Micup vs Gather
Micup (micup.gg) is a free app where friends and communities hang out in voice channels and 3D rooms, while Gather is a paid virtual office for remote teams at $15 per member a month, or $12 billed yearly. If you want a virtual space for your friends, Micup costs nothing; if you run a remote team that needs a shared office, Gather is built for it.
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How do Micup and Gather compare?
Checked on both sides on 31 October 2026, for Gather 2.0. Gather prices are in US dollars per member. "Not listed" means the cited page does not show it.
| Topic | Micup | Gather |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No free plan on its pricing page; a 30-day trial1 |
| Price, monthly | Free; optional Plus at $1.99 per person | $15 per member2 |
| Price, billed yearly | Free; optional Plus at $19.13 for 12 months | $12 per member a month2 |
| Custom plan | No | Yes By quote2 |
| Guests | Everyone gets a free account | Yes Guests are free1 |
| What it is | ||
| Built for | Friends and communities | Remote teams1 |
| Look | 3D rooms with stylised avatars | A virtual office with desks and avatars; 3D not listed3 |
| Recommended size | Rooms have 12 to 54 seats | Offices up to 200, as advice rather than a limit2 |
| Built-in table games | Yes Six | Not listed on its pricing page1 |
| Platforms | ||
| Browser | Yes Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari | Yes Chrome2 |
| Windows and macOS | Yes Windows 10+, macOS 13+ | Yes Windows 10+, macOS 13+4 |
| Linux app | Yes | Not listed in its system requirements4 |
| Phones | Partly Android app without 3D rooms; iOS in development | Partly Mobile app in beta2 |
| Account and source | ||
| Minimum age | 15, or higher where local law requires | 185 |
| Source code | Yes AGPLv3: web app, server, desktop app | Open source not listed1 |
Where is Micup ahead for friends?
Gather sells a workplace, so the price and the rules assume a company. A group of friends who want to sit somewhere together has no reason to pay by the seat, and Micup does not ask them to.
- Free: a 3D room, your avatar in the default look and voice chat cost nothing. A 5-person group on Gather would pay $75 a month at the monthly price.
- Six table games are built into 3D rooms: Okey, 101 Okey, backgammon, chess, draughts and Turkish draughts.
- A full chat app around the room: servers, text channels, direct messages, a Feed, roles and bots.
- Open to people from 15, or older where local law requires. Gather customers must make sure users are over 18.
- A Linux app and more browsers.
- A shared screen plays on a room TV or the Cinema screen, so everyone sees it from their seat.
Where is Gather ahead for teams?
- It is built for work: a recurring remote office, with plans for companies. Micup has no business plan or team billing.
- Guests are free, so visitors do not need a paid seat.
- Size: Micup rooms have 12 to 54 seats, and walking turns off when more than 32 people are in a room. Gather recommends offices of up to 200.
- Gather has a mobile app in beta. Micup 3D rooms need a computer.
- Micup text messages are not end-to-end encrypted and are stored on its servers, so check your own requirements before using it for company work.
How do you start a Micup space for friends?
- Create a free account and a server on micup.gg.
- Add a voice channel. It opens in the default 3D room, Night Lounge, or you can pick another room under “Room theme” in the channel settings.
- Share a link from “Invite friends”.
- On a computer, join the voice channel, take a seat, and walk with WASD.
Is Gather a good place for friends to hang out?
It can work, but the model is made for work: on the pricing page we read there is no free plan, and the terms expect every user to be over 18. For friends, a paid per-member workplace is more than you need.
Micup is the opposite trade. It is free and made for spending time together, but it does not try to be a place of work. Most rooms have a sofa, a table or a campfire rather than desks.
What does Gather cost a group?
These are simple multiplications of the listed per-member prices, for comparison only.
| Members | Micup | Gather, monthly price | Gather, billed yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $0 | $75 a month | $60 a month |
| 20 | $0 | $300 a month | $240 a month |
Sources: Gather 1.0 vs 2.0
Frequently asked questions
Is Gather free?
Its pricing page does not show a free plan. It shows a 30-day trial, then $15 per member a month, or $12 billed yearly. Guests are free.
Is Micup a virtual office?
No. Micup is a chat and voice app for communities, with 3D rooms for hanging out. It has no business plan or team billing.
Is Gather 3D?
Gather sells a virtual office, and its site does not describe it as 3D. Micup rooms are 3D, with avatars you can walk around in on a computer.
What is the age limit on each?
Micup requires users to be at least 15, or older where local law requires. Gather requires customers to make sure users are over 18.
Does Micup work on Linux?
Yes. Micup has a 64-bit Linux app as AppImage, deb, rpm and tar.gz. Gather lists macOS and Windows in its system requirements.
Sources
- www.gather.town/pricing Accessed:
- support.gather.town/articles/2163640255-gather-1-0-vs-gather-2-0 Accessed:
- www.gather.town Accessed:
- support.gather.town/articles/6736502142-system-requirements Accessed:
- www.gather.town/legal/gather-terms-of-service Accessed:
Gather is a trademark of Gather Presence, Inc.; Micup is not affiliated with that company.
Get Micup
3D rooms and table games open on computers, in the browser and the desktop app.