# Zulip — Organized team chat

> Organized team chat application for enhanced team productivity and focused communication. (iPhone/iPad app by Kandra Labs, Inc..)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zulip/id1203036395 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Kandra Labs, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1194159660)
- Category: Productivity, Social Networking
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.70/5 from 16 App Store ratings · 89 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 44 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2017-05-18
- Data updated: 2026-08-21
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zulip/id1203036395/reviews.md

## What is Zulip?

Zulip (https://zulip.com/) helps teams of all sizes be more productive together, from a few friends hacking on a new idea, to globally distributed organizations with hundreds of people tackling the world's hardest problems.

Unlike other chat apps, Zulip lets you read and respond to every message in context, no matter when it was sent. Maintain your focus and then catch up on your own time, reading the topics you care about, and skimming or skipping the rest.

Like everything Zulip, this official Zulip mobile app is 100% open-source software: https://github.com/zulip/zulip-flutter . Thank you to the hundreds of contributors who have made Zulip what it is!

Zulip is available as a managed cloud service or a self-hosted solution.

Please send questions, comments, and bug reports to support@zulip.com, or tweet @zulip.

## Key features

- Organized team chat
- Contextual message reading
- Topic-based conversations
- Focus maintenance
- Open-source software
- Cloud and self-hosted options

## Recent user reviews (10 of 89)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zulip/id1203036395/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Where’s the emojis?!?

*2026-07-22*

The last update removed the emojis option from messages. I can no longer like a message or put a smiley face or whatever on messages posted to me. 

It appears this app has less options than going on the web. It could really use some major work.

### 3/5 — Crude port

*2026-01-29*

This port is okay…but it’s missing message moving, nor does it badge the number of notifications, making it near-useless. Furthermore, when you read a message, the notifications don’t clear, and when selecting a topic, instead of showing a list of topics, it shows a mishmash of different topics. I used to use the website in Safari, but this isn’t much better. Please fix this app.

### 5/5 — I love it

*2025-11-08, version 30.0.267*

Zulip is an outstanding messaging platform for teams that value structured communication. What impresses me most is the unique threading system with Topics, which allows multiple conversations to run in parallel without losing track of anything.
Highlights:
	•	Crystal-clear organization through Streams and Topics
	•	Easy to follow older conversations and catch up on what you missed
	•	Excellent search functionality
	•	Open-source and privacy-friendly
	•	Great integrations with other tools
	•	Scales well from small teams to large organizations
The app is especially useful for remote teams and projects with many parallel discussions. Unlike other messengers, nothing gets lost in an endless chat stream here. You can jump in and out of conversations without the confusion typical of linear chat apps.
Clear recommendation for anyone looking for a professional alternative to Slack or Microsoft Teams!

### 1/5 — Unfassbar schlecht

*2025-10-28, version 30.0.266*

komplett unbrauchbar

### 5/5 — Highly recommended

*2025-09-05, version 30.0.264*

The refreshed app (released Jun 2025) works quite well. I recommend everyone gives it a try, especially if they had issues in the past.

### 3/5 — Getting There

*2025-08-25, version 30.0.264*

I love zulip and the team behind it, but the app really needs to catch up with messengers- every action needs too many steps.

### 1/5 — Horrible, even for open source

*2025-08-22, version 30.0.264*

I was told, the rework of the app would make everything more usable. It didn’t. It’s the same old app with a new coat of paint. The UX is still as bad as before. But now there‘s cool new features like: if someone breaks into my phone, they can not change my profile picture or mark messages as read by going into a thread and scrolling through them…
Because that broke with the latest update.
But fear not, all your messages will still be piled up in a neat sonder file stack on your lockscreen.

### 5/5 — Great Slack Alternative

*2025-08-14, version 30.0.263*

If you are in the market for a Slack alternative, Zulip is easy to use and can even be self hosted. The topic-based threading is an incredibly powerful feature for keeping distributed team conversations organized and focused. This structure prevents important discussions from getting lost in a chaotic stream, making it a highly effective tool for asynchronous communication. The app's open-source nature and robust integrations with tools like GitHub and Jira also make it an excellent choice for development and technical teams.

### 4/5 — Moved here from Slack

*2025-08-04, version 30.0.262*

Since slack was no longer for free, we had to find a different place similar to slack. Zulip is working fine for my team and I. It is a bit weird, that the pictures are shown as a sort of link/URL when writing the message and it’s gives a tiny bit of an old-styled vibe. But that’s no issue to be honest.

### 3/5 — I really want to love it

*2025-07-27, version 30.0.262*

The app is currently okay but basic functionality like creating channels is missing. I really, really, want to love this app but I just don’t at present.

## Frequently asked questions about Zulip

### What does Zulip do?

Zulip is a team chat application designed to enhance productivity by allowing users to read and respond to messages in context. It helps teams of all sizes stay organized and focused on important conversations.

### How does Zulip help with focus?

Unlike other chat apps, Zulip allows you to maintain your focus by reading and responding to messages within their original context. You can then catch up on your own time by prioritizing topics you care about and skimming or skipping others.

### Is Zulip free to use?

The application is free to use, and the official mobile app is 100% open-source software. Zulip is available as a managed cloud service or a self-hosted solution, with potential costs associated with the service or hosting.

### What are the main features of Zulip?

Key features include organized team chat, contextual message reading and responding, topic-based conversations for better focus, and the option for both cloud-based and self-hosted deployments. The app is also fully open-source.

### Who is Zulip for?

Zulip is designed for teams of all sizes, from small groups of friends working on a project to large, globally distributed organizations. It aims to help any team be more productive together.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 30.0.274 — 2026-08-18

* Restore support for iOS 15. (PR #2373)
* Fix glitches where a message you just sent could appear twice or stay marked as sending. (#929, #2397)
* Speed up the initial load by around 20% in large organizations. (#254)
* Reconnect sooner when you come back to the app or your network changes. (#1884, #2415)
* Fix loading older messages when many in a row are muted. (#1256)
* Too many other improvements and fixes to describe them all here.

### 30.0.273 — 2026-06-30

* Report a message to your moderators. (#1972)
* Show notifications even while the app is in the foreground, and fix a bug where notifications were silent. (#408)
* Respect the system "Auto-Play Animated Images" setting on iOS 18+. (#1924)
* Offer to open the browser when the video player can't play a video's format. (#1208)
* Too many other improvements and fixes to describe them all here.

### 30.0.272 — 2026-04-22

* Start getting end-to-end encrypted notifications from new servers. (#1764)
* Fix keyboard glitch in switching between topic and content input. (#1974)
* Channel folders in the inbox.
* Tap an @-mention to visit user profile.
* Too many other improvements and fixes to describe them all here.

### 30.0.271 — 2026-03-12

* You can now reach the search page directly from the inbox or the combined feed. (#1854)
* You can now pin and unpin channels. (#1942)
* Too many other improvements and fixes to describe them all here.

### 30.0.270 — 2026-01-27

* Support inline images in message paragraphs, new in Zulip Server 12. (#1913)
* Dedupe message-list pages on opening a notification. (#1852)
* Topic-list page stays up to date when a topic is resolved or moved. (#1499)
* Confirm before marking read across multiple conversations. (#1858)
* Too many other improvements and fixes to describe them all here.

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## Related topics

[zulip](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/zulip) · [zulip chat](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/zulip-chat) · [pronto team communication](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/pronto-team-communication) · [xelle connexion](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/xelle-connexion)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-21.*
