Alternatives
Best Slack alternatives in 2026
Data compiled by Toolradar Updated How we rate
Cite this list: Toolradar, best Slack alternatives 2026, toolradar.com/alternatives/slack
9 direct alternatives to Slack, compared on pricing, features, and best-for use cases. Pick the right replacement without the marketing fluff.
Quick answer
- Microsoft Teams is the top alternative to Slack on our list, followed by Google Meet and Zoom.
- 7 of the 9 alternatives have a free plan, starting with Microsoft Teams.
- Highest rated: Microsoft Teams, 4.4 out of 5 from 30,473 ratings, Sep 2026.
- 9 alternatives
- 7 with a free plan
Top 3 alternatives to Slack
Microsoft Teams
#1 Top pickUnite chat, meetings, and files with Microsoft 365
Starting price
From $4 /mo
Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of November 2026
4.4 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 30,473 ratings, Sep 2026
Our take
Best overall
Google Meet
#2Seamless video meetings for Google Workspace users
Starting price
From $7 /mo
Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of November 2026
4.4 /5 across G2 and Trustpilot · 2,964 ratings, Sep 2026
Zoom
#3Connect, communicate, and collaborate with HD video meetings
Starting price
From $14.16 /mo
Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of November 2026
3.4 /5 across G2 and Trustpilot · 56,859 ratings, Sep 2026
Slack vs 9 alternatives
| Tool | Starting price (Nov 2026) | Free plan | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Price: $8.75/mo | Free plan: Yes | 4.2 out of 5, from 64,990 ratings across Trustpilot, TrustRadius, PeerSpot and more (64,990) |
| Price: $4/mo | Free plan: Yes | 4.4 out of 5, from 30,473 ratings across G2 and Capterra (30,473) |
| Price: $7/mo | Free plan: Yes | 4.4 out of 5, from 2,964 ratings across G2 and Trustpilot (2,964) |
| Price: $14.16/mo | Free plan: Yes | 3.4 out of 5, from 56,859 ratings across G2 and Trustpilot (56,859) | |
 | Price: $10/mo | Free plan: Yes | 4.3 out of 5, from 604 ratings across SourceForge, G2 and Capterra (604) |
 | Price: $8/mo | Free plan: Yes | 4.2 out of 5, from 530 ratings across G2 and Capterra (530) |
 | Price: $2.99/mo | Free plan: Yes | 3.7 out of 5, from 639 ratings across G2, Capterra and Trustpilot (639) |
 | Price: $4/mo | Free plan: Yes | 4.4 out of 5, from 57 ratings on G2 (57) |
 | Price: $7/mo | Free plan: No | n/a |
 | Price: Contact sales | Free plan: No | n/a |
Why people consider alternatives to Slack
Slack is a channel-based messaging platform built for workplace communication and collaboration. Acquired by Salesforce, it serves as a central hub where teams organize conversations by topic, project, or department in dedicated channels.
Here are the real cost and limitation gotchas that push teams to look elsewhere:
- 90-day message history on Free: after 90 days, old messages become invisible (not deleted, they return if you upgrade). This is the most common upgrade trigger and feels coercive for teams that relied on older unlimited history
- 10 app integration limit on Free: most teams use 15-30 integrations (GitHub, Google Calendar, Zoom, Jira, etc.). Hitting the 10-app cap happens within the first week for technical teams
- Per-user billing for inactive users: Slack charges for every user in the workspace, including those who rarely log in. A 100-person company where 30 people use Slack monthly still pays for 100 seats. Slack offers 'fair billing' (credits for inactive users after 14+ days) but only on annual plans
- Slack AI is tier-gated: basic AI (summaries, huddle notes) requires Pro. Advanced AI (search, recaps, translations) requires Business+ at $15/user/mo. There is no way to add AI to Pro without upgrading the entire workspace
The 9 alternatives below cover the same core job (communication) with different trade-offs.
Slack by the numbers
Toolradar data: Slack's entry paid plan ($8.75/user/mo, billed yearly) ranks #10 of 15 for price among the Internal Comms tools with a verified entry price per user, where the median is $6.67/user/mo. It is listed as an alternative to 53 other tools on Toolradar, ranking #1 of 39 in Internal Comms. As of Nov 2026.
- #37 most-listed alternative in Productivity, out of 1877 tools in Productivity. Source: Toolradar data, Nov 2026.
- #6 most-listed alternative in Communication, out of 291 tools in Communication. Source: Toolradar data, Nov 2026.
- #1 most-listed alternative in Internal Comms, out of 39 tools in Internal Comms. Source: Toolradar data, Nov 2026.
| Metric | Slack | Peer median | Position (1 is best) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid plan | $8.75/user/mo, billed yearly | $6.67/user/mo | #10 of 15 tools priced per user, verified price |
| Free plan | Yes | 28 of 39 have one | n/a |
| Listed as an alternative to | 53 tools | 5 | #1 of 39 |
| Integrations listed | 2 | 2 | #5 of 13 (joint) tools with at least one integration recorded |
| User rating | 4.2/5 (across the web, 64,990 ratings) | 4.5/5 | #18 of 24 (joint) tools with 20+ reviews |
| Compare-page visits, last 30 days | 203 visits | 44 | #1 of 14 tools with 20+ compare-page visits |
Visitors most often compare Slack with Microsoft Teams, Lark and Discord (last 30 days, Nov 2026).
Listed as an alternative to: #1 on 2026-10-16 to #1 on 2026-11-02 (rank among 39 tools, 1 is best).
Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. A lower entry price ranks higher; prices are read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis. All Internal Comms data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source.
Cite this: Toolradar, “Slack by the numbers”, Nov 2026.
Communication leaderboards from Toolradar data
Toolradar ranks Communication tools on one measure at a time, only where at least 8 tools have data. As of Nov 2026.
Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit
Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.
Counted among 96 tools with no stated price unit, verified price.
| # | Tool | Entry plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plivo | $0.50/mo, billed monthly |
| 2 | Runbox | $0.66/mo, billed yearly |
| 3 | MyKidReports | $0.99/mo, billed monthly |
| 4 | PortaOne Telecom Billing | $1/mo |
| 4 | Twilio Flex | $1/mo |
Lowest entry price, per-user plans
Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.
Counted among 55 tools priced per user, verified price.
| # | Tool | Entry plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoho Mail | $1/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 2 | Pumble | $2.49/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 3 | Troop Messenger | $2.50/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 4 | Yac | $3/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 5 | Chanty | $4/user/mo, billed monthly |
Most media coverage, last 30 days
Number of distinct articles published in the last 30 days by independent press, blogs and newsletters that mention the tool. A story carried by several outlets counts once; the vendor's own blog, review sites, forums and republishing sites do not count.
Counted among 8 tools mentioned in the last 30 days.
| # | Tool | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft 365 | 29 articles |
| 2 | Microsoft Teams | 14 articles |
| 3 | AirPods 5 | 5 articles |
| 3 | OpenClaw | 5 articles |
| 5 | Google Meet | 3 articles |
A position exists only when at least 8 tools have data for that metric. 151 of 291 Communication tools have a verified price; the others publish none we could read (often "contact sales"). Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source. How we compute this. Cite this: Toolradar, “Communication leaderboards”, Nov 2026. Data licensed CC BY 4.0. All Communication statistics.
9 alternatives to Slack
Ranked by G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editor review, plus how directly they replace Slack.
- 1
Microsoft Teams
Free plan Higher rated by usersUnite chat, meetings, and files with Microsoft 365
4.4 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 30,473 ratings, Sep 2026
From $4/user/mo, billed monthly; free plan available
- 2
Google Meet
Free plan Higher rated by usersSeamless video meetings for Google Workspace users
4.4 /5 across G2 and Trustpilot · 2,964 ratings, Sep 2026
From $7/user/mo, billed yearly; free plan available
- 3
Zoom
Free plan Battle-tested at scaleConnect, communicate, and collaborate with HD video meetings
3.4 /5 across G2 and Trustpilot · 56,859 ratings, Sep 2026
From $14.16/user/mo, billed monthly; free plan available
- 4
Mattermost
Free planOpen-source team collaboration platform
4.3 /5 across SourceForge, G2 and Capterra · 604 ratings, Sep 2026
From $10/user/mo, billed monthly; free plan available
- 5
Rocket.Chat
Free planOpen-source team communication platform
4.2 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 530 ratings, Sep 2026
From $8/user/mo, billed yearly; free plan available
- 6
Discord
Free planYour place to talk and hang out
3.7 /5 across G2, Capterra and Trustpilot · 639 ratings, Sep 2026
From $2.99/mo, billed monthly; free plan available
- 7
Chanty
Free plan Higher rated by usersTeam chat app with built-in task management
4.4 /5 on G2 · 57 ratings, Sep 2026
From $4/user/mo, billed monthly; free plan available
- 8
Google Chat
PaidAI-powered chat for teams of all sizes to connect, collaborate, and get more done.
From $7/user/mo, billed monthly
- 9
Offloop
PaidShared AI workspace for teams with context and control
Price not published
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Slack?
Based on real-signal scoring (G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editorial review), the top alternatives to Slack are Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom. Each solves the same core job with different trade-offs on pricing, features, and integrations.
Is there a free alternative to Slack?
There is no fully free alternative in this list. Microsoft Teams is freemium: a permanent free tier plus paid plans (Unite chat, meetings, and files with Microsoft 365).
Why do people look for Slack alternatives?
Common reasons teams switch away from Slack: pricing that scales aggressively, missing integrations with the rest of their stack, performance or scale limits, or a specific feature gap in communication. The alternatives on this page solve the same core problem with different trade-offs.
Side-by-side comparisons
In-depth comparison pages for Slack versus each alternative.
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