What is the difference between Lark and Chanty?

Lark is best for Teams wanting an all-in-one collaboration suite, while Chanty is best for Small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat. Lark starts at Free and Chanty starts at Free.

Is Lark or Chanty cheaper?

Lark starts at Free with a free tier. Chanty starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Chanty?

Both Lark and Chanty offer free tiers.

Lark vs Chanty (2026) — notanothertool

At a glance

	Lark	Chanty
Best for	Teams wanting an all-in-one collaboration suite	Small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Calendar	✓	—
Docs	✓	—
Messenger	✓	—
OKRs	✓	—
Tasks	—	✓
Threads	—	✓
Unlimited History	—	✓
Video	✓	—
Video Calls	—	✓

Lark

Strengths

Includes Messenger as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
Includes Video as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
Free for up to 50 users — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes docs alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Feature-rich interface takes time to learn — not the simplest option for quick adoption
Notification overload is a real problem as the number of channels grows
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try Lark → Full review

Chanty

Strengths

Unlimited message history on every plan — nothing gets lost or archived
Includes Tasks as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
Free for up to 5 members — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes video calls alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Notification overload is a real problem as the number of channels grows
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Chanty → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both tools offer free tiers, so you can test each before committing. Lark's free plan: Free for up to 50 users. Chanty's free plan: Free for up to 5 members.

Feature gaps: Lark offers Calendar, Docs and Messenger that Chanty lacks. Chanty brings Tasks, Threads and Unlimited History that Lark does not have.

Team fit: Lark is geared toward any size teams, while Chanty is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Where each tool shines: Lark's biggest strengths are: includes messenger as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows. includes video as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows. Chanty's biggest strengths are: unlimited message history on every plan — nothing gets lost or archived. includes tasks as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows.

Watch out for: With Lark, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Chanty, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Lark if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting an all-in-one collaboration suite
You specifically need Calendar and Docs
You care about includes video as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
Your team size fits the any size profile Lark is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for up to 50 users

Choose Chanty if...

You need a tool built for small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat
You specifically need Tasks and Threads
You care about includes tasks as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Chanty is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for up to 5 members