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GitHub sets a December 8 cutoff for ARM32 Actions runners and opens AI Scan to the API.
Alternatives · team collaboration tools
Zulip alternatives
The best Zulip alternatives in team collaboration tools, ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score.
Updated Nov 14, 2026
Looking for the best alternatives to Zulip? Sparkpulse tracks and ranks 12 alternatives in team collaboration tools by shipping velocity — how frequently each ships meaningful updates, verified from official changelogs. For reference, Zulip shipped 0 meaningful updates in the last 30 days and carries a velocity score of 5.0 out of 10 in 2026. The alternatives below are ranked the same way, so you're comparing real release momentum, not marketing claims.
About Zulip
Zulip donates itself to a nonprofit foundation as its founder joins Anthropic.
Two consequential moves landed inside three weeks. Tim Abbott, Zulip's longtime leader, is stepping back to join Anthropic along with three senior Kandra Labs engineers, and the for-profit company is being donated to a newly formed independent Zulip Foundation. In parallel, Zulip Server 12.0 shipped — roughly 5,500 commits, end-to-end encryption for mobile push notifications, a major Docker upgrade, and configurable image previews — alongside routine 11.x security patches and a self-hosted AI search integration via Atolio.
Velocity 5.0 · Last update 6mo ago
Top 12 alternatives to Zulip
Ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial breakdown, or pivot to a head-to-head.
COLLAB
Double turns a recorded Chrome session into an agent that repeats the task.
COLLAB
Teable adds Get Started guides to templates and shareable artifacts from the CLI.
COLLAB
Softr's AI App Builder generates the database, roles, workflows and frontend from one prompt.
COLLAB
Mattermost v12.1 puts bots and burn-after-reading messages under the same access rules.
PM
Asana lets Division admins run their own custom roles, on top Enterprise plans only.
COLLAB
Hive turns reporting into a planning tool: shared inputs, grouped values, per-person drill-downs.
DEVOPS
GitLab's week is guides: Jira tickets to merge requests, and cleaning up leaked agent secrets.
COLLAB
CryptPad rebuilt its server and swapped its office engine; now it is patching the fallout.
COLLAB
Readwise launches Books, its own ebook store and reading app, a week after unbundling.
COMMS
Slack now hosts any A2A agent without Slack-specific code.
COLLAB
Interact opens its intranet to outside AI assistants and uses Claude to attack its own platform.
Zulip vs alternatives — shipping velocity at a glance
Velocity score (0–10) and meaningful releases shipped in the last 30 days, from official changelogs. Higher = shipping faster.
| Product | Velocity | Sparks · 30d | Focus areas | Latest release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zulip (baseline) | 5.0 | 0 | governance-transitionself-hosted-chatend-to-end-encryption | Announcing the Zulip Foundation |
| GitHub | 10.0 | 0 | copilotcode-securityactions | — |
| Double | 8.8 | 3 | ai-agentsaccountingtask recording | Double records a task in Chrome and turns it into an agent |
| Teable | 8.8 | 0 | no-code-databaseai-agentstemplates | — |
| Softr | 7.5 | 2 | no-codeai app builderdatabase | AI App Builder |
| Mattermost | 6.3 | 1 | access controlzero trustdefense | Mattermost v12: Agents Are Doing the Work. Now Control What They Can See. |
| Asana | 6.3 | 1 | work-managementgovernancepermissions | Introducing: Tables |
| Hive | 6.3 | 0 | project managementreportingbulk actions | — |
| GitLab | 6.3 | 1 | ai agentsduo agent platformsecrets | GitLab Orbit is GA: Higher agent accuracy, lower token cost |
| CryptPad | 6.3 | 1 | self-hostingencryptionoffice-suite | 🍂 Autumn Release (2026.10.0) |
| Readwise | 6.3 | 1 | ebook-storereading-appspricing | Readwise launches Books, an ebook store and reading app |
| Slack | 6.3 | 1 | agentsa2amcp | Bring your A2A agents to Slack |
| Interact | 5.0 | 0 | intranetmcpagentic-ai | — |
The 12 best Zulip alternatives, in depth
1. GitHub · velocity 10.0
GitHub sets a December 8 cutoff for ARM32 Actions runners and opens AI Scan to the API.
Its velocity score of 10.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, GitHub focuses on copilot, code security and actions.
GitHub and Zulip have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
2. Double · velocity 8.8
Double turns a recorded Chrome session into an agent that repeats the task.
Over the last 30 days Double shipped 3 meaningful updates vs Zulip's 0, most recently “Double records a task in Chrome and turns it into an agent”. Its velocity score of 8.8/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, Double focuses on ai agents, accounting and task recording.
Over the last 30 days Double has been shipping faster than Zulip — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
3. Teable · velocity 8.8
Teable adds Get Started guides to templates and shareable artifacts from the CLI.
Its velocity score of 8.8/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, Teable focuses on no code database, ai agents and templates.
Teable and Zulip have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
4. Softr · velocity 7.5
Softr's AI App Builder generates the database, roles, workflows and frontend from one prompt.
Over the last 30 days Softr shipped 2 meaningful updates vs Zulip's 0, most recently “AI App Builder”. Its velocity score of 7.5/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, Softr focuses on no code, ai app builder and database.
Over the last 30 days Softr has been shipping faster than Zulip — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
5. Mattermost · velocity 6.3
Mattermost v12.1 puts bots and burn-after-reading messages under the same access rules.
Over the last 30 days Mattermost shipped 1 meaningful update vs Zulip's 0, most recently “Mattermost v12: Agents Are Doing the Work. Now Control What They Can See.”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, Mattermost focuses on access control, zero trust and defense.
Over the last 30 days Mattermost has been shipping faster than Zulip — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
Full Mattermost trajectory → · Compare Zulip vs Mattermost →
6. Asana · velocity 6.3
Asana lets Division admins run their own custom roles, on top Enterprise plans only.
Over the last 30 days Asana shipped 1 meaningful update vs Zulip's 0, most recently “Introducing: Tables”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, Asana focuses on work management, governance and permissions.
Over the last 30 days Asana has been shipping faster than Zulip — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
7. Hive · velocity 6.3
Hive turns reporting into a planning tool: shared inputs, grouped values, per-person drill-downs.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, Hive focuses on project management, reporting and bulk actions.
Hive and Zulip have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
8. GitLab · velocity 6.3
GitLab's week is guides: Jira tickets to merge requests, and cleaning up leaked agent secrets.
Over the last 30 days GitLab shipped 1 meaningful update vs Zulip's 0, most recently “GitLab Orbit is GA: Higher agent accuracy, lower token cost”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, GitLab focuses on ai agents, duo agent platform and secrets.
Over the last 30 days GitLab has been shipping faster than Zulip — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
9. CryptPad · velocity 6.3
CryptPad rebuilt its server and swapped its office engine; now it is patching the fallout.
Over the last 30 days CryptPad shipped 1 meaningful update vs Zulip's 0, most recently “🍂 Autumn Release (2026.10.0)”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, CryptPad focuses on self hosting, encryption and office suite.
Over the last 30 days CryptPad has been shipping faster than Zulip — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
10. Readwise · velocity 6.3
Readwise launches Books, its own ebook store and reading app, a week after unbundling.
Over the last 30 days Readwise shipped 1 meaningful update vs Zulip's 0, most recently “Readwise launches Books, an ebook store and reading app”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, Readwise focuses on ebook store, reading apps and pricing.
Over the last 30 days Readwise has been shipping faster than Zulip — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
11. Slack · velocity 6.3
Slack now hosts any A2A agent without Slack-specific code.
Over the last 30 days Slack shipped 1 meaningful update vs Zulip's 0, most recently “Bring your A2A agents to Slack”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, Slack focuses on agents, a2a and mcp.
Over the last 30 days Slack has been shipping faster than Zulip — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
12. Interact · velocity 5.0
Interact opens its intranet to outside AI assistants and uses Claude to attack its own platform.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Zulip leans on governance transition, self hosted chat and end to end encryption, Interact focuses on intranet, mcp and agentic ai.
Interact and Zulip have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best alternatives to Zulip?
The top Zulip alternatives we currently track in team collaboration tools are GitHub, Double, Teable, Softr, Mattermost, ranked by recent ship velocity.
How is this list of Zulip alternatives ranked?
Alternatives are ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score — release cadence + 30-day spark count + sector-relative ship rate.
Can I compare Zulip directly with one of these alternatives?
Yes — every card has a "Compare with Zulip" link to a side-by-side /compare page.