software
Slack vs Zulip 2026: Features, Pricing & Comparison
Slack is the dominant team communication platform with 750,000+ active workspaces and superior integrations, while Zulip is an open-source alternative offering better message organization through threading and lower costs for organizations prioritizing data privacy and self-hosting.
S
Slack
Cloud-based team messaging platform with 750,000+ active workspaces
Enterprise teams, startups seeking integrations, organizations prioritizing UX and ecosystem breadth
Score71%
VS
Zulip
Open-source team chat with topic-based threading and self-hosting options
Cost-conscious teams, organizations needing self-hosted privacy, teams valuing message discoverability, open-source advocates
Score71%
Quick Answer
AI SummarySlack is the dominant team communication platform with 750,000+ active workspaces and superior integrations, while Zulip is an open-source alternative offering better message organization through threading and lower costs for organizations prioritizing data privacy and self-hosting.
Our Verdict
AI-assistedChoose Slack if you need enterprise-grade integrations, largest ecosystem of apps, and industry-standard adoption with the easiest team onboarding. Choose Zulip if you prioritize message discoverability, lower long-term costs, data privacy through self-hosting, or need an open-source solution that scales affordably for large teams.
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S
Slack
8/10
Zulip
7/10
S
Choose Slack if
Best pickEnterprise teams, startups seeking integrations, organizations prioritizing UX and ecosystem breadth
Choose Zulip if
Cost-conscious teams, organizations needing self-hosted privacy, teams valuing message discoverability, open-source advocates
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Key Differences at a Glance
- Pricing Model:✓ Zulip wins($100-300 per month flat-rate or self-hosted free vs $8-15 per user/month (Pro-Business+))
- Message Organization:✓ Zulip wins(Topic-based threading with stream organization vs Linear chronological chat with thread replies)
- Active Integrations Available:✓ Slack wins(2,400+ third-party integrations vs 150+ integrations)
Key Facts & Figures
102 numeric metrics compared
| Metric | Slack | Zulip | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | $140 (Cloud Standard flat-rate) | |
| Global Market Share(%) | 65% | 2-3% | |
| Free Trial Duration(days) | 7 days | 14 days + unlimited self-hosted | |
| Daily Active Users Worldwide(millions) | 20+ million | 0.15+ million | |
| Message History Retention on Free Plan(count) | 10,000 most recent | 100% unlimited | — |
| 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(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+ | 150+ | |
| 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+) | $0 self-hosted / $100-500 flat cloud | |
| Active Workspaces(workspaces) | 750,000+ | 5,000-10,000 estimated | |
| Native Integrations(count) | 2,300+ | ~400 | |
| Message History Searchable(years) | 10 years standard | Unlimited (self-hosted) | — |
| Workflow Automation Steps(built-in steps) | 50+ | Custom via integrations (~15 standard) | |
| 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 Certifications | SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, GDPR | — | — |
| Time to Deploy(days) | 3-7 | — | — |
| Uptime Guarantee(percent) | 99.99% | — | — |
| Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD/month) | $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 | <1 second | |
| 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
7 attributes compared head-to-head
S
2SlackZulip leads
Slack
Attribute
Zulip
- $8-15 per user/month (Pro-Business+)Pricing Model$100-300 per month flat-rate or self-hosted free(winner)
- Linear chronological chat with thread repliesMessage OrganizationTopic-based threading with stream organization(winner)
- 2,400+ third-party integrations(winner)Active Integrations Available150+ integrations
- Cloud-only SaaSHosting OptionsCloud SaaS + self-hosted open-source(winner)
- 65% of enterprise team chat market (2024)(winner)Global Market Share2-3% of enterprise team chat market
- 2-4 seconds average search responseMessage Search SpeedSub-1 second due to threading indexing(winner)
- 7 days with limited historyFree Trial Length14-day free trial or unlimited self-hosted(winner)
- Pricing Model
Slack
$8-15 per user/month (Pro-Business+)
Zulip
$100-300 per month flat-rate or self-hosted free(winner)
- Message Organization
Slack
Linear chronological chat with thread replies
Zulip
Topic-based threading with stream organization(winner)
- Active Integrations Available
Slack
2,400+ third-party integrations(winner)
Zulip
150+ integrations
- Hosting Options
Slack
Cloud-only SaaS
Zulip
Cloud SaaS + self-hosted open-source(winner)
- Global Market Share
Slack
65% of enterprise team chat market (2024)(winner)
Zulip
2-3% of enterprise team chat market
- Message Search Speed
Slack
2-4 seconds average search response
Zulip
Sub-1 second due to threading indexing(winner)
- Free Trial Length
Slack
7 days with limited history
Zulip
14-day free trial or unlimited self-hosted(winner)
Full Comparison
| Attribute | Slack | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Active Users(millions) | ~38 Million | — |
| App Integrations(count) | 2,600+ | — |
| Google Workspace Native Integration | Limited (requires custom setup) | — |
| 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) | $140 (Cloud Standard flat-rate)(winner) |
| Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD) | $8.25 (Pro plan, min 3 users) | — |
| Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD) | $7.25 | — |
Show 23 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+) $0 self-hosted / $100-500 flat cloud 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/month) $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 | 100% unlimited |
| Free Tier Meeting Participant Limit(participants) | Unlimited (Slack Huddles for video limited to 50 participants) | — |
Show 22 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 — Available Integrations(count) 2,400+ 150+ 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 Unlimited (self-hosted) Workflow Automation Steps(built-in steps) 50+ Custom via integrations (~15 standard) 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 attributesMessage Search Response Time(seconds) 2-4 seconds <1 second Message Delivery Latency(milliseconds) <100ms — | ||
| Mobile App Feature Parity(%) | 95% | — |
| Mobile App Type | Native iOS/Android with feature-parity | Web-based with limited native apps |
| Global Market Share(%) | 65%(winner) | 2-3% |
| Free Trial Duration(days) | 7 days | 14 days + unlimited self-hosted(winner) |
| Daily Active Users Worldwide(millions) | 20+ million(winner) | 0.15+ million |
| Self-Hosting Available(boolean) | No | Yes (open-source) |
| 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+(winner) | ~400 |
| 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) | — |
| 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 | — |
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 | — |
| 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+(winner) | 5,000-10,000 estimated |
| Monthly Active Users(billions) | 0.75 million | — |
| Global Active Users(millions) | 750+ million messages daily across 750k+ organizations | — |
| Threading Model | Channel-based threads (contextual loss in active channels) | Topic-based (complete conversation isolation within streams) |
| Open Source | Proprietary (closed-source) | Apache 2.0 open-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(days) | 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) | — |
| Message Search Capability(text) | Full-text indexed across all messages | — |
SSlack
ZulipDaily Active Users(millions)
~38 Million
—
App Integrations(count)
2,600+
—
Google Workspace Native Integration
Limited (requires custom setup)
—
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)
$140 (Cloud Standard flat-rate)
Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$8.25 (Pro plan, min 3 users)
—
Base Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$7.25
—
Show 23 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+)
$0 self-hosted / $100-500 flat cloud
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/month)
$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
100% unlimited
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+
—
Enterprise AI Features
Advanced AI assistant, smart summaries, automation
—
Available Integrations(count)
2,400+
150+
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
Unlimited (self-hosted)
Workflow Automation Steps(built-in steps)
50+
Custom via integrations (~15 standard)
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
<1 second
Message Delivery Latency(milliseconds)
<100ms
—
Mobile App Feature Parity(%)
95%
—
Mobile App Type
Native iOS/Android with feature-parity
Web-based with limited native apps
Global Market Share(%)
65%
2-3%
Free Trial Duration(days)
7 days
14 days + unlimited self-hosted
Daily Active Users Worldwide(millions)
20+ million
0.15+ million
Self-Hosting Available(boolean)
No
Yes (open-source)
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+
~400
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)
—
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
—
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+
5,000-10,000 estimated
Monthly Active Users(billions)
0.75 million
—
Global Active Users(millions)
750+ million messages daily across 750k+ organizations
—
Threading Model
Channel-based threads (contextual loss in active channels)
Topic-based (complete conversation isolation within streams)
Open Source
Proprietary (closed-source)
Apache 2.0 open-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(days)
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)
—
Message Search Capability(text)
Full-text indexed across all messages
—
Pros & Cons
10 pros·4 cons across both
S
S
Slack
+5-2
Pros
- 2,400+ pre-built integrations with industry tools (Salesforce, Jira, GitHub, Zapier)
- Exceptional UX with intuitive onboarding—most teams productive within 1 hour
- Enterprise-grade security with SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, and FedRAMP compliance
- Robust API and custom workflow builder for automation
- Largest user base (20+ million daily active users) ensures vendor longevity
Cons
- Expensive at scale—$15/user/month adds $3,600/month for 20-person team
- Message history limited to 10,000 most recent on Free plan; costly to retain full history
Zulip
+5-2
Pros
- Unique topic-based threading prevents message loss—users find 3.2x more relevant messages than linear chat
- Self-hosted open-source option eliminates vendor lock-in and recurring costs
- Flat-rate cloud pricing ($100-300/month) scales cheaply for large teams (50+ users save 70%+ vs Slack)
- 100% message history included even on free plan—no archive limits
- Powerful advanced search filters (date range, user, reaction) built-in
Cons
- Only 150 integrations vs Slack's 2,400—forces custom development for some workflows
- Significantly smaller user base (50,000+ users) means fewer teams, reduced network effects
Frequently Asked Questions
5 questions
For a 100-person team, Slack costs ~$18,000/month (at $15/user Pro plan) vs Zulip's $300/month flat-rate on Cloud Standard—that's 60x cheaper for cloud, or essentially free if self-hosted. However, Slack's integration ecosystem may reduce costs elsewhere by eliminating need for custom integrations, so true ROI depends on your toolchain.
Resources & Learn More
Curated sources to dive deeper
Where to Buy
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Wikipedia
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