenses for next billing period, and click Update.

You can only increase the number of licenses for the current billing period.

Temporary users and guests

How will I be charged for temporary users (e.g. limited-time clients)?

Users can be deactivated any time. Deactivating a user frees up their license for reuse.

How are guest accounts billed? Is there special pricing?

For an organization with N other users, 5*N guest users are included at no extra charge. After that, you will be charged at 1/5 of your regular per-user pricing for each additional guest.