Alternatives to Slack
The default workplace chat with threads and huddles
Slack ranks #8 of 8 in Team chat, with an Alt Score of 17. It is freemium. 1 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Teams and organizations of any size, across functions like engineering, sales, support, and marketing, who need a central place for real-time work communication.
Persistent, searchable channels for team and topic-based discussion, plus direct messages and huddles (built-in audio/video calls) for quicker conversations. Workflow Builder automates routine tasks, and Canvas/Lists support light project tracking and docs. Integrations connect Slack to over a million third-party apps (Google Drive, Asana, etc.), and built-in AI features handle search, thread/channel summaries, and note-taking.
Organizations set up a workspace and organize conversations into channels by team, project, or topic, with members posting messages, files, and threads that stay searchable over time. Users can jump into huddles for live conversation, trigger automated workflows, or connect external apps directly within the same interface.
Why people leave Slack
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
How Slack compares with its alternatives, feature by feature.
| Team chat checklist | Slack | Mattermost | Microsoft Teams | Zulip | Rocket.Chat | Element |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
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| License | ||||||
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| Message history limit (free) | ||||||
| Threads | ||||||
| Huddles / audio rooms | ||||||
| Video calls | ||||||
| Guest access | ||||||
| Federation | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| E2E encryption | ||||||
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| Workflow automations | ||||||
| Search quality (filters) | ||||||
| Compliance exports |
Every fact and feature listed for Slack is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Freemium verified 2026-07-10
Free workspace + paid upgrade = Freemium. (Both Slack research agents were blocked by JS-rendered pricing / 404 help slugs; only this article verified — slack is thin, other facts/cells are gaps.)
If you choose to remain on a free workspace, you'll have full access to the past 90 days of message and file history, and the remaining 275 days will become available should you upgrade to a paid plan
https://slack.com/help/articles/29414264463635-Updates-to-message-and-file-history-on-free-workspaces -
Message history limit (free) Yes verified 2026-07-10
Free plan limited to 90 days of history.
If you choose to remain on a free workspace, you'll have full access to the past 90 days of message and file history
https://slack.com/help/articles/29414264463635-Updates-to-message-and-file-history-on-free-workspaces
FAQ
Yes. Microsoft Teams, Discord and Twist have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Zulip, Rocket.Chat and Element — every license claim links its source.