Top List · Team Chat Apps

10 Team Chat Apps for Small Business in 2026

From free built-in options to self-hosted servers, here is what each team chat tool offers and where it falls short.

Published November 9, 2026The Emerging Tech How To desk

Team chat keeps decisions out of long email threads. These ten range from free tiers to self-hosted systems. Prices come from each maker's own page today, and where a page did not show a price we say so.

1Slack

From: SlackPrice: Free; Pro $7.25 per user a month on annual billing; Business+ $15 annualBest for: Teams that want the broadest app ecosystem

Free plan keeps 90 days of history and up to 10 apps. Pro adds unlimited history and integrations, and Business+ adds Slackbot AI search and recaps. The catch: the free plan's history limit.

Visit Slack →

2Zoom Team Chat

From: ZoomPrice: Included with Zoom Workplace, including the free Basic planBest for: Teams already on Zoom meetings

Included in every Zoom Workplace plan, including the free one. Each meeting gets its own chat, and AI can summarize threads. The catch: the page does not list paid-plan prices.

Visit Zoom Team Chat →

3Google Chat

From: GooglePrice: Included with Google WorkspaceBest for: Companies already on Google Workspace

Included with Workspace at no extra cost and works with Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Meet. Gemini can summarize conversations. The catch: some features, like huddles, depend on your plan.

Visit Google Chat →

4Zoho Cliq

From: ZohoPrice: Free; Standard $16.20 a month flat for up to 25 users on annual billingBest for: Small teams that want a cheap or free tier

Free plan has 10,000 searchable messages and 100 GB of storage per organization. Standard is a flat fee for up to 25 users. The catch: external channels and call recording need a paid plan.

Visit Zoho Cliq →

5Pumble

From: CAKE.comPrice: Free; Pro $2.49 per seat a month on annual billingBest for: Budget teams that need unlimited history

Free plan has unlimited message history and unlimited users, but group meetings need Pro. The catch: free video calls are 1:1 only and free storage is 10 GB total.

Visit Pumble →

6Chanty

From: ChantyPrice: Free for up to 5 members; Business $3 per user a month billed annuallyBest for: Small teams that want built-in tasks

Free plan allows up to 5 team members and includes task management inside chat. The catch: only 10 integrations and community support on the free plan.

Visit Chanty →

7Flock

From: FlockPrice: Starter free; PRO has a 30-day trial (price not shown on the page)Best for: Teams of up to 20 that want a free start

Starter is free for 1 to 20 members with unlimited messages. The catch: only 10,000 searchable messages, and no group video or screen sharing on the free plan.

Visit Flock →

8Twist

From: DoistPrice: Free; Unlimited US$6 per user a monthBest for: Teams that work across time zones

Built around threaded, asynchronous conversations. Guests are free on the Free plan. The catch: Free shows only 1 month of history and 5 integrations.

Visit Twist →

9Mattermost

From: MattermostPrice: Contact salesBest for: Companies that must host chat themselves

Self-hosted chat with SSO, LDAP sync and bring-your-own LLM support on Professional, capped at 250 users. The catch: pricing is by sales contact and the page does not state a free tier.

Visit Mattermost →

10Rocket.Chat

From: Rocket.ChatPrice: Free self-managed workspace; commercial plans via salesBest for: Teams with strict data-control needs

Offers on-prem, private cloud and air-gapped deployment, plus a free self-managed workspace to try. The catch: commercial pricing is sales-led and setup is technical.

Visit Rocket.Chat →

How we picked

We opened each maker's own page for features and pricing and used Zapier's 2026 team chat guide to see which apps are the common small-business picks. Microsoft Teams is left off this list only because its pages would not load for us today, not because of quality. Where a page did not show a price or limit, we left it out. Picks mix mainstream tools with budget and self-hosted options.

Sources

The 5 best team chat apps for business in 2026 (Zapier)
Slack pricing (Slack)
Zoho Cliq pricing (Zoho)
Pumble pricing (Pumble)
Google Chat (Google)

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