eXpress alternatives: 7 team chat apps for work communication in 2026
A look at eXpress alternatives for team chats and work communication: we compare features, pricing and deployment options.
eXpress is a secure team chat app from Unlimited Production. It offers chats and channels, video conferencing, SmartApps mini apps and support for closed networks.
We picked seven team chat apps that cover the same work communication needs. We compared them on criteria you can verify: chat features, what the license includes, public pricing and deployment.
What is eXpress
eXpress has been developed by Unlimited Production since 2015, and the product is listed in the Russian Software Registry.
The platform combines a messaging app, calls and video conferencing, and SmartApps mini apps that handle email, calendar and tasks. The messaging app has chats, channels and threaded discussions, and conferences support up to 512 participants. Folders work like tags and can hold direct and group chats, channels, individual messages and contacts. eXpress is used by small and midsize businesses, large companies and the public sector, with case studies ranging from 100 to 10,000+ users. Security is the product's core focus: FSTEC certification, end-to-end encryption, GOST cryptography on request and DLP and SIEM integration. Deployment options are on-premise, SaaS or private cloud.
How we compared
- Chat features: threads, folders, bots and AI agents, API. The building blocks of everyday work in a team chat app.
- What the license includes: whether chats, meetings and tasks come in one subscription or each product is sold separately.
- Public pricing: whether you can find out the price without talking to a sales rep.
- Meetings built into chat: which video calls are built into the app and what their 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.
eXpress 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: CLI, Agent Skills, an OpenAPI spec and developer docs in llms.txt;
- hybrid on-premise (BYOK) alongside SaaS, giving you full control over your data;
- cross-chat threads for fast collaboration: @mention a colleague to bring them into a thread, even if they're not in the chat;
- video calls for up to 1,000 participants with recording, screen sharing, moderation, transcription and summaries;
- an open API, event audit log, built-in DLP and AD/SSO integration.
The solution is listed in the Russian Software Registry. It serves more than 1,000 companies, including Lamoda, Ivi, Burger King, Renaissance Health, Yandex products and major banks such as PSB and Alfa-Bank.
The main limitation is that there's no webinar mode with landing pages and attendance stats.
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 institutions and nonprofits
MTS Link Chats
MTS Link Chats is the messaging app within the MTS Link communication platform. The platform grew out of the 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 meeting transcription and automatic 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.
The chats themselves have no folders, though, 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 for 60 minutes, chat history of 2,000 messages
- "Коммуникации" subscription (meetings + messaging): from 15,600 ₽/year per user with 30 licenses down to 4,268 ₽/year with 300 or more
Kontur.Talk
Kontur.Talk offers chats and video meetings from SKB Kontur. The platform grew out of video conferencing, and chats complement meetings, webinars and online whiteboards. The messaging app has pinned messages, chatbots and group tags. Meetings support up to 400 participants, with AI transcripts 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: no folders, voice messages or guest access, no built-in tasks and no support for AI agents. 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 ₽/year per user, added to any paid video meeting subscription; meeting plans on request
VK WorkSpace
VK WorkSpace is VK Tech's communication platform: a messaging app (formerly VK Teams), email, video conferencing, cloud storage and documents. The messaging 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" is 309 ₽/mo per user with calls for up to 100 participants, and "Расширенный" is 499 ₽/mo with calls for up to 300 participants, SSO and audit logs. Mobile apps are distributed through RuStore and directly from the website.
As for limitations, there are no file previews, group tags or custom reactions, and bots and AI agents only work in chats, without mentions in threads. SSO and on-premise are only available on higher plans.
Deployment: cloud / on-premise
Pricing:
- Free "С рекламой" (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 the work chat app within Yandex 360 for Business. Along with the messaging app, the subscription includes email, Disk, Docs and Telemost, which offers video meetings with no time limit and up to 500 participants on higher 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, and there's no notification scheduling or filtering by type, no scheduled messages and no outgoing webhooks. Email is the only support channel listed. There's no AI agent support. There's no classic on-premise option either: the service runs only in the Yandex cloud.
Deployment: cloud
Pricing:
- Free version with limits
- "Чаты и звонки" plan (Messenger, Telemost, Calendar, Disk): 199 ₽/mo per employee; the plan with meetings for up to 500 participants: 549 ₽/mo
Compass
Compass is a messaging app for work communication. It offers team chats, calls for up to 1,000 participants and tools for working with messages and files. One unusual feature is team engagement stats. It's available in the cloud and as a self-hosted version.
At the same time, Compass has limited tools for managing large teams: there's no web version, no API administration and no bulk adding to chats. Everyday features like public chats and pinned messages are missing, and there's no AI agent support. SSO and Active Directory are only available in the on-premise version.
Deployment: cloud / on-premise
Pricing:
- No free plan since January 2026
- 390 ₽/mo per user on the "Бизнес" plan, 490 ₽/mo on-premise
Loop
Loop is a team chat app built on Mattermost. It has a channel 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.
As for 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 limits
- "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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eXpress | ✓ | 200 ₽/mo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pachca | ✓ | from 159 ₽/mo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | hybrid on-premise (BYOK) |
| MTS Link Chats | ✓ | from 4,268 ₽/year | — | mobile only | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Kontur.Talk | ✓ | 1,500 ₽/year | — | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| VK WorkSpace (VK Teams) | ✓ | 309 ₽/mo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Yandex Messenger | ✓ | from 199 ₽/mo | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
| Compass | — | 390 ₽/mo | — | mobile only | — | — | ✓ |
| Loop | ✓ | from 119 ₽/mo | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | ✓ |
Data as of August 2026, based on official websites and our team chat app comparison table covering 100+ criteria.
Frequently asked questions
Standalone team chat apps where chat is the core product are Pachca, Compass and Loop. In MTS Link and Kontur.Talk, chats are part of video meeting platforms, while in VK WorkSpace and Yandex Messenger they're part of office suites with email and documents. If you need chats with cross-chat threads plus video calls for up to 1,000 participants with transcription and summaries in one subscription, as of August 2026 we found that combination in Pachca.
Free plans are available from Pachca (Starter), Loop, Yandex Messenger, VK WorkSpace (a version for up to 5 users) and MTS Link (meetings for up to 30 participants for 60 minutes, chat history of 2,000 messages). Compass has had no free plan since January 2026, and the free Kontur.Talk plan only includes video meetings, no chats.
Among the apps in this roundup, MTS Link, Kontur.Talk, VK WorkSpace, Compass and Loop support classic on-premise. Pachca offers hybrid on-premise (BYOK), where the company holds the keys, and is listed in the Russian Software Registry. VK WorkSpace offers on-premise on higher plans, and Compass supports SSO and Active Directory only in its on-premise version.
According to its official pricing page, eXpress has four versions, and all prices are per user. The public version is free: chats, channels, calls with no time limit and files up to 250 MB. You can join conferences in it but not create them, and there's no administration. Lite in the Beeline cloud costs 200 ₽/mo or 2,000 ₽/year. Corporate costs 3,000 ₽/year on-premise, 5,000 ₽/year for SaaS or 9,000 ₽ for a perpetual license. Corporate + SmartApps costs 5,000 ₽/year on-premise, 7,500 ₽/year for SaaS or 15,000 ₽ for a perpetual license. Renewing term licenses costs 1,500 ₽/year for Corporate and 2,500 ₽/year for the version with SmartApps.
Yes. Pachca transcribes and summarizes video calls, MTS Link creates transcripts and automatic meeting notes, Kontur.Talk offers transcripts with timestamps and automatic meeting notes, and Yandex 360 offers AI meeting notes in Telemost.
