DingTalk

Site Introduction

DingTalk is Alibaba's AI-era work platform and a veteran in enterprise collaboration—covering IM, attendance, approvals, logs, documents, video conferencing, and low-code in one package.

Since 2025, its focus has shifted toward AI office work: the Tongyi large model powers AI Transcription, AI Search & Q&A, AI Spreadsheet, along with the standalone Agent product Qianwen Work and the hardware DingTalk A1. Write a daily report in one sentence, automatically generate meeting minutes, search the enterprise knowledge base—no more switching back and forth between a dozen tools.

Core Features

1. Enterprise Collaboration Foundation: IM + Attendance + Approvals + Documents

DingTalk's foundation is team management and office automation, not just an AI chatbot.

Instant messaging, contacts, attendance check-in, OA approvals, work logs, DingPan cloud storage, audio/video conferencing—usable by small teams up to enterprises with tens of thousands of people. The Standard edition is free for basic features, and after verification, the number of users can expand to hundreds or even thousands. Its coverage is among the broadest of any collaboration tool in China.

2. AI Transcription: Meeting Minutes and To-Dos Automatically Generated After Meetings

AI Transcription is based on the Tongyi large model and covers meetings, training, interviews, client visits, and more. It supports real-time transcription, smart summarization, chapter segmentation, speaker identification, and translation in 19 languages.

Enable cloud recording during the meeting, and after it ends, transcription and minutes are automatically generated. It also supports real-time recording and importing audio/video. Combined with the DingTalk A1 recording card, offline meetings can also be captured with high quality. In smart meeting minutes, DingTalk is more mature than most competitors.

3. AI Search & Q&A + Knowledge Base: Enterprise AI Search

AI Search & Q&A is DingTalk's knowledge Q&A entry point. It can retrieve enterprise documents, group chats, approval records, and more, answering questions in natural language directly.

No need to remember keywords; vague descriptions can still be matched. It connects with IM, approvals, and log data—the data is already in DingTalk, which is much more convenient than uploading files to third-party AI tools.

4. Qianwen Work + Wukong: The Agent Layer for Complex Tasks in One Sentence

Qianwen Work (qwenwork.cn) is an independent AI Agent office platform launched by Alibaba, deeply integrated with the DingTalk ecosystem—it can be launched directly from DingTalk's left navigation bar and can invoke messages, calendars, to-dos, documents, knowledge bases, attendance, and approvals.

Wukong is the AI work platform inside DingTalk, completing tasks such as calendars, documents, approvals, and meetings through conversation, mobilizing multiple applications with a single sentence. There is also AI Spreadsheet (operate spreadsheets with natural language) and Yida low-code (build business systems)—covering everything from records to execution in one chain.

Pricing Model

DingTalk has two layers: basic collaboration edition + AI add-ons, and the structure is more fragmented than Feishu. It is recommended to review the benefits list before purchasing.

Basic Collaboration

Professional/Dedicated edition prices come from DingTalk official announcements and open platform documentation; actual quotes from sales prevail.

AI Capabilities (Billed Separately)

Additional notes:

• The Standard edition does not include full AI membership benefits. AI Transcription and some other features have free trials, but heavy use requires purchasing Suanli or Wukong membership.
• Suanli is the universal AI currency, shared by Wukong, AI Transcription, AI Spreadsheet, etc.; enterprise Suanli is deducted first, then personal free/paid Suanli.
• Member Suanli does not roll over (cleared at month-end); recharge pack Suanli is valid for 1 year.
• The Professional edition buys collaboration and management capabilities, not unlimited AI—AI Suanli is usually purchased separately.

Pricing may change; refer to the official website and admin console: https://www.dingtalk.com/

Comparison with Similar Platforms

Unique Advantages

1. Largest user base and ecosystem: Broad coverage among domestic SMEs, government, and education. Suppliers, clients, and employees are likely already using DingTalk, minimizing collaboration friction.
2. AI + hardware closed loop: DingTalk A1 recording card + AI Transcription + Tongyi large model—from offline meetings to online minutes in one chain; few competitors have a complete hardware solution.
3. Mature low-code Yida: Approvals, forms, and business systems can be built without coding, and with AI support, "say a sentence to build a workflow" is truly achievable.

Practical Highlights

• Qianwen Work is deeply embedded in DingTalk bidirectionally: The Agent can read calendars, group chats, and approval data to automatically write weekly reports—not just output a paragraph of text.
• AI Transcription supports real-time translation in 19 languages: Practical for cross-border meetings and client visits.

Objective Limitations

1. Complex billing system: Standard, Professional, Dedicated, Wukong membership, Suanli packs, Qianwen Work—it is easy for new users to buy the wrong thing or duplicate purchases.
2. The threshold for full AI capabilities is not low: To get Agent + flagship models + sufficient Suanli, per-person cost may reach ¥39–99/month, not including the Professional edition at ¥9,800/year.
3. Document collaboration experience is weaker than Feishu: Heavy document users often complain about multi-user real-time editing, layout aesthetics, and the flexibility of multi-dimensional tables.
4. Some AI products are still iterating rapidly: Qianwen Work and Wukong's skill marketplace are marked as beta or continuously updated; stability varies by version.

Comparison with Similar Tools

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is DingTalk completely free?

Basic collaboration is free. Chat, attendance, approvals, logs, and documents allow small teams to start at zero cost. However, video conference participants/duration, cloud storage, chat history retention, and full AI capabilities all have limits. For more than 100 users or 10-year chat history archiving, you usually need the Professional edition at ¥9,800/year.

2. If I buy the Professional edition, can I use AI freely?

No. The Professional edition mainly unlocks collaboration and management capabilities (storage, approvals, API, etc.), while AI Suanli is usually purchased separately. Free Suanli is limited weekly (about 100–300 points for verified organizations). Heavy use requires buying Wukong membership (from ¥39/month) or Suanli recharge packs.

3. What is the relationship between Wukong, Qianwen Work, and AI Transcription?

AI Transcription is a meeting recording tool embedded in video conferencing and recording scenarios. Wukong is the AI Agent platform inside DingTalk, scheduling various applications through conversation. Qianwen Work is a standalone Agent product deeply integrated with DingTalk, capable of complex tasks such as PPT creation, data analysis, and web page building. The three share the Suanli system (some features have separate free quotas).

4. For a 10-person team, what is the minimum AI cost?

If you only occasionally use AI Transcription, free Suanli may be enough. If everyone uses Wukong daily: 10 people × ¥39/month = ¥390/month, not including the Professional edition. It is recommended to first try free Suanli for 1–2 weeks to see actual consumption before deciding whether to open memberships for everyone.

5. How to choose between DingTalk and Feishu?

DingTalk is suitable for: teams already deeply using DingTalk, those needing to cover suppliers/clients, those valuing attendance, approvals, and low-code, and teams across a wide range of industries. Feishu is suitable for: teams with high requirements for document collaboration quality, heavy users of multi-dimensional tables, and internet-style teams. Many companies use DingTalk for attendance and approvals and Feishu for documents—but the cost of running two platforms is not low.

6. What is DingTalk A1?

DingTalk's AI portable recording hardware, used with AI Transcription, suitable for offline meetings, client visits, and interview records. Purchasing A1 may come with a premium AI Transcription membership (subject to the current promotion). It is not a software necessity, but very useful for heavy offline scenarios.

7. Is data secure?

DingTalk offers Dedicated/Hybrid editions to meet enterprise compliance needs such as data localization, dedicated tenants, SSO, and audit logs. Tongyi large model data processing has official security documentation; Wukong Enterprise Premium membership supports custom model access. Industries such as finance and government should evaluate Dedicated or hybrid deployment options.