Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Best Team Chat App 2026
Quick Comparison
| Slack | Microsoft Teams | |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Teams that want the best standalone messaging experience with wide integration support | Organizations already on Microsoft 365 that want to consolidate chat and video without extra cost |
| Pricing | Free / $7.25/user/mo Pro | Free / bundled in M365 ($6-14/user/mo) |
| Winner | Our Pick |
Tool Breakdown
Slack
Better standalone messaging experience, 2,600+ integrations, and superior search — the right choice for any team not already locked into the Microsoft ecosystem.
- Best channel and thread UX in team messaging
- 2,600+ native integrations including Jira, GitHub, Salesforce
- Slack AI for search summaries and channel recaps
- Free plan limits message history to 90 days
- Video conferencing is limited — Zoom/Meet still needed for large calls
Microsoft Teams
Integrated communication platform in Microsoft 365 — chat, video meetings, file sharing, and Teams apps in one.
- Included with Microsoft 365 — no additional per-seat cost
- Best-in-class video conferencing with up to 10,000 webinar attendees
- Deep SharePoint and OneDrive integration for file management
- Channel and thread navigation is less intuitive than Slack
- Outside Microsoft ecosystem, integrations are narrower
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Slack or Microsoft Teams better for a startup? +
Slack is better for most startups — it's easier to adopt, has a more intuitive channel structure, and integrates with the developer tools (GitHub, Jira, Linear) that startups use. Teams is the better choice only if you're already paying for Microsoft 365 and want to consolidate tools.
Does Microsoft Teams replace Zoom? +
For many organizations, yes. Teams video meetings support up to 10,000 attendees with webinar-style features included in Microsoft 365. For companies already on Microsoft 365 Business, Teams has largely replaced standalone Zoom licenses. Zoom is still preferred by some teams for its recording quality and breakout room features.
Which has better message history search — Slack or Teams? +
Slack's search is generally faster and more precise than Teams. Slack Pro and above have unlimited message history searchable by keyword, user, channel, and date. Teams also provides full message history search in paid Microsoft 365 plans, but Slack's search UI and relevance ranking is consistently rated as superior.