Teams is cheap and covered by Microsoft's BAA, but it is a full meetings and files suite with an annual contract and an admin console a 5-person clinic rarely wants. The lighter alternatives that still sign a BAA are Yodl ($10 a month for 5 users, BAA on every plan), Google Chat in Workspace ($7 per user per month annual) and Chanty ($3 per user on its Business plan). Zenzap and Celo suit teams that want a messenger feel.
Why people look for an alternative to Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is hard to argue with on price. As of November 2026, Teams Essentials is $4.00 per user per month paid yearly, and Microsoft 365 Business Basic, which adds business email and 1 TB of storage, is $7.00. Microsoft's HIPAA BAA is available by default through its Online Services Data Protection Addendum to commercial customers that are covered entities, with Teams in scope. Prices change, so verify on microsoft.com.
A BAA (Business Associate Agreement) is the contract HIPAA requires before a vendor stores protected health information, or PHI: anything that identifies a patient and relates to their care. Microsoft signs one, so Teams is not the problem Slack is. Clinics leave it for other reasons:
- It is heavy: channels plus meetings, files, Planner, Shifts, Forms, Bookings and more than 250 apps.
- Prices are paid yearly on an auto-renewing subscription, and Essentials excludes business email and Office desktop apps, so most offices end up on the $7 plan.
- Someone has to be the admin: licenses, guest access, retention, and keeping staff off the free consumer version, which is not in scope for the BAA.
The tools below are lighter. Most sign a BAA at a published price; two popular ones do not, and we say so. See also Yodl vs Microsoft Teams.
The alternatives at a glance
Prices are for 5 people as of November 2026, read from each vendor's own site. Verify before buying.
| Tool | Price for 5 people as of November 2026 | Signs a BAA | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yodl | $10/mo flat (5 users, 1 location, 20 GB) | Yes, every plan | Clinics that want simple channels and a flat bill |
| Google Chat (Workspace) | Business Starter $7/user/mo annual = $35/mo ($8.40 flexible) | Yes, accepted in the Admin console | Clinics already on Gmail and Drive |
| Chanty | Business $3/user/mo annual = $15/mo | Yes, Business plan | Very small teams on a tight budget |
| Zenzap | Business+ $50 total/mo for up to 5 users; BAA add-on price not published | Add-on, by contacting sales | Staff who want a WhatsApp-style app |
| Celo | Free up to 10 users; Growth $49/mo billed annually, up to 20 users | Yes, Growth and up | Clinical teams that share photos |
| Slack | Pro $8.75/user/mo = $43.75/mo, no BAA on Pro | Enterprise plans only | Teams that can buy an Enterprise plan |
| Pumble | Free, or Pro $2.49/seat/mo annual = $12.45/mo | No BAA offering found | Non-clinical chat only |
Lighter tools that sign a BAA
Yodl
Yodl is team chat and nothing else: channels, DMs, threads, files, search and an admin panel, in a browser on any phone or computer. The Team plan is $10 a month per location with 5 users and 20 GB included, extra users at $2 each, and the BAA signed on every plan. Month to month, no annual contract. Admin work takes minutes. Teams has what Yodl lacks: meetings, calls, Office files, SSO, an app store.
Google Chat
Google Chat is the obvious switch for a clinic on Gmail. Google lists Chat among the services covered by its BAA, which an admin accepts in the Admin console. Business Starter is $7 per user per month on an annual plan or $8.40 flexible, with 30 GB of pooled storage per user. Chat cannot be bought alone, third-party add-ons are not covered, and without the signed BAA Google says you must not put PHI in Workspace.
Chanty
Chanty has a Free plan for up to 5 members and a Business plan at $3 per user per month billed annually (the FAQ says $4 monthly) that lists HIPAA compliance and a BAA, with 20 GB per user. For a 3-person clinic that is $9 a month, cheaper than anything else here with a BAA. The pricing page is inconsistent on the monthly rate, so confirm the price and the BAA before you pay.
Zenzap
Zenzap gives staff a WhatsApp-style messenger with AI agents, to-dos and voice and video calls. Business+ is $50 total a month for up to 5 users with the annual toggle selected, and the Free plan allows unlimited users with 1 GB. The HIPAA and signed BAA add-on is sold through sales, and its price is not published. If your team disliked Teams for feeling like software rather than chat, Zenzap is the opposite.
Celo
Celo is clinical messaging with flat team plans: Free for up to 10 users with HIPAA compliant messaging and a secure photo and video library (no BAA line on Free), and Growth at $49 a month billed annually for up to 20 users with the BAA listed. It is lighter than Teams, built for clinicians, and good at photos and external chat with other providers. It is not channel-based in the Slack sense.
Two popular picks that do not solve the BAA problem
Slack
Slack is lighter than Teams, but its HIPAA support is limited to Enterprise plans with an executed BAA and conditions such as no patient communication and required DLP monitoring. The Pro plan is $8.75 per user per month, or $7.25 paid annually, with no BAA; the Free plan hides messages older than 90 days. For a small clinic, that is a step sideways on cost and backward on coverage.
Pumble
Pumble is a capable free Slack clone with unlimited users and history, channels, threads and calls, and a Pro plan at $2.49 per seat per month billed annually. We found no HIPAA or BAA statement on its pricing or security pages; Pumble treats HIPAA as the customer's responsibility. Fine for the lunch-order channel, not for the one where a hygienist asks about a patient's medications.
How to choose
Check each candidate against these:
- Is the BAA on the plan you are buying, or does it need an admin step, an add-on or a sales call?
- What is the price for your headcount, and is it monthly or an annual commitment?
- Do you need meetings and shared documents, or just staff chat?
- Does it run in a browser at the front desk and on personal phones without an IT setup?
- Can you export an audit log, set retention and place a legal hold?
- If you leave, can you export your messages and files within a month?
Yodl's plan is $10 a month for 5 people with the BAA on every plan, no annual contract; details at yodl.cc/pricing.
Teams is inexpensive and covered by Microsoft's BAA, but it is a suite with an annual contract and admin overhead. A clinic that only needs chat does better with Yodl at $10 flat, Google Chat if it lives in Gmail, or Chanty for a tiny team. Keep Slack Pro and Pumble away from patient information.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft Teams HIPAA compliant for a small clinic?
Microsoft's BAA is available by default to commercial customers that are covered entities, with Teams in scope. You still need to configure it, and the free consumer Teams is not covered.
What is the cheapest Teams alternative with a BAA?
Chanty lists a BAA on its $3 per user Business plan ($15 a month for 5, billed annually). Yodl is $10 flat for 5 users; Teams Essentials itself is $4 per user paid yearly. Prices as of November 2026.
Can we keep Microsoft 365 for email and use a different chat app?
Yes. Keep Business Basic for Outlook and files and run staff chat in a lighter tool with its own BAA.
Does Yodl have video meetings like Teams?
No. Yodl has no voice or video calls. If meetings matter, keep Teams or Google Meet for those and use Yodl for day-to-day chat.
Is Google Chat as covered as Teams?
Google lists Chat among the services included in its Workspace BAA, which an admin must accept in the Admin console. Third-party add-ons are excluded.