We have a big announcement. Really big. We had a whole blog post written about it. But a picture is worth a thousand words.

HipChat is now free for teams of up to 5 users.

We began as a bootstrapped start-up so we know what it’s like out there. Finding the right tools to run a small business at the right cost is tough. We believe every team – no matter how small – should have access to the best tools possible, tools that enable teams to remain agile and productive in an increasingly competitive environment. Staying true to our roots, today we’re making HipChat free for teams of up to 5 users. 

I have a 5 person team and currently pay for HipChat, what do I have to do? 

Nothing. Say goodbye to your bills. If you currently have 5 users or fewer, you won’t be charged again. We’ve updated your subscription and you don’t have to do anything. 

Once your team grows to 6 users or more, HipChat will continue with our original pricing of $2 per user per month.

I have a 5 person team and don’t use HipChat yet.

Go ahead and sign up. Once your 30-day free trial is over, you’ll automatically be put on the free plan for 5 users (if you have 5 or fewer users in your account).

What’s next for HipChat?

It’s going to be a big year for HipChat customers – we have a lot planned for the next 6-12 months. We’ve been cranking on the backend to give customers a reliable and fast chat experience (and recently launched a brand new Mac client beta, along with updates to our Android mobile app). Atlassian is footing the bill so every team can now join the 4,500+ groups that collaborate in real time with HipChat. Thanks Atlassian!

Know of any teams that could use some free HipChat? Help us spread the word 

If your team has 5 or less users and your subscription hasn’t updated, please contact us at support@hipchat.com.

Happy Birthday, HipChat! It has now been 3 years since our launch, and in the past year we’ve really grown up. Here are the highlights:

• We joined Atlassian!
• The size of our team doubled. We’ve had four great people join us and are looking for more.
• We improved @mention names, then decided to let users pick their own.
• Our users added over 10,000 custom emoticons to increase their… play-ductivity.
• Our integrations list has grown to epic proportions.
• Made dozens of improvements and fixes to our desktop app.
• Our iOS app got a big overhaul with a focus on speed.
• The Android app got a few updates as well, and has some massive improvements on the way.
• Our API got some love and many groups have added bots to cater to their every whim.
• Notification emails got a huge facelift.
• We started getting ready for the biggest new product in HipChat’s life.

HipChat has also grown a lot as a business. We’ve gained thousands of happy new customers and are supporting large teams we previously could not. Behind the scenes we’ve spun up many new servers, battled through a few of them failing, and readied our architecture to handle another year of big growth. So here’s to another year! We’re grateful for your support and are excited to share the great things we have planned with you.

Now please excuse us while we

And if you’re curious how our first few years went, check out our first and second birthday posts.