by Xiao Fang

China’s enterprise collaboration space is heating up again. In the past six months, ByteDance’s Feishu and Alibaba’s DingTalk have been locked in an increasingly fierce tug-of-war to win over each other’s top corporate clients, particularly in the consumer retail sector.

Feishu, the domestic counterpart to ByteDance’s international app Lark, is an all-in-one workplace collaboration tool that combines chat, calendar, documents, and video meetings. Its main rivals are DingTalk, developed by Alibaba, a workplace tool focused on enterprise communication and management, and WeCom, Tencent’s office messaging app that integrates closely with WeChat to support external client engagement.

According to multiple industry insiders who spoke to Jiemian News, a number of prominent consumer brands—such as women’s fashion label Eifini, action camera maker Insta360, and snack food company Haoxianglai—have recently migrated from DingTalk to Feishu. Meanwhile, several companies have moved in the opposite direction, from Feishu to DingTalk, including logistics provider Best Express, IoT solutions firm Lierda, and digital healthcare platform Weimai. Notably, all three are headquartered in Hangzhou—the same city where Alibaba is based—adding an interesting layer to the competitive dynamic.

In one high-profile case last September, Eifini—a leading women’s fashion seller on Alibaba’s Tmall—moved to leave DingTalk for Feishu. DingTalk’s then-president Ye Jun made several visits to the company’s Hangzhou headquarters in a bid to retain the client, but ultimately failed to prevent the switch.

Other brands such as skincare company Proya and milk tea chain Molly Tea also made the move to Feishu last year, while home textile giant Luolai is said to be preparing for a similar transition. At the same time, however, DingTalk has attracted a wave of returning or new clients from Feishu.

The stakes are rising as the pandemic-driven boom in remote work, which had briefly accelerated user growth for all three major platforms—Tencent’s WeCom, Alibaba’s DingTalk, and ByteDance’s Feishu—has largely dissipated. Among them, WeCom has carved out a stable niche by integrating with Tencent’s WeChat ecosystem to offer client management tools, making it the default solution for many consumer-facing businesses. DingTalk and Feishu, meanwhile, remain locked in competition for growth in the broader enterprise collaboration market.

While state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are now the key source of incremental user growth, their complex structures make onboarding slow and difficult. In the more saturated private sector, most well-managed companies already use some form of office software—leaving the platforms to vie for each other’s most valuable customers.

During the work-from-home surge, DingTalk emerged as the biggest beneficiary, largely thanks to its integration with Alibaba’s enterprise ecosystem. Feishu, widely regarded for its superior user experience and productivity features, struggled to catch up. Its daily active users (DAUs) still trail far behind those of DingTalk and WeCom, and at one point even Feishu insiders doubted its ability to close the gap.

That said, Feishu has become increasingly aggressive in targeting DingTalk’s high-quality clientele. It has also made inroads into WeCom’s customer base—landing major names such as Miniso, Bull Group, Pop Mart, and EV maker NIO. However, these companies typically continue to use WeCom for client-facing functions such as CRM, while relying on Feishu for internal operations—a reflection of how the platforms are not always mutually exclusive.

Industry watchers note that as fast-growing companies scale and their operations become more complex, their needs have evolved beyond basic functions like messaging, reimbursements, and clock-ins. More firms are now seeking office software that can deeply integrate with business processes and enhance operational efficiency.

Feishu appears to be betting on this shift. According to a company insider, CEO Xie Xin believes that AI offers a transformative opportunity, and the team is actively experimenting with new productivity tools shaped by AI-driven management ideas.

DingTalk, meanwhile, has ramped up its AI push as well. Last year, it partnered with six foundational model providers including MiniMax, Moonshot AI, and Zhipu AI. More recently, it launched a developer-friendly initiative waiving commissions, entry deposits, and computing fees to attract third-party AI applications.

In terms of pricing, Feishu charges based on the number of active users, while DingTalk offers a bundled pricing model based on total company headcount—often allowing for deeper discounts. Value-added services are another differentiator: DingTalk allows enterprises to purchase features like video conferencing or knowledge management à la carte, whereas Feishu packages them into premium tiers that require full upgrades.

Alibaba’s commitment to DingTalk appears to be growing. The company recently reacquired a startup founded by DingTalk’s original creator, Chen Hang, and reinstated him as CEO. The move, reportedly at considerable cost, has been interpreted by some as a signal of DingTalk’s elevated strategic importance. According to one industry analyst, both ByteDance and Alibaba are positioning their platforms as AI-powered entry points for enterprise users—setting the stage for even more intense rivalry.

Despite the shifting landscape, the competition remains far from settled. While Feishu still lags DingTalk in DAUs, its annual recurring revenue (ARR)—a key metric for enterprise SaaS—is said to be on par with its rival, suggesting growing traction in paid services.

As AI continues to reshape enterprise software, the race between Feishu and DingTalk could ultimately redefine the collaborative work platform market in China.