23 Best Slack Alternatives to Consider for Your Team in 2023

Slack is undoubtedly one of the leading collaboration tools in the world right now.

But if you are a start-up or a small business, there are a few Slack alternatives you may want to consider that offer great features but come with a more economical price tag.

Team communication apps have taken over the world. According to a survey conducted by Mio, 91% of businesses use at least 2 messaging apps for workplace communication.

Why this widespread popularity, you may ask?

As teams connect and collaborate remotely, business communication apps like Slack help to make the entire workflow clear and smooth. Slack is undoubtedly the leader among the world’s best team messengers.

But for a start-up or small business, the plethora of features offered by Slack may be more than what they actually need. Slack also might prove to be too expensive for their limited budget.

If these are the reasons you are looking for Slack alternatives as well, then you have arrived at the right post.

As we compare and analyze the top 23 Slack alternatives, we aim to give you a clear understanding of what each tool has on offer for you.

So without further ado, let's get started.

Leading Slack Alternatives for Your Team Members

To bring all of your professional communication to one place, you need a workhorse.

With so many team chat tools out there, however, it could be a real challenge to find the right Slack alternative for you.

To help you select among the alternatives to Slack, we compare the features, pros, cons, and pricing of 23 leading team messaging tools.

Let's get started.

1. Chanty

Chanty is our top choice among Slack alternatives in the market today. Founded in 2016, Chanty is a simple and intuitive team chat app that comes with a built-in task manager.

As one of the leading Slack alternatives, Chanty brings you voice calls, video calls, and third-party integrations along with seamless real-time chat

Leaders from different business streams like Oracle, Tata, Nasa, and others depend on Chanty for flawless team communication.

Key Features 

• Chanty’s Teambook is a hub to organize your tasks, conversations, flagged chats, shared documents, and more
• Offers audio and video team calls. You can leave a voice message, too!
• Allows you to share multiple content types like files, social media content, GIFs, and much more
• Lets you create, assign, and manage tasks with ease
• Allows you to set control roles to manage your teamspace better

Pros 

• Onboarding across various devices and platforms is easy with Chanty
• As one of the top alternatives to Slack, Chanty offers unlimited message history
• Compatible with iOS and Android devices
• Voice messages help speed up the conversations
• Can be integrated with a variety of apps for higher productivity

Cons

• Does not offer customer support via phone

Tool Level 

• Beginner

Usability 

• It’s one of the easier-to-use Slack alternatives out there for ‘non-techy’ users

Price 

• Free Plan: Free forever
• Business: $3 user/month (billed annually)

2. Rocket.Chat

Next up on our list of Slack alternatives is Rocket.Chat. With this one tool, you can manage communication with your team members, clients, vendors, and even customers, regardless of the way they connect with you.

This customer-centric tool allows you to integrate chatbots, CRM tools, and machine learning apps to scale up your customer service.

Rocket.Chat says that more than 12 million users in 150 countries use this Slack alternative as a secure collaboration platform.

Key Features 

• Collaborate with team members via chat, audio, and video calls
• The instant messaging translation tool helps users communicate across multiple languages
• This is one of the top Slack alternatives offering omnichannel customer support solutions
• Protects users’ data in every conversation

Pros 

• Offers audio/video conferencing with screen sharing
• Suitable for businesses that handle sensitive business and customer data
• The free version is packed with features
• Offers a 30-days free trial of their Enterprise edition

Cons 

• Some features seem to be only partially developed and may not be available for all plans

Tool Level 

• Beginner

Usability 

• Rocket.Chat is one of the simpler and more efficient Slack alternatives currently on the market.

Price 

• Community: Free
• Enterprise: $7 per user/month

3. Discord

Discord is as much for gamers, artists, and people with common interests as it is for workplace communication. As one of the most popular Slack alternatives, Discord’s emphasis is on voice chat.

The tool gives you more control over every group, with both moderation tools and specific member access.

If you’ve been hoping for a Slack alternative that is fun and simple, Discord could be just the thing for you.

Key Features

• Allows you to build interest groups and communities based on your hobbies
• Low-latency voice chat allows faster conversations
• The Public Test Build allows you to try out and test new features before they are launched
• Get 2 server boosts, HD video, customizable emojis, and bigger uploads with the paid plan

Pros 

• This is one of the simpler Slack alternatives, and is easy to install and setup
• Most of the text, audio, and video call features are available in the free plan
• This Slack alternative is available for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux users
• Offers text, audio and video chat

Cons 

• For bigger uploads and personal profiles, you have to subscribe to the paid plan
• This Slack alternative is priced higher compared to other tools on our list

Tool Level 

• Beginner

Usability 

• Easy to use

Price 

• Free: Download Discord on your browser
• Nitro: $9.99 per month

4. Mattermost 

Mattermost defines itself as a team communication tool built for developers. As one of the top Slack alternatives, the tool has Channels, Playbooks, and Boards that ensure that team communication is easy and organized.

European Parliament, Nasa, Nasdaq, and the United States Air Force are just a few noted customers of Mattermost.

Key Features 

• An open-source tool with an interface that is easy to customize
• Mattermost Channels facilitates private and group chats with audio and video integration
• Brings you configurable playbooks with built-in task checklists
• Mattermost boards help to plan and manage projects with intuitive ease
• The tool focuses on meeting strict security, privacy, and compliance requirements

Pros 

• Offers scalability and effortless customization
• Community chats and forum discussions help you stay updated
• Gives you complete control over all conversations, keeping your information safe
• You can automate repetitive tasks easily

Cons 

• Integrating with other tools and services can be a complex process
• Mattermost is priced higher than the other feature-rich Slack alternatives

Tool Level 

• Beginner/Intermediate

Usability 

• Easy to use with basic technical knowledge

Price

• Starter: Free
• Professional: $10 per user/month
• Enterprise: Contact Sales

Add-ons are possible on Professional and Enterprise plans so that you can enjoy more features.

5. Flock

Flock is one of the leading Slack alternatives that offer you a new way to communicate and collaborate with your team members. Audio and video calls enable seamless communication on the go. Its built-in productivity tools and plug-in apps help team members to manage all their responsibilities in one place.

What's more, Flock offers integration with many third-party apps to speed up and simplify workflow.

Key Features 

• Offers productivity tools like file sharing, to-dos, polls, and reminders
• Connect from any device via voice and video calls
• Streamline messaging with private and public channels
• Integrated search makes it easy to search for documents, images, links, notes, specific messages, and much more
• Multilevel user access and permission helps control all activities on Flock

Pros 

• Send instant voice messages for more meaningful chats
• This team chat tool protects your data and conversations with authentication features
• To-do lists and reminders keep your team updated about tasks
• Offers around-the-clock customer support
• Offers 30 days free trial on paid plans

Cons 

• Limited third-party app integration
• Mobile users may notice a lag at times

Tool Level 

• Beginner

Usability 

• Flock is one of the easier Slack alternatives to use, and has a minimal learning curve

Price 

• Starter: Free
• Pro: $6 user/month
• Enterprise: Contact Sales

6. Ryver

Ryver has emerged as one of the leading Slack alternatives for teams to collaborate, communicate, and automate business processes.

Founded in 2014, Ryver brings you fully integrated searchable collaboration spaces. Robust encryption and secure login methods keep your data safe.

Ryver does not offer a free plan, which may keep many start-ups from considering it as one of the possible Slack alternatives for them.

Key Features 

• Organize team conversations under Forums, Teams, and People
• Ryver simplifies log in with Single Sign-On (SSO)
• News Streaming allows you to automatically receive social media posts, news updates, and RSS feed directly in Ryver
• It offers unlimited audio and video calls, file sharing, and searches

Pros 

• Allows you to create custom conversation channels
• Helps you to organize topics and tasks
• Ryver is available for iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac users
• Easy integration with leading third-party tools
• Offers a 14-days free trial on Starter and 30 Users Packs

Cons

• Does not offer a free plan
• UI could be simplified for easier onboarding

Tool Level 

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

Price

• Starter: $69/month
• Standard: $129/month
• Medium Pack: $4.67 per user
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

7. RingCentral MVP

The next communication tool on our list of Slack alternatives is RingCentral MVP.

With this team chat tool, you can connect with your team via message, video, and phone calls. In fact, RingCentral brings you one of the best enterprise-capable VoIP features in this category.

Key Features 

• Simplifies workflow with private and team chat, file sharing, and task management
• Unlimited one-click video calls make virtual meetings effortless
• Offers top-of-class cloud-based VoIP services with advanced calling capabilities
• Gives seven layers of security to keep your data and conversations safe

Pros 

• You can easily switch calls from desktop to a mobile device so that you can stay connected on the go
• Drive team productivity with messaging, video, and phone combined into one tool
• Offers plenty of resources to get you started
• Easy integration with more than 250 third-party apps
• Free trial available on Essentials, Standard, and Premium packs

Cons 

• It does not offer a free version of the tool

Tool Level 

• Beginner/Intermediate

Usability 

• RingCentral MVP is one of the simpler Slack alternatives to use

Price 

• Essentials: $19.99 user/month
• Standard: $27.99 user/month
• Premium: $34.99 user/month
• Ultimate: $49.99 user/month

8. Zoho Cliq

Our roundup of Slack alternatives will not be comprehensive without talking about Zoho Cliq.

Like most Slack alternatives, Zoho offers you the tools you need to manage your remote and hybrid workforce. What’s more, you can make group video and audio calls or host live video events with ease.

Let’s see what else it has in common with other Slack alternatives.

Key Features 

• Host meeting broadcasts and live video events with instant video streaming
• Switch between multi-chat and single-chat view
• You can add up to 1000 participants for a group audio call right from the platform
• Sync calendar and automate workflows
• Engage users with customizable backgrounds, GIFs, opinion polls, and gestures
• Easy to search for and find files, messages, and users
• Whiteboards and screen-sharing for improved collaboration

Pros 

• Robust collaboration and communication tools
• One of the best Slack alternatives for remote and hybrid work models
• Powerful integration with Asana, Trello, and Zapier
• Allows group audio and video calls

Cons 

• It does not offer dedicated rooms for webinars unlike some Slack alternatives

Tool Level 

• Beginner

Usability 

• One of the easiest to use Slack alternatives for beginners

Price 

• Free: $0
• Unlimited: $1 per user/month for 10k+ user organizations

9. Podio

Next up in this discussion on Slack alternatives is Podio.

You can opt for this software to connect your remote workforce and streamline administrative tasks while keeping your data secure.

But, does it have all the features you expect from the best Slack alternatives?

Read on.

Key Features

• Streamlined file sharing and tracking
• View real-time modifications done on files
• Centralized document storage and workflow automation
• Built-in chat feature and social activity streams facilitate collaboration
• You can pick from hundreds of native apps to optimize project management, collaboration, sales functions, etc.

Pros

• Seamless file sharing
• Mobile apps enable remote project management
• Robust integrations with tools such as Zendesk, Evernote, and Google Calendar
• Granular admin controls

Cons 

• The interface seems a bit complicated compared to other Slack alternatives

Tool Level 

• Intermediate/Expert

Usability 

• There is a learning curve involved in setting up and using the software.

Price 

• Free: $0 for up to 5 employees
• Basic: $7.20/month
• Plus: $11.20/month
• Premium: $19.20/month

10. Twist

Are you looking for Slack alternatives to eliminate the ‘always on’ work culture? Twist seeks to avoid the hassles of constant messages and alerts that lead to burnout.

With asynchronous messaging that does not pressurize users to respond instantly, Twist offers a new and improved way of working.

Interested in finding out if this is one of the Slack alternatives for your business?

Continue reading this article at Attrock.com