Productivity Tools

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Which is best for your team?

typing on a computer with chat boxes coming up

Slack and Microsoft Teams are two of the most popular tools for communication and productivity among organizations. While the tools are similar in some ways, there are some key differences that may make one better than the other for your organization. We’re comparing Slack vs Microsoft Teams so you can make the best choice for your team.

Features of Slack vs Teams

Let’s go over a Slack vs Teams feature comparison.

Messaging Abilities 

Both Slack and Microsoft Teams feature group chat with the opportunity for threaded messages. You can also direct message colleagues. You can format your message with italics, bolding, or bulleted or numbered lists. Both platforms allow users to create channels and feature search functions that allow you to search for conversation strings to reference later. Additionally, both Slack and Microsoft Teams allow external users to be added to the platform for communication on projects, but Slack requires users to be on a paid plan to access this feature. 

Slack Messaging on phone and desktop

Web Conferencing 

Slack and Microsoft Teams both offer voice calls, video conferencing, and screen sharing options. This makes it quick and easy to communicate with teammates in a variety of formats. While Slack offers 1:1 communication on their free plan, you need a paid plan to access video calls with up to 15 people or screen share. Microsoft Teams offers video calls for up to 250 people through cloud sharing for all tiers of plans, as well as screen sharing. This can be a make or break for larger organizations deciding between the tools. 

Microsoft teams Web Conferencing

Integrated Apps 

Both Slack and Microsoft Teams allow users to integrate with third-party apps such as Droplr. Again, pricing comes into play with how these apps integrate. Slack integrates with more than 800 apps, but only allows up to 10 Slack integrations on their free plan before switching to unlimited integration on all paid tiers. On the other hand, Microsoft Teams allows unlimited integrations as all pricing levels and can integrate with over 1,000 apps. Microsoft Teams has the best integration with Microsoft Office products since it is a part of the Microsoft Office 365 family. 

slack google drive integration

Emojis and GIFS

Slack and Microsoft Teams both allow the use of emojis and GIFs. Additionally, Microsoft Teams features the ability to use their library of ‘stickers’ similar to what is found on Facebook to further add pizazz to messages among teams. 

Storage Limits 

Being able to share files through both Slack and Microsoft Teams is a pro for both platforms. But storage limits can quickly come into play. Slack’s free plan allows 5GB of storage per user and a cap of 10,000 messages on message history. Storage allowance increases with each paid tier while message history caps disappear. Conversely, Microsoft Teams allows 2GB of storage per user and 10GB total for a team on their free program. Their Essentials plan increases storage to 1TB for the organization while their Premium plan offers unlimited storage. There is no message history limit with Teams. 

Security

Security is top of mind for most organizations. Both Slack and Microsoft Teams support two-factor authentication with all pricing levels as well as data encryption. While both tools prioritize security, Microsoft Teams has the edge of being included in the Microsoft Office 365 family. IT teams at large organizations may lean towards Microsoft Teams as a tool of choice as it’s not only already included, but they have better control over how it is used to share data and other files and communications. 

Pricing Models 

Both tools offer a basic free program that limits users in several ways, particularly when it comes to storage. Slack’s basic paid plan comes in at $6.67/user per month, while Microsoft Teams starts their plans at $4.00/user per month. Additional Slack pricing tiers add enterprise-level features such as identity management and support for more users. Depending on company size, needs, and if Office 365 is widely used within an organization, pricing can quickly become a deciding factor between the two tools. 

When deciding between Microsoft Teams vs Slack, there is much to consider. We hope this article comparing Teams vs Slack provides helpful insight when making decisions for your organization.

Microsoft Teams sales conversations

Slack vs. Microsoft Teams: Which is best?

While both productivity apps are a great choice to increase communication in the workplace, there are a couple of differences when completing a Slack vs Teams comparison. Using Microsoft Teams has an added bonus of being connected with all Office 365 tools and gives you a streamlined integration with those applications. Slack has over 800 different types of integrations but does require users to upgrade to pro teams if they want to use more than 10. Both Microsoft Teams and Slack have the same price for premium business accounts ($12.50 per month), but when it comes to basic business accounts, Microsoft Teams costs $4.00 per month while Slack’s pricing starts at $6.67 per month. For more information on Slack pricing click here. For more information on Microsoft Teams pricing click here.

Read more about how Droplr integrates with Slack and Microsoft Teams. You can also read more about our tips and tricks for Slack and our general overview of Microsoft Teams.

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