#22 in Collaboration & CommunicationUpdated 2026-08

Franz

by Franz · Messengers, email and Signal in one desktop workspace

49.4 — BenchRank score out of 100

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Pricing page

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Overview

Franz is a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux that runs 75+ messaging and email services — including WhatsApp, Slack, Gmail, Signal and Discord — in one window, each in an isolated container. A built-in assistant searches across email, WhatsApp, Slack and Signal to summarise threads and draft replies, using local models, your own API key, or Franz's EU-hosted cloud.

Best for: Consultants, recruiters and founders juggling client chat, team chat, email and Signal on the desktop
Pricing: Free Starter tier, then Pro at £50/year or Pro Cloud at £86/year, plus a one-off Lifetime licence at £129 during launch (£149 afterwards) with optional Franz-hosted AI at £4/month.
Runs on: WebmacOSWindowsLinuxSelf-hosted

Strengths and trade-offs

Strengths

75+ services including WhatsApp, Slack, Gmail, Signal and Discord
AI runs locally, on your own OpenAI/Anthropic key, or EU cloud
Native Signal with voice transcription, summaries and action items
Each service runs in its own isolated container

Trade-offs

Free tier caps you at 3 services, 1 workspace and local-only AI
Calendar view is labelled coming soon, not shipped
Privacy Shield, app lock and sender intelligence need a paid plan
One licence per person; sharing an account between people is not allowed

Pricing

Published plans from Franz’s own pricing page, in GBP. Usage charges and add-ons may apply on top.

Franz pricing tiers, monthly and annual rates in GBP
Plan	Monthly	Annual (per month)	Includes
Starter	—per person	—	3 messaging services, 1 workspace Basic private insights, local-only AI No Privacy Shield, app lock or sender intelligence
Pro	—per person	£4.17	£50/year, billed annually (saves £10 vs monthly) Unlimited services and workspaces Bring your own OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama or local model Privacy Shield, app lock, sender intelligence
Pro Cloud	—per person	£7.17	£86/year, billed annually (saves £22 vs monthly) Unlimited services and workspaces Franz-hosted AI, EU cloud with zero retention No AI provider setup required
Franz Lifetime	—one-time licence per person	—	£129 founder launch price, returns to £149 Unlimited services and workspaces, all future updates Bring your own OpenAI or Anthropic API key Franz-hosted AI available as a £4/month add-on

How this score is made up

Each dimension is scored out of 100 and combined into the headline score using fixed weights.

MCP support: 0 out of 100
Documentation: 0 out of 100
Agent friendliness: 100 out of 100
Pricing transparency: 85 out of 100
Customer sentiment: 78 out of 100
Changelog: 100 out of 100
Marketing site structure: 50 out of 100
Operational trust: 15 out of 100

Measured, but not part of the score

Useful to know, but not a mark for or against the product — so these do not affect the ranking.

Openness: 60 out of 100
Maintenance: 100 out of 100

This doesn’t look right — report a problem with Franz’s score

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