Self-hosted Zulip billing
This page describes how to manage your self-hosted plan, and answers some common
questions about plans and billing for self-hosted organizations. Please refer to
Self-hosted Zulip plans and pricing for plan
details. If you have any questions not answered here, please don't hesitate to
reach out at sales@zulip.com.
Paid plan details and upgrades
For businesses with up to 10 Zulip users, the Free plan is a good option, and
includes free access to the Mobile Push Notification Service.
For businesses with more than 10 Zulip users, both the Basic and Business plans
include unlimited access to the Mobile Push Notification Service.
The Business plan also includes commercial support for dozens of features and
integrations that help businesses take full advantage of their Zulip
implementation. The minimum purchase is 25 licenses.
If your organization requires hands-on support, such as real-time support during
installation and upgrades, support for advanced deployment options, custom
feature development or integrations, etc., should contact
sales@zulip.com to discuss pricing.
Paid plan discounts are available in a variety of situations; see
below for details.
Upgrades for legacy customers
On December 15, 2023, it was
announced
that self-hosted customers will no longer get unlimited free access to Zulip's
Mobile Push Notification
Service.
Legacy customers can continue using the notification service for free (no action
required) until February 15, 2024.
To continue using the service after that date, organizations with more than 10
users must upgrade to a paid plan or the Community plan. When you upgrade to a
paid plan, you can start the plan right away (if you‘d like your technical
support to start immediately), or schedule a February 15 start date.
If your organization needs more time to sign up for a plan, please contact
sales@zulip.com to request extended free access to the
Mobile Push Notification Service.
An email announcing this change was sent to the registered contact email
address for all legacy customers. If you did not receive this email, please
update
your contact information.
Any Zulip server that registered for Zulip's Mobile Push Notification
Service
prior to December 15, 2023 is considered to be a legacy customer.
Do I have to upgrade my server first?
While upgrading your Zulip server to version 8.0+ makes it more convenient to
manage your plan, you do not have to upgrade your Zulip installation in order to
sign up for a plan. The same plans are offered for all Zulip versions.
In addition to hundreds of other improvements, upgrading to Zulip Server 8.0+ lets
you:
-
Easily log in to Zulip plan management, without an additional server
authentication step.
-
Separately manage plans for all the organizations on your server.
-
Upload only the basic
metadata
required for the service, without also uploading usage
statistics.
If you upgrade your server after signing up for a plan, you will be able to
transfer your plan to an organization on your server. If your server has one
organization on it, this will happen automatically. Otherwise, contact
support@zulip.com for help.
Upgrading to a paid plan
If your server has more than one organization, upgrade to Zulip Server 8.0+
to manage billing and plan upgrades separately for each organization. You must
purchase the same plan for all users in your organization. Older servers
only support server-wide plan management.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All versions
This feature is only available to organization owners and billing administrators.
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, click the button at the bottom
of the plan you would like to purchase.
-
Select your preferred option from the Payment schedule dropdown.
-
Under Plan start date, select February 15, 2024 or Today.
-
Click Add card to enter your payment details.
-
Click the Purchase or Schedule upgrade button to complete your
purchase.
If your server hosts more than one organization, commercial
support for server-wide configurations requires upgrading the
organization with the largest number of users.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
Select your preferred option from the Payment schedule dropdown.
-
Under Plan start date, select February 15, 2024 or Today.
-
Click Add card to enter your payment details.
-
Click the Purchase or Schedule upgrade button to complete your
purchase.
Upgrades for new customers
Upgrade to Zulip Basic
New customers are eligible for a free 30-day trial of Zulip Basic. An
organization is considered to be a new customer if:
- It was not registered for Zulip's Mobile Push Notification
Service
prior to December 12, 2023, and
- It has never previously signed up for a self-hosted Zulip plan (Basic, Business,
Community or Enterprise).
If your server has more than one organization, upgrade to Zulip Server 8.0+
to manage billing and plan upgrades separately for each organization. You must
purchase the same plan for all users in your organization. Older servers
only support server-wide plan management.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All versions
-
Your Zulip server administrator should register the server with Zulip's
Mobile Push Notification Service, following these
instructions.
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, click the Start 30-day
trial button at the bottom of the Basic plan.
-
Click Add card to enter your payment details.
-
Click Start 30-day trial to start your free trial.
Once you start the trial, you can switch between monthly and annual billing
on your organization's billing page.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Register the server with Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service, following
these
instructions.
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, click the Start 30-day
trial button at the bottom of the Basic plan.
-
Click Add card to enter your payment details.
-
Click Start 30-day trial to start your free trial.
Once you start the trial, you can switch between monthly and annual billing
on your organization's billing page.
Upgrade to Zulip Business
If your server has more than one organization, upgrade to Zulip Server 8.0+
to manage billing and plan upgrades separately for each organization. You must
purchase the same plan for all users in your organization. Older servers
only support server-wide plan management.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All versions
-
Your Zulip server administrator should register the server with Zulip's
Mobile Push Notification Service, following these
instructions.
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, click the Upgrade to Business button
at the bottom of the Business plan.
-
Select your preferred option from the Payment schedule dropdown.
-
Click Add card to enter your payment details.
-
Click the Purchase button to complete your purchase.
If your server hosts more than one organization, commercial
support for server-wide configurations requires upgrading the
organization with the largest number of users.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Register the server with Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service, following
these
instructions.
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, click the Upgrade to Business button
at the bottom of the Business plan.
-
Select your preferred option from the Payment schedule dropdown.
-
Click Add card to enter your payment details.
-
Click the Purchase button to complete your purchase.
Once you start the trial, you can switch between monthly and annual billing
on your organization's billing page.
Manage billing
If your server has more than one organization, upgrade to Zulip Server 8.0+
to manage billing and plan upgrades separately for each organization. You must
purchase the same plan for all users in your organization. Older servers
only support server-wide plan management.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All versions
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
Cancel paid plan
If your server has more than one organization, upgrade to Zulip Server 8.0+
to manage billing and plan upgrades separately for each organization. You must
purchase the same plan for all users in your organization. Older servers
only support server-wide plan management.
If you cancel your plan, your organization will be downgraded to the
Free plan at the end of the current billing period.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All versions
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
At the bottom of the page, click Cancel plan.
-
Click Downgrade to confirm.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
At the bottom of the page, click Cancel plan.
-
Click Downgrade to confirm.
Zulip sponsors free plans for over 1000 worthy organizations. The following
types of organizations are generally eligible for the free Community plan.
- Open-source projects, including projects with a small paid team.
- Research in an academic setting, such as research groups, cross-institutional
collaborations, etc.
- Organizations operated by individual educators, such as a professor teaching
one or more classes.
- Non-profits with no paid staff.
- Communities and personal organizations (clubs, groups of
friends, volunteer groups, etc.).
Organizations that have up to 10 users, or do not require mobile push
notifications, will likely find the Free plan to be the most convenient
option. Larger organizations are encouraged to apply for the free Community
plan, which includes unlimited push notifications and support for many Zulip
features.
If you aren't sure whether your organization qualifies, submitting a sponsorship
form describing your situation is a great starting point. Many organizations
that don't qualify for the Community plan can still receive discounted paid
plan pricing.
These instructions describe the Community plan application process for an
existing Zulip server. If you would like to inquire about Community plan
eligibility prior to setting up a server, contact
sales@zulip.com.
Organizations that do not qualify for a Community plan may be offered a
discount on the Business plan.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All versions
-
Your Zulip server administrator should register the server with Zulip's
Mobile Push Notification Service, following these
instructions.
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, scroll down to the
Sponsorship and discounts area, and click Apply here.
-
Fill out the requested information, and click Submit. Your application
will be reviewed for Community plan eligibility.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Register the server with Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service, following
these
instructions.
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, scroll down to the
Sponsorship and discounts area, and click Apply here.
-
Fill out the requested information, and click Submit. Your application
will be reviewed for Community plan eligibility.
Organizations that do not qualify for a Community plan may be offered a
discount on the Business plan.
Paid plan discounts
The following types of organizations are generally eligible for significant
discounts on paid plans. You can also contact
sales@zulip.com to discuss bulk discount pricing for a
large organization.
If there are any circumstances that make regular pricing unaffordable for your
organization, contact sales@zulip.com to discuss your
situation.
Education pricing
Organizations operated by individual educators (for example, a professor
teaching one or more classes) are generally eligible for a free
Community plan.
Departments and other institutions using Zulip are eligible for discounted
education pricing.
-
For-profit education pricing:
- Basic plan: $0.50 per user per month
- Business plan: $1 per user per month with annual billing
($1.20/month billed monthly) with a minimum purchase of 100 licenses.
-
Non-profit education pricing: The non-profit discount applies to
online purchases only (no additional legal agreements) for use at registered
non-profit institutions (e.g., colleges and universities).
- Basic plan: $0.35 per user per month
- Business plan: $0.67 per user per month with annual billing
($0.80/month billed monthly) with a minimum purchase of 100 licenses.
Non-profit pricing
Non-profits with no paid staff are eligible for the free Community plan.
For non-profits with paid staff, volunteers and other unpaid participants in
your community are eligible for free Zulip accounts. Additionally, discounts are
available for paid staff accounts. Contact
sales@zulip.com to arrange discounted pricing for your
organization.
Guest user discounts
There is no automatic discount for guest users. However, organizations with a
large number of guest users are very likely to be eligible for a discount. If
this is your situation, please apply for a discount or email
sales@zulip.com.
Duplicate accounts
Some servers host multiple organizations, with some individuals having accounts in
several of these organizations. If you have this setup, the ability to
configure whether guests can see other
users
(introduced in Zulip 8.0) may allow you to consolidate into a single Zulip
organization.
If you want to maintain a multi-organization setup with duplicate accounts, you
may contact sales@zulip.com to arrange a discounted rate.
Apply for a paid plan discount
These instructions describe the paid plan discount application process for an
existing Zulip server. If you would like to inquire about paid plan discount
eligibility prior to setting up a server, contact
sales@zulip.com.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All versions
-
Your Zulip server administrator should register the server with Zulip's
Mobile Push Notification Service, following these
instructions.
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, scroll down to the
Sponsorship and discounts area, and click Apply here.
-
Select your preferred option from the Plan dropdown.
-
Fill out the requested information, and click Submit. Your application
will be reviewed for discount eligibility.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Register the server with Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service, following
these
instructions.
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, scroll down to the
Sponsorship and discounts area, and click Apply here.
-
Select your preferred option from the Plan dropdown.
-
Fill out the requested information, and click Submit. Your application
will be reviewed for discount eligibility.
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
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All versions
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
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.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
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.
How paid plans support the Zulip project
Zulip is proudly independent, with no venture capital
funding,
which means that revenue strongly impacts the pace of Zulip’s development. Paid
plans for self-hosted customers help fund improvements in Zulip's self-hosting
experience, and overall product development. Zulip needs the support of
businesses that self-host Zulip in order to thrive as an independent, 100%
open-source project.
You can also learn about other ways to support
the Zulip project.
Self-hosting Zulip for free
Zulip is 100% open-source. Organizations that do not require support with their
installation can always use Zulip for free with no limitations. Additionally,
the Mobile Push Notification
Service
is provided free of charge for organizations with up to 10 users.
You can self-manage your Zulip installation without signing up for a plan. Get
started with the installation
guide.
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