Communication Software Pricing (2026)
What 42 communication tools actually charge, taken from their own pricing pages and re-checked as they change. Cheapest first.
Pricing verified Aug 05, 2026
Prices here change. You'll hear about it.
Outmano watches pricing, features, roadmaps and reviews across your market, then sends one weekly brief: what changed, and what it means for you.
Communication pricing at a glance
| Product | Entry price | Plans | Free plan | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Mail | $1/mo | 5 | Yes | Yes |
| Zoho Meeting | $1/mo | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| Zoho Cliq | $1/mo | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| Discord | $2/mo | 2 | No | No |
| Pumble | $2/mo | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| Livestorm | $3/mo | 2 | No | Yes |
| Chanty | $4/mo | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft Teams | $4/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| Twist | $6/mo | 2 | Yes | No |
| Google Workspace | $7/mo | 4 | No | Yes |
| Yodeck | $8/mo | 5 | Yes | Yes |
| Zulip | $8/mo | 3 | Yes | No |
| Slack | $8/mo | 4 | Yes | No |
| Skool | $9/mo | 2 | No | Yes |
| OptiSigns | $10/mo | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| Whereby | $10/mo | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| Fellow | $11/mo | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| Webex | $12/mo | 4 | Yes | No |
| GoTo Meeting | $14/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| Zoom | $14/mo | 4 | Yes | No |
| Krisp | $16/mo | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| Loom | $18/mo | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| OpenPhone | $19/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| Ooma | $19/mo | 4 | No | No |
| ScreenCloud | $20/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| CloudTalk | $25/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| JustCall | $29/mo | 4 | No | Yes |
| Riverside | $29/mo | 5 | Yes | Yes |
| Aircall | $30/mo | 3 | No | No |
| RingCentral | $30/mo | 4 | No | Yes |
| WebinarJam | $49/mo | 4 | No | Yes |
| Luma | $59/mo | 3 | Yes | No |
| Demio | $63/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| Mighty Networks | $79/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| Circle | $89/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| Discourse | $100/mo | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| Airmeet | $199/mo | 4 | No | Yes |
| Bettermode | $399/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| Podium | $399/mo | 3 | No | No |
| Mattermost | Custom | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| Rocket.Chat | Custom | 3 | Yes | No |
| Weave | Custom | 3 | No | No |
Every communication tool we track, cheapest first
-
Zoho Mail
Business email hosting from Zoho.
Zoho is firmly in the budget-challenger lane — $1/seat undercuts Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 by a wide margin and is clearly targeting SMBs and cost-conscious startups who don't want to pay Google tax. They're not trying to beat Microsoft on features; they're winning on price for teams that just need reliable business email.
Plans: Mail Lite $1/mo per seat · Workplace Standard $4/mo per seat · Mail Premium $4/mo per seat · Workplace Professional $7/mo per seat · Workplace Enterprise Contact Sales
-
Zoho Meeting
Webinars and meetings from Zoho.
This is aggressively cheap — $1-3/seat annually puts them well below Zoom, Teams, and even most mid-market alternatives. They're clearly going after price-sensitive SMBs and teams already in the Zoho ecosystem who want to consolidate tools without paying Zoom prices.
Plans: STANDARD $1/mo per seat · PROFESSIONAL $3/mo per seat
-
Zoho Cliq
Team chat from Zoho.
Zoho Cliq is firmly in the budget-friendly camp — even the per-seat tiers at $1.8 and $3.6/user/mo are a fraction of what Slack or Teams charge. They're clearly going after cost-conscious SMBs and orgs already in the Zoho ecosystem, not trying to unseat Slack on features.
Plans: FREE $0/mo per seat · Professional $1/mo per seat · Enterprise $3/mo per seat · Standard $16/mo per seat
-
Discord
Voice, video, and text communities.
Discord is essentially unchallenged in its category — there's no direct apples-to-apples competitor at this price point for gaming/community chat. At $9.99 they're cheaper than Slack's paid tiers but targeting a completely different buyer, so they're the affordable premium in a space they largely own.
Plans: Nitro Basic $2/mo · Nitro $9/mo
-
Pumble
Free team chat app from CAKE.com.
These are some of the lowest price points in the team messaging category — PRO at $2.99 undercuts Slack's Pro tier by roughly 5x and sits well below Microsoft Teams' paid tiers too. They're clearly going after cost-conscious SMBs and teams in price-sensitive markets who've been priced out of the big players.
Plans: PRO $2/mo per seat · BUSINESS $4/mo per seat · ENTERPRISE $7/mo per seat · cake.com bundle $15/mo per seat
-
Livestorm
Video engagement for webinars.
This usage-based structure is unusual in a category dominated by flat per-host pricing (think Zoom Webinar, GoTo Webinar), so direct comparison is tricky. It reads as mid-market: not chasing the cheapest seat-based tools, but positioning on flexibility for teams with unpredictable or spiky event volume.
Plans: Pro $3/mo · Enterprise Contact Sales
-
Chanty
Simple team chat with built-in tasks.
At $3-4/seat, Chanty is firmly in the budget-friendly lane, undercutting Slack and Microsoft Teams by a wide margin and competing directly with tools like Flock or Pumble. They're going after cost-conscious SMBs who want a Slack-like experience without the Slack price tag.
Plans: Free $0/mo per seat · Business $4/mo per seat · Enterprise Contact Sales
-
Microsoft Teams
Chat, meetings, and calling in Microsoft 365.
At $4–$7 for the entry tiers, they're undercutting Slack's paid plans and going toe-to-toe with Google Workspace — this is a volume play to win SMBs already in the Microsoft ecosystem. The $23.50 Copilot tier is a deliberate premium move, betting that AI features justify nearly 3x the cost of Basic.
Plans: Microsoft Teams Essentials $4/mo per seat · Microsoft 365 Business Basic $7/mo per seat · Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot $23/mo per seat
-
Twist
Async-first team messaging from Doist.
At $6/seat/year, Twist undercuts Slack (starts ~$7.25/seat) and sits well below Microsoft Teams bundled into M365 — they're clearly pitching to async-first, remote teams who think Slack is too noisy and too expensive. It's a value play with a philosophy attached.
Plans: Free plan $0/mo per seat · Unlimited $6/mo per seat
-
Google Workspace
Gmail, Docs, Meet, and Drive for business.
They're squarely mid-market — cheaper than Microsoft 365 Business Premium but not trying to be the budget option. The target is SMBs and mid-market teams already living in Google's ecosystem who want a frictionless, familiar stack without paying Microsoft prices.
Plans: Starter $7/mo per seat · Standard $14/mo per seat · Plus $22/mo per seat · Enterprise Contact Sales
-
Yodeck
Cloud digital signage, simply.
At $8–$16/screen/mo, Yodeck is positioned as a budget-to-mid-market option in the digital signage space — undercutting players like Screenly or Raydiant at the low end while still offering a hardware bundle that justifies the price. They're clearly going after SMBs and lean IT teams who want a turnkey solution without enterprise-level spend.
Plans: Free $0/mo per seat · Basic $8/mo per seat · Premium $12/mo per seat · Enterprise $16/mo per seat · Enterprise+ Contact Sales
-
Zulip
Open-source threaded team chat.
They're deliberately undercutting Slack (which runs $7.25–$12.50/seat) and positioning as the scrappy, async-first alternative for technical teams who find Slack too noisy and too expensive. This isn't a premium play — it's a value wedge targeting developer-heavy orgs and mission-driven organizations who are price-sensitive.
Plans: Free $0/mo per seat · Standard $8/mo per seat · Plus $12/mo per seat
-
Slack
Business messaging and collaboration.
Slack sits at the premium end compared to Teams (bundled free with Office) or Google Chat, betting that UX and integrations justify the premium rather than competing on price. They're clearly targeting teams that already value Slack's workflow lock-in over budget-conscious buyers comparing spreadsheets of features.
Plans: Free $0/mo per seat · Pro $8/mo per seat · Business+ $18/mo per seat · Enterprise+ Contact Sales
-
Skool
Community and courses, gamified.
That $9 entry point is aggressively cheap compared to Circle or Mighty Networks, clearly designed to remove any excuse not to try it. But the $99 tier closes that gap fast, positioning Skool as budget-friendly to get in the door, then charging premium-adjacent prices once you're serious.
Plans: Hobby $9/mo · Pro $99/mo
-
OptiSigns
Digital signage made easy.
At $10/screen to start, OptiSigns is clearly fishing in the SMB and mid-market pond — undercutting players like Screenly or Raydiant while staying above the no-name budget tools. The free plan with branding intact is a classic land-and-expand move targeting cost-sensitive buyers who'll eventually want the logo gone.
Plans: Standard $10/mo per seat · Pro Plus $15/mo per seat · Engage $30/mo per seat · Enterprise $45/mo per seat
-
Whereby
Browser-based video meetings and API.
Sitting comfortably in the budget-to-mid range compared to Zoom or Google Meet's business tiers, Whereby is clearly courting small teams and solopreneurs who want a no-download, embeddable video tool without paying enterprise prices. They're not chasing big enterprise deals — the pricing ceiling is too low for that.
Plans: Free $0/mo per seat · Pro $10/mo per seat · Business $13/mo per seat
-
Fellow
AI meeting notes and agendas.
Fellow sits in the mid-market sweet spot for meeting productivity tools — not as cheap as a bolt-on feature in Notion or Confluence, but well below the $30–50+/seat range of heavier HR or performance platforms. They're going after teams that have outgrown Google Docs for meeting notes but aren't ready for a full people-management suite.
Plans: Free $0/mo per seat · Team $11/mo per seat · Business $23/mo per seat · Enterprise $25/mo per seat
-
Webex
Video conferencing and calling by Cisco.
Webex sits in the mid-to-premium range — more expensive than Zoom's base plans but leaning on Cisco's enterprise credibility to justify it. They're not chasing the SMB price-sensitive buyer; they're targeting IT-led orgs that already trust Cisco infrastructure and want a single-vendor story.
Plans: Webex Free $0/mo per seat · Webex Meet $12/mo per seat · Webex Suite $22/mo per seat · Webex Enterprise Contact Sales
-
GoTo Meeting
Online meetings and video conferencing.
At $14–$19/seat, GoTo Meeting is threading the needle between Zoom's comparable tiers and cheaper upstarts — not the budget pick, but not premium either. They're clearly targeting SMBs and mid-market teams who want a known brand without paying enterprise prices, and the intro-year pricing tactic suggests they're willing to buy the initial deal and bet on retention.
Plans: Professional $14/mo per seat · Business $19/mo per seat · Enterprise Contact Sales
-
Zoom
Video conferencing and meetings.
Zoom sits mid-pack — not the budget pick (Google Meet and Teams often bundle video into existing suites for less marginal cost) but cheaper than pure enterprise comms platforms once you factor in Zoom's broader phone/webinar ecosystem. They're really fighting for teams who already associate 'Zoom' with video and don't want to relearn a new tool.
Plans: Basic $0/mo per seat · Pro $14/mo per seat · Business $18/mo per seat · Enterprise Contact Sales
-
Krisp
AI noise cancellation for calls.
Krisp sits in the budget-to-mid range for AI meeting tools — well below Otter.ai Business or Fireflies Pro on a per-seat basis, and significantly cheaper than tools like Gong or Chorus that own the revenue intelligence space. They're clearly going after individual users and SMBs who want AI audio/meeting features without enterprise-tool pricing.
Plans: Free Trial $0/mo per seat · Core $16/mo per seat · Advanced $30/mo per seat · Enterprise Contact Sales
-
Loom
Async video messaging for work.
Loom sits mid-market — pricier than a scrappy Zoom-recording workaround but cheap compared to full video-hosting or async-collaboration suites. They're clearly chasing teams already sold on async video culture, not trying to undercut on price, betting that ease-of-use and brand recognition justify the premium over free alternatives.
Plans: Starter $0/mo per seat · Business $18/mo per seat · Business + AI $24/mo per seat · Enterprise Contact Sales
-
OpenPhone
Business phone system for startups.
OpenPhone sits in the budget-to-mid tier of the business phone space, undercutting tools like Dialpad or RingCentral while targeting the SMB and startup crowd that finds traditional VoIP overkill. They're not trying to win enterprise — they're going after teams that graduated from personal cell phones and Google Voice.
Plans: Starter $19/mo per seat · Business $33/mo per seat · Scale $47/mo per seat
-
Ooma
Business VoIP phone service for small businesses.
Ooma sits in the low-to-mid range of the business VoIP market — cheaper than RingCentral or Nextiva's comparable tiers, but not dirt-cheap like bare-bones VoIP resellers. The 'no contract necessary' framing signals they're chasing small businesses wary of getting locked into annual commitments, not enterprises who don't care about that.
Plans: Essentials $19/mo per seat · Pro $24/mo per seat · Pro Plus $29/mo per seat · Enterprise Contact Sales
-
ScreenCloud
Digital signage for any screen.
At $20-$30/screen/month, ScreenCloud sits in the mid-market range for digital signage SaaS — not the cheapest (plenty of sub-$10 options exist) but well below enterprise-first players like Signagelive or Scala. They're clearly targeting SMBs and mid-market ops teams who want a polished product without a six-figure contract.
Plans: Core $20/mo per seat · Pro $30/mo per seat · Enterprise Contact Sales
-
CloudTalk
AI-powered call center software for sales and support teams.
Plans: Starter $25/mo per seat · Essential $29/mo per seat · Expert $49/mo per seat
-
JustCall
Cloud phone system for sales and support teams.
JustCall sits in the mid-market sweet spot — not as cheap as bare-bones VoIP tools, but well below enterprise CCaaS platforms like Aircall or Dialpad at the higher tiers. They're clearly going after SMB sales and support teams that have outgrown basic phone systems but aren't ready for six-figure contracts.
Plans: Team $29/mo per seat · Pro $49/mo per seat · Pro Plus $89/mo per seat · Business Contact Sales
-
Riverside
Remote podcast and video studio.
Riverside sits mid-market — pricier than bare-bones recording tools but cheaper than enterprise webinar/video platforms like Zoom Webinar or ON24. They're clearly chasing the prosumer-to-small-team podcaster segment with Pro/Grow, then making a separate, higher-margin play for marketing teams with the Webinar tier.
Plans: Free $0/mo · Pro $29/mo · Grow $39/mo · Webinar $99/mo · Business Contact Sales
-
Aircall
Cloud phone system for sales and support.
At $30-$50/seat annually, Aircall sits in the mid-market range — more expensive than scrappy alternatives like OpenPhone or Grasshopper, but cheaper than enterprise CCaaS players like Genesys or NICE. They're clearly targeting SMB and mid-market sales and support teams who want a polished product without an enterprise procurement process.
Plans: Essentials $30/mo per seat · Professional $50/mo per seat · Custom Contact Sales
-
RingCentral
Business phone, message, and video platform.
At $20–$30/mo annually for small teams, RingCentral sits in the mid-to-premium range against UCaaS competitors — more expensive than Zoom Phone's entry tier but competitive with Dialpad and Microsoft Teams Phone. They're clearly targeting mid-market businesses that need a full-stack comms platform, not price-sensitive SMBs.
Plans: Core $30/mo per seat · Advanced $35/mo per seat · Ultra $45/mo per seat · Customer Engagement Bundle Contact Sales
-
WebinarJam
Live webinar broadcasting.
Sits mid-to-premium compared to scrappier tools like Livestorm or EasyWebinar's base plans, but the $499 Enterprise tier is aggressive for what's still fundamentally a webinar-hosting tool. They're clearly chasing marketing agencies and course creators who need automated webinar funnels, not casual internal-training use cases.
Plans: Starter $49/mo · Basic $99/mo · Professional $299/mo · Enterprise $499/mo
-
Luma
Delightful event pages and invites.
Luma sits mid-market — not the cheapest event tool out there, but far below premium event platforms like Cvent or Bizzabo that charge per-event or per-attendee fees running into hundreds monthly. They're clearly chasing the creator-economy and startup crowd who want a polished free tool with an affordable step up, not enterprise event managers.
Plans: Luma $0/mo · Luma Plus $59/mo · Enterprise Contact Sales
-
Demio
Webinars built for marketing.
Demio sits mid-market — pricier than bare-bones tools like Livestorm's entry tier but cheaper than enterprise webinar platforms like ON24, positioning itself as the polished, easy-to-use option for marketing teams who don't want a clunky Zoom Webinar experience.
Plans: Starter $63/mo · Growth $117/mo · Premium $196/mo
-
Mighty Networks
Communities with courses and events.
At $79-179/mo they're priced above Circle and Skool's entry tiers but below full community-plus-LMS stacks — they're selling themselves as the all-in-one alternative to duct-taping Kajabi, Facebook Groups, and Teachable together. The custom Pro tier is clearly aimed at brands who'd otherwise build a native app in-house, a much pricier proposition.
Plans: Launch Plan $79/mo · Scale Plan $179/mo · Mighty Pro Contact Sales
-
Circle
Community platform for creators.
At $89-199/mo before the custom enterprise tier, Circle sits mid-to-upper market compared to scrappier community tools but undercuts full-blown LMS or membership platforms bundled with marketing suites. They're chasing serious creators and businesses who've outgrown Discord/Slack hacks but aren't ready for a bloated enterprise stack.
Plans: Professional $89/mo · Business $199/mo · Circle Plus Contact Sales
-
Discourse
Civilized discussion platform.
At $100 and $500 flat, Discourse sits mid-to-premium compared to lighter forum tools, but it undercuts enterprise community platforms that charge based on MAUs or seats. They're clearly going after teams that want forum ownership without the per-user pricing anxiety that plagues Slack-alikes.
Plans: Pro $100/mo · Business $500/mo · Enterprise Contact Sales
-
Airmeet
Virtual events and webinars.
At $199/mo entry, Airmeet isn't trying to be the budget webinar tool — it's positioned as a premium, experience-focused platform competing for mid-market and enterprise events budgets, not solo creators or small teams testing webinars for the first time. The custom-quote wall on 3 of 4 tiers signals they want sales conversations with anyone doing real event volume.
Plans: Premium Webinars $199/mo · Events Contact Sales · Managed Events Contact Sales · Agency Plan Contact Sales
-
Bettermode
Customer community platform.
This sits firmly in premium territory for community platforms — there's no free tier, and Starter alone costs more than many competitors' mid-tier plans. They're not chasing hobbyists or small forums; they're positioning against enterprise community and CX platforms where budget isn't the objection, fit is.
Plans: Starter $399/mo · Growth $1750/mo · Premium Contact Sales
-
Podium
Lead management and messaging platform with an AI employee for local businesses.
At $399-599/mo flat, Podium sits firmly in premium territory compared to scrappier review/messaging tools that start at $50-150/mo — this isn't a starter tool for a solo contractor, it's built for established local businesses with real budget. No free trial or free plan reinforces that they're not chasing self-serve, price-sensitive shoppers; they want businesses ready to commit and talk to sales.
Plans: Core $399/mo · Pro $599/mo · Signature Contact Sales
-
Mattermost
Secure collaboration for technical teams.
Full custom pricing across all paid tiers signals they're going upmarket and selling through sales, not self-serve — they're not trying to win SMBs on price transparency. They're competing with Slack and Teams in regulated industries (defense, finance, healthcare) where open-source and self-hosted control matter more than cost.
Plans: Professional Contact Sales · Enterprise Contact Sales · Enterprise Advanced Contact Sales
-
Rocket.Chat
Open-source team chat you can self-host.
Rocket.Chat is going after regulated industries and enterprises that Slack and Teams can't touch — defense, government, sovereign data requirements. They're not competing on price; they're competing on control, self-hosting, and clearance-level security where the alternatives simply don't qualify.
Plans: Commercial Contact Sales · Government Contact Sales · Defense Contact Sales
-
Weave
All-in-one patient communication and payments platform for healthcare practices.
Sitting at a $199/mo floor puts Weave solidly mid-market, pricier than bare-bones scheduling or texting tools but cheaper than full practice-management suites — and the all-custom quoting suggests they're optimizing for higher-value healthcare/dental/vet accounts rather than competing on sticker price. They're chasing multi-location clinics and DSO-style groups where deal size justifies a sales-led motion, not solo practitioners comparison-shopping.
Plans: Ultimate Contact Sales · Elite Contact Sales · Pro Contact Sales
Communication Software Pricing FAQ
- How much does communication software cost?
- Entry prices run from $1/mo (Zoho Mail) to $399/mo (Podium), with a median entry price of $14/mo across the 39 priced products we track.
- What is the cheapest communication software?
- Zoho Mail has the lowest entry price of the communication software we track, at $1/mo. Zoho Meeting ($1/mo) and Zoho Cliq ($1/mo) are next. Zoho Mail and Zoho Meeting are free to start on.
- Is there free communication software?
- Yes — Zoho Mail, Zoho Meeting, Zoho Cliq and 18 more offer a free plan.
- How is communication software usually priced?
- 27 of the 42 communication tools we track use per seat pricing, against 6 on flat rate and 6 on hybrid.