Slack and Teams have overlapping features, but they're used to support work in fundamentally different ways.

Slack is a work operating system that transforms how teams collaborate by bringing together people, data, AI, and apps into one intelligent platform known for its simplicity, flexible design, and user-friendly UI.

With its channel-based architecture and real-time collaboration capabilities, Slack enables asynchronous work and reduces email and meeting dependencies, making it the ideal foundation for modern, distributed teams to achieve faster decision-making and improved productivity.

Teams is designed to work seamlessly within Microsoft's apps, though this tight integration means it's optimized primarily for Microsoft's suite of applications and follows an email-centric workflow model. This can limit flexibility when integrating with third-party tools and non-Microsoft applications.

Slack stands out as the leading alternative because it's purpose-built for collaboration excellence. Slack integrates with over 2,600 apps out of the box and creates a seamless experience that feels like one connected workspace. Slack was designed from the ground up to be a work operating system that brings together people, processes, data, and AI.

Slack can integrate with Microsoft Teams. You can install the Microsoft Teams Calls for Slack App and bring your video conferencing needs to where your team is already working in Slack.

Yes, Slack has robust native integrations with Microsoft 365. In fact, 76% of Slack customers use Microsoft 365, and over 150,000 customers have integrated Microsoft apps (including Teams) into Slack.

Slack offers seamless integration with Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, and even Teams. Users can send emails to Slack, manage calendar events, share files from OneDrive and SharePoint directly within Slack, and even use Teams for interoperability with calling and messaging. Learn why Microsoft users love using Slack in this demo video.

Microsoft Teams unbundling means that effective November 1, 2025, Microsoft must offer Office 365/Microsoft 365 suites both with and without Teams globally. This creates several opportunities:

• Choice: You no longer have to pay for Teams if you don't use it effectively, companies are now free to choose their own preferred vendor.
• Migration support: Microsoft must now provide expanded data portability and export tools, making migration to other platforms like Slack much easier.
• Learn more about Microsoft Teams unbundling.

We like to think so — but we’re admittedly a little biased. Slack is designed to be a faster, more flexible way for teams to communicate, organize work, and keep everything in one place. While Microsoft Teams is tightly bundled with the Microsoft Office ecosystem, Slack focuses on simplicity, speed, and connecting all your tools — not just the ones from one vendor. Many companies use Slack because it reduces noise, makes collaboration feel more human, and helps teams move work forward with less friction.

When evaluating Slack vs Teams pricing, it's important to note that as of November 1, 2025, Microsoft Teams is now a separate purchase from Office 365/Microsoft 365 suites, with Teams pricing starting at $8.55 per user per month for Microsoft Teams Enterprise/Microsoft Teams EEA.

Unlike bundled solutions, Slack offers transparent, straightforward pricing that allows organizations to choose the collaboration tools that best fit their specific needs. See our pricing plans or contact sales for more details.

Slack has an app ecosystem with over 2,600 third-party integrations that are supported consistently across all channel types. Slack apps are designed to work in conversations, so your apps and teams are working side-by-side.

In contrast, Teams excels with deep, native integrations within the Microsoft 365 suite, offering functionality like co-authoring documents in Word and Excel directly within the Teams app. One of the main ways to use an app in Teams is on a dedicated tab on chat or channel, requiring users to toggle.

Yes! Slack enables async work capabilities where team members can complete tasks on their own time. Slack has a channel-based approach that keeps conversations organized and searchable, eliminating the need for long email chains and reducing the number of status update meetings. In fact, our customers see a 33% decrease in time spent in meetings since implementing Slack.³

Yes, Slack is built with enterprise-grade security, compliance, and governance at the core. It supports features like data encryption at rest and in transit, granular admin controls, audit logs, Enterprise Key Management, and a long list of industry certifications. Whether you’re a small startup or a highly regulated enterprise, Slack provides the controls your IT and security teams need — without slowing your people down.