software
Slack vs Rocket.Chat 2026: Features, Pricing & Comparison
Slack is a premium cloud-based messaging platform with superior UX and 2,000+ integrations, while Rocket.Chat is an open-source alternative offering self-hosted deployment and lower total cost of ownership. Slack dominates enterprise adoption with 750,000+ active workspaces; Rocket.Chat appeals to organizations prioritizing data sovereignty and budget constraints.
S
Slack
Cloud-based team messaging platform with 2,000+ integrations and 750,000+ active workspaces.
Distributed teams in tech/startups, regulated industries needing enterprise security, organizations requiring extensive third-party integrations without custom development.
Score63%
VS
Rocket.Chat
Open-source team communication platform with self-hosted or managed cloud options and 300+ integrations.
Organizations requiring self-hosted infrastructure, healthcare/financial services needing strict data residency, cost-conscious enterprises, teams comfortable with open-source and willing to invest in self-management.
Score63%
Quick Answer
AI SummarySlack is a premium cloud-based messaging platform with superior UX and 2,000+ integrations, while Rocket.Chat is an open-source alternative offering self-hosted deployment and lower total cost of ownership. Slack dominates enterprise adoption with 750,000+ active workspaces; Rocket.Chat appeals to organizations prioritizing data sovereignty and budget constraints.
Our Verdict
AI-assistedChoose Slack if you prioritize seamless integration ecosystem, superior user experience, and don't have strict data residency requirements—ideal for distributed teams in regulated industries with budget flexibility. Choose Rocket.Chat if you need complete data control, self-hosted infrastructure, unlimited search history, or operate in cost-sensitive environments where open-source flexibility and on-premise deployment are critical.
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S
Slack
8.3/10
Rocket.Chat
6.7/10
S
Choose Slack if
Best pickDistributed teams in tech/startups, regulated industries needing enterprise security, organizations requiring extensive third-party integrations without custom development.
Choose Rocket.Chat if
Organizations requiring self-hosted infrastructure, healthcare/financial services needing strict data residency, cost-conscious enterprises, teams comfortable with open-source and willing to invest in self-management.
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Key Differences at a Glance
- Deployment Model:✓ Rocket.Chat wins(Self-hosted or cloud options vs Cloud-only SaaS)
- Cost per User/Month:✓ Rocket.Chat wins($0 (open-source) or $4-6/user (hosted) vs $8.99 (Pro) to $12.50 (Business+))
- Message Search History:✓ Rocket.Chat wins(Unlimited on all plans vs Limited to paid plans; Free tier shows last 10,000)
Key Facts & Figures
113 numeric metrics compared
| Metric | Slack | Rocket.Chat | 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(%) | 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+ | — | — |
| 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+ 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(count) | 2,300+ integrations | — | — |
| Paid Plan Starting Price(USD/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+ | — | — |
| 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) | $25-50/month ($300-600/year) | |
| Pre-built Integrations(operators) | 2,400+ integrations | 400+ integrations | |
| Message History on Free Plan(days) | 90-day limited access | Unlimited history | — |
| Active Global Workspaces/Deployments(count) | 750,000+ active workspaces | 20,000-30,000 deployments | |
| Uptime SLA Guarantee(percentage) | 99.99% | Self-hosted (depends on setup) | — |
| Price Per User Per Month (Pro/Standard)(USD) | $12.50/user (Pro plan) | $5-7.50/user (managed cloud) | |
| 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(count) | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, FedRAMP | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA-ready | |
| 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) | — | — |
| Daily Active Users(millions) | 21 million | — | — |
| Message History (Free Plan)(days) | 90 days | — | — |
| Cost Per User (Annual, Lowest Paid Tier)(USD/month) | $8/month | — | — |
| Organizations Using Platform(count (thousands)) | 750,000+ | — | — |
| Monthly Cost Per User (Standard Tier, Annual Billing)(USD) | $7.25 | — | — |
| Cloud Storage Included Per User(GB) | 0 GB (integrations only) | — | — |
| Maximum Video Conference Participants (Standard Plan)(participants) | 2 | — | — |
| Third-Party App Integrations Available(integrations) | 2,300+ | — | — |
| Message Search History(messages) | 10,000 (free tier); unlimited (paid) | Unlimited (all tiers) | — |
| Base Cost per User/Month(USD) | $8.99 | $0 (self-hosted) or $4 | |
| Native Integrations(count) | 2,000+ | 300+ | |
| Active Workspaces/Deployments(count) | 750,000 | 50,000 (estimated) | |
| iOS App Rating(stars) | 4.7 | 4.2 | |
| GitHub Stars (Community)(stars) | N/A (proprietary) | 40,000+ | — |
Sourced from publicly available data ·
Key Differences
7 attributes compared head-to-head
S
3SlackRocket.Chat leads
Slack
Attribute
Rocket.Chat
- Cloud-only SaaSDeployment ModelSelf-hosted or cloud options(winner)
- $8.99 (Pro) to $12.50 (Business+)Cost per User/Month$0 (open-source) or $4-6/user (hosted)(winner)
- Limited to paid plans; Free tier shows last 10,000Message Search HistoryUnlimited on all plans(winner)
- 2,000+ via App Directory(winner)Native Integrations300+ integrations available
- Single cloud region; limited HIPAA supportData Sovereignty/ComplianceFull data control; HIPAA, GDPR-ready(winner)
- 750,000+ active workspaces (2024)(winner)Enterprise Adoption50,000+ deployments estimated
- Highly refined, intuitive interface(winner)UI/UX PolishFunctional but steeper learning curve
- Deployment Model
Slack
Cloud-only SaaS
Rocket.Chat
Self-hosted or cloud options(winner)
- Cost per User/Month
Slack
$8.99 (Pro) to $12.50 (Business+)
Rocket.Chat
$0 (open-source) or $4-6/user (hosted)(winner)
- Message Search History
Slack
Limited to paid plans; Free tier shows last 10,000
Rocket.Chat
Unlimited on all plans(winner)
- Native Integrations
Slack
2,000+ via App Directory(winner)
Rocket.Chat
300+ integrations available
- Data Sovereignty/Compliance
Slack
Single cloud region; limited HIPAA support
Rocket.Chat
Full data control; HIPAA, GDPR-ready(winner)
- Enterprise Adoption
Slack
750,000+ active workspaces (2024)(winner)
Rocket.Chat
50,000+ deployments estimated
- UI/UX Polish
Slack
Highly refined, intuitive interface(winner)
Rocket.Chat
Functional but steeper learning curve
Full Comparison
| Attribute | Slack | Rocket.Chat |
|---|---|---|
| App Integrations(count) | 2,600+ | — |
| 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 | — |
Show 24 more attributesFree 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 — 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 400+ integrations Message History on Free Plan(days) 90-day limited access Unlimited history 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 — Cloud Storage Included Per User(GB) 0 GB (integrations only) — Maximum Video Conference Participants (Standard Plan)(participants) 2 — | ||
| 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 26 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/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) $25-50/month ($300-600/year) Price Per User Per Month (Pro/Standard)(USD) $12.50/user (Pro plan) $5-7.50/user (managed cloud) 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 — Monthly Cost Per User (Standard Tier, Annual Billing)(USD) $7.25 — Base Cost per User/Month(USD) $8.99 $0 (self-hosted) or $4 | ||
| Third-Party App Integrations(integrations) | 2,400+ | — |
| Third-party Integrations(integrations) | 2000+ | — |
| Available Integrations(count) | 2,400+ | — |
| Third-Party Integrations Available(count) | 2,300+ integrations | — |
| Native Integrations(count) | 2,000+(winner) | 300+ |
| 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 attributesMessage 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% | — |
| 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) | Yes (open-source) |
| 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(integrations) | 2200+ | — |
| Third-Party App Integrations Available(integrations) | 2,300+ | — |
| Deployment Options | Cloud-based SaaS only | — |
| Deployment Options(types) | Cloud SaaS only | Self-hosted + cloud managed |
| 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 Type II, ISO 27001, FedRAMP(winner) | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA-ready |
| 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 | — |
| 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) | — |
| Google Workspace Native Integration | Limited (requires custom setup) | — |
| Native third-party integrations(count) | 100+ | — |
| Native Microsoft 365 Integration(integration level) | API-based (basic) | — |
| 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 | — |
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(percentage) | 99.99% | Self-hosted (depends on setup) |
| 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) | Yes (available) |
| Third-Party Integrations(integrations) | 2000+ integrations | — |
| 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+ | — |
| Active Workspaces/Deployments(count) | 750,000(winner) | 50,000 (estimated) |
| 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(winner) | 20,000-30,000 deployments |
| 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(billion) | 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) | — |
| iOS App Rating(stars) | 4.7(winner) | 4.2 |
| 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) | — |
| Global Active Users(millions) | 750+ million messages daily across 750k+ organizations | — |
| Message Search Capability(text) | Full-text indexed across all messages | — |
| Daily Active Users(millions) | 21 million | — |
| End-to-End Encryption | Partial (DMs only, beta feature) | — |
| Message History (Free Plan)(days) | 90 days | — |
| Message Search History(messages) | 10,000 (free tier); unlimited (paid) | Unlimited (all tiers) |
| Self-Hosting Capability | Not available | — |
| Organizations Using Platform(count (thousands)) | 750,000+ | — |
| GDPR Compliance | Certified (SOC 2 Type II, GDPR) | — |
| GitHub Stars (Community)(stars) | N/A (proprietary) | 40,000+ |
SSlack
Rocket.ChatApp Integrations(count)
2,600+
—
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
—
Show 24 more attributes
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
—
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
400+ integrations
Message History on Free Plan(days)
90-day limited access
Unlimited history
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
—
Cloud Storage Included Per User(GB)
0 GB (integrations only)
—
Maximum Video Conference Participants (Standard Plan)(participants)
2
—
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 26 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/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)
$25-50/month ($300-600/year)
Price Per User Per Month (Pro/Standard)(USD)
$12.50/user (Pro plan)
$5-7.50/user (managed cloud)
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
—
Monthly Cost Per User (Standard Tier, Annual Billing)(USD)
$7.25
—
Base Cost per User/Month(USD)
$8.99
$0 (self-hosted) or $4
Third-Party App Integrations(integrations)
2,400+
—
Third-party Integrations(integrations)
2000+
—
Available Integrations(count)
2,400+
—
Third-Party Integrations Available(count)
2,300+ integrations
—
Native Integrations(count)
2,000+
300+
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%
—
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)
Yes (open-source)
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(integrations)
2200+
—
Third-Party App Integrations Available(integrations)
2,300+
—
Deployment Options
Cloud-based SaaS only
—
Deployment Options(types)
Cloud SaaS only
Self-hosted + cloud managed
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 Type II, ISO 27001, FedRAMP
SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA-ready
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
—
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)
—
Google Workspace Native Integration
Limited (requires custom setup)
—
Native third-party integrations(count)
100+
—
Native Microsoft 365 Integration(integration level)
API-based (basic)
—
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
—
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(percentage)
99.99%
Self-hosted (depends on setup)
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)
Yes (available)
Third-Party Integrations(integrations)
2000+ integrations
—
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+
—
Active Workspaces/Deployments(count)
750,000
50,000 (estimated)
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
20,000-30,000 deployments
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(billion)
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)
—
iOS App Rating(stars)
4.7
4.2
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)
—
Global Active Users(millions)
750+ million messages daily across 750k+ organizations
—
Message Search Capability(text)
Full-text indexed across all messages
—
Daily Active Users(millions)
21 million
—
End-to-End Encryption
Partial (DMs only, beta feature)
—
Message History (Free Plan)(days)
90 days
—
Message Search History(messages)
10,000 (free tier); unlimited (paid)
Unlimited (all tiers)
Self-Hosting Capability
Not available
—
Organizations Using Platform(count (thousands))
750,000+
—
GDPR Compliance
Certified (SOC 2 Type II, GDPR)
—
GitHub Stars (Community)(stars)
N/A (proprietary)
40,000+
Pros & Cons
10 pros·6 cons across both
S
S
Slack
+5-3
Pros
- 2,000+ pre-built integrations including Salesforce, Jira, GitHub, and HubSpot
- Superior UI/UX with industry-leading onboarding (average adoption time: 2-3 days)
- Advanced search with Boolean operators and file type filtering
- Strong enterprise security: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, FedRAMP authorization
- Excellent mobile apps (4.7★ on iOS, 4.5★ on Android across 500K+ reviews)
Cons
- Free tier restricted to last 10,000 messages; paid plans required for full search ($8.99+/user/month)
- Cloud-only deployment limits HIPAA and data residency compliance options
- Message reactions and formatting limited compared to Discord; thread UX less intuitive than some competitors
Rocket.Chat
+5-3
Pros
- Open-source codebase (GitHub: 40,000+ stars) with full source code transparency
- Self-hosted deployment ensures 100% data sovereignty and HIPAA/GDPR compliance
- Unlimited message search history across all tiers
- Lower TCO: Free self-hosted option or $4-6/user/month managed (vs Slack's $8.99-12.50)
- Omnichannel support built-in (SMS, WhatsApp, email, Instagram integration)
Cons
- Fewer native integrations (300 vs Slack's 2,000); custom integrations require development
- Steeper learning curve for non-technical users; UI considered less polished than Slack
- Smaller ecosystem (50,000 deployments vs Slack's 750,000 workspaces); less community content/training available
Frequently Asked Questions
5 questions
No. Slack is cloud-only SaaS. Slack Enterprise Grid offers single-workspace-per-organization deployments in dedicated cloud regions, but not true on-premises deployment. For self-hosting requirements, Rocket.Chat is the only option between the two.
Resources & Learn More
Curated sources to dive deeper
Where to Buy
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Wikipedia
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