Slack

Team Chat & Messaging · slack.com

Slack is a team messaging and collaboration platform with channels, huddles, canvases, app integrations, workflow automation and built-in AI features.

team chatFree plan availablePaid plans from $8.75/seat/mo (Pro)Prices verified 2026-08-26

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Honest answer

Slack Free covers this scenario

downgrading saves $1050 / year

Switching to Rocket.Chat saves $1050 / year and covers 64% of the compared capabilities.

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Same job.
Way less money.

Top Slack alternatives

We compared 12 products and found 12 cheaper alternatives · vs Slack Pro at $87.50/mo for 10 seats ($8.75/seat) · scenario: 10 seats, monthly billing, USD.

Honest note: you might not need to switch.

Slack’s own free plan covers this scenario. If you’re paying for features you don’t use, downgrading beats switching. The paid comparison below is for when you’ve outgrown free tiers — the “Free plans” view shows alternatives if you want free with different limits.

The short version

Slack costs $87.50/mo on the Pro plan at 10 seats, monthly billing. We found 12 assessed alternatives that are cheaper in this scenario; 0 of them cover at least 75% of the 14 compared capabilities. Slack's own free plan covers this scenario, so downgrading may beat switching.

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Product	Match	Price	Annual savings
Discord Nitro Basic plan · missing: Channels & group messaging, Threaded conversations, Unlimited message history, App integrations, Guest & external collaboration, AI search & summaries, Workflow automation, SAML single sign-on, Compliance exports & audit logs, Docs & wikis, SSO & SCIM provisioning, AI assistant, Workflow automations	7%	$2.99/mo how? ⓘ	$1014.12 / year 97% cheaper	See Discord pricing ↗Compare vs Slack
TOP PICK Zulip Self-hosted Basic plan · missing: Unlimited message history, Workflow automation, Docs & wikis, SSO & SCIM provisioning, AI assistant, Workflow automations	57%	$3.50/mo how? ⓘ	$1008 / year 96% cheaper	See Zulip pricing ↗Compare vs Slack
Zoho Cliq Standard plan · missing: Unlimited message history, Guest & external collaboration, AI search & summaries, SAML single sign-on, Compliance exports & audit logs, Docs & wikis, SSO & SCIM provisioning, AI assistant, Workflow automations	36%	$18/mo how? ⓘ	$834 / year 79% cheaper	See Zoho Cliq pricing ↗Compare vs Slack
Pumble PRO plan · missing: AI search & summaries, Workflow automation, Compliance exports & audit logs, Docs & wikis, SSO & SCIM provisioning, AI assistant, Workflow automations	50%	$29.90/mo how? ⓘ	$691.20 / year 66% cheaper	See Pumble pricing ↗Compare vs Slack
Chanty Business plan · missing: Threaded conversations, AI search & summaries, Workflow automation, Docs & wikis, AI assistant, Workflow automations	57%	$40/mo how? ⓘ	$570 / year 54% cheaper	See Chanty pricing ↗Compare vs Slack
Microsoft Teams Teams Essentials plan · missing: Threaded conversations, Unlimited message history, App integrations, Guest & external collaboration, AI search & summaries, Workflow automation, SAML single sign-on, Compliance exports & audit logs, Docs & wikis, SSO & SCIM provisioning, AI assistant, Workflow automations collaboration suite — adjacent	14%	$40/mo how? ⓘ	$570 / year 54% cheaper	See Microsoft Teams pricing ↗Compare vs Slack
Flock PRO plan · missing: Threaded conversations, AI search & summaries, SAML single sign-on, Docs & wikis, SSO & SCIM provisioning, AI assistant, Workflow automations	50%	$45/mo how? ⓘ	$510 / year 49% cheaper	See Flock pricing ↗Compare vs Slack
Twist Unlimited plan · missing: Audio/video calls & screen sharing, AI search & summaries, Workflow automation, SAML single sign-on, Compliance exports & audit logs, Docs & wikis, SSO & SCIM provisioning, AI assistant, Workflow automations	36%	$60/mo how? ⓘ	$330 / year 31% cheaper	See Twist pricing ↗Compare vs Slack
Google Workspace Business Starter plan · missing: Threaded conversations, Unlimited message history, App integrations, Guest & external collaboration, SAML single sign-on, Docs & wikis, SSO & SCIM provisioning, AI assistant, Workflow automations collaboration suite — adjacent	36%	$70/mo how? ⓘ	$210 / year 20% cheaper	See Google Workspace pricing ↗Compare vs Slack

Which Slack alternative for which situation

Picked by the numbers in this scenario — same subtype unless stated, assessed products only.

Best free plan: Rocket.Chat — $0/mo (Starter plan) · covers 64%
Best open source or self-hosted: Rocket.Chat — $0/mo (Starter plan) · covers 64%
Best paid drop-in: Chanty — $40/mo (Business plan) · covers 57%
Need channels & group messaging, threaded conversations, audio/video calls & screen sharing, app integrations, guest & external collaboration, AI search & summaries, workflow automation, SAML single sign-on or compliance exports & audit logs?: Rocket.Chat — from $0/mo (Starter plan)
Need unlimited message history?: Pumble — from $0/mo (FREE plan)
Need SSO & SCIM provisioning?: Chanty — from $40/mo (Business plan)

What you give up

Capabilities Slack has that the top alternatives lack.

Unlimited message history — Search and access message history without a retention limit.
Missing from Rocket.Chat, Mattermost, Zulip.
Audio/video calls & screen sharing — Make audio or video calls with screen sharing.
Missing from Mattermost.
AI search & summaries — Search and summarize conversations with an AI assistant.
Missing from Pumble.
Workflow automation — Automate routine steps directly within chat.
Missing from Zulip, Pumble.
Compliance exports & audit logs — Export message history and audit logs for compliance.
Missing from Pumble.
Docs & wikis — Create shared documents and a team wiki alongside tasks.
Missing from Rocket.Chat, Mattermost, Zulip, Pumble.
SSO & SCIM provisioning — Sign in through your company's SSO with SCIM provisioning.
Missing from Rocket.Chat, Mattermost, Zulip, Pumble.
AI assistant — Get AI help drafting updates or summarizing project status.
Missing from Rocket.Chat, Mattermost, Zulip, Pumble.
Workflow automations — Automate repetitive workflow steps.
Missing from Rocket.Chat, Mattermost, Zulip, Pumble.

Price at your volume

The same comparison recomputed at three sizes. Plan caps change who is cheapest.

Scenario	Slack	Cheapest assessed alternative
3 seats	$26.25/mo	Rocket.Chat $0/mo (Starter)
10 seats	$87.50/mo	Rocket.Chat $0/mo (Starter)
25 seats	$218.75/mo	Rocket.Chat $0/mo (Starter)

Feature comparison

Slack vs the top alternatives, on the 14 compared capabilities.

Capability	Slack	Rocket.Chat	Mattermost	Zulip	Pumble
Channels & group messaging from Free	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Threaded conversations from Free	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Unlimited message history from Pro	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓
Audio/video calls & screen sharing from Free	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓
App integrations from Free	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Guest & external collaboration from Free	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
AI search & summaries from Free	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
Workflow automation from Pro	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗
SAML single sign-on from Business+	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Compliance exports & audit logs from Business+	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
Docs & wikis from Pro	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
SSO & SCIM provisioning from Business+	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
AI assistant from Business+	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
Workflow automations from Pro	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
Scenario price cheapest qualifying plan	$87.50/mo Pro	$0/mo Starter	$0/mo Entry	$0/mo Zulip Cloud Free	$0/mo FREE

✓ means the product offers the capability — possibly only on a higher tier than the plan priced below it. The price row shows the cheapest plan that qualifies for our comparison scenario, with its plan name; a $0 free plan may not include every checked capability.

What Slack covers

The capability set used for comparison. Grey entries are not available on self-serve plans.

✓ Channels & group messaging — from Free
✓ Threaded conversations — from Free
✓ Unlimited message history — from Pro
✓ Audio/video calls & screen sharing — from Free
✓ App integrations — from Free
✓ Guest & external collaboration — from Free
✓ AI search & summaries — from Free
✓ Workflow automation — from Pro
✓ SAML single sign-on — from Business+
✓ Compliance exports & audit logs — from Business+
✓ Docs & wikis — from Pro
✓ SSO & SCIM provisioning — from Business+
✓ AI assistant — from Business+
✓ Workflow automations — from Pro
✗ Self-hosted deployment

Price ladder

Observed prices from the official pricing page.

Free

$0/mo

Free

Pro

$8.75/seat/mo

≈ $7.25/seat/mo billed yearly

Business+

$18/seat/mo

≈ $15/seat/mo billed yearly

Enterprise+

Contact sales / custom pricing

Sources

Every claim traces to an official source and a check date.

https://slack.com/pricing (official_pricing, checked 2026-08-26)
https://slack.com/pricing#main_focusable (official_pricing, checked 2026-08-26)

Frequently asked

How much does Slack cost?

Slack's Pro plan costs $87.50/mo in our scenario (10 seats, monthly billing). A free plan exists.

Is there a free Slack alternative?

Yes. Rocket.Chat has a free plan that covers 64% of the 14 capabilities we compared against Slack.

What is the cheapest Slack alternative?

In our scenario (10 seats, monthly billing), Rocket.Chat is the cheapest assessed alternative at $0/mo (Starter plan).

Does Slack have a free plan?

Yes. Slack's free plan exists; its limits are not stated on the pricing page.

When were these prices checked?

Between 2026-08-25 and 2026-09-07, on the vendors' official pricing pages.

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