Webex is a video conferencing platform optimized for meetings with up to 40,000 participants and advanced security features, while Slack is a team messaging platform designed for asynchronous communication and workflow integration. They serve different primary purposes but increasingly overlap in functionality.
Webex vs Slack — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Enterprise video conferencing platform with integrated messaging and collaboration features.
Cloud-based team messaging platform used by 750,000+ daily active users across enterprises.
Primary Function. Max Meeting Participants (Free Plan). Max Meeting Participants (Paid Plan). Message History (Free Plan). Starting Price (Monthly, Annual). Integrations Available. End-to-End Encryption (Meetings)
Choose Webex if your organization prioritizes video conferencing, needs to host large meetings (100+ participants), or requires enterprise-grade security and compliance features like FedRAMP authorization. Choose Slack if you need a primary messaging hub with deep workflow automation, extensive app integrations, or want to manage asynchronous communication with a low cost-per-user for large teams. For optimal collaboration, many organizations use both: Slack for daily messaging and Webex for scheduled meetings.
Cisco Webex: 100 participants | Slack: 3 participants
Cisco Webex: 40,000 participants | Slack: Unlimited (slide deck view only)
Cisco Webex: 200+ integrations | Slack: 2,000+
Cisco Webex: Yes, all plans | Slack: DMs only, Enterprise+ plan
Cisco Webex: Webex Assistant (transcription, summary) | Slack: Slack AI (search, summarization, drafting)
Cisco Webex: 4K (3840×2160) | Slack: Requires 3rd party
Cisco Webex: $15.99 | Slack: $8.75 (annual)
Cisco Webex: Limited (manual upload required) | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Web | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: 250 million | Slack: ~50 million (daily active)
Cisco Webex: 1000 participants | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: 40 minutes unlimited users | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: Yes, deep native integration | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: Yes, Business plan+ | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: Good (Slack, Teams, Google) | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: 70 million | Slack: 21 million
Cisco Webex: All paid tiers | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: Unlimited (1-month retention) | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: Yes (BAA available) | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: 40 minutes (3+ participants) | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: 40,000 (webinar mode) | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: 40 minutes worth per month | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: Multiple integrations (Okta, Azure AD, etc.) | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: 1080p HD native | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: Third-party integration required | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: No (add-on required) | Slack: N/A
Record Transcription Languages Supported
Cisco Webex: Yes (40-min group meetings) | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: 4.1 (1.8M reviews) | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: HIPAA, FedRAMP, SOC 2, ISO 27001 | Slack: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR
Cisco Webex: 100 participants | Slack: 2 participants
Cisco Webex: 40 minutes | Slack: 60 minutes
Cisco Webex: Unlimited cloud | Slack: N/A
Cisco Webex: 4K (30 fps) | Slack: 1080p (30 fps)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: $87 (billed yearly)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Up to 2,000 (with paid plan)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Limited (third-party connectors)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Slack AI (summarization, search, assisted writing)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Excellent - optimized search indexing
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: $3,600 (Pro plan at $15/user)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 10,000 most recent
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: $8.25 (Pro plan, min 3 users)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Unlimited (Slack Huddles for video limited to 50 participants)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Huddles for brief video, limited to 50 participants; requires external tool for full conferencing
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Not native; requires integration with Otter.ai or similar third-party services
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 5 out of 5 (core feature with channels, threads, and history)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 2 out of 5 (available via integration, not native)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 30+ (CRM tools, meeting summaries, automation, SlackBot enhancements)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Cloud-based SaaS only
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Compliant but data on Salesforce servers
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: No increases for 33 months
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Unlimited group chats
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Workflow automation, search enhancement
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Optimized with threads and archives
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Slack AI (optional on paid plans)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Limited (requires custom setup)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Advanced with conditional logic
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Variable by plan
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: No, proprietary
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Advanced AI assistant, smart summaries, automation
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: $150 (billed monthly)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 0 (not native feature)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: $12.50 per user/month
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 90 days maximum
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 15 participants
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Advanced (Workflow Builder, automations)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Unlimited external guests via workspace invite
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: $8-12.50 (Pro/Business+)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 10 years standard
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Channel-based threads (contextual loss in active channels)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: No (proprietary)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Native iOS/Android with feature-parity
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Yes (Slack Huddles)
Paid Workspaces/Users (Enterprise Adoption)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 750,000+ paid workspaces
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Proprietary/closed
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: $150/month ($1,800/year)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 2,400+ integrations
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 90-day limited access
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 750,000+ active workspaces
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: No (cloud-only)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Yes (Business+ plan required)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: $12.50/user (Pro plan)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 10,000 messages (free); unlimited (paid)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: No (requires integrations)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 50-100ms (instant)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 5GB (Free), varies by plan
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 1 GB shared workspace
Annual Subscription Cost (Pro, 100 users)
Maximum video call participants (free tier)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 100 participants
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 90 days searchable
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 2,000+ apps (Slack App Directory)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Cost-effective until ~12 users
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: No: messaging-only, requires integrations
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 750+ million messages daily across 750k+ organizations
Monthly Subscription Cost (Pro/Standard)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: All messages indexed instantly
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: API-based (basic)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 100 (workspace)
Maximum Video Conference Participants (Free)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Limited (typically 3-4)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 4.6/5 (12,400 reviews)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Full-text indexed across all messages
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Partial (DMs only, beta feature)
Cost Per User (Annual, Lowest Paid Tier)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Certified (SOC 2 Type II, GDPR)
Monthly Cost Per User (Standard Tier, Annual Billing)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 0 GB (integrations only)
Maximum Video Conference Participants (Standard Plan)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 10,000 (free tier); unlimited (paid)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Cloud-only SaaS
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: N/A (proprietary)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 750,000+ workspaces
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 10,000 (free), unlimited (paid)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 1-4 hours (Enterprise Grid)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Unlimited (90-day history)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: No native feature
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Full-featured messaging
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Secondary feature
Paying Organizations/Enterprise Customers
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 750 (in thousands = 750,000 paying orgs)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: $12.50/user/month
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Less than 1 hour
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: 21 million daily active
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Slack AI assistant included
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Limited on free plan (10,000 messages); full search on paid
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Channel + Reply threads
Cisco Webex: N/A | Slack: Not available (cloud-only)
How to choose between Cisco Webex and Slack
Webex vs Slack — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Webex vs Slack. Contains 245 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Webex vs Slack — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Webex vs Slack.
Not entirely. Webex excels at scheduled video meetings and large-scale presentations, while Slack dominates daily team messaging and workflow automation. Most organizations use both together: Slack for ongoing communication and Webex for formal meetings. Slack has added video calling (up to 50 participants on paid plans), but it's not optimized for presentations. Webex has added messaging, but it lacks Slack's integration depth.
Which platform is more secure for sensitive data?
Webex edges ahead for enterprise security. It holds FedRAMP authorization, HIPAA compliance, and encrypts all meetings by default on all plans. Slack supports end-to-end encryption only in direct messages and on Enterprise+ plans. For regulated industries (healthcare, government, finance), Webex is the safer choice. Slack is secure for most organizations but requires Enterprise+ for meeting encryption.
Slack is more affordable. At 50 users, Slack Pro ($8.75/month) costs $5,250 annually, while Webex Pro ($15.99/month) costs $9,594 annually—a 45% difference. However, Webex's free plan supports 40-minute meetings for 100 people, while Slack's free plan limits video to 3 people, making Webex better value if you only need basic conferencing without paid accounts.
Can I automate workflows with integrations?
Slack is vastly superior for workflow automation. With 2,000+ native integrations, you can connect CRM, project management, HR, and support tools directly into Slack channels with custom automations. Webex has 200+ integrations but fewer workflow-focused options. If automation and tool consolidation are priorities, Slack is the clear winner. Webex is better if you want integrations focused on enhancing meetings.
Which platform is better for remote-first companies?
It depends on your workflow. Slack is better for distributed teams that communicate asynchronously throughout the day across time zones—messages stay organized in searchable threads. Webex is better if your team has frequent synchronous meetings or large all-hands gatherings. Most remote-first companies use Slack as their hub and Webex (or Zoom) for scheduled meetings, combining Slack's async strength with Webex's meeting power.
How to Choose Between Cisco Webex and Slack
Primary Function: Cisco Webex has Video conferencing & meetings, while Slack has Team messaging & collaboration.
Consider: Max Meeting Participants (Free Plan)
Max Meeting Participants (Free Plan): Cisco Webex has 100 participants, 40 min limit, while Slack has Not applicable (messaging platform).
Consider: Max Meeting Participants (Paid Plan)
Max Meeting Participants (Paid Plan): Cisco Webex has 40,000 participants, while Slack has Not applicable (messaging platform).
Message History (Free Plan): Cisco Webex has Unlimited, while Slack has 90 days / 10,000 messages.
Consider: Starting Price (Monthly, Annual)
Starting Price (Monthly, Annual): Cisco Webex has $15.99/user/month, while Slack has $8.75/user/month.
Integrations Available: Cisco Webex has 200+ integrations, while Slack has 2,000+ integrations.
Consider: End-to-End Encryption (Meetings)
End-to-End Encryption (Meetings): Cisco Webex has Yes, available on all plans, while Slack has Not applicable (messaging platform).