Zulip vs Synctrain
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Organized team chat
- Contextual message reading
- Topic-based conversations
- Focus maintenance
- Open-source software
- Cloud and self-hosted options
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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.
Synctrain
Securely synchronize files and folders between your devices. Stream audio and video directly from other devices. Manage file sharing permissions to control access to your data.
- Secure file synchronization
- Full folder synchronization
- Specific file selection
- Audio and video streaming
- Cross-device file mirroring
- Customizable sharing permissions
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With Synctrain you can securely synchronize files with other devices that have Syncthing installed. You can choose to synchronize full folders, or choose specific files. With Synctrain you can also stream audio and video files from other devices. When you synchronize files, all changes, including deleting files, also happen on your other devices. Do not use Synctrain for back-up purposes, and always keep a back-up of your data. You decide with which devices you share which files. This also means the app makers cannot help you access or recover any lost files. This app is powered by Syncthing. This app is however not associated with or endorsed by Syncthing nor its developers. Please do not expect support from the Syncthing developers. Instead, contact the maker of this app if you have questions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Synctrain at 89% against Zulip's 39%. Synctrain also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.7) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Zulip's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Synctrain holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Synctrain has 123 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 89% of Synctrain's.
Zulip ships an update monthly, Synctrain every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Zulip | Synctrain |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (16 ratings) | 4.9 (123 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 39.3% of reviews | 89.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16 | 123 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kandra Labs, Inc. | T-Shaped |
Customer experience
Zulip
Synctrain
Bugs and requests
Zulip
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Synctrain
Reported bugs
2 issues- Occasional app crashes
- Sync delays on some devices
Requested features
2 requests- Direct photo/video sync to remote devices
- Faster initial connection to server
In-app purchases
Zulip
No in-app purchases
Synctrain
No in-app purchases
