Slack is one of the most popular real-time work communication apps used by individuals, teams, and organizations. It offers quick chat functionality, easy file sharing, voice and video calls, and more.
So why look for Slack alternatives?
Well, Slack has its own share of drawbacks. For starters, the fast messaging and endless group chats make it difficult to track what’s happening.
In this article, we’ll discuss some Slack drawbacks and suggest 10 Slack alternatives you can use instead. We’ll cover their features as well as pricing to help you make an informed choice.
This Article Contains:
(Click on the links below to jump to a specific section)
- 10 best Slack alternatives
- 2. Zoho Cliq
- 3. ProofHub
- 4. Rocket.Chat
- 5. Ryver
- 6. Chanty
- 7. Mattermost
- 8. Wire
- 9. Fleep
- 10. Troop Messenger
Let’s start!
10 best Slack alternatives
Here are 10 fantastic Slack alternatives with incredible features:
1. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is Microsoft’s answer to the Slack app. It’s a unified communication tool that blends chat systems, video calls, Office 365 tools, etc., to create a shared work platform.
Additionally, it directly integrates with several popular apps like Asana and Trello. For apps like Cisco Webex and Discord that don’t integrate directly with Teams, the tool’s Zapier integration can help.
Not sure how to use MS Teams?
Check out our step-by-step guide on how to use Microsoft Teams.
Key features
- Provides an easy chat function in private and public channels, individual chats, team chats, and live meetings.
- Supports 1080p for all video calls except live events.
- Offers virtual backgrounds and screen sharing.
- Allows 300 participants per video call and up to 10,000 listen-only participants in live events.
- Offers single sign-on through Active Directory and advanced threat protection.
Pricing
Microsoft Teams offers four pricing models:
- Microsoft Teams Free: 100 members per meeting + data encryption for all forms of conversations.
- Microsoft Teams Essentials: ($4/user per month) – offers all free features + unlimited group meetings for 30 hours + 300 members per session.
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: ($5/user per month) – offers all essential features + web and mobile versions of the app + 1 TB cloud storage per user + business class emails.
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard: ($12.50/user per month) – offers all basic features + premium desktop versions of the Office app + Attendee registration and reporting tool.
User ratings
- G2: 4.3/5 (11500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (7500+ reviews)
2. Zoho Cliq
Zoho Cliq is a cloud-based team collaboration and communication tool. It’s great for instant messaging, drag and drop sharing, and multiple column-view options to track all your chats.
Zoho Cliq is also available on most operating systems, including Android, Mac, Windows, iOS, and Linux.
Key features
- Receive separate notifications for personal and team messages of your choice with the fork feature.
- Hold company-wide meetings through the video broadcasting feature.
- Build custom bots to automate workflows.
- Set up a custom domain to get company-wide access to Cliq.
- Protect sensitive data with disappearing secret chat feature.
Pricing
Zoho Cliq has a free version and a paid plan:
- Free Plan: includes organization & private channels + 100 participants per video session + one-on-one screen sharing.
- Unlimited: ($1/user per month) – includes all free plans + 100 GB file storage per user + two-factor authentication.
User ratings
- G2: 4.3/5 (70+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (50+ reviews)
3. ProofHub
ProofHub is a simple, well-integrated project management and chat tool available on both desktop and mobile apps.
This great Slack alternative offers advanced features like automated reporting, productivity boards, and more to streamline your workflows.
Key features
- Communicate quickly with direct messages and group chats.
- Use the Kanban board, Gantt chart, and calendar view to assign tasks easily and track deadlines.
- Store your files and docs in a centralized location for easy access.
- Choose the language you like to apply to the project management tool’s interface.
- Generate custom reports to view project progress insights.
Pricing
ProofHub offers two paid plans:
- Essential Plan: ($50/month) – offers task management tools + online proofing tools + custom project templates.
- Ultimate Control: ($99/month) – offers all essential plan features + white labeling + detailed analytics.
User ratings
- G2: 4.5/5 (50+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (50+ reviews)
4. Rocket.Chat
Rocket.Chat is an omnichannel, open source team communication tool. It brings all your conversations from external apps like Slack, Whatsapp, Skype, etc., to a single platform.
This Slack competitor has an ISO 27001 security certification – the international standard for secure information management.
Key features
- Provides unlimited integrations with apps like Slack, Skype, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Chat, etc.
- Offers the choice of SaaS or an on-premise setup.
- Gives complete access to source code to create additional features.
- Allows you to integrate CRM or chatbot tools to automate customer service
- Lets you easily migrate to Rocket.Chat by exporting your files from the Slack app.
Pricing
Rocket.Chat offers three SaaS pricing options:
- Bronze: ($2/user per month) – offers unlimited history + five integrations + guest users.
- Silver: ($4/user per month) – offers all Bronze features + white labeling + 100 integrations.
- Gold: (custom pricing) – offers all Silver features + 1000 integrations + online ticket creation.
It has two pricing models for personal users:
- Free Plan: includes unlimited message history + end to end encryption + customizable user permission.
- Pro Plan: ($3/user per month) – includes all free plan features + minimum of 10 users per organization + social network login.
- Enterprise: (custom pricing) – includes all pro plans + unlimited push notifications + engagement dashboard.
User ratings
- G2: 3.9/5 (150+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (130+ reviews)
5. Ryver
Ryver offers features like Slack and combines them with powerful task management tools to give you the best workplace collaboration experience.
With Ryver, you can create tasks from messages, access unlimited voice and video calls, organize work on boards, etc.
Key features
- Lets you create custom integrations and bots through APIs and webhooks.
- Allows unlimited chat, video chat, and audio calls.
- Provides searchability feature in conversations to quickly find important information.
- Offers categorization of important conversations based on topics.
- Tracks social media posts and RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds for the latest updates with its news streaming feature.
Pricing
Ryver offers four paid plans:
- Starter: ($69/ month) – includes a maximum of 12 users + unlimited file sharing + task management tools.
- 30 User Pack: ($129/month) – includes a maximum of 30 users + voice and video calls + Customized invite links.
- Medium Pack: ($4.67/user) – includes more than 30 users + unlimited file sharing + unlimited chat
- Enterprise (custom pricing) – includes advanced team management + single sign-on + premium support.
User ratings
- G2: 4.4/5 (140+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (30+ reviews)
6. Chanty
Chanty is an AI-powered, simple team communication and collaboration tool that focuses on tasks and projects. It’s the best Slack alternative if you have a small team or a medium-scale organization.
It offers unlimited message history, deadline-driven task management, file sharing, and other powerful features to boost productivity.
Key features
- Organize your conversations and files on TeamBook.
- Use Kanban Boards to streamline your tasks and projects.
- Assign and sort tasks according to status, date, and people involved.
- Set and control roles and privileges on who can access your team space.
- Integrate with other apps like Asana, GitHub, Zapier, etc.
Pricing
Chanty has two pricing models:
- Free Plan: includes unlimited searchable history + 10 members + 20 GB file storage per team.
- Business Plan: ($4/user per month) – offers task management + customizable roles and permissions + unlimited audio calls and video conferencing.
User ratings
- G2: 4.5/5 (30+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.9/5 (20+ reviews)
7. Mattermost
Mattermost is an open source team collaboration tool for internal communication – built exclusively for developers and gamers.
This great Slack alternative provides single sign-on, community forums, multi-language support, and performance monitoring. It also lets you tailor the messaging platform according to your business needs by rewriting the initial code.
Key features
- Offers searchable and unlimited message history.
- Automates your workflows with the Playbook feature.
- Complies with global retention and security policies.
- Provides full access to open source code, APIs, and drivers.
- Allows markdown formatting in communication channels.
Pricing
Mattermost offers three pricing plans:
- Free Plan: offers searchable history + customizable board templates.
- Professional Plan: ($10/user per month) – offers all free features + announcement channels + multi-factor authentication.
- Enterprise Plan: (custom pricing) – offers all professional plan features + automated reporting + private playbooks.
User ratings
- G2: 4.2/5 (260+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (100+ reviews)
8. Wire
Wire is an open source, secured team communication and collaboration software – with its code readily available on GitHub.
You can deploy it on Wire’s cloud, your cloud, or your on-premise server. Wire’s advanced features include group chat, voice calls, fun emojis, video calling, file sharing, integrations – all secured with end to end encryption.
Key features
- Offers self-deleting messages on one-on-one chats.
- Allows 1:1 and group messages with non-wire members via team management console invites.
- Supports 100 participants in an audio call and 50 in a video call.
- Provides Single Sign-On (SSO) to login into the Wire app without a username and password.
- Optimizes workflows with the help of APIs.
Pricing
Wire has three pricing plans:
- Free Plan: includes basic teams communication and collaboration tools + a maximum of 5 users + unlimited messaging.
- Enterprise Plan (from $7.65) – includes all free plan features + group conferencing + unlimited users.
- Government Plan (custom pricing) – includes all enterprise plan features + highest data security + integrations with third-party apps.
User ratings
- G2: 4.3/5 (30+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (50+ reviews)
9. Fleep
Fleep is an open network communication and collaboration tool where you can connect with your team member even outside the app via email invites.
To make conversations more accessible, Fleep incorporates a task management system and a Pinboard for ideas and messages. Fleep is also available as a desktop and mobile app.
Key features
- Create or delegate tasks with a simple task management system.
- Assign and track tasks with its in-built task management.
- Pin important information to the side of each chat for everyone to note.
- Check if team members are active with its Presence feature.
- Integrate Fleep with the Whereby app to make audio and video calls.
Pricing
Fleep offers a free version and two paid plans:
- Free Plan: includes unlimited message history + 1GB of file storage + 1 group conversation.
- Business Plan ($5.60/user per month) – includes all features of free plan + unlimited group messages + 100 GB file storage.
- Enterprise Plan (custom pricing) – includes business plan features + rebrand Fleep with company logo + premium conversations.
User ratings
- G2: 4.4/5 (20+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (30+ reviews)
10. Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger is a user-friendly chat application with collaboration features, great for businesses of all sizes.
Some of its advanced features include channels or chat rooms, screen sharing, task management, instant messaging, self-destructing messaging tool, etc.
Key features
- Lets you delete and edit sent direct messages within a specific time frame.
- Helps developers write and edit programmable code snippets during a Troop audio or video call.
- Supports 13 international and regional languages.
- Integrates with Google Drive, Dropbox, Zapier, etc.
- Protects sensitive data with multi-factor authentication, biometrics, end to end encryption, audit logs, etc.
Pricing
Troop Messenger has two paid plans:
- Premium Plan ($1/user per month) – offers unlimited group chat + unlimited search history + advanced notifications.
- Enterprise Plan ($5/user per month) – offers unlimited video conferencing + Pre-scheduled disappearing chats + integrations with Google Drive or DropBox.
User ratings
- G2: 4.7 (50+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8 (10+ reviews)
Before you pick your ideal Slack alternative, learn more about the communication tool’s drawbacks.
Why look for a Slack alternative?
This instant messaging service may be popular for various reasons, but it also has some drawbacks that are difficult to ignore:
1. Disorganized
If you have a large team collaborating on a project using instant chat messages, the data you’re looking for can get buried quickly. As a result, it can be hard to follow what’s going on – even with a search option.
2. Very addictive and distracting
Slack’s push notifications, emojis, gifs, etc., can make the tool addictive or distracting. This can result in your team spending more hours checking Slack than working.
3. Expensive for small teams
Slack’s starter pricing plan costs $8/user per month, which can be pretty high for a small team or a medium-scale business.
Moreover, their free plan comes with several restrictions such as a 10,000 messages limit, no teamwork with outside organizations, etc., forcing you to consider the pricey subscription.
Wrapping up
With almost 12 million users in 2021, there’s no doubt that Slack is one of the best communication and collaboration tools.
However, recent years have seen the emergence of more budget-friendly and versatile collaboration apps. Some even offer features like self-destructive messages, in-built task management, advanced data security, and so much more than Slack.
So use our list of Slack alternatives to find the best-suited workplace collaboration tool for you. And watch your productivity skyrocket with easy conversations, enhanced teamwork, and seamless collaboration!
