Self-hosted Zulip billing
This page describes how to manage your self-hosted plan, and answers some common
questions about plans and billing for self-hosted organizations. Please refer to
Self-hosted Zulip plans and pricing for plan
details. If you have any questions not answered here, please don't hesitate to
reach out at sales@zulip.com.
Business plan details and upgrades
The Business plan is appropriate for most business organizations. It includes
unlimited access to the Mobile Push Notification Service and commercial support
for dozens of features and integrations that help businesses take full advantage
of their Zulip implementation.
For businesses with up to 10 Zulip users, the Self-managed plan is a good
option, and includes free access to the Mobile Push Notification service. For
commercial support with your installation, sign up for the Business plan, with a
minimum purchase of 10 licenses.
If you organization requires hands-on support, such as real-time support during
installation and upgrades, support for advanced deployment options, custom
feature development or integrations, etc., should contact
sales@zulip.com to discuss pricing.
Business plan discounts are available in a variety of situations; see
below for details.
Upgrades for legacy customers
Any Zulip server that registered for Zulip's Mobile Push Notification
Service
prior to December 12, 2023 is considered to be a legacy customer. Legacy
customers can continue using the notification service for free (no action
required) until February 15, 2024.
To continue using the service after that date, organizations with more than 10
users must upgrade to the Business, Community or Enterprise plan. When you
upgrade to the Business plan, you can start the plan right away (if you‘d like
your technical support to start immediately), or schedule a February 15 start date.
Do I have to upgrade my server first?
While upgrading your Zulip server to version 8.0+ makes it more convenient to
manage your plan, you do not have to upgrade your Zulip installation in order to
sign up for a plan. The same plans are offered for all Zulip versions.
In addition to hundreds of other improvements, upgrading to Zulip Server 8.0+ lets
you:
-
Easily log in to Zulip plan management, without an additional server
authentication step.
-
Separately manage plans for all the organizations on your server.
-
Upload only the basic
metadata
required for the service, without also uploading usage
statistics.
If you upgrade your server after signing up for a plan, you will be able to
transfer your plan to an organization on your server. If your server has one
organization on it, this will happen automatically. Otherwise, contact
support@zulip.com for help.
Upgrading to Zulip Business
If your server has more than one organization, upgrade to Zulip Server 8.0+
manage billing and upgrades separately for each organization. Older servers
only support server-wide plan management.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All older versions
This feature is only available to organization owners and billing administrators.
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
You will be logged in to Zulip's Plans and pricing
page. Under the Business pricing plan on the
Self-hosted tab, click Upgrade to Business.
-
Select your preferred option from the Payment schedule dropdown.
-
Under Plan start date, select February 15, 2024 or Today.
-
Click Add card to enter your payment details.
-
Click Purchase Zulip Business to upgrade immediately, or Schedule
upgrade to Zulip Business to schedule an upgrade for February 15.
If your server hosts more than one organization, commercial
support for server-wide configurations requires upgrading the
organization with the largest number of users.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
Select your preferred option from the Payment schedule dropdown.
-
Under Plan start date, select February 15, 2024 or Today.
-
Click Add card to enter your payment details.
-
Click Purchase Zulip Business to upgrade immediately, or Schedule
upgrade to Zulip Business to schedule an upgrade for February 15.
Upgrades for new customers
New customers are eligible for a free 30-day trial of Zulip Business. An
organization is considered to be a new customer if:
- It was not registered for Zulip's Mobile Push Notification
Service
prior to December 12, 2023, and
- It has never previously signed up for a self-hosted Zulip plan (Business,
Community or Enterprise).
If your server has more than one organization, upgrade to Zulip Server 8.0+
manage billing and upgrades separately for each organization. Older servers
only support server-wide plan management.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All older versions
-
Your Zulip server administrator should register the server with Zulip's
Mobile Push Notification Service, following these
instructions.
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
Under the Business pricing plan on the Self-hosted tab, click
Start 30-day trial.
-
Click Add card to enter your payment details.
-
Click Start 30-day trial to start your free trial.
Once you start the trial, you can switch between monthly and annual billing
on your organization's billing page.
If your server hosts more than one organization, commercial
support for server-wide configurations requires upgrading the
organization with the largest number of users.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Register the server with Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service, following
these
instructions.
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
Under the Business pricing plan on the Self-hosted tab, click
Start 30-day trial.
-
Click Add card to enter your payment details.
-
Click Start 30-day trial to start your free trial.
Once you start the trial, you can switch between monthly and annual billing
on your organization's billing page.
Manage billing
If your server has more than one organization, upgrade to Zulip Server 8.0+
manage billing and upgrades separately for each organization. Older servers
only support server-wide plan management.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All older versions
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
Cancel paid plan
If your server has more than one organization, upgrade to Zulip Server 8.0+
manage billing and upgrades separately for each organization. Older servers
only support server-wide plan management.
If you cancel your plan, your organization will be downgraded to the
Self-managed plan at the end of the current billing period.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All older versions
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
At the bottom of the page, click Cancel plan.
-
Click Downgrade to confirm.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
At the bottom of the page, click Cancel plan.
-
Click Downgrade to confirm.
Zulip sponsors free plans for over 1000 worthy organizations. The following
types of organizations are generally eligible for the free Community plan.
- Open-source projects, including projects with a small paid team.
- Research organizations, such as research groups, cross-institutional
collaborations, etc.
- Communities, such as clubs or special interest groups.
- Education and non-profit organizations with up to 100 users.
Organizations that have up to 10 users, or do not require mobile push
notifications, will likely find the Self-managed plan to be the most convenient
option. Larger organizations are encouraged to apply for the free Community
plan, which includes unlimited push notifications and support for many Zulip
features
If you aren't sure whether your organization qualifies, submitting a sponsorship
form describing your situation is a great starting point. Many organizations
that don't qualify for the Community plan can still receive discounted Business
plan pricing.
These instructions describe the Community plan application process for an
existing Zulip server. If you would like to inquire about Community plan
eligibility prior to setting up a server, contact
sales@zulip.com.
Organizations that do not qualify for a Community plan may be offered a
discount on the Business plan.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All older versions
-
Your Zulip server administrator should register the server with Zulip's
Mobile Push Notification Service, following these
instructions.
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
Under the Community pricing plan on the Self-hosted tab, click
Apply to upgrade.
-
Fill out the requested information, and click Submit. Your application
will be reviewed for Community plan eligibility.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Register the server with Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service, following
these
instructions.
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
Under the Community pricing plan on the Self-hosted tab, click
Apply to upgrade.
-
Fill out the requested information, and click Submit. Your application
will be reviewed for Community plan eligibility.
Organizations that do not qualify for a Community plan may be offered a
discount on the Business plan.
Business plan discounts
The following types of organizations are generally eligible for significant
discounts on the Zulip Business plan. You can also contact
sales@zulip.com to discuss bulk discount pricing for a
large organization.
-
Education pricing is available with a minimum purchase of 100 licenses.
Organizations with up to 100 users are eligible for free Community plan
sponsorship.
-
For-profit education pricing: $1 per user per month with annual billing
($1.20/month billed monthly).
-
Non-profit education pricing: $0.67 per user per month with annual billing
($0.80/month billed monthly). The non-profit discount applies to
online purchases only (no additional legal agreements) for use at registered
non-profit institutions (e.g. colleges and universities).
-
Non-profit discounts of 85+% are available with a minimum purchase of 100
licenses. Organizations with up to 100 users are eligible for free Community plan
sponsorship.
-
Discounts are available for organizations based in the developing world.
-
Any organization where many users are not paid staff is likely eligible for a discount.
Apply for Business plan discount
These instructions describe the Business plan discount application process for an
existing Zulip server. If you would like to inquire about Business plan discount
eligibility prior to setting up a server, contact
sales@zulip.com.
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All older versions
-
Your Zulip server administrator should register the server with Zulip's
Mobile Push Notification Service, following these
instructions.
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
Under Sponsorship and discounts on the Self-hosted tab, click
Request sponsorship.
-
Under Plan, select Business.
-
Fill out the requested information, and click Submit. Your application
will be reviewed for discount eligibility.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Register the server with Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service, following
these
instructions.
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
Under Sponsorship and discounts on the Self-hosted tab, click
Request sponsorship.
-
Under Plan, select Business.
-
Fill out the requested information, and click Submit. Your application
will be reviewed for discount eligibility.
Payment methods
Can I pay by credit card and/or invoice?
You can always use a credit card to pay. If you would like to pay by invoice,
you will need to sign up for an annual plan.
What is the difference between automatic and manual billing?
With automatic billing, you automatically purchase a Zulip license for each user
in your organization at the start of each billing period (month or year).
[Deactivating a user][deactivate-user] frees up their license for reuse.
Additional licenses are purchased automatically as needed.
With manual billing, you choose and pay for a preset user limit. If
he limit is reached, no more users can join until licenses are manually
added.
In general, selecting automatic billing is highly recommended unless you
have a specific reason to do otherwise.
Manually manage licenses
- Zulip Server 8.0+
- All older versions
-
Click on the gear () icon in
the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
-
Select Plan management.
-
(first-time log in) Enter the e-mail address you want to use for plan
management, and click Continue.
-
(first-time log in) In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and
log in.
-
(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and
accept the Terms of Service.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue.
-
Modify Number of licenses for current billing period or Number of
licenses for next billing period, and click Update.
You can only increase the number of licenses for the current billing period.
A server administrator is anyone who sets up and manages your Zulip
installation. A billing administrator is anyone responsible for managing
your Zulip plan.
Server administrator steps:
-
Go to https://selfhosting.zulip.com/serverlogin/.
-
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
-
Enter the e-mail address of the billing contact for your organization,
and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
-
In your e-mail account, open the e-mail you received
(Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
-
Verify your information, and click Continue. If you are logging in for
the first time, you will need to enter your name and accept the Terms of
Service.
-
Modify Number of licenses for current billing period or Number of
licenses for next billing period, and click Update.
You can only increase the number of licenses for the current billing period.
Self-managed installations
Zulip is 100% open-source. Organizations that do not require support with their
installation can always use Zulip for free with no limitations. Additionally,
the Mobile Push Notification
Service
is provided free of charge for organizations with up to 10 users.
You can self-manage your Zulip installation without signing up for a plan. Get
started with the installation
guide.
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