For more than 32 million people, Slack has become the tool they open first thing in the morning to get the workday started. And it’s become the leader of the team collaboration industry, simplifying people’s work and boosting their productivity.
But not everyone is completely elated with Slack. And if you’re concerned by some of the platform’s downsides, like limiting free plans, security concerns, or limited customization options, you have many choices.
I’ve used dozens of messaging tools that offer capabilities similar to Slack and work well for different types of teams. In this roundup, I’ve listed down the 25 best Slack alternatives to make remote collaboration a breeze.
The Best Slack Alternatives
- Google Chat
- Chanty
- Microsoft Teams
- ClickUp
- Pumble
- Rocket.Chat
- Discord
- Brosix
- Mattermost
- Flock
- Ryver
- Glip
- Flowdock
- Fleep
- Twist
- HighSide
- Troop Messenger
- Wire
- Cisco Webex Teams
- Zoho Cliq
- Workplace by Meta
- Hive
- Basecamp
- Connecteam
- SmartSuite
1. Google Chat
- Available on: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and web
- Price: Free for Gmail Users. Starting at $7.20 a user per month for Google Workspace.
Google Chat is a Slack alternative built into Gmail, and you can chat with anyone who also has a Gmail account, whether that account is paid or free.
I’ve often used Google Chat to share project updates with clients, and its neat interface has been pretty seamless.
Pro tip: You’ll also be able to use Google Meet with Google Chat to host audio and video calls with your team. Combined with Google’s suite of tools, Google Chat is a feature-packed Slack alternative for Gmail users.
2. Chanty
- Available on: Mac, Windows, Android, iOS
- Price: Free version. Paid plans start at $3 a user per month
Chanty is a simple team chat tool for small and medium-sized teams.
Like Slack, you can communicate in public and private channels and through one-to-one conversations. I like how Chanty organizes all your files, links, tasks, and conversations into folders in a feature called Teambook.
In general, Chanty’s built-in task manager and intuitive interface make the chat tool a solid Slack alternative for less tech-savvy users.
But that said, if you’re a techie and love setting up automated workflows like I do, you can connect Chanty with many apps through Zapier without too much hassle.
3. Microsoft Teams
- Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Web
- Price: Free for up to 100 video participants. Paid plans start at $4 a user per month.
Microsoft Teams is primarily targeted towards enterprise companies. It comes along with one of Microsoft Office 365 plans.
However, if you don’t have one of these plans — like me, you can start with the freemium version of the tool.
While trying the free version, I found that it includes all the essential team chat features like instant chats, audio/video calls, and integrations. It also offers integrations across all Office 365 products and more than 250 apps and services.
Pro Tip: Microsoft Teams isn’t the easiest app to deploy, so make sure your team admin is tech-savvy.
4. ClickUp
- Available on: Android, Computer, iPhone & iPad, and Web
- Price: Free Forever plan. Paid plans start at $7 a member per month
ClickUp is an all-in-one project management tool offering a variety of tools and customization features to help users collaborate and communicate. I’ve often used ClickUp to collaborate with clients and share real-time updates with its Chat view.
I particularly like how users can embed pages and videos, as well as format messages, to include code blocks and bulleted lists for a clear and concise message. ClickUp’s Chat view is super helpful to stay organized and instantly chat with anyone.
5. Pumble
- Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and Web
- Price: Free with unlimited users. Paid plans start at $2.49 a month.
Pumble is a business communication tool with a diverse set of features such as channels, direct messages, threads, voice and video messages, and 1:1 voice and video meetings.
I also noticed that Pumble has a handy guest access feature that allows teams to include third parties like contractors, vendors, freelancers, and clients in their workspaces.
It offers two additional perks that give it an edge over Slack: each user on the free plan has unlimited access to message history and 10GB of storage per workspace with no time limits.
6. Rocket.Chat
- Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and Web
- Price: Free up to 1K users. Paid plans start at $7 a user per month
Rocket.Chat is a free, open-source Slack alternative that lets you tailor the look and feel of your team communication setup to your own brand. One of Rocket.Chat’s best features is the ease of migration. All you need to do is export your files from Slack and upload them to Rocket.Chat.
Pro tip: I also found several useful features on this tool, like real-time translation, live chat client, and E2E encryption, making it a Slack alternative that’s definitely worth a look.
7. Discord
- Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and Web
- Price: Free. Paid plans start at $9.99 per month.
While Discord has conventionally been a go-to app for gamers, it can also help teams collaborate effectively—thanks to its rich functionality and unlimited message history.
When I first started using Discord for work, I figured that you could easily implement the concept of Slack’s private and public channels using channel settings. It’s also the only app in this list that offers push-to-talk features.
Pro tip: Keep in mind that Discord may not have integrations best suited for work. But if you need a free space to communicate via text, voice, or video, Discord could be a good option for you.
8. Brosix
- Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Web
- Price: Free for up to 3 users. Paid plans start at $4 a user per month.
Brosix is a user-friendly messaging platform with a secure private team network, enabling precise user management. I tried a bunch of features in its Instant Messenger, including end-to-end encryption to ensure data security, efficient peer-to-peer (P2P) file transfer capabilities, and secure instant messaging.
What’s more, it offers chat rooms for collaboration, real-time communication, and support for both mobile and web applications.
9. Mattermost
- Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web
- Price: Free for up to 10 users. Paid plans start at $10 a user per month.
Mattermost is another popular Slack alternative. This open-source solution is fully customizable to meet your company’s needs. You can also implement Mattermost with private cloud hosting or a self-managed server.
What impressed me the most was how this solution is deployed by major organizations like NASA because of its security features and uptime.
It is purpose-built for technical and operational teams with specific functionality for maximizing efficiency, like identity and access controls, compliance auditing & reporting, and data control.
Pro tip: Mattermost supports more than a dozen languages, making it a great fit for global teams.
10. Flock
- Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and Web
- Price: Free for up to 20 users. Paid plans start at $4.50 a user per month.
Flock is a workplace chat software that claims to run faster than Slack. Besides all the regular communication features like instant chat, audio, and video calls, I discovered that Flock offers built-in polls, reminders, notes, and to-do snippets.
Flock’s freemium version is limited to 10,000 searchable messages. Paid plans unlock helpful features like screen sharing and unlimited message history. I think its interface is much easier to navigate than Slack’s.
11. Ryver
- Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Web
- Price: Starting at $69 per month for up to 12 users.
Ryver is a team communication tool known for its built-in task manager that turns messages into tasks, and you can manage them with Kanban boards.
Like Slack, Ryver lets you communicate through open forums, private groups, and direct messages. I also tried its feature to make voice and video calls for up to 5 users per call. And if you have a Zapier account, you can also integrate Ryver into your favorite apps in a snap.
12. Glip
- Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Web
- Price: Free up to 100 participants, Paid plans starting at $30 a user per month.
Glip is a team collaboration tool developed by RingCentral. While Slack has configurable features, making it a one-size-fits-all team chat app, Glip has built-in features like tasks, calendars, and notes.
You can connect Glip to other apps through Zapier or one of its more than 20 custom integrations.
I was impressed to see how Glip offers a suite of tools for specific use cases, like intelligent phone solutions. You get a business SMS platform and a cloud phone system — perfect for sales teams.
13. Flowdock
- Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and Web
- Price: Paid plans start at $3 per user per month.
Flowdock is another Slack alternative that organizes conversation by threads.
All threads are color-coded so you can easily navigate between topics and organize your team’s communication. I found their interface to be more cluttered than Slack, but the option to color-code threads is helpful in sorting conversations.
Flowdock also features open, invite-only, and one-to-one chats. This is great for hosting different types of meetings, like daily stand-ups, weekly syncs, or monthly reviews. What’s more, you can connect Flowdock to more than 100 of your favorite apps.
14. Fleep
- Available On: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, and iOS
- Price: Free up to 10GB of file storage. Paid plans start at €5 per user per month billed annually.
Fleep is designed around the idea of “conversations” where users can participate in a discussion on a specific topic.
To make these conversations more actionable, Fleep offers a feature called “Task” for assigning and coordinating work. Combine this with the “Pinboard” feature to let users pin essential messages, details, or announcements to the side for easy access.
While 1:1 conversations are unlimited across the board, I experimented with the freemium version. It offers limited storage capacity and can only support three group conversations. For unlimited group conversations, you’ll need to update the Business plan.
15. Twist
- Available on: MacOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Web
- Price: Free. Paid plans start at $6 per user per month.
Twist is an ideal communication software for asynchronous teams.
Its model moves away from real-time conversations into “deeper, structured communication” via their “Threads” feature. Instead of a group chat, users must designate a specific ”thread” for conversations related to a topic.
One-on-one and small group chat is also available for conversations that don’t require threads.
After signing up for the freemium version, I found that you get a one-month limit on search history and 5GB maximum file storage — similar to Slack’s free version.
16. HighSide
- Available On: Windows, MacOS, Ubuntu, iPhone, Android
- Price: Paid plans start at $12 a user per month.
HighSide is a great choice for team communication for organizations with advanced security needs. This tool offers end-to-end encryption, authentication, and secure cloud storage.
Its infrastructure can even help you ensure compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, and more. I also found a Microsoft Teams extension to help in working securely across apps.
Pro tip: Besides securing your communications, this tool offers all essential capabilities to work with your team, like file-sharing, audio + video messaging, data analytics, and compliance regulation.
17. Troop Messenger
- Available On: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS
- Price: Paid plans start at $2.5 per user per month.
Another great Slack alternative is Troop Messenger, which has chat, audio and video calling, and screen-sharing capabilities.
But this app takes a lead over Slack with two unique features: audio messaging and remote desktop control, which allows your team to enjoy a wide range of use cases within one solution.
I also found some interesting features in the premium version, like “Burnout.” It allows users to collaborate confidentially for a specified amount of time before the history is removed.
Another one is “Respond Later” to help you prioritize your communication without forgetting anything.
18. Wire
- Available on: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS
- Price: Not available.
Wire is a private messaging app with a core focus on security. I found this to be the best Slack alternative if your primary concern is data privacy and secure communications.
This app is based on the world’s first open protocol designed for end-to-end encrypted communication. It also encrypts cross-platform messages across iOS, Mac, Android, and PC.
Pro tip: This is an ideal solution for companies operating in the public sector and enterprises. You’ll have better options to protect all information, not just the confidential bits.
19. Cisco Webex Teams
- Available on: Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android
- Price: Free. Paid plans start at $7 a license per month.
Webex Teams is an enterprise-focused tool for team collaboration and video conferencing. While Slack is more suited for small-mid-sized teams and startups, Webex caters to the needs of global teams distributed across regions.
This Slack alternative integrates with OneDrive and SharePoint to make file-sharing easier. In fact, you can also get equipment like the Cisco Webex Board to host board meetings and video calls.
20. Zoho Cliq
- Available on: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android
- Price: Free. Paid plans starting at $8 for up to 25 users a month.
Zoho Cliq is another one of the many tools by Zoho. This real-time messaging software is a simpler, more integrated alternative to Slack. While its interface is pretty similar to Slack, it leaps ahead in the actual functionality.
The tool integrates well with other Zoho apps — CRM, HRM, financial management, and more. So, you can virtually control your entire business operations from one place.
Pro tip: Cliq’s version 5.0 has enterprise-grade security options with more team collaboration capabilities for video + audio meetings. It also includes AI-powered automation to moderate all channels simultaneously.
21. Workplace by Meta
- Available on: Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android
- Price: Not available.
A Slack alternative by Meta, the social media giant? I had the same doubts as you when I discovered this tool.
But on giving it a trial run, I realized this is an awesome team collaboration platform with the interface of a social media app — fun.
During my trial, I found that Workplace is packed with features relevant for remote/distributed teams, like a knowledge library, group chats, analytics, and integrations. It also has cool capabilities you won’t find on Slack, like a live video broadcast (not a meeting) to make company announcements.
I also think the News Feed, just like a Facebook or Instagram feed, is perfect for sharing latest updates and wins across the board.
22. Hive
- Available on: Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android
- Price: Free. Paid plans start at $12 a user per month.
Hive is a project management platform with advanced capabilities for teams to work together. I signed up for this app to see how it fares against Slack and discovered it’s an all-in-one platform for team collaboration.
From time tracking to automated workflows and analytics, Hive offers everything you need to succeed with a large team.
I particularly liked the ability to customize project views and set up automation rules for things to move quickly, even in my absence. Its integrated chat feature is just as good as (if not better than) Slack.
23. Basecamp
- Available on: Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android
- Price: Paid plans starting at $4.50 a user per month.
Basecamp is another platform I’ve used as a Slack alternative while working with a client. While the tool is purpose-built for project management, it also offers team collaboration capabilities similar to Slack.
Basecamp reduces unnecessary notifications and noise you see on Slack. Instead, it lets you create more focused discussions with Message Boards. You can keep all the conversations and updates about a topic on a single page.
Pro tip: I think this app does a much better job at organizing information about projects than Slack, helping to avoid any knowledge loss or repeated effort.
24. Connecteam
- Available on: Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android
- Price: Free. Paid plans start at $29 a month for up to 30 users.
Connecteam is a brilliant Slack alternative for non-desk employees. Its intuitive mobile app enables teams to connect with all employees in real time with chat, announcements, surveys, events, and a knowledge base — talk about all-in-one!
I also found Connecteam a more versatile alternative to Slack since it includes three main hubs: Operations, Communications, and HR/L&D. So, teams can flexibly run their entire business from a single app or use it exclusively for team collaboration.
25. SmartSuite
- Available on: Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android
- Price: Free, Paid plans starting at $10 a user per month.
Like all other tools in this list, I also started a free trial of SmartSuite. This is a versatile solution that combines everything teams need to collaborate effectively — spreadsheets, project dashboards, file sharing, calendars, and more.
Pro tip: What amazed me the most is how SmartSuite isn’t just a team communication and project management tool.
It consolidates real-time data for various functions like marketing, sales, HR, and business operations. You can also set up custom workflows to choose the metrics that matter the most to you and how they should be visualized.
Take Control Over Your Work with Slack Alternatives
Despite its popularity for team collaboration, Slack has its flaws. It can be expensive for larger teams and not customizable for smaller teams. There’s also a fair bit of a learning curve to adopt its interface and many features fully.
I’ve personally tried and reviewed these tools to make the decision easier for you. If you’re looking for something more seamless, try one of these Slack alternatives that may work for you and your team.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in September 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
