The Best Slack Alternatives for 2025
These are the top Slack Alternatives for 2025 for people who are tired of hearing that same notification sound over, and over, and over again.
Why Look For a Slack Alternative?
Slack is one of the most popular workspace tools, and for a good reason. The promise of searchable, organized centralized work messaging is magical.
Slack is loved by some for streamlining team communications with its user-friendly interface and real-time collaboration features, turning work-related chaos into some semblance of order. But the problem is it doesn't actually live up to that promise.
Instead of simplifying and streamlining, it often just bogs you down with constant notifications, separating all your communications from where you actually work.
Slack's Biggest Weaknesses
- Cost Anxiety: Slack's free version is like giving you a taste of heaven, only to slam the gates shut. Severely limited message history and integration capabilities might have you considering a bank loan for premium plans.
- Interface Headaches: On the surface, Slack's interface is delightfully straightforward. But dive a bit deeper, and you'll find it's like a maze with no map. As you navigate multiple channels, it's easy to get lost amidst the chaos, resulting in missed messages and mismanagement.
- Video Calling Lite: If you dream of video calls, brace yourself. Slack’s video conferencing is like a car without wheels—functional but going nowhere fast. Missing advanced features like break-out rooms, it’s more a supplementary tool than a standalone hero.
What to Look for in a Slack App Alternative
When embarking on the quest for a Slack alternative, remember: no two apps are quite the same. However, some basics mustn't be overlooked, such as:
- User-Friendly Interface: You have our permission to judge here—an intuitive UI means even the tech-dinosaurs on your team won't be left in the dust.
- Cross-Platform Flexibility: Your app of choice should let you magically communicate from your office desk, a home couch, or even while sipping a cocktail at the beach. 🏖️
- File Sharing Capacity: Go beyond text chatting. Your app should also act as a digital filing cabinet filled with project updates, party photos, and meme-worthy moments.
- Real-Time Collaboration: Shared calendars, task tracking, and the whole shebang need to be part of your app's arsenal to keep the team marching in sync.
- Integrations Galore: Your messaging app should be the missing puzzle piece that clicks seamlessly into your hectic workflow's jigsaw.
- Screen Sharing: An app that covers texts, calls, and file sharing minus screen sharing is like a pizza without cheese. Necessary toppings, indeed!
So, with all of these things in mind, what's the best choice?
Free forever
Teams use ClickUp
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reviews
ClickUp is an all-in-one tool for project management and collaboration, now featuring Chat! The ClickUp Chat view allows you to set up communication channels for specific projects or bring together cross-functional teams for real-time collaboration.
With built-in screen-sharing, team communication is streamlined, and sharing screen recordings becomes easy—making it a great alternative to Slack with integrated task management features. You can invite specific team members to chats, ensuring that discussions remain relevant. Beyond plain text, you can embed a variety of content, including webpages, videos, documents, and spreadsheet databases.
Enhance your text formatting with features that let you add checklists, banners, and more with ease. Use / Slash Commands for quick text formatting.
The Chat view is just one collaboration feature in ClickUp. Other tools for streamlined workflows include:
- Assigned comments to draw immediate attention to action items
- ClickUp Tasks for delegating work and tracking progress through various views
- ClickUp Docs for creating, sharing, and collaborating on detailed wikis and knowledge bases
- Comment threads within tasks for organized conversations.
For developing an effective communication framework, the ClickUp Internal Communication Strategy and Action Plan Template helps you set communication goals and strategies with ease.
Best ClickUp Features:
- Chat that is connected directly to your work and project management
- ClickUp Clips for communication via screen recordings
- Advanced text formatting and file sharing
- Comprehensive task delegation and progress tracking
- Company-wide and project-specific chats
- Email integration directly from the platform
- Collaborative documents with shareable links and permission controls
- Over 1,000 integrations
ClickUp Limitations:
- No audio or video meetings, but ClickUp Clips allows screen recordings in Chat view
- A learning curve due to extensive task management features
ClickUp Pricing:
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $7/month per user
- Business: $12/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
- ClickUp AI: $7 per Workspace member per month on paid plans
Annual billing applies to listed prices.
ClickUp Ratings:
- G2: 4.7/5 (9,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (3,800+ reviews)
Other Options for Apps Like Slack
2. Discord - Best for building a community
Discord, initially crafted for gamers, has become a robust communication tool for various teams, from creatives to developers. Its standout feature is seamless voice channels, allowing instant conversations with just a click, making spontaneous team discussions a breeze.
Customizable roles and permissions are another strength, enabling teams to streamline workflows by granting access based on roles. While Discord doesn’t support threaded conversations like Slack, its powerful search and pinned messages help maintain organization.
With rich voice and video capabilities, Discord is an exciting choice for teams prioritizing real-time communication and collaboration. Step into Discord’s world and discover a fresh way to connect!
Discord's Best Features
- Easy markdown formatting allows for portability and flexibility in page layouts
- Linking creates interconnected graphs of your notes, helping to create a knowledge graph of all your information
- Open-source and free
- Lots of plugins to customize your experience
Discord's Limitation
- Doesn't really allow for project management features
- Some poor audio quality on mobile
Discord's Pricing
- Free Version
- Nitro Basic: $2.99/month
- Nitro: $9.99/month
- Server boost: $4.99/server per month
Discord Reviews & Ratings
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (370 reviews)
- TrustRadius: 8.7/10 (160 reviews)
What do real people say about Discord?
[Discord] is my main method of communicating with friends and family. Overall, it's fast to setup and easy to use, especially when you've had a few weeks to get used to the format. - Capterra
3. Flock - Easiest platform to use
Flock is a productivity-focused alternative to Slack, designed to streamline communication for teams of all sizes. It features a user-friendly interface with built-in tools like shared to-do lists and project management, minimizing the need for multiple apps.
Flock excels in file-sharing and offers robust search functions for easy access to documents and conversations. While it may not have as many app integrations as Slack, its integrated tools make Flock a strong choice for teams wanting efficient and straightforward collaboration.
Flock's Best Features
- Great search feature
- Lots of integrations with other apps
- Different communication methods including audio, video, and text
Flock's Limitations
- Requires a paid plan to use any private channels
- Relatively limited storage, even on the highest paid tier (20GB/user)
Flock's Reviews & Ratings
- G2: 4.4/5 (240+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (320+ reviews)
Flock's Pricing
- Starter: Free (for up to 20 users)
- Pro: $4.5/month per user (with annual billing)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
What do real people say about Flock?
Makes interdepartmental communication efficient and quick. I love the ease with which you can share files, and make audio/video calls if chatting is not getting the job done. - GetApp
4. Microsoft Teams - Best for those in Microsoft's Ecosystem
Microsoft Teams presents a robust alternative to Slack, especially for organizations already integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem. Its seamless integration with Office 365 applications like Word, Excel, and OneNote enhances productivity by centralizing tools within a single platform.
Key features include video conferencing capabilities, which facilitate virtual meetings and collaboration. Microsoft Teams also supports threaded conversations, helping maintain organized discussions within channels. Its strong security and compliance features make it an attractive choice for industries with high regulations.
While Teams may have a steeper learning curve for new users, its comprehensive suite of features and deep integration with Microsoft services make it a powerful choice for teams seeking a unified collaboration platform.
Microsoft Team's Best Features
- Easy to use if you already use Office 365 and integrates all your files directly
- Advanced security features not offered by some smaller alternatives
- More extensive meeting room and scheduling features for collaboration
Microsoft Teams' Limitations
- No advanced project management features
- Lack of document formatting options
Microsoft Teams' Reviews & Ratings
- G2: 4.3/5 (14,400+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (9,300+ reviews)
Microsoft Teams' Pricing
- Microsoft Teams Essentials: $4/month per user
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6/month per user
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50/month per user
What do real people say about Microsoft Teams?
I use Microsoft teams everyday at my organization and i really love the way we can keep in touch with colleges sitting in any corner of the world - G2
5. Chanty: Best for smaller teams
Chanty is a streamlined Slack alternative designed for efficiency and ease of use. Known for its minimalist interface, Chanty provides a clutter-free experience perfect for teams looking to focus on communication and collaboration without unnecessary complexity.
A standout feature of Chanty is its unlimited message history, allowing teams to revisit any conversation without limits. It also supports task management directly within chat, turning messages into tasks and helping keep projects organized and on track.
In addition to these features, Chanty offers seamless integration with various apps and tools, enabling teams to customize their workspace to suit their specific needs. For teams seeking an intuitive and straightforward chat platform, Chanty delivers simplicity and functionality in one neat package.
Chanty's Best Features
- Voice and video calls built-in by default
- Custom channel roles and permissions
- Integrated AI
- Lots of very niche templates you can use
Chanty's Limitations
- Limited integrations
- Some notification issues reported
Chanty's Reviews & Ratings
- G2: 4.5/5 (30+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (30+ reviews)
Chanty's Pricing
- Free
- Business: $3/month per user (with annual billing)
What do real people say about Chanty?
Chanty offers fast messaging and stable audio/video calls, which have significantly improved our team's communication. Scheduled messages help manage conversations across time zones and keep teams organized. - G2