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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.
The topics covered include:
- Self-hosted plans overview
- Logging in to manage billing
- Upgrading to a paid plan
- Managing billing
- Canceling a paid plan
- Applying for a free Community plan
- Applying for a paid plan discount
- Payment methods
- License management options
If you have any questions not answered here, please don't hesitate to reach out at sales@zulip.com.
Self-hosted plans overview
Organizations that self-host Zulip can take advantage of the following plan options:
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Free: Includes free access to Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service for up to 10 users.
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Basic: Includes unlimited access to Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service for organizations with more than 10 users.
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Business: Includes commercial support, in addition to push notifications access. Zulip's support team can answer questions about installation and upgrades, provide guidance in tricky situations, and help avoid painful complications before they happen. You can also get guidance on how best to use dozens of Zulip features and configuration options.
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Enterprise: If your organization requires hands-on support, such as real-time assistance during installation and upgrades, help with advanced deployment options, development of custom features or integrations, etc., please contact sales@zulip.com to discuss pricing.
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Community: This free plan includes unlimited push notifications access, and is available for many non-commercial organizations with more than 10 users (details below).
For full plan details, please take a look at self-hosted Zulip plans and pricing.
There is no option to combine multiple plans (e.g., Free and Basic) within a single organization. Pricing is based on the number of non-deactivated users, not on which features each user is taking advantage of. However, paid plan discounts are available in a variety of situations; see below for details.
Organization plan or server plan?
You can purchase self-hosted plans for a Zulip organization, or for your entire server.
If your server hosts a single Zulip organization, follow the instructions for organization-level billing (available on Zulip Server 8.0+). This will provide a more convenient plan management experience.
If your server hosts multiple organizations, you can manage plans individually for each organization, or purchase a single plan to cover your entire server. Commercial support for any server-wide configurations requires upgrading the organization with the largest number of users.
Log in to billing management
Once you are logged in, you can upgrade to a paid plan, manage billing, cancel a paid plan, or apply for a free Community plan or a paid plan discount.
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!!! warn ""
This feature is only available to organization [owners](/help/user-roles) and billing administrators.
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Your Zulip server administrator should register the server with Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service, following these instructions. The Zulip Server 10.0+ installer includes a
--push-notificationsflag that automates this registration process. -
Click on the gear () icon in the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.
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Select Plan management.
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(first-time log in) Enter the email address you want to use for plan management, and click Continue.
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(first-time log in) In your email account, open the email you received (Subject: Confirm email for Zulip plan management), and click Confirm and log in.
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(first-time log in) Enter your name, configure your email preferences, and accept the Terms of Service.
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Verify your information, and click Continue.
{tab|server-billing}
!!! tip ""
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:
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Register the server with Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service, following these instructions. The Zulip Server 10.0+ installer includes a
--push-notificationsflag that automates this registration process. -
Fill out the requested server information, and click Continue.
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Enter the email address of the billing contact for your organization, and click Confirm email.
Billing administrator steps:
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In your email account, open the email you received (Subject: Log in to Zulip plan management), and click Log in.
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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.
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Upgrade to a paid plan
Start a free trial
New customers are eligible for a free 30-day trial of the Basic plan. An organization is considered to be a new customer if:
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It was not registered for Zulip's Mobile Push Notification Service prior to December 12, 2023, and
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It has never previously signed up for a self-hosted Zulip plan (Basic, Business, Community or Enterprise).
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On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, click the Start 30-day trial button at the bottom of the Basic plan.
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Click Add card to enter your payment details.
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(optional) Update the billing details included on receipts so that they are different from the information entered for the payment method, e.g., in case you would prefer that the company's name be on receipts instead of the card holder's name.
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Click Start 30-day trial to start your free trial.
!!! tip ""
Once you start the trial, you can switch between monthly and annual
billing on your organization's billing page. You can
[cancel](#cancel-paid-plan) any time during your trial to avoid any charges.
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On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, click the Start 30-day trial button at the bottom of the Basic plan.
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Select pay by invoice.
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Select your preferred option from the Payment schedule dropdown.
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Select the Number of licenses you would like to purchase for your organization. You can adjust this number to update your initial invoice any time during your trial.
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Click Update billing information to enter your billing details, which will be included on invoices and receipts.
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Click Start 30-day trial to start your free trial.
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Upgrade directly to a paid plan
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- On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, click the button at the bottom of the plan you would like to purchase.
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{tab|by-invoice}
{!pay-by-invoice-warning.md!}
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- On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, click the button at the bottom of the plan you would like to purchase.
{!pay-by-invoice-steps.md!}
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Manage billing
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Configure who can manage plans and billing
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Cancel paid plan
If you cancel your plan, your organization will be downgraded to the Free plan at the end of the current billing period.
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At the bottom of the page, click Cancel plan.
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Click Downgrade to confirm.
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Free Community plan
Zulip sponsors free plans for over 1000 worthy organizations. The following types of organizations are generally eligible for the Community plan.
- Open-source projects, including projects with a small paid team.
- Research in an academic setting, such as research groups, cross-institutional collaborations, etc.
- Organizations operated by individual educators, such as a professor teaching one or more classes.
- Non-profits with no paid staff.
- Communities and personal organizations (clubs, groups of friends, volunteer groups, etc.).
Organizations that have up to 10 users, or do not require mobile push notifications, will likely find the Free plan to be the most convenient option. Larger organizations are encouraged to apply for the 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 paid plan pricing.
Apply for Community plan
These instructions describe the Community plan application process for an existing Zulip server. If you would like to inquire about eligibility prior to setting up a self-hosted server, contact sales@zulip.com.
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{!self-hosted-billing-log-in-step.md!}
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On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, scroll down to the Sponsorship and discounts area, and click Apply here.
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Fill out the requested information, and click Submit. Your application will be reviewed for Community plan eligibility.
!!! tip ""
Organizations that do not qualify for a **Community** plan may be offered a
discount for the **Basic** plan.
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Paid plan discounts
The following types of organizations are generally eligible for significant discounts on paid plans. You can also contact sales@zulip.com to discuss bulk discount pricing for a large organization.
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Discounts are available for organizations based in the developing world.
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Any organization where many users are not paid staff is likely eligible for a discount.
If there are any circumstances that make regular pricing unaffordable for your organization, contact sales@zulip.com to discuss your situation.
Education pricing
Organizations operated by individual educators (for example, a professor teaching one or more classes) are generally eligible for the Community plan.
Departments and other institutions using Zulip with students are eligible for discounted education pricing. Other educational uses (e.g., by teaching staff or university IT) may qualify for non-profit pricing.
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For-profit education pricing:
- Basic plan: $0.50 per user per month
- Business plan: $1 per user per month with annual billing ($1.20/month billed monthly) with a minimum purchase of 100 licenses.
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Non-profit education pricing: 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).
- Basic plan: $0.35 per user per month
- Business plan: $0.67 per user per month with annual billing ($0.80/month billed monthly) with a minimum purchase of 100 licenses.
Non-profit pricing
Non-profits with no paid staff are eligible for the Community plan.
For non-profits with paid staff, volunteers and other unpaid participants in your community are eligible for free Zulip accounts. Additionally, discounts are available for paid staff accounts. Contact sales@zulip.com to arrange discounted pricing for your organization.
Guest user discounts
There is no automatic discount for guest users. However, organizations with a large number of guest users are very likely to be eligible for a discount. If this is your situation, please apply for a discount or email sales@zulip.com.
Duplicate accounts
Some servers host multiple organizations, with some individuals having accounts in several of these organizations. If you have this setup, the ability to configure whether guests can see other users (introduced in Zulip 8.0) may allow you to consolidate into a single Zulip organization.
If you want to maintain a multi-organization setup with duplicate accounts, you may contact sales@zulip.com to arrange a discounted rate.
Apply for a paid plan discount
These instructions describe the paid plan discount application process for an existing Zulip server. If you would like to inquire about paid plan discount eligibility prior to setting up a self-hosted server, contact sales@zulip.com.
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{!self-hosted-billing-log-in-step.md!}
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On the page listing Zulip's self-hosted plans, scroll down to the Sponsorship and discounts area, and click Apply here.
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Select your preferred option from the Plan dropdown.
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Fill out the requested information, and click Submit. Your application will be reviewed for discount eligibility.
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Payment methods
What are my payment options?
{!payment-options.md!}
International SWIFT transfers
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License management options
How does automatic license management work?
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How does manual license management work?
With manual license management, you choose and pay for a fixed number of licenses for your organization or server. Deactivating a user frees up their license for reuse.
If the number of active users exceeds the number of licenses you've purchased, any paid services included in your plan will be paused until this is addressed. For example, you will lose access to the Mobile Push Notification Service until you have purchased more licenses or deactivated enough users.
Manually update number of licenses
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How paid plans support the Zulip project
Zulip is proudly independent, with no venture capital funding, which means that revenue strongly impacts the pace of Zulip’s development. Paid plans for self-hosted customers help fund improvements in Zulip's self-hosting experience, and overall product development. Zulip needs the support of businesses that self-host Zulip in order to thrive as an independent, 100% open-source project.
You can also learn about other ways to support the Zulip project.
Self-hosting Zulip for free
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.