Slack vs Teams – Which is Best For Your Business Collaboration?
Microsoft Teams and Slack are the most popular collaboration platforms that enable employees to stay connected while working on multiple projects, reducing meeting time and keeping track of tasks across various departments. Both are powerful tools with a wide range of features and integrations that make them suitable for any workplace.
But which tool is best for your business? Does migrating from Slack to Teams benefit your business by leveraging Teams’ deep integrations with other Microsoft 365 apps? This article compares Slack vs Teams based on several factors to help you decide which collaboration tool is best for your business.
[ Overview]
1. Slack Vs Teams- Features Overview
Both Slack and Microsoft Teams share many of the same features. You can share files and folders on both platforms, use video conferencing for collaborating, and start a group or private one-to-one chats.
The major difference is that you can access the full Microsoft Office productivity suite and phone support with Microsoft Teams. In contrast, Slack is a communication tool and does not provide direct support by phone.
Check out the table below to compare features between Slack and Teams.
| Features | Slack | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Pricing plans start from $8.75/user/month. | Pricing plans start from $4/user/month. |
| Storage Limit | Free plan: 5GB Paid plans: Range from 10 GB to 1 TB | Free plan: 5 GB Paid plans: Range from 10 GB to 1 TB |
| Message Limit | Free plan: Unlimited messages (up to 10,000 archived messages are searchable in free workspaces) Standard plan: Unlimited Plus plan: Unlimited | Unlimited messaging in all plans |
| Direct messages | Yes | Yes |
| Channels (public and private) | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Over 2000 integrations are available | 530+ integrations are available |
| Voice and video calls | Free plan: Unlimited for 1 to 1 Paid plans: Group calls for up to 15 people | Free plan: Unlimited for 1 to 1, and up to 100 people can join in group calls for 60 minutes. Paid plans: Group calls for up to 300 people. |
| Screen sharing | Available only in paid plans | Available in all plans |
| Content sharing and editing | You can just drag and drop files but no in-app editing. | Can share files directly from Microsoft 365 tools and can be edited in Teams. |
| Record calls | No | Yes |
| Dedicated tab for calls and frequent collaborators | No | Yes |
| Generate call transcripts | No (Third-party recording apps are available) | Yes |
| Change background for video calls | Background blurring is available | Yes |
| Web, desktop, and mobile apps | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in calendar | No (Third-party calendar apps are available) | Yes |
| Invite external collaborators to teams/channels | Yes | Yes |
| Group chats | Yes | Yes |
| Private Messaging | Yes | Yes |
| Set new teams/channels | Yes | Yes |
| Whiteboard | No (offers Canvas as an alternative) | Yes |
2. Comparing Slack With Teams- Pricing Plans
Slack and Teams provide a free version, allowing you to evaluate the app’s quality and features before subscribing to a premium service.
Slack provides unlimited public and private channels and file sharing, 5GB of storage, and 10 app integrations. However, the viewable and searchable message history is limited to 10,000 messages in the free plan.
On the other hand, Teams offers unlimited chat messages and guest access, but file attachments in chat are limited to 2GB, and cloud storage is capped at 10GB for all teams.
Slack Pricing Model
| Plan | Price (when billed annually) | Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | $8.75 USD/user/month | 10GB/user |
| Business+ | $12.50 USD/ user/month | 20GB/user |
| Enterprise Grid | Custom Quote | 1 TB/user |
Microsoft Teams Pricing Model
| Plan | Price (when billed annually) | Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Teams Essentials | $4 USD/user/month | 10GB/user |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | $6 USD/user/month | 1 TB/user |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | $12.50 USD/ user/month | 1 TB/user |
Comparing the pricing plans, Microsoft Teams offers more storage for similar pricing. In addition, Microsoft Teams is already included in the business and enterprise subscriptions. If your company is already subscribed to Microsoft 365, you can use the premium version of Teams without incurring additional costs.
3. Teams Vs Slack – Messaging Capabilities
In both Slack and Teams, users can communicate one-on-one or create group chats, which is quite basic. Users can edit, remove, pin, react to messages, and mention another user using the “@” symbol. Users can easily start a new thread, share files, and integrate other applications to help them work more efficiently.
The most significant difference between these platforms is that Microsoft Teams offers advanced formatting options for any text sent in conversations, including creating bullet lists, modifying colors, and changing fonts.
4. Slack Vs Microsoft Teams- Built-In App Integrations
Teams come with deep integration of the Office 365 apps, giving you full access to create, edit, format Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office 365 applications and the ability to interact with team members on a file in real-time.
In contrast, Slack also has Microsoft integrations, such as Outlook calendar and email, OneDrive, and SharePoint, but they aren’t as deep as Teams’ Microsoft 365 integrations.
CloudFuze migrates Slack direct messages, see how you can move direct messages from Slack to Teams without deleting them from Slack.
5. Slack Against Teams – Audio and Video Conferencing
Slack offers unlimited one-to-one voice and video calls in its free version. Upgrading to a paid plan allows you to make group audio and video conferencing with 15 members.
But Microsoft Teams allows hosting meetings with up to 100 attendees in its free version, which upgrades to 250+ participants when using a paid plan. Hence, Microsoft Teams is recommended for enterprise customers with large teams.
6. Slack Vs Teams- Easy File Sharing and Collaboration
Microsoft Teams allows you to share files and collaborate with your team members simultaneously in real-time. On the other hand, Slack does not have that feature, and you’ll have to download the documents to make changes and re-share them.
With all chats, conversations, shared files, online meetings, tasks assigned, and more available in one app, MS Teams improves collaboration and productivity. Just by downloading the app, your team will be able to access information and connect anywhere, anytime, on any device.
7. Comparing Slack With Teams- Manage Better With Multiple Sub-Channels
Microsoft Teams allows users to create several channels inside a team, making it easier to manage data better and keep track of the growing number of channels. You can also create private channels inside the team to limit access to confidential data. When a Team is created, it automatically gets integrated with the other Office 365 apps.
On the other hand, users in Slack are unable to create sub-channels within channels.
A quick read about Slack to Microsoft Teams Migration Best Practices for MSPs & IT Admins.
8. Teams Vs Slack – Advanced Security and Compliance Capabilities
All of Slack’s and Microsoft Teams’ plans include key security features like two-factor authentication. On the other hand, Microsoft Teams has greater security and compliance options.
You’ll also get full admin controls with Teams, including the ability to change members, owners, files, and SharePoint permissions. In addition, DLP and data governance rules can be applied to chat content and files in Teams.
Microsoft offers enterprise-level security features, and Microsoft Teams is an ideal choice for security, as it is governed by Microsoft’s compliance and security rules.
You may want to switch to Microsoft Teams to avail the benefits it offers but don’t know how? CloudFuze migration experts can help you migrate all the chats from Slack to Microsoft Teams through a secure and scalable path. Request a free demo today
Slack vs Teams: FAQ
Which is more profitable for businesses: Slack or Teams?
In terms of profitability through cost-savings, Teams is a better option. It is a part of the Microsoft 365 suite, and therefore, businesses do not have to pay extra for it when purchasing business licenses of the cloud suite.
Which is the best for businesses productivity-wise: Slack or Teams?
Both platforms are excellent choices for productivity at the end-user level. The main difference is Slack’s integrations-led productivity is not tied to a single software ecosystem whereas Team’s integrations that enable user productivity are under Microsoft 365’s single ecosystem.
Are there security risks for businesses when switching from one platform to another?
It totally depends on the migration platform that businesses plan to use. Migration service providers trusted by Global enterprises, such as CloudFuze, are the best options for ensuring optimal security compliance.
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