Slack is a very innovative “team communication” solution. It offers a variety of features like real-time chat for internal communication, video calls, and lots of integrations to improve communication among teams in all ways.
With over 12M users, Slack sits firmly at the top of the online communication platform pile. But not everyone is completely elated with it. Since, it has some drawbacks too; such as you can only access the ten-thousand most-recent messages in the freemium version, video chat becomes choppy when there are over three people, etc.
If you are also one of them and looking for a different office chat software other than Slack, then here, is a curated list of top 10 tools which are capable of replacing Slack.
Google Hangouts
If you do most of your work in Gmail and use Google products such as Drive and Docs to manage your files and documents, it’s only natural to use Hangouts as your team chat app, since it can be easily integrated with them. Although it’s not as sophisticated as Slack in terms of integrations, it still gets the job done.
While it’s focused on video messaging, it’s also got plenty of instant messaging capability as well; you can have a 1-on-1 conversation or include all your friends in group chats for up to 150 people. The great news is that if you already have a corporate G-Suite account (which starts at $6/user for each month), you’ll have automatic access to Hangouts.
Chanty
Chanty is a simple team chat tool for smaller teams. The free version of Chanty (its paid plans start at $3/user for each month) allows up to ten team members, with 10 integrations. If this sound like what your team needs, add in that this Slack alternative allows unlimited public and private chat, unlimited 1-on-1 audio calls, built-in task management, up to 20GB storage, doesn’t limit its searchable message history, and so forth.
Overall, this team chat service offers a neat little instant messaging package, combining several premium Slack features into their free offering.
Microsoft Teams
Although, this business chat tool is mostly targeted towards the enterprise section. But if you happen to be a Microsoft Office 365 subscriber, you’ll already have access to Microsoft Teams.
If you are not then you can start with the freemium version of the tool. It includes all the essential team chat features like unlimited messages and search, audio/video calls, screen sharing and integrations. It also offers integrations across more than 140 apps and services. If you have a large remote team, you’ll enjoy Microsoft Teams’ voice and video calls that can host up to 80 people.
The Office 365 Business Premium starts at $12.50 per user for each month while Office 365 E3 is $20 per seat. One slight downside to Microsoft Teams is that it’s not the easiest app to deploy, so make sure your team admin is tech-savvy.
RocketChat
This free, open-source Slack alternative is completely customizable if your programming skills are up to scratch. One of the standout features for RocketChat is that it’s easy to migrate to; all you need to do is export your files from Slack and upload them to RocketChat. Also, it has an intuitive UI, which further exemplifies the easy experience on this chat platform.
Now from the sound of it, it may seem like it’s specifically built for techies, but it’s not. RocketChat offers a cloud solution that has the same functionality as Slack, starting from $2 per user for each month. RocketChat also has useful features like real-time translation, Multilanguage Interface, live chat client, White Label (Branding) and Multifactor Authentication, making it a Slack alternative that’s definitely worth a look.
Discord
Although, it is designed for the video gaming community, but thanks to Discord’s rich functionality and unlimited message history, many people make good use of it for their teams at work.
When you first start using this industry-leading team communication app, it divides your channels by text and voice. But you can easily implement the concept of Slack’s private and public channels using Discord’s channel settings. Also, Discord staff is super responsive on email, Reddit and Twitter in-case you need any help.
One important thing that needs to be mentioned here is that this Slack alternative might not be as strong as Slack (and most team chat tools on this list) when it comes to app integrations. But if you need a free space to communicate via text, voice, or video, then you should definitely consider Discord.
Mattermost
With this self-host option, you can keep all your team’s important chat data securely hosted on your server. Like Rocket Chat, it’s also a highly customizable solution that lets you rewrite its initial code to suit the requirements of your team.
Despite being targeted towards enterprise companies, Mattermost still offers freemium pricing plans for small and medium teams that feature unlimited integrations, unlimited search history, and Multi-factor authentication. Mattermost’s paid plans include more enterprise essentials like strong security, better privacy, and so forth, starting at $3.25 per user for each month. Additionally, it supports about 16 languages, making a great fit for global teams.
Flock
Flock is a workplace chat software that allows teams to discuss projects, share ideas, and complete work in real time through instant chat, audio, and video calls along with built-in to-dos, polls and reminders.
Like Slack, its freemium plan too is limited to ten-thousand searchable messages. The free plan also offers unlimited third-party apps & integrations, group video calls (upto 20 users & upto 20 mins/call), upto 10GB/team storage etc. Paid plans unlock useful features like screen sharing, custom fields & user group, chat history export, unlimited search history and so on. Flock’s Pro Plan starts at six-dollar per user for each month when you pay monthly or $4.50/user for each month when you pay annually.
Ryver
Combining the power of a team communication tool with a project management app, Ryver provides you with the best of both worlds. Now, turn messages into tasks and manage them with Kanban boards.
Like Slack, this web-based solution lets you communicate through open forums, private groups, voice and video calls and DMs (direct messages). There are native integrations with some useful apps such as Google Drive and Dropbox, but for anything else, you’ll have to use Zapier which allows you to instantly connect Ryver with 1,500+ apps.
Glip
Developed by RingCentral, this competitively-priced all-in-one app allows users to connect with individuals, chat in real-time, group video chat, and manage files & communication from multiple sources through integrations with programs such as Asana, Google Drive, GitHub, Zapier, Jira, and more.
Flowdock
Flowdock is a Slack alternative that brings all of your conversations, work items, and tools into one place. It helps you to easily navigate between topics and organize your team’s communication through color-coded threads.
Like Slack, Flowdock features open, invite only, and 1-to-1 chats. Additionally, video calls are available through the appeair.in integration, and you can connect Flowdock to more than hundred of apps.
Bottom Line
Even though Slack is an excellent communication tool, there are lots of worthy Slack alternatives out there. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for something faster, more affordable, more flexible or more comprehensive; there is a team communication tool out there for every company and industry out there.
This was our list of 10 Slack alternatives that you should definitely give a try.