The free team chat app to choose is the one whose limit you can live with. Most free plans don't cap how many people you invite. They cap how much history you can search, who can join a call, or what you can manage. Check search history first, then calls and storage, before you move a team across.
One question decides most free team chat plans, and it isn't about features: how far back can you search? Most free plans let you invite plenty of people on day one. What they limit is what you can find three months later, when the decision you need is buried in an old thread.
This page groups eight free options by what the free plan takes away: history and search, people and calls, or the comfort of someone else hosting it. They're in no particular order, each free limit is stated as of Nov 2026, and claims about features are the vendor's own.
Why searchable history matters more than headcount
Here's the pattern across almost every free plan on this list. The free plans are generous with seats and stingy with memory. One hides anything older than a month. Two others search only a fixed number of recent messages. One stops at a handful of people and two-person calls, and one open source edition is labelled for non-professional use.
A free plan that looks roomy on day one can quietly lose your history by month three. That's fine for a team that chats and moves on. It's a real problem for a team that makes decisions in chat and expects to find them again, because the answer to "what did we agree with that client?" is suddenly out of reach.
What each free plan takes away
History and search caps
Twist hides messages and comments older than one month on its free plan; the data is kept, but you can't view or search it. The free plan also allows up to 5 integrations and up to 5 GB of file storage, with room for 500 internal members and 500 guests.
Zulip's Cloud Free plan searches only the most recent 10,000 messages, with 5 GB of file storage for the whole organisation. Flock's free Starter plan, aimed at small teams, also searches only 10,000 messages, caps public channels at 10 with a single team admin, and shares 5 GB of storage across the team.
People and call caps
Wire's free plan is for small teams of up to 5 people. Conference calls with more than two participants aren't on the free plan, and nor are team-management settings such as restricting file sharing. Pumble goes the other way on history, listing unlimited message history and channels on its free plan, but keeps it to one-to-one voice and video meetings, with group meetings and screen sharing on an upgrade. It allows up to 3 apps and integrations and 10 GB of storage for the whole workspace.
Bitrix24 is a work suite where chat is one part among CRM, tasks and calendars. Its free plan is for one or two users, with 5 GB of storage and the basic version of the CRM.
Free because you host it, or because a community builds it
Element makes chat client and server software on the open Matrix network. Its Community edition is described by the vendor as open source under AGPL and free of charge for both the frontend and backend, calling included. The limits sit in its own labels: the Community edition is for non-professional deployments and evaluations, is listed for 1 to 100 users, and its homeserver is described as not for production use.
Stoat, formerly known as Revolt, is open source community chat with servers, group DMs and voice, and the vendor says it runs with no ad revenue. File uploads are limited to 20 MB, group DMs hold up to 50 members, and its page shows no SSO or compliance tooling, because it's built for communities rather than business admin. The topic-threaded tool in the first group can also be run on your own server for free, though self-hosted mobile notifications are limited to 10 users unless your group qualifies as open source, research, a small non-profit or a community.
The eight apps, in no particular order
Bitrix24
Best for: Very small businesses that want chat and video calls bundled with a basic CRM, Kanban and Gantt tasks and calendars in one work suite.
Element
Best for: Technical teams evaluating chat on the open Matrix network, with client and server software under AGPL and calling included, per the vendor.
Flock
Best for: Small teams after channels, video calls and a light task layer, with unlimited one-to-one and group messages on its free Starter plan.
Pumble
Best for: Teams that want unlimited message history and channels on a free plan, plus an import option for moving across from Slack, per the vendor.
Stoat
Best for: Communities and hobby groups wanting open source chat with servers, group DMs and voice, from a project formerly known as Revolt.
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Twist
Best for: Remote and async teams that prefer threaded conversations to a constant stream, with room for plenty of members and guests on the free plan.
Wire
Best for: Privacy-minded small teams, with the vendor saying end-to-end encryption covers messaging, calling and file sharing on every plan, free included.
Zulip
Best for: Organisations juggling many conversations at once, where every message sits in a named topic inside a channel, hosted for you or run yourself.
How the eight free plans compare
| Tool | Kind of chat | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Bitrix24 | Chat inside a work suite | Chat and calls bundled with CRM, tasks and calendars |
| Element | Self-hosted Matrix chat | Trying Matrix chat on your own server before committing |
| Flock | Small-team chat | Small teams wanting channels, video calls and simple tasks |
| Pumble | Free-first team chat | Teams moving from another chat app who want full history |
| Stoat | Community-style chat | Communities, clubs and groups rather than managed workplaces |
| Twist | Async threaded chat | Remote teams that work asynchronously in threads |
| Wire | Encrypted team chat | Tiny teams that need encrypted messages and file sharing |
| Zulip | Topic-threaded chat | Busy teams that need conversations sorted by topic |
If none of these feel right and you want the wider field, including tools without a free plan, our guide to team chat apps for small businesses and our list of apps teams switch to from Slack go further.
My plain advice: judge a free plan at month three, not day one
Don't judge a free chat plan by its first week, when everything is visible and search works perfectly. Judge it by month three, when the conversations you need are old ones. If your team makes decisions in chat, pick a plan with full history or a wide search window, or get into the habit of copying decisions into a shared document as you go.
If your team needs calls with everyone at once, check the call caps before anything else, because that's the limit people notice on the first busy Monday. And treat self-hosted or community software as a project in its own right: someone has to install it, update it, back it up and keep it secure, and the community editions here are labelled for evaluation or non-professional use rather than running a business on.
Moving a team across without losing a thread
- Export first. Before anyone moves, export the channels and files you'll want to keep from your current tool, while you still have full access to them.
- Agree channel names up front. A short list of channels, named the same way, stops the new space turning into the old mess on day two.
- Keep decisions outside chat. Put agreed decisions in a shared document and link to it from chat. Then a search cap never takes the answer away.
- Count your integrations. Some free plans allow only a few apps or integrations, so list the ones you can't work without before you choose.
- Start with a small group. Move one team for two weeks, fix what annoys them, then bring everyone else across.
- Set a review date. Pick a day a few months out to check storage, search and call limits against how the team is using the tool.
Do you make a team chat app with a free plan? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
Which free team chat apps keep all your message history?
A few free plans list unlimited message history, but many limit search to a recent window or a fixed number of messages. Check the history line on the vendor's own plan comparison before you move a team across.
Are free team chat apps secure?
Most encrypt data in transit, and some offer end-to-end encryption on every plan, including free. If you handle sensitive client information, read each vendor's security page and check where your data is stored.
Can I self-host team chat for free?
Yes, some open source chat software can be run on your own server at no charge. You take on installation, updates, backups and security, and some community editions are labelled for evaluation or non-professional use only.
What happens to old messages on a free plan?
It depends on the vendor. Some keep older messages but hide them until you upgrade, while others search only the most recent messages. Either way, don't rely on a free chat plan as your archive.
Is a free chat app enough for a small business?
For a handful of people who mainly message and share files, often yes. The usual pressure points are group calls, search history, integrations and storage, so check those against how your team works day to day.
Can clients or freelancers join a free team chat?
Some free plans allow external guests, while others limit guest access or keep it for higher tiers. If you talk to clients in chat, check the guest rules before you invite anyone.
