10 Best Slack Alternatives and Competitors

Arguably the most popular chat service right now, when it comes to professional space is Slack. Slack’s popularity has seen such a rise that almost all major companies have adapted to it as their primary communication tool.

Year Founded: 2013
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States

With a simple yet attractive and quite communicative UI design, Slack is definitely the first choice for people working in corporates or business houses. It has integrated itself as well with tools like Google Calendar, Dropbox, GitHub, and Google Drive to name a few.

Slack also comes with features like public workspace where messaging a group is barred off hassles like group SMS and emails. It also has a workspace known as Slack Teams where people can come together using a unique URL, to have discussions via audio or video.

Thus, Slack has everything that a user needs. However, there are shortcomings of Slack that are a deal-breaker for a lot of users. Therefore, alternatives to Slack have their fair chances too.

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List of Top Slack Alternatives and Competitors

Even though a rarity, it might be that some users are rendered dissatisfied with Slack’s overall experience and are looking for an alternative. Well, here are some great Slack alternatives one can opt for!

Google Chat

Year Founded: 2017
Headquarters: Mountain View, California, United States

With Google being at the helm of affairs, little can go wrong with Google Chat. A brilliant Slack alternative, Google Chat enhances the user experience quite seamlessly. With Google Chat, a platform is offered which allows teams to communicate and collaborate.

It also offers features like team chats, sharing files, and joining video calls via Meet. As a part of Google Workspace, Chat’s features are decent enough to render it one of Slack’s greatest competitors.

Chanty

Year Founded: 2017
Headquarters: New York City, United States

Built mainly for small and medium-sized organizations having similar-sized teams, Chanty is a decent Slack alternative. The best part about Chanty, which gives it a huge edge over Slack is that it does not limit the searchability of messages.

Moreover, Chanty’s folder feature Teambook is indeed handy as it organizes the user’s files, links, and conversations. One can also integrate other software like Drive in Chanty. Thus, it’s a solid Slack alternative.

Microsoft Teams

Year Founded: 2017
Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States

If productivity is the target, there’s no complete list without the integration of Microsoft into it. Microsoft Teams is a great tool to replace Slack or be its alternative. With Microsoft Teams, all essential features like conversations, hosting meetings, and sharing files have been a seamless process.

Moreover, it comes integrated with all essential Microsoft 365 tools, with a facility to support other plug-ins. With Teams being a go-to tool right now for any company, Slack is in for some fight!

Rocket.chat

Year Founded: 2015
Headquarters: Wilmington, United States

An open-source client, RocketChat is one of the best alternatives to Slack. Not only does it allow conversations using chat, but also offers video conferencing, channels, discussions, and much more.

The best part about Rocket Chat is the fact that the user can use it to communicate with users who don’t use Rocket Chat on their end.

The security features inculcated in it make it one of the safest platforms to work in, rendering it extremely popular in the government sector.

Ryver

Year Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Scottsdale, Arizona, United States

Ryver’s main feature has to be its built-in assistant. With Ryver, managing tasks is absolutely seamless. Ryver has the power to convert messages into tasks with the assistance of a push button.

A free-to-use tool, arguably offering better features than Slack in its free plan, Ryver comes integrated with a video conferencing tool. What gives Ryver an edge over Slack is the feature set that it includes with its free plan.

Glip

Year Founded: 2011
Headquarters: Boca Raton, Florida, United States

Glip is another great Slack alternative. With Glip, the user gets an integrated task manager. Using Glip, one can convert messages into tasks using Glip’s commands. The task manager provided by Glip is the best of the lot.

Moreover, unlike Slack, Glip does not restrict the search limit of messages. What gives Glip a greater edge over Slack is its free plan that comes with unlimited file storage and integrations. However, UI is the department where considerable improvement is needed.

Fleep

Year Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Tallinn, Harjumaa, Estonia

Founded by Skype’s ex-product manager, Fleep is another good alternative to Slack. With Fleep, messaging and communicating via video chat becomes easy.

Fleep boasts of features like unlimited storage space, a huge number of integrations for a good experience, and most importantly, a clean and user-friendly UI.

It comes with both free and premium plans. What gives it an edge over Slack is that it does not restrict the message search number.

Mattermost

Year Founded: 2015
Headquarters: Palo Alto, California, United States

Mattermost is an open-source software focussed mainly on functionalities like team chat. It is a great alternative to Slack because Mattermost also has versions, meant for commercial purposes.

Mattermost comes with a lot of advantages. Features like unlimited third-party integrations and organized team chats are all available.

Moreover, it also has features like audio/video conference calls, customizable notifications, and multiple language support. However, its reach is a little limited, giving Slack a slight competitive edge.

Flock

Year Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharastra, India

A company of Indian origin, Flock was developed mainly for messaging purposes. It also has features like document sharing, file transfer, screen sharing, and video calling.

With Flock, one can integrate a lot of external softwares like Google Analytics, Drive, and even To-Do. Flock can also perform unlimited message searches. What makes Flock a great alternative to Slack, is its feature of having both a private and public channel.

Hive

Year Founded: 2012
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States

A great alternative to Slack, Hive is much more than just a chat application. Hive also offers features like project management, making it extremely dynamic and easy to use. It also helps users to assign a task to task members and keep them updated.

Hive also has an in-built personal to-do list that is customizable. With features like staying updated about tasks and projects, Hive is an amazing Slack alternative.

FAQs for Slack Alternatives and Competitors

What Is the Best Alternative to Slack?

Based on their feature sets, Google Chat and Microsoft Teams are the closest when it comes to battling Slack out.

What Are Some Free Alternatives to Slack?

All the above-mentioned apps have their free versions. None of them though are completely free. However, keeping in mind what they offer in their free versions, Rocket Chat and Google Chat easily top the list.

Which App Is the Most Attractive Alternative to Slack?

Of all the above-mentioned software, Hive is the most attractive alternative to Slack. In addition to communication, it also performs project management operations. However, security is something Slack is superior to. Therefore, Slack is a better choice.

Do We Need an Account to Use Slack?

Yes. One needs an account to use Slack.

How Long Can We Use Slack for Free?

Slack’s developers have always wanted to prioritize their clients. Therefore, they have tried their best to incorporate all essential features in Slack’s free-to-use plan. However, owing to the platform charges, Slack is chargeable after a 90-day trial period.