Compass alternatives: 7 team chat apps for work communication in 2026
We break down the alternatives to Compass for team chats and work communication, comparing features, pricing and deployment options.
Compass is a team chat app from Biznes Resheniya. It offers team chats, threads, built-in video meetings and team activity analytics.
We've rounded up seven team chat apps that handle the same work communication needs. We compared them on criteria you can verify yourself: chat features, what the license includes, whether pricing is public and deployment options.
What is Compass
Compass is developed by Biznes Resheniya, a company based in Orenburg. The project started as an internal tool at an advertising marketplace for working with bloggers. In 2019, the team repurposed it as a team chat app and released an MVP in 2020. An on-premise version came out in February 2024, and the server-side source code is published on GitHub. In March 2024, the product was added to the Russian Software Registry (entry No. 21735).
The product includes direct and group chats, threads, reactions, message search, voice messages and file sharing. Built-in video meetings support up to 500 participants in the cloud (up to 1,000 in the on-premise version), with recording and screen sharing. External guests can join a call from the browser. For automation, there are chatbots and Compass Smart Apps mini apps. You can also see employee activity analytics: average response time and counts of messages, files and calls. Apps are available for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS and Linux.
You can deploy Compass in the cloud or on your own servers. The on-premise version supports Active Directory/LDAP and SSO authentication.
How we compared
- Chat features: threads, folders, bots and AI agents, API. The things that make up everyday work in a team chat app.
- What the license includes: what one subscription covers (chats, meetings, tasks) or whether each product is sold separately.
- Public pricing: whether you can find out the price without talking to a sales rep.
- Meetings inside the chat app: which video calls are built in and what the limits are.
- Deployment and status: cloud, on-premise, the Russian Software Registry, certifications.
Pricing and feature data is current as of August 2026 and may change. Check the vendors' websites for the latest.
Compass alternatives for work communication
Pachca
Pachca is a team chat app for large and midsize businesses with advanced integrations and AI agents.
Key features:
- A platform for connecting AI agents natively, with all the tools you need: a CLI, Agent Skills, an OpenAPI spec and developer docs in llms.txt
- Not just SaaS, but also hybrid on-premise (BYOK), which gives you full control over your data
- Cross-chat threads, so employees can work together quickly: @mention a colleague in a thread to bring them in, even if they aren't in the chat
- Video meetings for up to 1,000 participants with recording, screen sharing, moderation, transcription and summaries
- An open API, an event audit log, built-in DLP and AD/SSO integration
Pachca is listed in the Russian Software Registry. More than 1,000 companies use it, including Lamoda, Ivi, Burger King, Renaissance Health, Yandex products and major banks such as PSB and Alfa-Bank.
The main limitation: there's no webinar mode with landing pages and attendance analytics.
Deployment: cloud / hybrid on-premise (BYOK)
Pricing:
- Free Starter plan
- from 159 ₽/mo per user: the base plan, support included
- from 399 ₽/mo per user: SSO, Active Directory, hybrid on-premise (BYOK) and advanced security features
- 20% off with annual billing, 75% off for educational organizations and nonprofits
MTS Link Chats
MTS Link Chats is the chat app within the MTS Link communication platform. The platform grew out of the Webinar webinar service and is built around meetings, webinars and training. Chats support group chats, threads, chatbots and integrations via API and webhooks, and calls in chats support up to 1,000 participants. There's also transcription and automatic meeting summaries.
It's a good fit for companies that already run meetings and webinars in MTS Link and want to keep work chats in the same ecosystem.
That said, the chats themselves don't have folders, voice messages are mobile-only, and the bot platform and AI agent support are limited.
Deployment: cloud / on-premise
Pricing:
- Free version: meetings for up to 30 participants, 60 minutes each, and chat history of 2,000 messages
- "Коммуникации" subscription (meetings + chat): from 15,600 ₽/yr per user for 30 licenses down to 4,268 ₽/yr for 300 or more
Kontur.Talk
Kontur.Talk is chat and video meetings from SKB Kontur. The platform grew out of video conferencing, and chats complement meetings, webinars and online whiteboards. The chat app has pinned messages, chatbots and group tags. Meetings support up to 400 participants, with AI transcription with timestamps and automatic meeting notes.
The service is aimed at organizations where online meetings are central to how they work: training, team meetings, working with branch offices. Chats are an add-on to any paid video meeting plan, and you can deploy the platform in the cloud or on your own servers.
The main limitations are in the chats themselves: there are no folders, voice messages or guest access, tasks aren't built in, and AI agents aren't supported. Pricing for the main plans is available on request.
Deployment: cloud / on-premise
Pricing:
- Free "Старт" plan: meetings for up to 50 participants, no chats
- Chats: 1,500 ₽/yr per user, added to any paid video meeting subscription. Meeting plans are priced on request
eXpress
eXpress is a secure team chat app. It offers chats with threads and channels, tag-style folders, video meetings for up to 512 participants, email, tasks and SmartApps. Its main selling point is security: FSTEC certification, GOST cryptography and support for isolated networks. Its customer stories include rollouts at small, midsize and large businesses as well as in the public sector.
Limitations: there's no workspace-wide search or admin via API, and bots and AI agents only work in chats. The full feature set is only available on-premise.
Deployment: cloud / on-premise
Pricing:
- Free public version
- 200 ₽/mo per user (SaaS). Enterprise licenses start at roughly 3,000 ₽/yr per user according to public sources. The exact price depends on the package and hosting
VK WorkSpace
VK WorkSpace is VK Tech's communication platform: a chat app (formerly VK Teams), email, video meetings, cloud storage and documents. The chat app supports group chats and channels, threads, folders and smart folders, and bots with an official Bot API. It's evolving into a super app, with email, calendar and document co-editing living right next to chats.
Pricing is public: "Базовый" costs 309 ₽/mo per user with calls for up to 100 participants, and "Расширенный" costs 499 ₽/mo with calls for up to 300 participants, SSO and audit logs. Mobile apps are distributed through RuStore and directly from the website.
Limitations: there's no file preview, group tags or custom reactions, and bots and AI agents only work in chats, with no mentions in threads. SSO and on-premise are only available on higher-tier plans.
Deployment: cloud / on-premise
Pricing:
- Free ad-supported version: up to 5 users
- "Базовый": 309 ₽/mo per user, "Расширенный": 499 ₽/mo. "Индивидуальный" with on-premise: on request
Yandex Messenger
Yandex Messenger is work chat within Yandex 360 for Business. Along with the chat app, the subscription includes email, Disk, Docs and Telemost, which offers video meetings with no time limit and up to 500 participants on higher-tier plans. There are also AI meeting notes with short summaries.
It's a good fit for companies that already use Yandex services and want chats, email and meetings in one place.
That said, some business features are limited: the bot platform is only available on pricier plans, there are no notification settings by time and type, no scheduled messages and no outgoing webhooks, and email is the only listed support channel. There's no AI agent support. There's also no classic on-premise option: the service runs only in the Yandex cloud.
Deployment: cloud
Pricing:
- Free version with limitations
- "Чаты и звонки" plan (Messenger, Telemost, Calendar, Disk): 199 ₽/mo per employee. The plan with meetings for up to 500 participants costs 549 ₽/mo
Loop
Loop is a team chat app built on Mattermost. It offers a channel-based structure, threads, team workspaces and a focus on internal work communication. There are isolated teams, which are separate branches of the workspace with their own chats and members, plus voice messages and scheduled sending.
Limitations: there's no video call recording and no app in RuStore, and bots and AI agents only work in chats.
Deployment: cloud / on-premise
Pricing:
- Free version with limitations
- "Командный": 119 ₽/mo per user, "Профессиональный": 199 ₽/mo, 20% off with annual billing. On-premise: on request
Comparison table
| Service | Free plan | Price per user | Chat folders | Voice messages | Tasks | Meeting transcription | On-premise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compass | — | 390 ₽/mo | — | mobile only | — | — | ✓ |
| Pachca | ✓ | from 159 ₽/mo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | hybrid on-premise (BYOK) |
| MTS Link Chats | ✓ | from 4,268 ₽/yr | — | mobile only | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Kontur.Talk | ✓ | 1,500 ₽/yr | — | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| eXpress | ✓ | 200 ₽/mo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| VK WorkSpace (VK Teams) | ✓ | 309 ₽/mo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Yandex Messenger | ✓ | from 199 ₽/mo | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
| Loop | ✓ | from 119 ₽/mo | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | ✓ |
Data as of August 2026, based on official websites and our comparison of team chat apps across 100+ criteria.
Frequently asked questions
Standalone team chat apps where chat is the core product: Pachca, eXpress and Loop. In MTS Link and Kontur.Talk, chats are part of video meeting platforms, while VK WorkSpace and Yandex Messenger are part of ecosystems with email and documents. If you want chat folders, built-in tasks and meeting transcription in one subscription, go with Pachca.
Pachca (Starter), Loop, Yandex Messenger, eXpress (public version) and VK WorkSpace (version for up to 5 users) all have free plans. The free version of MTS Link includes meetings for up to 30 participants, 60 minutes each, and chat history of 2,000 messages, while the free Kontur.Talk plan only includes video meetings.
Among the apps in this roundup, eXpress: it has FSTEC certification, GOST cryptography and support for isolated networks. MTS Link, VK WorkSpace, Loop and Kontur.Talk also support classic on-premise deployment.
According to the official website, the "Бизнес" plan (cloud) costs 390 ₽/mo per employee, or 4,212 ₽ with annual billing. On-premise costs 490 ₽/mo per employee, or 5,292 ₽/yr. There has been no free plan since January 2026. There is a 30-day trial with no card required, free guest access for external participants and 30% off if you switch from another team chat app. The price has changed: in 2023, the "Бизнес" plan cost 199 ₽/mo per user.
Yes. Pachca transcribes and summarizes video calls, MTS Link creates transcripts and automatic meeting notes, Kontur.Talk offers transcripts with timestamps, eXpress transcribes calls, and Yandex 360 offers AI meeting notes in Telemost.
