Skip to main content
products

Slack vs Google Chat 2026 Comparison

Slack excels in third-party integrations and advanced automation workflows, while Google Chat prioritizes seamless Google Workspace integration and AI-powered Gemini features. Choice depends on whether you prioritize ecosystem flexibility or native productivity suite connectivity.

S

Slack

Cloud-based team messaging platform with 750,000+ active workspaces

Organizations needing extensive third-party tool connections, advanced automation, and complex workflow requirements

Score71%
VS
GC

Google Chat

Lightweight team communication tool integrated with Google Workspace and powered by Gemini AI

Companies already using Google Workspace seeking seamless integration and AI-powered collaboration without extensive external tool connections

Score71%

Quick Answer

AI Summary

Slack excels in third-party integrations and advanced automation workflows, while Google Chat prioritizes seamless Google Workspace integration and AI-powered Gemini features. Choice depends on whether you prioritize ecosystem flexibility or native productivity suite connectivity.

Our Verdict

AI-assisted

Both platforms are enterprise-ready team communication solutions serving different organizational needs. Slack is ideal for companies requiring extensive third-party integrations and advanced automation, while Google Chat suits organizations already invested in Google Workspace seeking simplified, AI-enhanced collaboration. The optimal choice depends on your existing tech stack and integration requirements.

Community feedback

Was this verdict helpful?

S
Slack
8.3/10
Google Chat
6.7/10
G
S

Choose Slack if

Best pick

Organizations needing extensive third-party tool connections, advanced automation, and complex workflow requirements

G

Choose Google Chat if

Companies already using Google Workspace seeking seamless integration and AI-powered collaboration without extensive external tool connections

Track this comparison

Get notified when prices change, new specs ship, or our verdict updates.

Triggers: price change new spec verdict update

No spam. Stop anytime.

Key Differences at a Glance

  • Third-Party Integrations:Slack wins(2,000+ native apps and custom integrations vs Limited to Google Workspace ecosystem)
  • AI Assistant:Google Chat wins(Gemini AI built-in with advanced features vs Slack AI (available on paid plans))
  • Google Workspace Integration:Google Chat wins(Native deep integration with Docs, Sheets, Drive vs Limited integration)
See all 8 differences

Key Facts & Figures

103 numeric metrics compared

MetricSlackGoogle ChatRatio
Daily Active Users(millions)~38 Million
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(%)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 Level2 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$18.00
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$6.00
Third-Party Integrations Available(count)2,000+50+
Storage Per User (Standard Plan)(GB)Variable by plan2000 (pooled)
Years Price Stable (2026)(months)33+ monthsRegular updates
Native Integrations Available(count)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+
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
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(integrations)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
Monthly Cost (Pro Plan, 50 users)(USD)$412.50/month
Paid Workspaces/Users (Enterprise Adoption)(workspaces)750,000+ paid workspaces
Monthly Cost (10 Users, Annual)(USD)$150/month ($1,800/year)
Pre-Built Integrations(count)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(%)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
Message History (Free Plan)(days)90
Voice Codec Quality Rating(score (1-10))7.5
Enterprise Security CertificationsSOC 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
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)

Sourced from publicly available data ·

Key Differences

8 attributes compared head-to-head

S
4Slack
Evenly matched
GC
4Google Chat
  • Third-Party Integrations

    Slack

    2,000+ native apps and custom integrations(winner)

    Google Chat

    Limited to Google Workspace ecosystem

  • AI Assistant

    Slack

    Slack AI (available on paid plans)

    Google Chat

    Gemini AI built-in with advanced features(winner)

  • Google Workspace Integration

    Slack

    Limited integration

    Google Chat

    Native deep integration with Docs, Sheets, Drive(winner)

  • Workflow Automation

    Slack

    Advanced Workflow Builder with conditional logic(winner)

    Google Chat

    Basic automation through Google Workspace

  • Entry-Level Pricing

    Slack

    $7.25/user/month (Pro)

    Google Chat

    $6.00/user/month (Business Starter)(winner)

  • File Storage Per User

    Slack

    Standard plans include limited storage

    Google Chat

    2TB pooled storage on Business Standard(winner)

  • Price Stability

    Slack

    No price increases in 33+ months(winner)

    Google Chat

    Multiple pricing tiers with regular updates

  • Mobile App Experience

    Slack

    Highly rated, feature-rich mobile app(winner)

    Google Chat

    Functional mobile access via Google ecosystem

Full Comparison

SSlack
GGoogle Chat
Daily Active Users(millions)
~38 Million
App Integrations(count)
2,600+
Google Workspace Native Integration
Limited (requires custom setup)
Deep native integration
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)
Free Trial Duration(days)
7 days
Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$8.25 (Pro plan, min 3 users)
Show 24 more attributes
Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$7.25
Business+ Tier Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$12.50
$18.00
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
$6.00
Years Price Stable (2026)(months)
33+ months
Regular updates
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
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
Third-Party App Integrations(integrations)
2,400+
Available Integrations(integrations)
2000+
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 22 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+
50+
Enterprise AI Features
Advanced AI assistant, smart summaries, automation
Available Integrations(count)
2,400+
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+
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
Message History (Free Plan)(days)
90
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
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 2 more attributes
Message Search Response Time(seconds)
2-4 seconds
Message Delivery Latency(milliseconds)
<100ms
Mobile App Feature Parity(%)
95%
Mobile App Type
Native iOS/Android with feature-parity
Global Market Share(%)
65%
Daily Active Users Worldwide(millions)
20+ million
Self-Hosting Available(boolean)
No
Self-Hosting Capability
No, cloud-only
Self-Hosted/On-Premises Option
No (cloud-only)
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
Enterprise Security Certifications
SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, GDPR
Maximum Meeting Participants(participants)
Unlimited group chats
Third-Party Integrations Available(integrations)
2,300+ integrations
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+
Third-Party Integrations(count)
2000+ integrations
Native Integrations(count)
2,300+
Pre-Built Integrations(count)
2,400+ integrations
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)
Gemini AI (native, advanced features)
AI Transcription Languages Supported(languages)
0 (not native feature)
AI Meeting Assistant
Slack AI (search, summarization, drafting)
Workflow Automation Complexity
Advanced with conditional logic
Basic automation capabilities
Storage Per User (Standard Plan)(GB)
Variable by plan
2000 (pooled)
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
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
Native Integrations Available(count)
2200+
Enterprise app marketplace size(applications)
2,000+ apps (Slack App Directory)
Free Tier Message History Retention(days)
90 days
Enterprise Uptime SLA(percent)
99.99%
Uptime SLA Guarantee(%)
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
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+
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)
Native App Integrations Available(count)
2,400+ apps
Paid Workspaces/Users (Enterprise Adoption)(workspaces)
750,000+ paid workspaces
Active Global Workspaces/Deployments(count)
750,000+ active workspaces
Source Code Availability
Proprietary/closed
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
Monthly Active Users(millions)
0.75 million
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)
Message Search Capability(text)
Full-text indexed across all messages

Pros & Cons

10 pros·4 cons across both

S
GC
S

Slack

+5-2

Pros

  • 2,000+ third-party integrations and app marketplace
  • Advanced Workflow Builder with conditional logic and custom triggers
  • Superior mobile app with offline functionality
  • Price stability with no increases for 33+ months
  • Largest user community with extensive documentation

Cons

  • Higher entry-level cost at $7.25/user/month
  • Minimal native Google Workspace integration
GC

Google Chat

+5-2

Pros

  • Native integration with Google Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Calendar
  • Gemini AI assistant built-in for advanced AI features
  • Lower starting price at $6.00/user/month
  • 2TB pooled storage on Business Standard plan
  • Simplified interface ideal for Google Workspace users

Cons

  • Limited third-party integration capabilities
  • Less advanced workflow automation compared to Slack

Frequently Asked Questions

5 questions

  1. Google Chat is significantly better for Google Workspace users because it natively integrates with Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Calendar. You can share and collaborate on documents directly within conversations without leaving the platform. Slack requires custom integration setup and workarounds for similar functionality.

12 more to explore

5 articles

Explore More

Related comparisons and categories

AI generated