Last updated: January 2026
What Is Huly.io?
Modern teams are drowning in tools. Project management in Jira, conversations in Slack, documents in Notion, video calls in Zoom, virtual presence in Gather—the context-switching tax alone costs hours every week. Huly.io is an open-source "everything app" that consolidates issue tracking, real-time chat, video meetings, collaborative documents, and virtual offices into a single workspace.
The platform takes a radical approach to pricing: unlimited users on every tier, including the free plan. Instead of per-seat charges that punish team growth, Huly bills based on storage and bandwidth consumption. A ten-person startup pays the same as a fifty-person studio—zero—until they hit resource limits.
For teams tired of juggling subscriptions and losing context between apps, Huly.io offers consolidation without compromise. The entire codebase lives on GitHub, meaning you can self-host on your own infrastructure with zero license fees.
Key Features Explained
Team Planner and Project Management
The project management module draws heavy inspiration from Linear's acclaimed interface. Issues live in a sidebar where you organize work into cycles (sprints), drag tasks across kanban columns, and structure roadmaps through milestones.
Each task card supports rich metadata: labels for categorization, story points for estimation, file attachments, and full rich-text descriptions with embedded images and code blocks. A calendar view transforms issues into time blocks, helping visualize workload by day or week.
Keyboard navigation keeps power users flying—create issues, assign teammates, change status, all without touching the mouse. Notifications surface only meaningful changes; you won't drown in activity spam.
For AI-enhanced project management with knowledge search, see ClickUp Brain.
Virtual Office and Video Meetings
Click the building icon and you enter a pixel-art office floor plan. Every teammate has a personal office (with knock-to-enter privacy), teams get dedicated audio rooms for quick discussions, and full meeting rooms support video calls with screen sharing and recording.
Calls open in a docked sidebar rather than a separate window, so you can browse tasks, edit documents, or review code without losing eye contact with colleagues. For deep focus, expand the office to fullscreen. The experience blends the spontaneity of Slack Huddles, the functionality of Zoom, and the spatial presence of Gather.
AI-powered transcription runs automatically on meetings, saving searchable transcripts to chat threads for later reference.
GitHub Two-Way Sync
Engineering teams will appreciate the native GitHub integration. Connect one or multiple repositories, and watch issues, pull requests, and comments stay mirrored bidirectionally:
Create an issue in Huly.io → matching ticket appears in GitHub. Merge a PR on GitHub → status updates automatically in Huly.io. Reference commits in task descriptions and see PR status inline.
For complex multi-repo setups, you choose which repository each new task should target. No more copy-pasting ticket IDs or manually synchronizing status across systems.
Collaborative Documents
The document editor feels like a Notion-native experience with headings, inline code, tables, images, embeds, and slash commands for quick formatting. Multiple cursors show real-time edits—teammates see changes instantly as you type.
Because documents live beside tasks, you can @mention issues inside specifications or assign lightweight action items without leaving the page. Inline comments enable targeted feedback; version history provides safety for serious technical documentation.
For document-focused AI that transforms notes into visuals, see Napkin.
Real-Time Chat and Channels
Chat threads work like Slack channels but without the separate subscription. Create public channels for teams or projects, private channels for sensitive discussions, and direct messages for one-on-one communication.
Because chat, tasks, and documents share the same platform, linking is seamless. Reference a task from chat, and context travels with it. The threading model keeps conversations organized without the chaos of flat message streams.
MetaBrain AI Assistant (Hulia)
Hulia is Huly's resident AI assistant. Currently, she handles automatic meeting transcription in multiple languages, saving searchable transcripts alongside recordings.
The roadmap (dubbed MetaBrain) promises significantly more: AI-generated meeting summaries, automatic action item extraction, proactive reminders for forgotten tasks, and a "living memory" graph called CollectiveCortex that treats every note, chat message, and task as retrievable context.
The vision is an AI that recalls past decisions when relevant discussions arise—"we discussed this in the March planning meeting"—without being explicitly asked. It's ambitious and still developing, but the architecture foundation is already in place.
Real-World Use Cases
Startup Engineering Teams
Small dev teams replace Jira + Slack + Notion + Zoom with a single Huly workspace. The unlimited free users model means adding contractors or interns doesn't inflate costs. GitHub sync keeps engineering workflow tight.
Remote-First Companies
Distributed teams use the virtual office to maintain presence and spontaneous collaboration without scheduled meetings. The spatial metaphor helps recreate office serendipity that pure async tools miss.
Agencies and Studios
Creative agencies managing multiple client projects use workspace organization and channels to segment work. Clients can be invited to specific projects without accessing internal channels.
Open Source Projects
OSS maintainers self-host Huly for zero cost, using GitHub sync to keep community issues aligned with internal planning boards. The transparency of open-source tooling appeals to projects that value code ownership.
For HR-focused team platforms with engagement surveys, see Workleap.
Pricing (2026)
See official pricing for current rates. Every plan includes unlimited users and unlimited objects—you only pay for resource consumption.
Common (Free) — $0/month. 10 GB storage, 10 GB monthly video traffic. Perfect for small teams and evaluation.
Rare — $19.99/month. 100 GB storage, 100 GB traffic. Suitable for freelancers and micro-agencies.
Epic — $99.99/month. 1 TB storage, 500 GB traffic. Growing product companies and larger teams.
Legendary — $399.99/month. 10 TB storage, 2 TB traffic, priority support. Enterprise organizations with heavy usage.
Self-Hosted — Free. Docker/Kubernetes deployment with zero license fees. You manage infrastructure (MongoDB, Elasticsearch, MinIO required).
AI compute isn't billed separately yet; when MetaBrain features mature, pricing will remain competitive with mainstream providers. You can also connect your own OpenAI API key.
Pros and Cons
What We Like
Unlimited users on all plans including free—rare and genuinely valuable
All-in-one platform: issues, chat, video, docs, virtual office
Fully open-source with self-hosting option
Native GitHub bidirectional sync
AI meeting transcription included
Modern, Linear-inspired interface
No per-seat pricing games
What Could Be Better
MetaBrain AI features still in active development
Self-hosting requires managing MongoDB, Elasticsearch, MinIO stack
Smaller integration ecosystem than established tools
Video traffic limits may constrain meeting-heavy teams
Learning curve when migrating from familiar tools
Huly.io vs. Alternatives
vs. ClickUp: ClickUp is more mature with broader integrations and AI features. Huly.io offers unlimited free users and is fully open-source for complete control.
vs. Linear: Linear excels at beautiful issue tracking. Huly.io adds real-time chat, video meetings, documents, and virtual office—consolidating more tools.
vs. Slack + Jira + Notion: Combined cost: $30+ per user per month. Huly.io bundles equivalent functionality with unlimited users from $0-$20/month workspace total.
vs. Workleap: Workleap focuses on HR, engagement surveys, and performance management. Huly.io targets engineering and product team execution workflows.
vs. Gather: Gather specializes in virtual offices for remote presence. Huly.io integrates virtual office with complete project management and documentation.
vs. Monday.com: Monday charges per seat with feature gating. Huly.io's unlimited user model scales better for growing teams.
Tips for Best Results
Start with project structure: Set up your team hierarchy, project spaces, and channel organization before inviting the full team.
Connect GitHub early: If you're engineering-focused, enable GitHub sync immediately so issues stay aligned from day one.
Use keyboard shortcuts: Huly's power-user shortcuts dramatically speed up task management. Invest 10 minutes learning them.
Leverage the virtual office: Encourage team presence in the office view for spontaneous conversations—it reduces meeting overhead.
Evaluate self-hosting: If you have DevOps capacity and data sovereignty requirements, self-hosting is genuinely free and fully featured.
FAQ
Is Huly.io really free for unlimited users?
Yes. The Common tier supports unlimited teammates. You only hit limits when storage exceeds 10 GB or monthly video traffic crosses 10 GB. Many small teams never pay anything.
Can I self-host Huly.io on my own servers?
Absolutely. The complete source code is on GitHub with docker-compose and Kubernetes manifests. You'll need MongoDB, Elasticsearch, and MinIO, plus optional services for AI and email. No license fees ever.
Does Huly.io actually replace Slack, Jira, and Notion?
For many teams, yes. Issue tracking rivals Linear/Jira, chat threads behave like Slack channels, and the document editor offers rich blocks people expect from Notion. Add the virtual office and you can realistically sunset multiple subscriptions.
How secure is Huly.io for sensitive projects?
Cloud workspaces run on isolated infrastructure with encrypted storage. Self-hosted deployments keep all data behind your firewall. Role-based permissions, private projects, and SSO integrations give admins granular control.
What's the roadmap for MetaBrain AI?
Next milestones include AI-generated meeting summaries, automatic action item extraction, and proactive reminders. Long-term, the CollectiveCortex memory graph will let Hulia surface relevant past discussions and documents without explicit queries.
Final Verdict
Huly.io is still young but already delivers genuine consolidation value. If your team juggles three or more collaboration tools and you're tired of the context-switching tax, creating a free workspace—or spinning up your own container—could shave hours off every week.
The unlimited-users pricing model is genuinely rare and valuable for growing teams. The open-source foundation appeals to organizations that want control over their tools. And the roadmap suggests Huly isn't resting—MetaBrain AI features will make the platform even more compelling.
For teams willing to try something newer in exchange for consolidation and cost savings, Huly.io deserves serious evaluation.
