Comparison

Zulip vs Anytype

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Zulip

This app provides organized team chat for groups of any size, enabling users to read and respond to messages in context. It helps maintain focus by allowing users to catch up on topics of interest at their own pace. The application is open-source and available as a cloud service or self-hosted solution.

Highlights
  • Organized team chat
  • Contextual message reading
  • Topic-based conversations
  • Focus maintenance
  • Open-source software
  • Cloud and self-hosted options
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Anytype

This app unifies conversations, documents, notes, files, and databases into a single, private application. It offers powerful, local-first collaboration with end-to-end encryption, offline access, and secure cross-device syncing, ensuring your data always remains yours.

Highlights
  • Unified workspace for conversations, docs, notes, files, and databases
  • End-to-end encrypted and offline accessible
  • Local-first collaboration
  • Create and edit pages with blocks
  • Define custom content types
  • Publish content to the web
  • Manage lists and tasks with properties
Features
Read full description

Anytype is a private, offline-first workspace for notes, docs, tasks, and team collaboration — end-to-end encrypted, with your data stored on your device. No accounts mining your thoughts, no cloud lock-in. A safe haven for your digital life. Flexible Knowledge Anytype adapts to the way your brain works, allowing you to link anything to everything. Create a living map of your ideas. • Capture & Reflect: Rich-media notes, long-form docs, and daily journals. • Plan & Execute: Tasks and projects in Kanban boards, calendars, galleries, and filtered lists. • Organize & Archive: Build personal wikis, research databases, or curated bookmark libraries. Secure Collaboration Collaborate in real-time without surrendering your privacy. You can work offline, sync peer-to-peer, or run entirely on your own network. • Private Collaboration: Shared spaces for teams and family to work together. • Integrated Chat: Chat with friends or have discussions directly on documents. • Share Online: Web publish content so others can access it directly in the browser. Uncompromising Security & Privacy • End-to-End Encrypted: Only you and those you share with can access your data. No exceptions. • Works Offline: No internet? No problem. Access everything offline, use peer-to-peer sync, or run on your own network. • Open Source: Keep your software forever or take your data with you. Zero lock-in. Also available on desktop at anytype.io Anytype — a safe haven for your thoughts, your work, and the people you collaborate with.

Screenshots

Zulip3 screens
Anytype4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Anytype at 4.5 against Zulip's 3.7. Anytype also leads on review sentiment (64% vs 39%) and ratings volume (241 vs 16). Zulip's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Anytype sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Zulip asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Anytype holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Anytype has 241 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Zulip's written reviews are positive against 64% of Anytype's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zulip ships an update monthly, Anytype fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on August 21, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Zulip versus Anytype: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZulipAnytype
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (16 ratings)4.5 (241 ratings) — better
Positive reviews39.3% of reviews64.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings16241 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB264 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperKandra Labs, Inc.Any Association

Customer experience

Zulip

All ratings16 ratings
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews89 reviews
Positive39.3%
Neutral13.5%
Negative47.2%

Anytype

All ratings241 ratings
Positive85.5%
Neutral5.4%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews135 reviews
Positive64.4%
Neutral13.3%
Negative22.2%

Bugs and requests

Zulip

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Anytype

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes and freezes on certain devices
  • Sync issues leading to data loss or duplication
  • Inconsistent behavior when working with nested lists
  • Page jumps and cursor positioning problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add calendar and scheduling features
  • Improve mobile app performance and stability
  • Implement formulas and automation capabilities
  • Allow more customization options for fonts and UI
  • Add widgets for quick access to notes and data

In-app purchases

None

Zulip

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Anytype

Subscriptions2
  • Pro$9.991 Month
  • Builder$119.001 Year

Questions

Is Zulip free?
Zulip is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Anytype free?
Anytype is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Zulip or Anytype?
Anytype is rated higher. Zulip averages 3.7 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Anytype averages 4.5 from 241 ratings.
Do Zulip or Anytype have ads?
Neither Zulip nor Anytype shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zulip or Anytype?
Zulip ships an update monthly, and Anytype fortnightly. Most recently, Zulip was updated on August 21, 2026 and Anytype on September 21, 2026.

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