Comparison
Slack vs Microsoft Teams
How Slack and Microsoft Teams compare on price, pricing model, features and reviews, with every fact checked on October 24, 2026.
Quick verdict
Choose Slack if
- Teams wanting channel-based chat with a large app ecosystem.
- Companies already on Salesforce.
- Organizations needing SAML SSO plus SCIM on a self-serve plan (Business+)
Choose Microsoft Teams if
- Organizations already on Microsoft 365 and Entra ID.
- Small businesses wanting meetings for up to 300 people at about $4/user/month.
Slack vs Microsoft Teams side by side
| Slack | Microsoft Teams | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Channel-based team chat with huddles and Slack Connect, sold per user in Free, Pro, Business+ and Enterprise+ plans. | Microsoft's chat, meetings and calling app, sold standalone as Teams Essentials or bundled in Microsoft 365 plans. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Starting price | $8.75/user/month monthly, about $7.25/user/month billed annually (Pro) | $4.00/user/month paid yearly (Teams Essentials) |
| Pricing model | per user | per user, bundled in Microsoft 365 or standalone |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan | Free plan |
| Per seat per month | $15 on Business+ annual (needed for SAML SSO and SCIM); $7.25 on Pro annual. | $4.00 (Teams Essentials, paid yearly); $7.00 Business Basic paid yearly. |
| Billing | Monthly and annual. | Annual commitment for list prices; monthly billing priced higher on Business Basic. |
| Annual discount | About 16% per Slack FAQ. | Business Basic: $7.00 yearly vs $8.40 monthly (about 17%) |
| Minimum seats | Not published | Not published |
| 20 users per year | Pro annual: 20 x $7.25 x 12 = $1,740/year; Business+ annual: 20 x $15 x 12 = $3,600/year (annual rates not directly confirmed on the vendor page) | Essentials: 20 x $4 x 12 = $960/year; Business Basic: 20 x $7 x 12 = $1,680/year. |
| G2 rating | 4.5 (37,812 reviews) | 4.4 (19,192 reviews) |
| Founded | Not verified | Not verified |
| Headquarters | Not verified | Redmond, US |
| Employees | Not verified | Not verified |
| Channels and threading | Channels, threads and huddles; Slack Connect for external 1:1 messaging on Free. | Standard, private and shared channels; up to 1,000 channels per team; teams up to 25,000 members. |
| Built-in video and huddles | Free: 1:1 huddles only; Pro and up: group huddles/meetings (limits not published on pricing page) | Calls from chat up to 20 people; meetings up to 300 people on Essentials and Business plans, up to 1,000 on enterprise plans. |
| Search and message history limits | Free: 90-day visible history and data deleted after 1 year; paid plans longer (retention details not verified) | Chat stored in Exchange Online mailboxes; admin search and hold needs Exchange Online mailbox. |
| App integrations and bots | Free plan limited to 10 apps. | Teams apps available on Business and Enterprise plans; Loop integrations. |
| Guest and external access | Slack Connect external messaging; Free limited to 1:1. | Shared channels support external participants with Entra work or school accounts only. |
| Security and admin controls | SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3, ISO 27001/27017/27018/27701/42001, HIPAA configurable, FedRAMP Moderate (Enterprise/Enterprise+), GovSlack FedRAMP High, C5, ENS High. | Built on Entra ID and Microsoft 365 compliance; certification list not verified. |
| Mobile app and frontline fit | Frontline teams is an Enterprise+ add-on. | Not verified |
| Pricing model and transparency | Per user, monthly or annual; Free forever tier. | Per user, bundled with Microsoft 365 or standalone Essentials. |
| Target company size | Small teams to large enterprises (Enterprise Grid) | Small businesses (Essentials, Business) to enterprises (E3/E5) |
| Participant and meeting length limits | Not verified | 300 on Essentials and Business plans; 1,000 on F1/F3/E3/E5 and similar; breakout rooms only up to 1,000 attendees; meetings and events capped at 30 hours. |
| Recording and AI transcription | Not verified | Recording max 4 hours or 1.5 GB, then restarts; recordings not uploaded stay downloadable 20 days. |
| Calendar and chat integrations | Not verified | Tight Outlook and SharePoint integration; files stored in SharePoint (up to 250 GB per file) |
| Webinars and large events | Not verified | Webinars and town halls (Teams events) available on Business plans; webinars/events on Business Standard and Premium per footnote. |
| Meeting room and hardware support | Not verified | Teams Rooms licensed separately. |
Differences most comparisons miss
Worth knowing about Slack
- Pricing page shows EUR to German visitors; USD monthly prices are $8.75 (Pro) and $18 (Business+)
- SAML SSO and SCIM start at Business+; audit logs are Enterprise+ only per FAQ.
- A help article footnote says SSO/SCIM are available on Free and Pro only for customers who connected a Salesforce org (single source, not verified)
- Enterprise Key Management (EKM) is a paid add-on; data residency per help center requires an Enterprise plan.
Worth knowing about Microsoft Teams
- Teams Essentials ($4/user/month) is cheaper than Business Basic ($7) but does not include the rest of Microsoft 365 apps.
- Meeting cap is 300 people on Essentials and Business plans, 1,000 on enterprise plans.
- Teams live events retired June 30, 2026; events scheduled earlier run until Feb 28, 2027.
- Admin chat search and legal hold need users to have Exchange Online mailboxes.
What reviewers complain about
Slack
- Notification overload and channel sprawl.
- Limited message history on free plan.
Microsoft Teams
- Performance issues and heavy resource use.
- Complicated interface, slow loading.
Sources
Both columns use the same sources: vendor pricing and product pages, documentation, G2 and company records, checked on October 24, 2026. Full source lists are on the Slack and Microsoft Teams reviews.