If you want Slack-style channels with the BAA already in the price, Yodl is the closest flat-priced alternative to Zenzap: $10 a month for 5 users, BAA on every plan. If you also need patient phone, text and fax, Spruce Health includes its BAA on every plan at $24 per user. If you already pay for Microsoft 365, Teams is covered by Microsoft's BAA.
Why people look for an alternative to Zenzap
Zenzap is a WhatsApp-style business messenger with AI agents, to-dos and calls built in. As of November 2026 its Free plan allows unlimited users with 1 GB of storage, and Business+ is $50 total a month for up to 5 users with the annual billing toggle selected by default. Prices change, so verify on Zenzap's site.
The reason healthcare teams keep looking is the BAA. A BAA (Business Associate Agreement) is the contract HIPAA requires before a vendor can store protected health information, or PHI: anything that identifies a patient and relates to their care. Zenzap sells HIPAA compliance with a signed BAA as a paid add-on through sales, and the add-on's price is not published. Other reasons:
- The $50 price covers up to 5 users; the larger tiers say Book a Demo instead of a price.
- AI credits (100 a month on Free, 400 on Business+) are a feature some offices do not want to manage.
- Some teams want channels and threads rather than a long list of group chats.
None of that makes Zenzap a bad product; its WhatsApp chat migration, task lists and calls are useful. Just price the add-on first. See our Yodl vs Zenzap page.
The alternatives at a glance
Prices are for 5 people, read from each vendor's own site on November 3, 2026. They change often, so check the vendor's page before you buy.
| 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 | Small practices that want channels at a flat price |
| Spruce Health | Basic $24/user/mo = $120/mo | Yes, all plans | Practices that also need patient phone, text and fax |
| Microsoft Teams | Teams Essentials $4/user/mo paid yearly = $20/mo | Yes, commercial plans by default | Offices already on Microsoft 365 |
| Hypercare | Starter $8 to $10 per user/mo = about $40 to $50/mo | Yes, Starter and up (not the trial) | Clinics with on-call schedules |
| TigerConnect | Contact sales (not published) | Yes, standard BAA | Hospitals and large physician groups |
| 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 | General teams with no PHI in chat |
Alternatives that include a BAA at a published price
Yodl
Yodl is Slack-style chat for small healthcare teams, with the BAA signed on every plan, including the $10 one. The Team plan is $10 a month per location with 5 users, 20 GB of files, channels, threads, direct messages, full-text search and an audit viewer with CSV export. Extra users are $2 each; a second location is another $10. The limits: no calls, no patient messaging, no free plan.
Spruce Health
Spruce is a patient communication platform, not a pure chat tool. Basic is $24 per user per month, month to month, and includes the HIPAA BAA, a phone line, two-way texting, video visits, fax, team chat and a shared inbox. Five people cost $120 a month before taxes and telecom fees, and outbound SMS needs a one-time $19.50 registration. Pick Spruce when the patient phone and fax are the main job.
Microsoft Teams
For an office already on Microsoft 365, Teams is probably the cheapest covered option. Microsoft's HIPAA BAA applies by default through its Online Services Data Protection Addendum on commercial plans, and Teams Essentials is $4 per user per month paid yearly with 10 GB of storage per user. The free consumer version is not in scope. The catch is weight: a full meetings and files suite, a yearly auto-renewing subscription, and someone has to administer it.
Hypercare
Hypercare is clinical messaging for hospitals and clinics in Canada and the US. Starter is listed at $8 USD a month, with a second price set at $10; the page does not label which is annual and which is monthly. Sold per user, five people come to roughly $40 to $50. A signed BAA comes with every paid plan but not the 90-day trial, and Plus ($15 or $19) adds on-call schedules. Choose it if someone holds an on-call rotation.
Alternatives to know about, each with a catch
TigerConnect
TigerConnect is the hospital standard: role-based messaging, teams built from on-call schedules, alerts from nurse call systems and patient context from the EHR. It publishes a standard BAA that forms part of its service agreement. It does not publish a price; there is no pricing page and no self-serve signup. A surgery center or multi-site group should book the demo; a 5-person office will find it more than it needs.
Slack
Slack is the layout most teams want; Zenzap and Yodl both borrow from it. But Slack supports HIPAA only on Enterprise plans, with a BAA you must execute and strict conditions: no patient communication, PHI only inside messages and files, and DLP monitoring. The Pro plan at $8.75 per user per month, or $7.25 paid annually, includes none of that, and the Free plan hides messages older than 90 days.
Pumble
Pumble is a well-made free Slack alternative with unlimited users and message history on its Free plan, and a Pro plan at $2.49 per seat per month billed annually. It has channels, threads and calls and encrypts data at rest and in transit. We found no HIPAA or BAA statement on its pricing or security pages; Pumble treats HIPAA as the customer's responsibility. Good for non-clinical chat, not for patient information.
How to choose
Ask these before you sign anything, including with us:
- Is the BAA included on the exact plan you are buying, or is it an add-on or a higher tier?
- What is the real price for your headcount next year, counting part-timers who need a seat?
- Do you need staff-only chat, or patient texting and phone too?
- Does it work on the phones staff already carry and in a browser at the front desk?
- Can you export an audit log, set a retention period and place a legal hold?
- If you cancel, how do you get your messages and files out?
Yodl's plan is $10 a month for 5 people with a signed BAA; the full price list is at yodl.cc/pricing.
Zenzap's chat is fine; its BAA is an unpriced add-on. For a flat price with the BAA already in it, Yodl is $10 a month for 5 people. For patient phones and fax, Spruce's $24 per user buys both. If you already have Microsoft 365, use Teams.
Frequently asked questions
Is Zenzap HIPAA compliant?
Zenzap offers HIPAA compliance and a signed BAA as a paid add-on through its sales team. The add-on price and which base plans qualify are not published, so ask before you commit.
What is the cheapest Zenzap alternative with a BAA?
Yodl is $10 a month for 5 users with the BAA on every plan. Chanty lists a BAA on its $3 per user Business plan, and Celo from $49 a month for up to 20 users. Prices as of November 2026.
Can we keep Zenzap for non-clinical chat?
Yes, as long as nothing about a patient goes there. The risk is staff mixing the two tools up, so a one-tool policy is simpler.
Does Yodl have voice and video calls like Zenzap?
No. Yodl is text chat with files, threads and search. If calls matter, Zenzap, Spruce Health and Microsoft Teams include them.
Will we lose our chat history if we leave Zenzap?
Zenzap lists data archiving among its admin features, so ask its support how to export before you cancel. Many teams keep the old workspace for a few months rather than migrate every message.