Franz
Franz combines messaging services, email, and Signal in one desktop workspace for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
What Franz is
Franz combines messaging services, email, and Signal in one desktop workspace for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Supported services include Slack, Microsoft Teams, Mattermost, Rocket.Chat, Zoho Cliq, Twist, Chatwork, Zulip, Cisco Webex Teams, Yammer, Element, and Nextcloud Talk. Users can group services into workspaces, keep separate accounts active, view two services side by side, and turn messages into tasks. Franz Mail adds priority inbox features, sender intelligence, and local search, while Google, Microsoft, and Apple calendars can appear together. Franz says messages and local insights remain on the device, credentials are encrypted in the operating-system keychain, and user data is not sold. Optional AI text is sent to Mistral AI in Paris for inference and can be disabled. The free Starter plan allows three services and one workspace, with a possible brief hourly loading pause. Pro costs $60 a year; Max costs $120 a year. A 14-day trial is listed.
Good
- Supports Linux, macOS, and Windows
- Many messaging integrations
- Side-by-side service viewing
- Built-in task manager
- Free Starter plan
Watch out
- Starter limited to three services
- Starter allows one workspace
- Optional AI sends text to Mistral AI
- No enterprise SLA promise
Who it suits
Franz suits consultants, recruiters, founders, and operators managing several chat, email, calendar, and privacy-sensitive conversations. It also fits users who want separate accounts organized in one desktop workspace.
Verdict
Franz centralizes supported messaging, email, calendars, and Signal with workspace tools and a free entry plan. Paid tiers expand services and workspaces, while AI handling and Starter limits deserve review.
Plans and prices
From Franz's own pricing page, checked 11 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | Free · 3 messaging services · 1 workspace · local AI |
| Pro | $60 a year | Unlimited services and workspaces · BYO model or local AI · Smart Translate · Privacy Shield · app lock · plain snippets · $60 / year |
| Max | $120 a year | Unlimited services and workspaces · Franz Cloud AI with 5M tokens/month · 50 research runs/month · smart snippets · sender intelligence · $120 / year |
| Franz Lifetime | $199, paid once | One license per person for all devices · unlimited services and workspaces · own supported model · future updates included · optional Franz Cloud AI for $4/month · One-time payment; founder price, limited launch |
The facts
Each one read from Franz's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- AI data handling
- The privacy statement says optional AI text is sent to Mistral AI in Paris for inference, prompts and responses are not retained beyond delivering the response, and users can disable AI in settings.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Audience
- Franz says it is built for consultants, recruiters, founders, and operators handling client chat, team chat, email, and privacy-sensitive conversations.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Channels
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Email and calendar
- Franz Mail offers priority inbox features, sender intelligence, and local search; Franz also shows Google, Microsoft, and Apple calendars together.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Franz lists 75+ supported services, including WhatsApp, Slack, Gmail, Signal, Discord, and Telegram, and lets users add any website as a custom service.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Paid from
- 5checked 20 Sep 2026
- Privacy
- Franz says messages and local insights stay on the device, credentials are encrypted in the OS keychain, and it does not sell user data.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Product
- Franz combines messaging services, email, and Signal in one desktop workspace.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Security
- Franz says external-service credentials are not stored on its servers, native-service tokens and message caches are encrypted locally, and traffic to Google APIs and Franz services uses TLS 1.2 or higher.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Support and service commitment
- The founder says Franz does not promise enterprise SLAs or a five-person account team.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Voice dictation limit
- Voice dictation requires Franz Pro, macOS 26 or later, and an Apple Silicon Mac; recognition runs on the Mac.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Workspace features
- Users can group services into workspaces, view two services side by side, keep separate accounts active, and turn messages into tasks with a built-in manager.checked 11 Oct 2026
The company
- Founded
- 2016checked 28 Sep 2026
- Headquarters
- Vienna, Austriachecked 28 Sep 2026
- Maker background
- Franz says it started in Vienna in 2016 and identifies Stefan Malzner as its founder.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Team licensing
- Each license covers one person across their own devices; shared logins between several people are not allowed, and Franz for Teams provides centralized billing.checked 11 Oct 2026
Money
- Free plan
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Free plan limit
- Starter includes up to 3 services and 1 workspace, and free users may experience a brief loading pause once per hour.checked 11 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Signal and WhatsApp
- The FAQ says WhatsApp runs as a webview and Signal is a native sub-app; both support AI summaries, voice-message transcription, action items, group intelligence, and smart replies.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Supported platforms
- macOS,Windows,Linuxchecked 20 Sep 2026
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