Slack is a popular messaging service that offers many business-related features. However, not everyone needs all of those features.
If you’re looking for an alternative to Slack that’s more focused on just messaging, check out these options.
Best Slack Alternatives
What Are Slack Alternatives
Slack is a chat software that has been popular for years now. It can be used in teams and businesses to exchange information and text messages.
However, it has some limitations compared to its competitors. For example, Slack doesn’t have a desktop app and it doesn’t allow users to make calls or video calls.
Best Slack Alternatives: A Comparison Table
Slack is one of the most popular chat tools across the globe. It’s been around for years now, but we are still seeing new features being added to it on a regular basis.
The platform has over 1 million active daily users and more than 1 billion messages sent every month.
We’ve compiled a list of the best Slack alternatives you should consider using if you’re looking for something better than the standard messaging app.
What Are The Best Slack Alternatives?
Teams by Microsoft Teams by Microsoft is a more feature-rich version of Skype for Business, which is the messaging platform that Microsoft acquired from Skype in 2011.
It offers many of the same features as Slack, such as message search and file sharing, but it also provides a lot more integrations with other applications like Dropbox and Google Drive. Teams can be used for free up to 300 users and 5 GB storage.
The service supports multiple chat rooms per team, along with private chat rooms for one-on-one conversations between users or small groups.
Flowdock also includes task management tools similar to Asana or Trello so teams can see what they need to do next while they’re chatting in the app.
Flowdock has both free and paid plans available, depending on how many users you have on your team at any given time.
1. Chanty
Best For Real-time Collaboration And Communication
Chanty is a real-time communication and collaboration tool that can be used as a stand-alone app or as part of a larger business solution. It is available for Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebooks.
Chanty is ideal for businesses who want to increase productivity and collaboration by using voice and video chat in the workplace. Chanty allows you to create an unlimited number of rooms that can be used for one-on-one conversations or group conferences.
You can invite guests from other companies or invite team members from within your organization. Chanty gives you the ability to share your screen with other people so they can see what you’re doing on your computer while they talk to you over the phone or video chat.
This feature makes it much easier to collaborate with others on projects because it eliminates the need to send screenshots back and forth via email or chat apps like Slack or Skype. Chanty also lets you record meetings so you can listen back later on if needed.
The recordings are saved in MP4 format so they’re easy to share with others using file sharing services like Dropbox or Google Drive
Features
Chanty is an application that allows you to make calls from your smartphone without having to pay any fees or use your data plan. The main features of this application are:
Call other Chanty users for free Call regular phone numbers end text messages for free Chanty is a free, open source and cross-platform audio editor that aims to be powerful, easy to use and simple.
– Simple interface with only the basic features needed.
– Audio waveforms are displayed in real time for precise editing.
– Support for multiple audio formats including WAV, MP3, OGG and FLAC.
– Powerful batch processing capabilities for converting files and applying effects to them all at once.
Pricing
Chanty offers a free plan. This gives you access to all of our features, including our live chat, live polling and surveys.
Our paid plans start at $10/month for up to 5 agents, with new features added monthly (see below). If you’re not sure if Chanty is right for you, sign up for our free trial and try it out for yourself.
The pricing for Chanty is based on the number of users you have and the frequency of invoices you send. We offer a range of plans to suit your needs, from $9/user/month to $99/user/month.
For invoicing more frequently than once per month, our monthly plan will save you money compared to our annual plan. Chanty also offers a free trial period so that you can test drive Chanty without any commitment at all.
As an AI-powered team messaging app, Chanty helps teams communicate, collaborate, and connect with other teams using unlimited group messaging and integrated video technology. Chanty brings all apps such as GitLab, Google Drive, MailChimp, and more used during day-to-day operations into one single place.
2. Mattermost
Mattermost is an open source, self-hosted Slack-alternative. It can be installed on premise, or in the cloud. It’s written in Golang, so it’s pretty fast and lightweight.
Mattermost is a great alternative to Slack if you need more control over your data or you want to avoid spending money on something that could be considered a “luxury.”
It includes features like private groups and channels, persistent chat history, notifications via email, SMS and phone calls, file sharing, and integrations with third-party services like Zapier.
Best For DevOps Teams
If you’re a DevOps team, you want a chat app that’s easy to use and intuitive. You also want it to be secure, fast and scalable.
You need something that can be used across multiple teams — from developers who are working on new applications, to support staff who troubleshoot problems.
Mattermost is the best chat app for devops teams because of its clean interface and powerful features. It has more than 200 integrations with third-party apps, as well as tools for monitoring server load and uptime.
Plus it offers granular permissions so you can customize security settings based on your needs.
Features
Open source — Mattermost is free and open source, allowing anyone to review the code, add features and make improvements. The software also has a large community of users who contribute bug fixes, share plugins and more.
Chat rooms — Chat rooms are one of the core features of Mattermost. You can create rooms for different topics or groups, then invite people into those rooms based on their role or department in your organization.
For example, you might have one room for everyone in marketing and another for everyone in sales. This allows you to keep conversations organized so that they don’t get too noisy or confusing.
Integrations with other apps — Mattermost has integrations with many popular business apps including Google Calendar, Trello and GitHub just to name a few.
These integrations allow you to take action directly from within your chat room without having to switch back into another app or webpage first.
Pricing
Mattermost. offers several different pricing plans, including a free plan that allows up to 100 users, up to 10 integrations and 1 GB of storage space. The next plan is the Pro plan, which costs $7 per user per month ($70 per month).
This plan gives you unlimited integrations, unlimited storage space and other advanced features like message scheduling.
It includes everything in the Pro plan and adds chatbots, video calling capabilities, customizable emoji reactions and more.
Mattermost is an open source platform for secure communication, collaboration, and orchestration of work across teams and tools. Mattermost is built specifically for software development and engineering use cases and integrates deeply with a rich ecosystem of third-party developer tools.
3. Fleep
Fleep is a free, fast and secure messaging app for teams. Fleep is the perfect solution if you want to keep in touch with your coworkers, friends or family, but don’t want to use regular SMS or email.
Here are some of the most popular features that make Fleep so great:
Unlimited file sharing – With Fleep you can share any type of file quickly, safely and easily.
Free video calls – Talk face-to-face with your team or customers without having to install any special software.
Video calls are included in all plans.
Customizable notifications – Choose what kind of notifications you want to receive from Fleep so you never miss a thing!
Best For Project Management
Project management is a complicated task. You need to keep track of the progress of your project, assign tasks to the right people, and make sure everything gets done on time.
There are many project management tools out there, but not all of them are equally good. Some are too complex for beginners, others can’t handle multiple projects at once, and still others don’t have enough features or integrations.
We’ve tested about 20 different project management tools over the years and found Fleep to be one of the best options for teams of up to 5 people. It’s simple enough that anyone can use it, yet powerful enough to manage multiple projects at once.
It also integrates with dozens of other apps so you can keep all your tasks in one place and never forget anything again!
Features
– Connect with anyone in the world
– Get full control over your privacy settings
– Use real time location sharing
– Search for people using specific keywords or location
– View detailed information about each user
Pricing
Get access to the following premium features by subscribing monthly or annually:
- No ads or limitations on file size
- Create and manage private groups of up to 3 people
- Create shared folders with other users (paid plans only)
Free
The free version of Fleep is great for personal use and small teams. It provides all the features you need to chat with your team, including unlimited messages, files, and photos.
You can also use our desktop apps – they’re perfect for teams who want to chat while they work.
Pro
If you have a larger team or need more features, then Pro may be right for you.
It's a full featured API that allows you to post and read messages, files, create conversations, modify members etc. Fleep API allows you to bring your ideas into reality! Check out the documentation and examples, and let us know if you need any help.
4. Flock
Flock is a social networking website founded by Peter Karpas. It was launched in January 2009, and by July 2010, the website had over 1 million users.
The site’s headquarters are in New York City. The site’s name comes from its tagline “The Social Network for the Birds.” It is an online community that allows users to create their own avatars and interact with other members through games and blogs.
Flock was designed to be more like a game than a traditional social network, with a focus on user-generated content and private messaging instead of status updates. Flock was founded by Peter Karpas, who previously worked as an executive at MySpace before it was sold to News Corp.
He wanted to create a new type of social networking site that focused less on status updates and more on games and private messaging between users.
Best For Productivity Tools
Flock is an app that aims to make you more productive by helping you organize your work and get more done.
It’s a simple to-do list that’s easy to use, and it has a lot of features that will help you manage tasks and projects. Flock is available for iOS and MacOS. It has a clean interface with a digital board where you can organize tasks by priority, due date or other criteria.
You can create multiple boards, each with its own theme or color scheme, or choose one of the default ones offered by the app. In addition to this basic functionality, Flock also offers some advanced features such as tags, notes and reminders.
Each task can have one or more tags assigned to it (labeling them in this way makes it easier to search through your tasks). Notes can be added to any item on your board; they’re visible when you hover over an item with your mouse cursor.
Reminders are another useful feature — they allow you to set an alarm for each task so that it’ll alert you when it’s time for action.
Features
Flock is a social network that offers a lot more than just sharing photos and status updates. It’s a place where you can connect with others, share your life events, meet new people and find friends who share similar interests.
Flock lets you set up groups for things like traveling or gaming, so you can meet new people who have the same interests as you do. In addition to this, Flock also has an Events section where users can post their upcoming events such as parties or meetups so that other members of Flock can join them.
The app also boasts a very clean design that makes it easy to navigate through all of its features without any trouble at all.
Pricing
Flock offers two different plans: Flock Free and Flock Pro. Both plans come with unlimited users, unlimited projects and unlimited storage.
However, if you want to use more advanced features like real-time chat with your team members or the ability to customize your project boards with custom fields then you’ll need to upgrade to Flock Pro for $5 per month per user.
Flock is a collaborative messaging app for teams which supports direct and group messaging with public and private channels. With Flock users can jump onto a video or audio call or switch to screen sharing with multiple participants, in one click.
5. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a unified communications platform for teamwork. Microsoft Teams is a chat-based workspace in Office 365 that brings together people, conversations and content from within the team and across the organization.
Teams combines the familiarity of Skype for Business and SharePoint with the rich capabilities of Office 365 to transform the way teams collaborate to get more done.
Features
Office 365 groups – Team members are automatically added to Office 365 groups, which makes it easy to add them to conversations, send email notifications and share files.
Chat – Conversations in Teams are threaded, searchable and can be archived so you can keep track of what’s been said.
You can also embed files, links and other content directly into your chats.
Meetings – Host meetings using Skype Meetings or Microsoft Teams on desktop or mobile devices. You can set up meetings quickly by dragging and dropping people into a meeting room or selecting them from your contacts list.
You can even schedule meetings using Cortana voice commands!
Best For Office 365 Users
Microsoft Teams is a chat-based workspace that brings together your team and the tools you use to get work done. It’s easy to set up and available for free in Microsoft 365 Business, Enterprise, Education, and Teams.
Microsoft Teams is designed to help teams collaborate better. You can use it for meetings, messaging, calls, notes, planning and more. This article will show you how to set up teams in Office 365.
Microsoft Teams lets you easily connect with teammates from anywhere through a single unified experience that extends across devices.
You can share files in real time, schedule meetings with colleagues and customers, and access all of your Office 365 applications in one place — including Outlook calendars and contacts information — along with third-party services such as Dropbox and Google Drive.
You can also add third-party apps to Microsoft Teams including video conferencing providers like BlueJeans or Zoom; productivity apps like Asana or Trello; or even custom bots made just for your company.
Features
Chat-based workspace: A place where teams can come together to talk about projects, share content and work together in real time.
Digital notebook: A collaborative space where teams can share ideas, documents, spreadsheets and more.
Video meetings: Highly interactive meetings where people are free to talk at the same time.
Integrated app store: A growing catalog of apps that help teams be more productive by connecting them to other apps they use every day.
Pricing
Microsoft teams has three tiers of pricing plans that you can choose from based on your needs. Teams Free – Free for up to 300 members.
Includes unlimited chats and meetings plus shared channels and voice calls with any number of people in your organization (up to 5 million users).
Teams Basic – $5 per user per month with an annual commitment or $6 per user per month without an annual commitment.
Includes everything in Teams Free plus deeper integrations with Microsoft 365 and select third-party apps, such as Salesforce and Zendesk; analytics; AI features such as bots and custom actions; guest access for external guests; priority support; compliance features; unlimited guest accounts; the ability to add up to 10GB of additional storage for files uploaded by users (20GB total); and more.
Teams Premier – $12 per user per month with an annual commitment or $15 per user per month without an annual commitment.
Microsoft Teams is a collaboration app built for hybrid work so you and your team stay informed, organized, and connected — all in one place. Explore how Teams can help you and your colleagues come together no matter where you are: Chat - Message someone or a group to talk about work, projects, or just for fun.
6. Rocket.Chat
Rocket.Chat is a free and open source messaging platform that can be used for chat, voice and video calls, mobile apps, and more. It allows you to connect with people quickly and easily, wherever they are in the world.
Rocket.Chat is completely free and Open Source. It can be installed on your own server or launched as a cloud-based application
. The source code is available on GitHub under an open license (MIT).
Features
- Open source – Free & Open Source under MIT license
- Cross-platform – Support for Windows, Linux, MacOSX and mobile devices via mobile app
- Encrypted – End-to-end encryption with ECDH key agreement ranular
- Permissions – Fine-grained access control list (ACL) management with support for fine-grained role based permissions system.
- File uploads – Upload files of up to 1GB in size with full drag & drop support or attach files from your computer
- File sharing – Share files of up to 1GB in size using direct links or by generating unique URLs per file which can be shared by email or social networks like Facebook etc., with full drag & drop support
- Private Channels – Create private channels for discussions about a certain topic where only invited members can
Best For Social Media Integration
If you’re looking for a platform that can integrate with your social media, Rocket. Chat is the one to go with.
This open-source software allows you to sync your accounts and access them from anywhere in the world. It also has a built-in video chat feature that makes it easier for users to communicate with each other and share files.
You can also use it as a file sharing tool for the entire team to collaborate on any project without having to worry about security or privacy issues.
The best part about Rocket. Chat is that it offers all of these great features at no extra cost! The only disadvantage is that it’s not as popular as some of its competitors, which may make it difficult for you to find help when you need it.
Features
Rocket.Chat is a free and open source group chat software that includes features like file sharing, video chat, user management and more. It can be installed on a private server (or as a service for enterprises) or run on your own server.
You can even host it on your Raspberry Pi!
Rocket.Chat is compatible with mobile devices and allows you to join channels using the web app or any mobile application that supports XMPP/Jabber (e.g., Conversations, WhatsApp, Telegram).
The following are some of the main features of Rocket.Chat:
- File Sharing – Upload files up to 1 GB in size with an unlimited number of recipients.
- Video Chat – Use one-to-one video calls or conference calls with up to 10 people at once (depending on the server configuration).
The video chat feature is powered by TokBox WebRTC technology (which powers Facebook Messenger).
Pricing
The pricing model is slightly different than Slack’s. The first thing you need to do is choose a plan:
Basic: This plan is suitable for small teams with up to 5 users, but it doesn’t include any of the advanced features like group calls or file sharing (read more).
Medium: This plan allows up to 25 members and offers all the features from the Basic plan, plus some additional features (read more).
Large: This plan supports up to 100 members and includes all the functions from the previous plans (read more).
Enterprise: For bigger companies that need more than 100 team members or want custom configuration options.
Chat is a fully open source and customizable communications platform designed for communities and organizations with high standards for data protection. Rocket. Chat enables communication through federation, and over 12 million people are using it for team chat, customer service, secure file sharing, and much more.
7. Glip
Glip is a project management system that combines features of Slack, Trello and Basecamp in a single package. It is built for teams who need to work together on projects, but it can also be used for personal projects.
Glip has all the tools you need to manage your team’s work. Projects are at the center of everything you do with Glip. You can create unlimited projects and customize them with task lists, milestones, files and discussions.
Each project has its own customizable dashboard where you can track progress (and share it with others). You can also set up notifications so everyone knows when things change.
Best For Task Management
Glip is a project management and collaboration tool that’s free for up to 10 users. It’s great for small teams or businesses that want to organize their workflows and keep track of projects.
Glip is built for teams, so it works especially well for companies with a lot of moving parts. You can create as many groups as you need, so everyone on your team can stay in touch without getting lost in each other’s email threads.
You can also connect Glip with other tools like Dropbox and Google Drive, so you don’t have to move files around manually. Glip has some powerful functionality that sets it apart from the competition:
Task Management: Glip’s task manager lets you organize tasks into projects and assign them to team members. There are built-in reminders, too, so you can keep track of deadlines without having to constantly nag people about them.
File Sharing: You can share files with other Glips users by attaching them to messages in your inbox or by creating shared folders for documents that need access from multiple accounts. It’s not as seamless as Dropbox integration, but it still works well enough to get the job done.
Calendar: You can use Glip’s calendar feature to organize meetings.
Features
Glip has all the features you need to run your business:
– Work Chat: Talk with teammates and get things done faster.
– Files: Send large files quickly and easily.
– Tasks: Create tasks with due dates, subtasks, assignees and more.
– Scheduling: Schedule meetings with just a few clicks or use Glip’s calendar integration to find available times for everyone on your team.
– Projects: Create projects for specific tasks or initiatives with deadlines, budgets and more.
Pricing
Glip’s pricing is based on the number of users in your account. The first 10 users are free, and after that you pay $5 per user, per month.
This is a great price for small businesses, but there are some big drawbacks to Glip’s pricing structure: If you want to use Glip with more than 10 people, it gets expensive fast.
For example, if you have 20 employees who all use Glip, then you’re looking at paying $250 per month just for their accounts alone — which doesn’t even include any other features or integrations.
Glip is a reliable business messaging and virtual meeting app for groups who value its integrated video and calling features, chat, lightweight task management, and file annotation. Editors' Choice, Slack, which costs the same, comes with features that Glip doesn't offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have a lot of questions about our products, and we’re here to help you find the answers.
How secure is my data?
Very! We take your privacy seriously, and we’ve built our systems with security in mind. Your files are encrypted before they leave your computer, and all of our servers are hosted in secure data centers with full physical access controls.
Can I share files with others?
Absolutely! Our service is designed to be shared by multiple users. You can invite as many people as you want to view or edit a file at the same time.
You can also create shared folders where multiple users can collaborate on a single project together.
Does it cost money?
No! It’s completely free for personal use (or small business use if you want to upgrade). We’ll never charge you a monthly fee or ask for your credit card information.
1. Are These The Only Options Available As Alternatives to Slack?
Slack is a popular collaboration tool that has been used by many companies. However, there are several alternatives available to Slack that you can use.
Here are a few of them:
1. Skype for Business is one of the best alternatives to Slack. It is a communication tool that offers instant messaging, voice and video calls, and file sharing.
It also allows you to make calls to landlines and mobiles anywhere in the world at no extra charge.
The only difference between Skype for Business and Slack is that Skype for Business doesn’t have some of its features like bots, fun integrations and third-party apps.
2. HipChat is another popular communication tool with many features including file sharing, group chat, screen sharing and more.
It also has integrations with other tools such as GitHub, Google Analytics and Jira so you can manage your projects effectively using HipChat.
However, it doesn’t have bots which makes it less useful than Slack as far as work automation goes. But if all you’re looking for is real time messaging then HipChat should do just fine!
2. Do These Messaging Platforms Come In The Form Of Mobile Apps?
Yes, these messaging platforms do come in the form of mobile apps. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are both available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Viber, on the other hand, is available on both platforms but not on desktop computers. In terms of features, all three apps are pretty much similar.
However, there are some differences that you should pay attention to when choosing a messaging platform for your business:
The number of users.
If you want to reach more people, WhatsApp is the best option since it has more than 1 billion users worldwide compared to Facebook Messenger which has 700 million users and Viber which has 300 million users.
Fees charged by the platform.
WhatsApp doesn’t charge any fees while Facebook Messenger charges $1 per month (or $100 per year) if you have more than 100 members in your group chat (though this fee is waived if you use Facebook’s Business Manager).
Viber charges $2 per month if you have more than 40 members in your group chat (though this fee is waived if you use their Business Plan).
3. What are free alternatives to Slack?
Slack is a popular messaging app for teams, but it’s not the only game in town. There are plenty of free alternatives that may fit your needs better.
Here are some free alternatives to Slack:
- Rocket.Chat
Rocket.Chat is a free, open source chat platform that works on mobile devices and computers alike.
If you’re looking for an alternative to Slack that feels more like Skype than Facebook Messenger, Rocket.Chat is worth checking out.
- Mattermost
Mattermost is another open source option that offers most of the features Slack does at a fraction of the cost (free).
It has been described as “Slack meets Github” because it’s designed to work with git repositories and uses markdown formatting for faster collaboration.
It also offers integrations with other popular services like Trello and Zendesk for project management purposes.
Best Slack Alternatives Wrap Up
Slack is a great tool that allows teams to communicate more efficiently.
However, it has been criticized for its lack of features, so some people are looking for alternatives. We’ve rounded up some of the best ones on the market today.
Slack isn’t just for business teams anymore. It’s easy to use, and there are plenty of integrations for other apps like Trello and Asana.
If you want something that can get your team organized and communicating better than Slack does, we recommend checking out these options:
Asana: Asana is one of the top-rated project management apps on the market today. It has a few key differentiators from Slack, including a modern design that lets you create tasks without having to open an app or use several tabs open at once (like in Slack).
It also integrates with many other apps like Google Docs and Gmail so you can manage everything from one place rather than having to switch between multiple apps every time you need to check something off your list (which is what happens with Slack).