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Slack vs Microsoft Teams 2026: Full Comparison

Microsoft Teams is free with Office 365 and integrates deeply with the Microsoft ecosystem, while Slack offers superior user experience and third-party app integration with 2,400+ available apps versus Teams' 1,000+. Teams dominates enterprise adoption with 320+ million monthly active users compared to Slack's 750,000 paid customers.

S

Slack

Cloud-based team communication platform with focus on messaging, channels, and integrations.

Tech startups, creative agencies, and companies deeply integrated with non-Microsoft tools who prioritize superior UX and don't have existing Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

Score71%
VS
Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams

Enterprise collaboration platform integrated with Microsoft 365, combining chat, video calls, and document collaboration.

Enterprise organizations with Microsoft 365 deployments, regulated industries requiring advanced compliance, and teams that rely heavily on Office document collaboration.

Score71%

Quick Answer

AI Summary

Microsoft Teams is free with Office 365 and integrates deeply with the Microsoft ecosystem, while Slack offers superior user experience and third-party app integration with 2,400+ available apps versus Teams' 1,000+. Teams dominates enterprise adoption with 320+ million monthly active users compared to Slack's 750,000 paid customers.

Our Verdict

AI-assisted

Choose Microsoft Teams if you're an Office 365 subscriber, need enterprise-grade security, work in a Microsoft-centric organization, or require the largest participant video calls—Teams integrates seamlessly with Word, Excel, SharePoint, and Outlook, with zero additional cost for most businesses. Choose Slack if you prioritize user experience, need extensive third-party integrations, prefer a best-in-class interface, or work in a tech-forward company that values flexibility—Slack excels for teams that aren't locked into the Microsoft ecosystem and demand a more intuitive communication platform.

Community feedback

Was this verdict helpful?

S
Slack
6.9/10
vs
Microsoft Teams
8.1/10
S

Choose Slack if

Tech startups, creative agencies, and companies deeply integrated with non-Microsoft tools who prioritize superior UX and don't have existing Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

Microsoft Teams

Choose Microsoft Teams if

Best pick

Enterprise organizations with Microsoft 365 deployments, regulated industries requiring advanced compliance, and teams that rely heavily on Office document collaboration.

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Key Differences at a Glance

  • Monthly Active Users:Microsoft Teams wins(320+ million monthly active users vs 750,000 paid customers)
  • Available Third-Party Apps:Slack wins(2,400+ integrations vs 1,000+ integrations)
  • Standalone Pricing (Pro Plan):Microsoft Teams wins($6.50/user/month or free with Microsoft 365 vs $8.75/user/month (billed annually))
See all 7 differences

Key Facts & Figures

104 numeric metrics compared

MetricSlackMicrosoft TeamsRatio
Daily Active Users(millions)~38 Million320 million
-88%
App Integrations(count)2,600+~700
+271%
Paid Starting Price(USD/user/mo)$7.25Included with M365
Standalone Monthly Pricing (Pro Tier)(USD per user per month)$7.25$6.00 (with Microsoft 365 Business Basic)
+21%
Annual Cost per User (Pro Tier)(USD)$87 (billed yearly)$72 (bundled pricing)
+21%
Third-Party App Integrations(integrations)2,400+1,000+
+140%
Video Meeting Capacity(participants)Up to 2,000 (with paid plan)Up to 10,000
-80%
Mobile App Feature Parity(%)95%85%
+12%
Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD)$8
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
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(count)2,200+
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)2,000+ integrations
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(integrations)2000+500+
+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(integrations)2,300+ integrations
Paid Plan Starting Price(USD/user/month)$7.25$6
+21%
Cloud Storage (Base Plan)(GB)10 GB
Monthly Cost Per User(USD)$8-12.50 (Pro/Business+)
Active Workspaces(workspaces)750,000+
Native Integrations(integrations)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
Message History Retention (Free Plan)(days)90 days (10,000 message limit)
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); unlimited (paid plan)
Setup Time for New Team(hours)0.5-1 hour
Max Video Conference Participants(people)100010000
-90%
Message History (Free Plan)(days)90unlimited
Voice Codec Quality Rating(score (1-10))7.58
-6%
Enterprise Security Certifications(count)SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, GDPRSOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, GDPR, DLP, eDiscovery
-33%
Time to Deploy(days)3-71-3
+150%
Uptime Guarantee(%)99.99%99.9%
Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD per user)$8.75$6.50 or free with Microsoft 365
+35%
Video Conference Max Participants(participants)150300
-50%
Free Tier File Storage(GB per user)1 GB shared workspace100 GB per user
-99%
Message Search History (Free Tier)(days)90 days90 days
Annual Subscription Cost (Pro, 100 users)(USD)$10,500$7,800 or free with Microsoft 365
+35%
Desktop App Memory Usage(MB)280 MB450 MB
-38%
Maximum Webinar Participants(participants)10,00010,000
Free Meeting Duration Limit(minutes)60 minutes60 minutes
Maximum Free Breakout Rooms(rooms)50 rooms50 rooms
Starting Paid Plan Cost(USD/month)$6/month (Microsoft 365 bundle)$6/month (Microsoft 365 bundle)
Free Plan Monthly Cost(USD)$6 (Teams Essentials)$6 (Teams Essentials)
Maximum Free Tier Group Meeting Duration(hours)24 hours24 hours
Free Tier Participant Limit(participants)100 participants100 participants
Gartner Meeting Solutions Rating(stars)4.5 stars4.5 stars
Gartner Review Sample Size(reviews)3,669 reviews3,669 reviews
Gartner Customer Rating(stars)4.5 stars4.5 stars
Customer Reviews Analyzed(count)3,668 reviews3,668 reviews
Video Quality Rating(%)7.9% positive7.9% positive
Maximum Meeting Participants(participants)1,000+ participants1,000+ participants
Starting Monthly Price per User(USD)$4.50$4.50
Free Meeting Duration (3+ participants)(minutes)60 minutes60 minutes
Real-Time Translation Languages(count)31 languages31 languages
Enterprise Deployment Adoption (500+ seat orgs)(percentage)67% of deployments67% of deployments
3-Year TCO Advantage for 1,000 Users with M365(percentage savings)47% lower cost47% lower cost
Base Pricing (Monthly)(USD)$7.00 (Business Basic 2026 price)$7.00 (Business Basic 2026 price)
Maximum Video Meeting Participants(participants)300+ participants300+ participants
Language Translation Support(languages)40+ languages (Teams Premium)40+ languages (Teams Premium)
Registered Users Globally(millions)350+ million monthly active users350+ million monthly active users
Monthly Active Users (MAU)(millions)320M320M
Free Plan Meeting Duration Limit(minutes)60 minutes (group calls)60 minutes (group calls)
Minimum Bandwidth for HD Video(Mbps)4.5 Mbps4.5 Mbps
Monthly Active Users (2024)(millions)320 million320 million
Starting Price (Monthly)(USD)$0 (Free) or $6 (Standard)$0 (Free) or $6 (Standard)
Native Third-Party Integrations(count)500+ apps500+ apps
Maximum Video Conference Participants(participants)10,000 participants10,000 participants

Sourced from publicly available data · Jul 2026

Key Differences

7 attributes compared head-to-head

S
2Slack
Microsoft Teams leads1 tie
Microsoft Teams
4Microsoft Teams
29%57%
  • Monthly Active Users

    Slack

    750,000 paid customers

    Microsoft Teams

    320+ million monthly active users

  • Available Third-Party Apps

    Slack

    2,400+ integrations

    Microsoft Teams

    1,000+ integrations

  • Standalone Pricing (Pro Plan)

    Slack

    $8.75/user/month (billed annually)

    Microsoft Teams

    $6.50/user/month or free with Microsoft 365

  • File Storage per User (Free Tier)

    Slack

    1 GB shared workspace storage

    Microsoft Teams

    100 GB per user cloud storage

  • Video Conference Participant Limit

    Slack

    150 participants (unlimited duration)

    Microsoft Teams

    300 participants (unlimited with Teams Premium)

  • Search Message History (Free Plan)

    Slack

    Last 90 days

    Microsoft Teams

    Last 90 days

  • User Interface Customization

    Slack

    Extensive themes and sidebar customization

    Microsoft Teams

    Limited customization options

Full Comparison

SSlack
Microsoft Teams
Daily Active Users(millions)
~38 Million
320 million
App Integrations(count)
2,600+
~700
Google Workspace Native Integration
Limited (requires custom setup)
Available Integrations(count)
2,000+ integrations
Native Microsoft Office Integration
Full (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
Paid Starting Price(USD/user/mo)
$7.25
Included with M365
Standalone Monthly Pricing (Pro Tier)(USD per user per month)
$7.25
$6.00 (with Microsoft 365 Business Basic)
Annual Cost per User (Pro Tier)(USD)
$87 (billed yearly)
$72 (bundled pricing)
Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$8
Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$7.25
Business+ Tier Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$12.50
Show 24 more attributes
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
$6
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 per user)
$8.75
$6.50 or free with Microsoft 365
Annual Subscription Cost (Pro, 100 users)(USD)
$10,500
$7,800 or free with Microsoft 365
Starting Paid Plan Cost(USD/month)
$6/month (Microsoft 365 bundle)
Free Plan Monthly Cost(USD)
$6 (Teams Essentials)
Starting Monthly Price per User(USD)
$4.50
Base Pricing (Monthly)(USD)
$7.00 (Business Basic 2026 price)
Free Plan Meeting Duration Limit(minutes)
60 minutes (group calls)
Starting Price (Monthly)(USD)
$0 (Free) or $6 (Standard)
Third-Party App Integrations(integrations)
2,400+
1,000+
Video Meeting Capacity(participants)
Up to 2,000 (with paid plan)
Up to 10,000
Native Office Integration
Limited (third-party connectors)
Native with SharePoint, OneDrive, Office Web Apps
AI Copilot Features
Slack AI (summarization, search, assisted writing)
Microsoft Copilot Pro (enterprise AI, meeting insights)
Free Tier Meeting Participant Limit(participants)
Unlimited (Slack Huddles for video limited to 50 participants)
Native Video Conferencing
Huddles for brief video, limited to 50 participants; requires external tool for full conferencing
Show 27 more attributes
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+
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)
File Storage Included(GB)
5GB (free); unlimited (paid plan)
Max Video Conference Participants(people)
1000
10000
Message History (Free Plan)(days)
90
unlimited
Video Conference Max Participants(participants)
150
300
Message Search History (Free Tier)(days)
90 days
90 days
Maximum Free Tier Group Meeting Duration(hours)
24 hours
AI Meeting Notes Availability
Premium only ($10/user/month)
AI Meeting Summaries
Basic transcription only
Free Meeting Duration (3+ participants)(minutes)
60 minutes
Real-Time Translation Languages(count)
31 languages
Maximum Video Meeting Participants(participants)
300+ participants
Language Translation Support(languages)
40+ languages (Teams Premium)
Maximum Video Conference Participants(participants)
10,000 participants
AI Assistant Integration(capability)
Copilot with GPT-4, speech-to-text, real-time translation
Message Search Speed(seconds)
Excellent - optimized search indexing
Good - improving with Copilot enhancements
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
450 MB
Show 1 more attribute
Minimum Bandwidth for HD Video(Mbps)
4.5 Mbps
Mobile App Feature Parity(%)
95%
85%
Mobile App Type
Native iOS/Android with feature-parity
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)
Available Integrations(integrations)
2000+
Native Integrations Available(count)
2,200+
Third-Party Integrations(integrations)
2000+
500+
Third-Party Integrations Available(integrations)
2,300+ integrations
Pre-built Integrations(count)
2,400+ integrations
Show 1 more attribute
Native Third-Party Integrations(count)
500+ apps
Deployment Options
Cloud-based SaaS only
Deployment Options
Cloud-only (SaaS)
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(count)
SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, GDPR
SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, GDPR, DLP, eDiscovery
Enterprise Security Compliance(certifications)
ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR
Maximum Meeting Participants(participants)
Unlimited group chats
Third-party Integrations(integrations)
2000+
Native Integrations(integrations)
2,300+
Microsoft 365 Integration Depth(Apps Integrated)
8+ apps (Outlook, Excel, Word, OneDrive, SharePoint, Project, Planner, Power BI)
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)
AI Translation Languages (2026)(languages)
Limited translation features
AI Meeting Assistant Cost(USD/month)
Copilot Pro required ($20+ per tenant)
Workflow Automation Complexity
Advanced with conditional logic
Storage Per User (Standard Plan)(GB)
Variable by plan
Cloud Storage (Base Plan)(GB)
10 GB
Free Tier File Storage(GB per user)
1 GB shared workspace
100 GB per user
Meeting Recording Retention (Free)(days)
Unlimited (OneDrive)
Open Source
No, proprietary
Maximum Video Length (Free Tier)(minutes)
N/A
Maximum Video Resolution(pixels)
Requires 3rd party
1080p @ 30fps
Maximum Video Sharing Quality(fps at resolution)
4K at 30fps
Free Tier Message History Retention(days)
90 days
Message History Retention (Free Plan)(days)
90 days (10,000 message limit)
Enterprise Uptime SLA(percent)
99.99%
Uptime SLA Guarantee(%)
99.99%
Uptime Guarantee(%)
99.99%
99.9%
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(availability)
No
HIPAA Compliance Certified
Yes (Business+ plan required)
Data Residency Control
Microsoft-managed regional datacenters (limited control)
SOC 2 Type II Certified
Yes
Custom Workflow Automation
Advanced (Workflow Builder, automations)
Users Per Workspace(count)
Unlimited
Maximum Webinar Participants(participants)
10,000
Maximum Meeting Participants(participants)
1,000+ participants
Total Registered Users(millions)
750 million
Daily Posts Published (Organic)(millions)
N/A
Active Workspaces(workspaces)
750,000+
Monthly Active Users(users)
750,000 paid customers
320 million monthly active users
Registered Users Globally(millions)
350+ million monthly active users
Monthly Active Users (MAU)(millions)
320M
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
Self-Hosting Capability
No, cloud-only
Self-Hosted/On-Premises Option
No (cloud-only)
Paid Workspaces/Users (Enterprise Adoption)(workspaces)
750,000+ paid workspaces
Active Global Workspaces/Deployments(count)
750,000+ active workspaces
Source Code Availability
Proprietary/closed
Proprietary (closed-source)
Setup Time for New Team(hours)
0.5-1 hour
Voice Codec Quality Rating(score (1-10))
7.5
8
Voice Chat Quality Rating(subjective score)
Excellent (optimized for reliability)
Time to Deploy(days)
3-7
1-3
Learning Curve(1-10 scale (1=easiest))
2
5
User Learning Curve(difficulty rating)
Steep (enterprise-focused interface)
Free Cloud Recording Capability
No, paid only
Free Meeting Duration Limit(minutes)
60 minutes
Office 365 Native Integration
Full native integration
Browser Join Without App
Often requires app/account
Maximum Free Breakout Rooms(rooms)
50 rooms
Free Tier Participant Limit(participants)
100 participants
Advanced Chat Features (Channels, Threading, Workflows)
Advanced (channels, nested threads, queues, connectors)
Gartner Meeting Solutions Rating(stars)
4.5 stars
Gartner Review Sample Size(reviews)
3,669 reviews
Gartner Customer Rating(stars)
4.5 stars
Customer Reviews Analyzed(count)
3,668 reviews
3-Year Total Cost of Ownership (1,000 users)(USD)
Lower (integrated M365)
Video Quality Rating(%)
7.9% positive
Real-Time Translation Support(null)
Limited to basic captions
Native Cisco Hardware Integration(null)
Third-party device support only
AI Features in Base Tier
Limited (Copilot requires E5)
Enterprise Deployment Adoption (500+ seat orgs)(percentage)
67% of deployments
3-Year TCO Advantage for 1,000 Users with M365(percentage savings)
47% lower cost
Video Resolution Support(maximum resolution)
4K (3840x2160)
Supported Operating Systems(platforms)
Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Web
Monthly Active Users (2024)(millions)
320 million

Pros & Cons

10 pros·4 cons across both

S
Microsoft Teams
S

Slack

+5-2
71% positive

Pros

  • 2,400+ third-party integrations including GitHub, Jira, Salesforce, and HubSpot
  • Superior user interface with intuitive navigation and extensive customization options
  • Full message search history available on Pro plan with no time restrictions
  • Thread-based conversations reduce channel clutter and improve organization
  • Best-in-class mobile apps with feature parity to desktop version

Cons

  • Significantly more expensive at $8.75/user/month standalone (vs. Teams' free tier with Microsoft 365)
  • Limited free tier functionality—only 90 days of message history and 1 GB workspace storage
Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams

+5-2
71% positive

Pros

  • Free with Microsoft 365 subscriptions (used by 365+ million Office users globally)
  • 100 GB per-user cloud storage on free tier vs. Slack's 1 GB shared workspace
  • Seamless integration with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Outlook, and OneDrive—files open natively in Teams
  • Supports up to 300-participant video meetings with built-in recording and transcription
  • Enterprise-grade security and compliance (SOC 2 Type II, FedRAMP, HIPAA)

Cons

  • Only 1,000+ integrations available—significantly fewer than Slack's 2,400+
  • User interface less polished than Slack with steeper learning curve for new users

Frequently Asked Questions

5 questions

  1. Microsoft Teams offers a free tier with 100 GB per-user cloud storage, group video calls up to 60 minutes and 100 participants, and access to Office apps. However, it's truly free only if you don't have a Microsoft 365 subscription—most enterprises already include Teams in their Microsoft 365 deployments at no additional cost. Slack's free tier is more limited, offering only 1 GB shared workspace storage and 90-day message history.

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