Pumble is one of the cheapest team chats around: free for unlimited users, $2.49 per seat per month on Pro, with voice and video calls. Its pricing and security pages make no HIPAA or BAA statement, so it is not a fit for staff conversations that include patient information. Pick Pumble for a non-healthcare team that wants Slack-style chat at the lowest price; pick Yodl when the chat has to carry patient information and you need a signed BAA, included for $10 a month.
At a glance
Pumble is a general team chat sold alongside Clockify and Plaky, aimed at small businesses that want a low-cost Slack alternative. Yodl is team chat for small healthcare teams with a BAA on every plan; a BAA is a Business Associate Agreement, the contract in which a vendor agrees to protect patient information. Here is the side by side.
| What matters | Yodl | Pumble |
|---|---|---|
| Price for a 5-person office | $10 a month (5 users and one location included) | Free plan at $0 for unlimited users; Pro is $12.45 a month for 5 seats on annual billing ($2.49 per seat) or $14.95 monthly ($2.99) |
| How it is priced | Flat per location; $2 per extra user; $10 per extra location | Per seat per month: Free, Pro $2.49/$2.99, Business $3.99/$4.99, Enterprise $6.99/$7.99 (annual/monthly) |
| Signs a BAA, and on which plans | Yes, every plan, including the $10 plan | No HIPAA or BAA statement found on Pumble's pricing or security help pages |
| Free tier or trial | No free plan or trial | Free plan with unlimited users; 7-day free trial of paid features without a credit card |
| Built for | Staff-to-staff chat in small healthcare teams and small businesses | Small businesses and teams wanting a low-cost Slack alternative |
| File storage | 20 GB per location | Free 10 GB per workspace; Pro 10 GB per seat; Business 20 GB per seat; Enterprise 100 GB per seat |
| API | $20 a month per workspace (REST API, webhooks, bot users) | Yes; plan availability not stated |
| Apps and devices | Any browser on phone or computer; Mac app; iPhone app (beta) | Not recorded in our research; check Pumble's site |
Pricing in detail
As of November 2026, Pumble's Free plan is $0 for an unlimited number of users, with 10 GB per workspace, unlimited message history and up to 3 apps. Pro is $2.49 per seat per month on annual billing or $2.99 monthly, with 10 GB per seat and up to 10 apps. Business is $3.99 annual or $4.99 monthly with 20 GB per seat and unlimited apps. Enterprise is $6.99 annual or $7.99 monthly with 100 GB per seat. A CAKE.com Bundle at $12.99 annual or $15.99 monthly per user adds Clockify and Plaky to Pumble Enterprise. Paid features come with a 7-day free trial, no credit card needed. Prices change, so verify them on Pumble's site.
For five people, Pumble Free is $0. Pumble Pro is $12.45 a month on annual billing or $14.95 monthly, and Business is $19.95 or $24.95.
Yodl is $10 a month for one location, with 5 users and 20 GB of file storage included. Extra users are $2 each per month. Each additional location is another $10 a month with 5 more users and 20 more GB. API access is $20 a month per workspace. There is no free trial, and you can cancel any month.
So Yodl at $10 is a little cheaper than Pumble Pro for five people, and each extra user costs $2 on Yodl against $2.49 on Pumble Pro. Pumble Free is still free. Price is not the real difference between these two; the BAA is.
HIPAA and the BAA
HIPAA requires a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) before a vendor handles protected health information (PHI). PHI is any health information tied to a person: a patient's name next to a question about their visit, a photo of a form, a note about a refill. The BAA is the contract in which the vendor agrees to protect that information. Without one, a practice should not put PHI in the tool.
We found no HIPAA or BAA statement on Pumble's pricing page or its security help pages. Pumble says it encrypts all data at rest and in transit and cites SOC 2 and ISO/IEC 27001:2013. Its own content treats HIPAA as something the customer is responsible for and does not claim compliance or offer a BAA. That is not the same as a refusal; Pumble's site simply does not say. If you want to use Pumble for patient information, ask Pumble in writing for a signed BAA before any PHI goes in, and do not assume one exists because the encryption sounds strong.
Yodl signs a BAA with every customer on every plan, including the $10 plan. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest on HIPAA-eligible infrastructure with subprocessor BAAs. Yodl is not end-to-end encrypted, by design, the same model as Slack and Microsoft Teams, so that search, retention, the audit viewer and admin controls can work. Pumble takes the same approach to encryption; the difference is the contract and the healthcare controls around it.
The features a small practice actually uses
Pumble covers the basics well: unlimited users and unlimited message history on Free, channels, direct messages and threads, voice and video calls, file sharing with per-seat storage, native Clockify and Plaky integrations, an API, and data regions and admin controls on the higher tiers. For a general business that is a lot for $0 to $2.49 a seat. Yodl has no voice or video calls.
What Yodl adds for a practice:
- Channel roles: Manager, Member and Viewer, so a new hire or a part-time biller can read without posting.
- An audit viewer with CSV export, retention controls and legal hold, so you can answer who saw what and keep or purge messages on a schedule.
- Passkeys (Face ID or Touch ID), email verification, invite-only workspaces, a 15-minute inactivity lock, and notifications that never include message content.
- A 13-gate HIPAA readiness checklist in the admin panel and an emergency AI stop.
- The everyday chat: channels, DMs, group DMs, threads, reactions, @mentions, saved messages, file previews, a team files library with 20 GB per location, and full-text search scoped to your rooms.
- Any browser on a phone or computer, a Mac app, an iPhone app in beta, and an optional AI teammate from PhiClaw that is not part of the $10 plan.
Where Pumble is the better choice
Pumble is the right buy for teams that never handle patient information and want the lowest per-seat price.
- A non-healthcare team that wants the cheapest per-seat chat: a marketing shop, a contractor, a nonprofit with volunteers who all need a seat.
- Any team that needs voice and video calls inside the chat tool.
- Large casual groups where unlimited free users matters more than admin controls.
- Teams already on Clockify or Plaky that want the native integrations or the bundle.
Where Yodl is the better choice
Yodl is the right buy the moment the chat will carry PHI, because the BAA and the controls are the product.
- Any team whose chat will include PHI: medical, dental, therapy, med spa, home care. Yodl signs the BAA on the $10 plan.
- Owners who need an audit log, retention and legal hold, not just encryption.
- Offices that want roles so the front desk and clinical staff can share a workspace without sharing everything.
- Multi-location practices that want a flat bill: each location is its own $10 with 5 users and 20 GB.
Who should choose which
| Team type | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Medical, dental or therapy office | Yodl | Signed BAA, roles, audit log, retention |
| Non-healthcare small business | Pumble | Free or $2.49 a seat, with calls |
| Team that needs video calls in chat | Pumble | Yodl has no calls |
| Clinic that wants admin controls on a small budget | Yodl | $10 flat, controls on every plan |
| Volunteer group of 40 people | Pumble | Unlimited free users |
| Practice that was about to put PHI in a free chat app | Yodl | The BAA is the point |
If your chat will carry patient information, see Yodl pricing: $10 a month for 5 people, a signed BAA.
Pumble is excellent cheap chat for teams that never handle patient information; its site makes no HIPAA or BAA statement. Yodl costs $10 a month for five people and signs the BAA, which is the one thing a practice cannot skip.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pumble HIPAA compliant?
Pumble's pricing and security pages make no HIPAA or BAA statement. It encrypts data at rest and in transit and cites SOC 2 and ISO/IEC 27001:2013, but without a signed BAA a practice should not put PHI in it. Ask Pumble directly if you want to confirm.
How much does Pumble cost for 5 users?
As of November 2026, Pumble Free is $0 for unlimited users; Pro is $2.49 per seat per month on annual billing, so $12.45 a month for 5, or $14.95 monthly. Verify on Pumble's site. Yodl is $10 a month for 5 users with a signed BAA.
Does Pumble sign a BAA?
We found no BAA offer on Pumble's site. That is not a stated refusal, so if you need one, ask in writing before using Pumble for patient information.
Is Pumble's free plan good enough for a clinic?
For scheduling the holiday party, yes. For anything about patients, no, because there is no BAA and no published HIPAA position.
Why pay $10 for Yodl when Pumble is free?
You are paying for the BAA, the audit log, retention and legal hold, roles, passkeys and the inactivity lock, and for a vendor that put itself on the hook for your patient information. If you never handle PHI, Pumble's free plan is a fine choice.