software
Slack vs Element: Integrations vs Privacy 2026
Slack is a proprietary, cloud-hosted team communication platform with 750,000+ organizations using it, while Element is an open-source, decentralized messaging platform built on the Matrix protocol. Slack dominates enterprise adoption with superior integrations, while Element prioritizes privacy and self-hosting capabilities.
S
Slack
Cloud-based team messaging platform with deep enterprise integrations and 21 million daily active users.
Enterprise teams, startups, and organizations prioritizing integrations, ease of use, and don't require self-hosting or maximum privacy.
Score63%
VS
E
Element
Open-source, decentralized messaging platform built on the Matrix protocol with emphasis on privacy and data ownership.
Organizations requiring end-to-end encryption, data sovereignty, self-hosting capabilities, or operating in regulated/sensitive industries (healthcare, government, finance).
Score63%
Quick Answer
AI SummarySlack is a proprietary, cloud-hosted team communication platform with 750,000+ organizations using it, while Element is an open-source, decentralized messaging platform built on the Matrix protocol. Slack dominates enterprise adoption with superior integrations, while Element prioritizes privacy and self-hosting capabilities.
Our Verdict
AI-assistedChoose Slack if your organization prioritizes seamless integrations, enterprise features, and don't require self-hosting or maximum privacy control—it dominates the market with 750,000 organizations and superior workflow automation. Choose Element if you need end-to-end encryption by default, data ownership, self-hosting capabilities, or operate in privacy-sensitive industries; it's ideal for organizations that value decentralization and open-source infrastructure.
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S
Slack
8.9/10
Element
6.1/10
E
S
Choose Slack if
Best pickEnterprise teams, startups, and organizations prioritizing integrations, ease of use, and don't require self-hosting or maximum privacy.
E
Choose Element if
Organizations requiring end-to-end encryption, data sovereignty, self-hosting capabilities, or operating in regulated/sensitive industries (healthcare, government, finance).
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Key Differences at a Glance
- Hosting Model:✓ Element wins(Self-hosted or cloud-hosted (open-source) vs Cloud-only (proprietary SaaS))
- Active Users (Worldwide):✓ Slack wins(21 million daily active users vs 2-3 million estimated users)
- Enterprise Integrations:✓ Slack wins(2,400+ native integrations vs 200+ integrations)
Key Facts & Figures
106 numeric metrics compared
| Metric | Slack | Element | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Integrations(count) | 2,600+ | — | — |
| Paid Starting Price(USD/user/mo) | $7.25 | — | — |
| Standalone Monthly Pricing (Pro Tier)(USD per user per month) | $7.25 | — | — |
| Annual Cost per User (Pro Tier)(USD) | $87 (billed yearly) | — | — |
| Third-Party App Integrations(integrations) | 2,400+ | — | — |
| Video Meeting Capacity(participants) | Up to 2,000 (with paid plan) | — | — |
| Mobile App Feature Parity(%) | 95% | — | — |
| Monthly Cost per 20-Person Team(USD) | $3,600 (Pro plan at $15/user) | — | — |
| Global Market Share(percent) | 65% | — | — |
| Free Trial Duration(days) | 7 days | — | — |
| Daily Active Users Worldwide(millions) | 20+ million | — | — |
| Message History Retention on Free Plan(count) | 10,000 most recent | — | — |
| Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD) | $8.25 (Pro plan, min 3 users) | — | — |
| Free Tier Meeting Participant Limit(participants) | Unlimited (Slack Huddles for video limited to 50 participants) | — | — |
| Asynchronous Communication Strength(scale 1-5) | 5 out of 5 (core feature with channels, threads, and history) | — | — |
| Google Workspace Integration Level | 2 out of 5 (available via integration, not native) | — | — |
| AI Features Count (2026)(features) | 30+ (CRM tools, meeting summaries, automation, SlackBot enhancements) | — | — |
| Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD) | $7.25 | — | — |
| Business+ Tier Monthly Cost Per User(USD) | $12.50 | — | — |
| Available Integrations(integrations) | 2000+ | — | — |
| Price Stability (2024-2026)(months) | No increases for 33 months | — | — |
| Free Tier Cost(USD) | Free | — | — |
| Pro/Standard Monthly Cost(USD per user/month) | $7.25 | — | — |
| Third-party Integrations(integrations) | 2000+ | — | — |
| Minimum Monthly Cost Per User(USD) | $7.25 | — | — |
| Third-Party Integrations Available(count) | 2,000+ | — | — |
| Years Price Stable (2026)(months) | 33+ months | — | — |
| Native Integrations Available(integrations) | 2200+ | — | — |
| Pro Plan Annual Cost(USD) | $150 (billed monthly) | — | — |
| Free Tier Message History Retention(days) | 90 days | — | — |
| AI Transcription Languages Supported(languages) | 0 (not native feature) | — | — |
| Enterprise Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.99% | — | — |
| User Workspace Limit (Free Tier)(workspaces) | 1 workspace | — | — |
| Maximum Meeting Participants (Free)(participants) | 3 participants | — | — |
| Pro Plan Monthly Cost (Annual Billing)(USD per user) | $8.75 | — | — |
| Available Integrations(count) | 2,400+ | 200+ | |
| Monthly Cost (Pro Plan)(USD) | $12.50 per user/month | — | — |
| Free Message History(days) | 90 days maximum | — | — |
| Voice Audio Codec Quality(kHz) | 16 kHz | — | — |
| Third-Party Integrations(count) | 2000+ integrations | 200-300 | |
| Maximum Video Call Participants(people) | 15 participants | — | — |
| Total Registered Users(millions) | 750 million | — | — |
| Enterprise Plan Monthly Cost Per User(USD) | $12.50 | — | — |
| Free Plan Message History Retention(days) | 90 days | — | — |
| Third-Party Integrations Available(count) | 2,300+ integrations | — | — |
| Paid Plan Starting Price(USD/user/month) | $7.25 | — | — |
| Cloud Storage (Base Plan)(GB) | 10 GB | — | — |
| Monthly Cost Per User(USD) | $8-12.50 (Pro/Business+) | — | — |
| Active Workspaces(workspaces) | 750,000+ | — | — |
| Native Integrations(count) | 2,300+ | — | — |
| Message History Searchable(years) | 10 years standard | — | — |
| Workflow Automation Steps(built-in steps) | 50+ | — | — |
| Native App Integrations Available(count) | 2,400+ apps | ~150 via bridges | |
| Monthly Cost (Pro Plan, 50 users)(USD) | $412.50/month | $0-1,500/month (self-hosted varies) | |
| Paid Workspaces/Users (Enterprise Adoption)(workspaces) | 750,000+ paid workspaces | ~100,000 public servers | |
| Monthly Cost (10 Users, Annual)(USD) | $150/month ($1,800/year) | — | — |
| Pre-built Integrations(operators) | 2,400+ integrations | — | — |
| Message History on Free Plan(days) | 90-day limited access | — | — |
| Active Global Workspaces/Deployments(count) | 750,000+ active workspaces | — | — |
| Uptime SLA Guarantee(percent) | 99.99% | — | — |
| Price Per User Per Month (Pro/Standard)(USD) | $12.50/user (Pro plan) | — | — |
| Base Monthly Cost (10-person team)(USD) | $80-150 | — | — |
| Cost for 50-person team(USD/month) | $400-750 | — | — |
| Real-time Messaging Speed(ms (message delivery latency)) | 50-100ms (instant) | — | — |
| File Storage Included(GB) | 5GB (Free), varies by plan | — | — |
| Setup Time for New Team(hours) | 0.5-1 hour | — | — |
| Max Video Conference Participants(people) | 1000 | — | — |
| Voice Codec Quality Rating(score (1-10)) | 7.5 | — | — |
| Enterprise Security Certifications | SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, GDPR | — | — |
| Time to Deploy(hours) | 3-7 | — | — |
| Uptime Guarantee(percent) | 99.99% | — | — |
| Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD) | $8.75 | — | — |
| Video Conference Max Participants(participants) | 150 | — | — |
| Free Tier File Storage(GB per user) | 1 GB shared workspace | — | — |
| Message Search History (Free Tier)(days) | 90 days | — | — |
| Annual Subscription Cost (Pro, 100 users)(USD) | $10,500 | — | — |
| Desktop App Memory Usage(MB) | 280 MB | — | — |
| Monthly subscription cost (Pro plan)(USD per user) | $12.50 | — | — |
| Native third-party integrations(count) | 100+ | — | — |
| Message Search Response Time(seconds) | 2-4 seconds | — | — |
| User interface satisfaction rating(out of 10) | 9.2/10 | — | — |
| Maximum video call participants (free tier)(people) | 100 participants | — | — |
| Service uptime SLA guarantee(percent) | 99.99% | — | — |
| Message history retention (free plan)(days) | 90 days searchable | Unlimited with self-hosting | — |
| Enterprise app marketplace size(applications) | 2,000+ apps (Slack App Directory) | — | — |
| Team Size Cost Efficiency Threshold(team members) | Cost-effective until ~12 users | — | — |
| Message History Searchability(months) | 90 days (Free/Pro), unlimited with Enterprise | — | — |
| Average User Adoption Time(days) | 1-3 days | — | — |
| Global Active Users(millions) | 750+ million messages daily across 750k+ organizations | — | — |
| Monthly Subscription Cost (Pro/Standard)(USD) | $8.25 | — | — |
| Message Delivery Latency(milliseconds) | <100ms | — | — |
| File Upload Limit(GB) | 20GB | — | — |
| Message History Retention (Free Tier)(days) | 90 days | — | — |
| G2 Ease of Use Rating (2024)(stars) | 4.5/5 | — | — |
| Video Meeting Participant Limit(participants) | 2000 | — | — |
| Pro Plan Monthly Cost Per User(USD) | $12.50 | — | — |
| File Storage Per User(GB) | 100 (workspace) | — | — |
| Free Group Video Call Duration Limit(minutes) | 40 | — | — |
| Maximum Video Conference Participants (Free)(people) | Limited (typically 3-4) | — | — |
| G2 User Interface Rating(out of 5) | 4.6/5 (12,400 reviews) | — | — |
| Daily Active Users(millions) | 21 million | 2-3 million (estimated) | |
| Message History (Free Plan)(days) | 90 days | Unlimited (self-hosted) | — |
| Cost Per User (Annual, Lowest Paid Tier)(USD/month) | $8/month | $0 (open-source) or $9/month (managed) | |
| Organizations Using Platform(count (thousands)) | 750,000+ | 50,000+ (estimated) | |
| Voice Chat Bitrate(kbps) | Variable (48-128 kbps) | Variable (48-128 kbps) | |
| Voice Latency(ms) | 100-200ms avg | 100-200ms avg |
Sourced from publicly available data ·
Key Differences
7 attributes compared head-to-head
S
3SlackElement leads
E
4ElementSlack
Attribute
Element
- Cloud-only (proprietary SaaS)Hosting ModelSelf-hosted or cloud-hosted (open-source)(winner)
- 21 million daily active users(winner)Active Users (Worldwide)2-3 million estimated users
- 2,400+ native integrations(winner)Enterprise Integrations200+ integrations
- Partial (direct messages only, beta)End-to-End EncryptionFull by default with Olm protocol(winner)
- Unlimited (Pro plan) / 90 days (Free)(winner)Message Search RetentionUnlimited (self-hosted) / depends on plan
- $8/user/month (Pro plan annual)Starting Cost$0 (open-source) / $9-30/user/month (managed)(winner)
- Slack owns data, compliance certifications (SOC 2, GDPR)Data Ownership & PrivacyYou own data (self-hosted), Matrix protocol federation(winner)
- Hosting Model
Slack
Cloud-only (proprietary SaaS)
Element
Self-hosted or cloud-hosted (open-source)(winner)
- Active Users (Worldwide)
Slack
21 million daily active users(winner)
Element
2-3 million estimated users
- Enterprise Integrations
Slack
2,400+ native integrations(winner)
Element
200+ integrations
- End-to-End Encryption
Slack
Partial (direct messages only, beta)
Element
Full by default with Olm protocol(winner)
- Message Search Retention
Slack
Unlimited (Pro plan) / 90 days (Free)(winner)
Element
Unlimited (self-hosted) / depends on plan
- Starting Cost
Slack
$8/user/month (Pro plan annual)
Element
$0 (open-source) / $9-30/user/month (managed)(winner)
- Data Ownership & Privacy
Slack
Slack owns data, compliance certifications (SOC 2, GDPR)
Element
You own data (self-hosted), Matrix protocol federation(winner)
Full Comparison
| Attribute | Slack | Element |
|---|---|---|
| App Integrations(count) | 2,600+ | — |
| Google Workspace Native Integration | Limited (requires custom setup) | — |
| Native Integrations(count) | 2,300+ | — |
| Native third-party integrations(count) | 100+ | — |
| Native Microsoft 365 Integration(integration level) | API-based (basic) | — |
| Paid Starting Price(USD/user/mo) | $7.25 | — |
| Standalone Monthly Pricing (Pro Tier)(USD per user per month) | $7.25 | — |
| Annual Cost per User (Pro Tier)(USD) | $87 (billed yearly) | — |
| Monthly Cost per 20-Person Team(USD) | $3,600 (Pro plan at $15/user) | — |
| Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD) | $8.25 (Pro plan, min 3 users) | — |
| Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD) | $7.25 | — |
Show 24 more attributesBusiness+ Tier Monthly Cost Per User(USD) $12.50 — Price Stability (2024-2026)(months) No increases for 33 months — Free Tier Cost(USD) Free — Pro/Standard Monthly Cost(USD per user/month) $7.25 — Minimum Monthly Cost Per User(USD) $7.25 — Years Price Stable (2026)(months) 33+ months — Pro Plan Annual Cost(USD) $150 (billed monthly) — Pro Plan Monthly Cost (Annual Billing)(USD per user) $8.75 — Monthly Cost (Pro Plan)(USD) $12.50 per user/month — Enterprise Plan Monthly Cost Per User(USD) $12.50 — Paid Plan Starting Price(USD/user/month) $7.25 — Monthly Cost Per User(USD) $8-12.50 (Pro/Business+) — Monthly Cost (Pro Plan, 50 users)(USD) $412.50/month $0-1,500/month (self-hosted varies) Monthly Cost (10 Users, Annual)(USD) $150/month ($1,800/year) — Price Per User Per Month (Pro/Standard)(USD) $12.50/user (Pro plan) — Base Monthly Cost (10-person team)(USD) $80-150 — Cost for 50-person team(USD/month) $400-750 — Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD) $8.75 — Annual Subscription Cost (Pro, 100 users)(USD) $10,500 — Monthly subscription cost (Pro plan)(USD per user) $12.50 — Team Size Cost Efficiency Threshold(team members) Cost-effective until ~12 users — Monthly Subscription Cost (Pro/Standard)(USD) $8.25 — Pro Plan Monthly Cost Per User(USD) $12.50 — Cost Per User (Annual, Lowest Paid Tier)(USD/month) $8/month $0 (open-source) or $9/month (managed) | ||
| Third-Party App Integrations(integrations) | 2,400+ | — |
| Available Integrations(integrations) | 2000+ | — |
| Native Integrations Available(integrations) | 2200+ | — |
| Third-Party Integrations(count) | 2000+ integrations(winner) | 200-300 |
| Third-Party Integrations Available(count) | 2,300+ integrations | — |
| Video Meeting Capacity(participants) | Up to 2,000 (with paid plan) | — |
| Native Office Integration | Limited (third-party connectors) | — |
| AI Copilot Features | Slack AI (summarization, search, assisted writing) | — |
| Message History Retention on Free Plan(count) | 10,000 most recent | — |
| Free Tier Meeting Participant Limit(participants) | Unlimited (Slack Huddles for video limited to 50 participants) | — |
Show 21 more attributesNative Video Conferencing Huddles for brief video, limited to 50 participants; requires external tool for full conferencing — Meeting Recording & Auto-Transcription Not native; requires integration with Otter.ai or similar third-party services — Asynchronous Communication Strength(scale 1-5) 5 out of 5 (core feature with channels, threads, and history) — Third-Party Integrations Available(count) 2,000+ — Enterprise AI Features Advanced AI assistant, smart summaries, automation — Free Message History(days) 90 days maximum — Free Plan Message History Retention(days) 90 days — Free Plan External Guest Collaboration(capacity) Unlimited external guests via workspace invite — Email Service Included No — Message History Searchable(years) 10 years standard — Workflow Automation Steps(built-in steps) 50+ — Pre-built Integrations(operators) 2,400+ integrations — Message History on Free Plan(days) 90-day limited access — Message History Retention(status) 10,000 messages (free); unlimited (paid) — Built-in Project Management(status) No (requires integrations) — Max Video Conference Participants(people) 1000 — Video Conference Max Participants(participants) 150 — Message Search History (Free Tier)(days) 90 days — Message Search Speed (Free Tier)(indexing scope) All messages indexed instantly — Message History Retention (Free Tier)(days) 90 days — Video Meeting Participant Limit(participants) 2000 — | ||
| Message Search Speed(seconds) | Excellent - optimized search indexing | 1-5 seconds |
| Voice Audio Codec Quality(kHz) | 16 kHz | — |
| Maximum Video Call Participants(people) | 15 participants | — |
| Real-time Messaging Speed(ms (message delivery latency)) | 50-100ms (instant) | — |
| Desktop App Memory Usage(MB) | 280 MB | — |
Show 4 more attributesMessage Search Response Time(seconds) 2-4 seconds — Message Delivery Latency(milliseconds) <100ms — Voice Chat Bitrate(kbps) Variable (48-128 kbps) — Voice Latency(ms) 100-200ms avg — | ||
| Mobile App Feature Parity(%) | 95% | — |
| Mobile App Type | Native iOS/Android with feature-parity | — |
| Global Market Share(percent) | 65% | — |
| Free Trial Duration(days) | 7 days | — |
| Daily Active Users Worldwide(millions) | 20+ million | — |
| Self-Hosting Available(boolean) | No | — |
| Self-Hosted/On-Premises Option | No (cloud-only) | — |
| Self-Hosting Option(yes/no) | Yes (fully) | — |
| Google Workspace Integration Level | 2 out of 5 (available via integration, not native) | — |
| AI Features Count (2026)(features) | 30+ (CRM tools, meeting summaries, automation, SlackBot enhancements) | — |
| Deployment Options | Cloud-based SaaS only | — |
| GDPR & Data Sovereignty Compliance | Compliant but data on Salesforce servers | — |
| End-to-End Encryption Available | DMs only, Enterprise+ plan | — |
| End-to-End Encryption Default | Not available | Yes, default in all rooms |
| Enterprise Security Certifications | SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, GDPR | — |
| Default End-to-End Encryption | Yes (all chats) | — |
| Maximum Meeting Participants(participants) | Unlimited group chats | — |
| Built-in Task Management(features) | No: messaging-only, requires integrations | — |
| Message History Searchability(months) | 90 days (Free/Pro), unlimited with Enterprise | — |
| Third-party Integrations(integrations) | 2000+ | — |
| AI Features (2026) | Workflow automation, search enhancement | — |
| Real-Time Translation | Not available | — |
| Asynchronous Communication | Optimized with threads and archives | — |
| Zoom Rooms Cost(USD per room/month) | N/A | — |
| AI Assistant Capability | Slack AI (optional on paid plans) | — |
| AI Transcription Languages Supported(languages) | 0 (not native feature) | — |
| AI Meeting Assistant | Slack AI (search, summarization, drafting) | — |
| Workflow Automation Complexity | Advanced with conditional logic | — |
| Storage Per User (Standard Plan)(GB) | Variable by plan | — |
| Cloud Storage (Base Plan)(GB) | 10 GB | — |
| File Storage Included(GB) | 5GB (Free), varies by plan | — |
| Free Tier File Storage(GB per user) | 1 GB shared workspace | — |
| Message history retention (free plan)(days) | 90 days searchable | Unlimited with self-hosting |
Show 2 more attributesFile Upload Limit(GB) 20GB — File Storage Per User(GB) 100 (workspace) — | ||
| Open Source | No, proprietary | — |
| Maximum Video Length (Free Tier)(minutes) | N/A | — |
| Maximum Video Resolution(pixels) | Requires 3rd party | — |
| Free Tier Message History Retention(days) | 90 days | — |
| Enterprise Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.99% | — |
| Uptime SLA Guarantee(percent) | 99.99% | — |
| Uptime Guarantee(percent) | 99.99% | — |
| Service uptime SLA guarantee(percent) | 99.99% | — |
| User Workspace Limit (Free Tier)(workspaces) | 1 workspace | — |
| Maximum Meeting Participants (Free)(participants) | 3 participants | — |
| Maximum Meeting Participants (Paid)(participants) | Unlimited (slide deck view only) | — |
| Free Plan Message History(months) | 90 days | — |
| Available Integrations(count) | 2,400+(winner) | 200+ |
| FedRAMP Authorization(boolean) | No | — |
| HIPAA Compliance Certified | Yes (Business+ plan required) | — |
| SOC 2 Type II Certified | Yes | — |
| Custom Workflow Automation | Advanced (Workflow Builder, automations) | — |
| Users Per Workspace(count) | Unlimited | — |
| Total Registered Users(millions) | 750 million | — |
| Daily Posts Published (Organic)(millions) | N/A | — |
| Active Workspaces(workspaces) | 750,000+ | — |
| Monthly Active Users(millions) | 0.75 million | 2-3 million(winner) |
| Global Active Users(millions) | 750+ million messages daily across 750k+ organizations | — |
| Threading Model | Channel-based threads (contextual loss in active channels) | — |
| Open Source | Proprietary (closed-source) | — |
| Native Video/Audio Calls | Yes (Slack Huddles) | Via Jitsi integration (not native) |
| Native App Integrations Available(count) | 2,400+ apps(winner) | ~150 via bridges |
| Paid Workspaces/Users (Enterprise Adoption)(workspaces) | 750,000+ paid workspaces(winner) | ~100,000 public servers |
| Active Global Workspaces/Deployments(count) | 750,000+ active workspaces | — |
| Source Code Availability | Proprietary/closed | Open-source (GPLv3) |
| Setup Time for New Team(hours) | 0.5-1 hour | — |
| Voice Codec Quality Rating(score (1-10)) | 7.5 | — |
| Time to Deploy(hours) | 3-7 | — |
| Learning Curve(hours to proficiency) | 2 | — |
| User interface satisfaction rating(out of 10) | 9.2/10 | — |
| Average User Adoption Time(days) | 1-3 days | — |
| G2 Ease of Use Rating (2024)(stars) | 4.5/5 | — |
| G2 User Interface Rating(out of 5) | 4.6/5 (12,400 reviews) | — |
| Maximum video call participants (free tier)(people) | 100 participants | — |
| Free Group Video Call Duration Limit(minutes) | 40 | — |
| Maximum Video Conference Participants (Free)(people) | Limited (typically 3-4) | — |
| Enterprise app marketplace size(applications) | 2,000+ apps (Slack App Directory) | — |
| Message Search Capability(text) | Full-text indexed across all messages | — |
| Daily Active Users(millions) | 21 million(winner) | 2-3 million (estimated) |
| End-to-End Encryption | Partial (DMs only, beta feature) | Full by default (Olm protocol) |
| Message History (Free Plan)(days) | 90 days | Unlimited (self-hosted) |
| Self-Hosting Capability | Not available | Yes (full open-source support) |
| Organizations Using Platform(count (thousands)) | 750,000+(winner) | 50,000+ (estimated) |
| GDPR Compliance | Certified (SOC 2 Type II, GDPR) | Compliant by architecture (user data control) |
SSlack
EElement
App Integrations(count)
2,600+
—
Google Workspace Native Integration
Limited (requires custom setup)
—
Native Integrations(count)
2,300+
—
Native third-party integrations(count)
100+
—
Native Microsoft 365 Integration(integration level)
API-based (basic)
—
Paid Starting Price(USD/user/mo)
$7.25
—
Standalone Monthly Pricing (Pro Tier)(USD per user per month)
$7.25
—
Annual Cost per User (Pro Tier)(USD)
$87 (billed yearly)
—
Monthly Cost per 20-Person Team(USD)
$3,600 (Pro plan at $15/user)
—
Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$8.25 (Pro plan, min 3 users)
—
Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$7.25
—
Show 24 more attributes
Business+ Tier Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$12.50
—
Price Stability (2024-2026)(months)
No increases for 33 months
—
Free Tier Cost(USD)
Free
—
Pro/Standard Monthly Cost(USD per user/month)
$7.25
—
Minimum Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$7.25
—
Years Price Stable (2026)(months)
33+ months
—
Pro Plan Annual Cost(USD)
$150 (billed monthly)
—
Pro Plan Monthly Cost (Annual Billing)(USD per user)
$8.75
—
Monthly Cost (Pro Plan)(USD)
$12.50 per user/month
—
Enterprise Plan Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$12.50
—
Paid Plan Starting Price(USD/user/month)
$7.25
—
Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$8-12.50 (Pro/Business+)
—
Monthly Cost (Pro Plan, 50 users)(USD)
$412.50/month
$0-1,500/month (self-hosted varies)
Monthly Cost (10 Users, Annual)(USD)
$150/month ($1,800/year)
—
Price Per User Per Month (Pro/Standard)(USD)
$12.50/user (Pro plan)
—
Base Monthly Cost (10-person team)(USD)
$80-150
—
Cost for 50-person team(USD/month)
$400-750
—
Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD)
$8.75
—
Annual Subscription Cost (Pro, 100 users)(USD)
$10,500
—
Monthly subscription cost (Pro plan)(USD per user)
$12.50
—
Team Size Cost Efficiency Threshold(team members)
Cost-effective until ~12 users
—
Monthly Subscription Cost (Pro/Standard)(USD)
$8.25
—
Pro Plan Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$12.50
—
Cost Per User (Annual, Lowest Paid Tier)(USD/month)
$8/month
$0 (open-source) or $9/month (managed)
Third-Party App Integrations(integrations)
2,400+
—
Available Integrations(integrations)
2000+
—
Native Integrations Available(integrations)
2200+
—
Third-Party Integrations(count)
2000+ integrations
200-300
Third-Party Integrations Available(count)
2,300+ integrations
—
Video Meeting Capacity(participants)
Up to 2,000 (with paid plan)
—
Native Office Integration
Limited (third-party connectors)
—
AI Copilot Features
Slack AI (summarization, search, assisted writing)
—
Message History Retention on Free Plan(count)
10,000 most recent
—
Free Tier Meeting Participant Limit(participants)
Unlimited (Slack Huddles for video limited to 50 participants)
—
Show 21 more attributes
Native Video Conferencing
Huddles for brief video, limited to 50 participants; requires external tool for full conferencing
—
Meeting Recording & Auto-Transcription
Not native; requires integration with Otter.ai or similar third-party services
—
Asynchronous Communication Strength(scale 1-5)
5 out of 5 (core feature with channels, threads, and history)
—
Third-Party Integrations Available(count)
2,000+
—
Enterprise AI Features
Advanced AI assistant, smart summaries, automation
—
Free Message History(days)
90 days maximum
—
Free Plan Message History Retention(days)
90 days
—
Free Plan External Guest Collaboration(capacity)
Unlimited external guests via workspace invite
—
Email Service Included
No
—
Message History Searchable(years)
10 years standard
—
Workflow Automation Steps(built-in steps)
50+
—
Pre-built Integrations(operators)
2,400+ integrations
—
Message History on Free Plan(days)
90-day limited access
—
Message History Retention(status)
10,000 messages (free); unlimited (paid)
—
Built-in Project Management(status)
No (requires integrations)
—
Max Video Conference Participants(people)
1000
—
Video Conference Max Participants(participants)
150
—
Message Search History (Free Tier)(days)
90 days
—
Message Search Speed (Free Tier)(indexing scope)
All messages indexed instantly
—
Message History Retention (Free Tier)(days)
90 days
—
Video Meeting Participant Limit(participants)
2000
—
Message Search Speed(seconds)
Excellent - optimized search indexing
1-5 seconds
Voice Audio Codec Quality(kHz)
16 kHz
—
Maximum Video Call Participants(people)
15 participants
—
Real-time Messaging Speed(ms (message delivery latency))
50-100ms (instant)
—
Desktop App Memory Usage(MB)
280 MB
—
Show 4 more attributes
Message Search Response Time(seconds)
2-4 seconds
—
Message Delivery Latency(milliseconds)
<100ms
—
Voice Chat Bitrate(kbps)
Variable (48-128 kbps)
—
Voice Latency(ms)
100-200ms avg
—
Mobile App Feature Parity(%)
95%
—
Mobile App Type
Native iOS/Android with feature-parity
—
Global Market Share(percent)
65%
—
Free Trial Duration(days)
7 days
—
Daily Active Users Worldwide(millions)
20+ million
—
Self-Hosting Available(boolean)
No
—
Self-Hosted/On-Premises Option
No (cloud-only)
—
Self-Hosting Option(yes/no)
Yes (fully)
—
Google Workspace Integration Level
2 out of 5 (available via integration, not native)
—
AI Features Count (2026)(features)
30+ (CRM tools, meeting summaries, automation, SlackBot enhancements)
—
Deployment Options
Cloud-based SaaS only
—
GDPR & Data Sovereignty Compliance
Compliant but data on Salesforce servers
—
End-to-End Encryption Available
DMs only, Enterprise+ plan
—
End-to-End Encryption Default
Not available
Yes, default in all rooms
Enterprise Security Certifications
SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, GDPR
—
Default End-to-End Encryption
Yes (all chats)
—
Maximum Meeting Participants(participants)
Unlimited group chats
—
Built-in Task Management(features)
No: messaging-only, requires integrations
—
Message History Searchability(months)
90 days (Free/Pro), unlimited with Enterprise
—
Third-party Integrations(integrations)
2000+
—
AI Features (2026)
Workflow automation, search enhancement
—
Real-Time Translation
Not available
—
Asynchronous Communication
Optimized with threads and archives
—
Zoom Rooms Cost(USD per room/month)
N/A
—
AI Assistant Capability
Slack AI (optional on paid plans)
—
AI Transcription Languages Supported(languages)
0 (not native feature)
—
AI Meeting Assistant
Slack AI (search, summarization, drafting)
—
Workflow Automation Complexity
Advanced with conditional logic
—
Storage Per User (Standard Plan)(GB)
Variable by plan
—
Cloud Storage (Base Plan)(GB)
10 GB
—
File Storage Included(GB)
5GB (Free), varies by plan
—
Free Tier File Storage(GB per user)
1 GB shared workspace
—
Message history retention (free plan)(days)
90 days searchable
Unlimited with self-hosting
Show 2 more attributes
File Upload Limit(GB)
20GB
—
File Storage Per User(GB)
100 (workspace)
—
Open Source
No, proprietary
—
Maximum Video Length (Free Tier)(minutes)
N/A
—
Maximum Video Resolution(pixels)
Requires 3rd party
—
Free Tier Message History Retention(days)
90 days
—
Enterprise Uptime SLA(percent)
99.99%
—
Uptime SLA Guarantee(percent)
99.99%
—
Uptime Guarantee(percent)
99.99%
—
Service uptime SLA guarantee(percent)
99.99%
—
User Workspace Limit (Free Tier)(workspaces)
1 workspace
—
Maximum Meeting Participants (Free)(participants)
3 participants
—
Maximum Meeting Participants (Paid)(participants)
Unlimited (slide deck view only)
—
Free Plan Message History(months)
90 days
—
Available Integrations(count)
2,400+
200+
FedRAMP Authorization(boolean)
No
—
HIPAA Compliance Certified
Yes (Business+ plan required)
—
SOC 2 Type II Certified
Yes
—
Custom Workflow Automation
Advanced (Workflow Builder, automations)
—
Users Per Workspace(count)
Unlimited
—
Total Registered Users(millions)
750 million
—
Daily Posts Published (Organic)(millions)
N/A
—
Active Workspaces(workspaces)
750,000+
—
Monthly Active Users(millions)
0.75 million
2-3 million
Global Active Users(millions)
750+ million messages daily across 750k+ organizations
—
Threading Model
Channel-based threads (contextual loss in active channels)
—
Open Source
Proprietary (closed-source)
—
Native Video/Audio Calls
Yes (Slack Huddles)
Via Jitsi integration (not native)
Native App Integrations Available(count)
2,400+ apps
~150 via bridges
Paid Workspaces/Users (Enterprise Adoption)(workspaces)
750,000+ paid workspaces
~100,000 public servers
Active Global Workspaces/Deployments(count)
750,000+ active workspaces
—
Source Code Availability
Proprietary/closed
Open-source (GPLv3)
Setup Time for New Team(hours)
0.5-1 hour
—
Voice Codec Quality Rating(score (1-10))
7.5
—
Time to Deploy(hours)
3-7
—
Learning Curve(hours to proficiency)
2
—
User interface satisfaction rating(out of 10)
9.2/10
—
Average User Adoption Time(days)
1-3 days
—
G2 Ease of Use Rating (2024)(stars)
4.5/5
—
G2 User Interface Rating(out of 5)
4.6/5 (12,400 reviews)
—
Maximum video call participants (free tier)(people)
100 participants
—
Free Group Video Call Duration Limit(minutes)
40
—
Maximum Video Conference Participants (Free)(people)
Limited (typically 3-4)
—
Enterprise app marketplace size(applications)
2,000+ apps (Slack App Directory)
—
Message Search Capability(text)
Full-text indexed across all messages
—
Daily Active Users(millions)
21 million
2-3 million (estimated)
End-to-End Encryption
Partial (DMs only, beta feature)
Full by default (Olm protocol)
Message History (Free Plan)(days)
90 days
Unlimited (self-hosted)
Self-Hosting Capability
Not available
Yes (full open-source support)
Organizations Using Platform(count (thousands))
750,000+
50,000+ (estimated)
GDPR Compliance
Certified (SOC 2 Type II, GDPR)
Compliant by architecture (user data control)
Pros & Cons
10 pros·6 cons across both
S
E
S
Slack
+5-3
Pros
- 2,400+ native app integrations (Salesforce, Jira, GitHub, HubSpot, etc.)
- 21 million daily active users with mature ecosystem
- Thread-based conversation organization with granular controls
- Advanced search with unlimited retention on paid plans
- Desktop, mobile, and web apps with consistent experience
Cons
- End-to-end encryption limited to direct messages and not enabled by default
- No self-hosting option; all data stored in Slack's cloud infrastructure
- Free plan limited to 90-day message history, creating information silos
E
Element
+5-3
Pros
- End-to-end encryption enabled by default for all messages via Olm protocol
- Self-hosting option providing complete data ownership and control
- Open-source codebase (Apache 2.0 license) with transparent security
- Decentralized federation allowing cross-server communication
- GDPR-compliant by design with no forced data residency in corporate servers
Cons
- 200+ integrations vs Slack's 2,400+, limiting workflow automation
- Smaller user base (2-3 million) with less third-party app ecosystem maturity
- Self-hosting requires technical expertise; managed options cost $9-30/user/month
Frequently Asked Questions
5 questions
Element has stronger security by default with end-to-end encryption enabled for all messages using the Olm protocol. Slack only encrypts direct messages and has it as a beta feature. However, Slack has SOC 2 Type II certification and undergoes regular security audits. For healthcare (HIPAA), government, or financial services, Element's default encryption is typically preferred.
Resources & Learn More
Curated sources to dive deeper
Where to Buy
As an affiliate, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Learn more about our affiliate disclosure
Wikipedia
- W
Slack on Wikipedia (opens in new tab)
Cloud-based team messaging platform with deep enterprise integrations and 21 million daily active users.
- W
Element on Wikipedia (opens in new tab)
Open-source, decentralized messaging platform built on the Matrix protocol with emphasis on privacy and data ownership.
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