Alternatives to
9 Best Slack Alternatives in 2026
The best Slack alternatives depend on whether you prioritize cost, control, or a different workflow.
- Reviewed
- Sep 2026
- Open source
- 4
- Self-hosted
- 4
What you are leaving
Slack at a glance
- Pricing model
- Free tier; Pro $8.75/user/month; Business+ $15/user/month
- Deployment
- Cloud SaaS only; no self-hosted option
- Licensing
- Proprietary; closed source
- Collaboration
- Channels, threads, huddles, and deep app integrations
- File format
- Message history capped on free plan; exports limited to admins
- Why teams leave
- Message history limits; per-user cost; no data residency control; noisy channel model
Compare at a glance
Slack alternatives compared
Short facts side by side. Filter by what matters to your team, then open any row for the full decision brief.
| # | Product | Overlap | Substitutability | Free? | Starting price | Self-host | Open source | Migration | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Microsoft Teams | Chat + meetings + files | Full replacement | Yes | $6/user/mo | No | No | Easy | |
| 02 | Mattermost | Chat + channels + self-hosting | Full replacement | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Moderate | |
| 03 | Zulip | Chat + threaded channels | Mostly replaces | Yes | $6.67/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Moderate | |
| 04 | Discord | Chat + voice + community | Partial replacement | Yes | — | No | No | Hard | |
| 05 | Google Chat | Chat + spaces + Meet | Mostly replaces | Yes | — | No | No | Moderate | |
| 06 | Rocket.Chat | Chat + channels + on-premise | Full replacement | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Moderate | |
| 07 | Element | Chat + encrypted federation | Mostly replaces | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Hard | |
| 08 | Twist | Async threads + chat | Partial replacement | Yes | $8/user/mo | No | No | Moderate | |
| 09 | Flock | Chat + video + apps | Mostly replaces | Yes | $4.50/user/mo | No | No | Moderate |
Community signal
What switchers report
5 reports · moderated after submissionSwitched to
- Mattermost2
- Zulip2
- Microsoft Teams1
Primary use
- operations3
- development2
Migration difficulty
- medium3
- easy1
- hard1
Counts are shown instead of percentages until there are 20 reports.
Frequently asked
Slack alternatives FAQ
- Is there a free Slack alternative?
- Yes. Mattermost and Zulip both offer free self-hosted editions, and Microsoft Teams is included with many Microsoft 365 plans. Zulip's free plan covers small teams on its cloud.
- Which Slack alternative is best for large companies?
- Microsoft Teams is usually the best fit for large organizations already standardized on Microsoft 365, because identity, files, and compliance controls are already in place.
- Which Slack alternative is best for developers?
- Zulip is a strong fit for technical teams because its threaded model keeps long technical discussions organized and searchable.
- Can I self-host a Slack alternative?
- Yes. Mattermost and Zulip both support self-hosting, which gives you full control over data residency and access policies.
Switcher Reports
Tell us how your switch went.
Record the alternative you chose, why you switched, whether you still use it, and what new users should know.
Editorial method
Evidence before opinion.
We compare public product information and cite the sources used for each verified fact.