Zulip vs Zulip Terminal
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted team chat options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Zulip
Threaded team chat that combines email and chat
VS
Zulip Terminal
Terminal client for the Zulip team chat platform
| Feature | Zulip | Zulip Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Team Chat | Team Chat |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 25,619 | ★ 852 |
| First released | 2015 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Slack, Microsoft Teams | Slack |
Why pick each one
Choose Zulip if…
- Excellent conversation organization
- Strong async workflow
- Fully open source
Frequently asked questions
Is Zulip or Zulip Terminal better?
Neither is universally better. Zulip has the larger community, while Zulip Terminal is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Zulip and Zulip Terminal free and open-source?
Yes. Zulip is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Zulip Terminal under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Zulip and Zulip Terminal with Docker?
Zulip: yes. Zulip Terminal: check the project docs for container support.