# Slack alternatives

> Slack is the default company chat. These alternatives fit community-led products, Microsoft or Google stacks, async teams and self-hosted setups.

Slack set the shape of modern team chat: channels, threads, huddles and an integration ecosystem. The alternatives below are not interchangeable — Discord is a community product, Teams and Google Chat are bundled with suites, and Twist, Zulip and Mattermost optimize for calmer or more controlled communication.

- Canonical page: https://rebupl.fun/alternatives/slack
- Reviewed: 2026-11-07
- Alternatives listed: 6

## Alternatives

### Discord

Voice, video and chat built for communities.

Discord's server and channel model fits public communities better than internal company chat. If your product is community-led, it is often the better home for users than a Slack workspace.

- URL: https://discord.com
- Category: Community chat
- Pricing: freemium — Free; Nitro is an optional personal upgrade.
- Audience: Communities, creators and open-source projects
- Tags: community, voice, chat

### Microsoft Teams

Chat, meetings and files inside Microsoft 365.

The pragmatic choice when the company already lives in Outlook, Word and Entra ID. It is heavier than Slack, but the admin, compliance and meeting stack is already paid for.

- URL: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams
- Category: Team chat
- Pricing: paid — Bundled with Microsoft 365 business plans.
- Audience: Companies already standardized on Microsoft 365
- Tags: microsoft, meetings, enterprise

### Google Chat

Chat and spaces inside Google Workspace.

A no-extra-cost option if the team already pays for Workspace. Threads and rooms cover the basics, though the third-party integration culture is smaller than Slack's.

- URL: https://workspace.google.com/products/chat/
- Category: Team chat
- Pricing: paid — Included with Google Workspace.
- Audience: Google Workspace teams
- Tags: google, workspace, chat

### Twist

Threaded team messaging designed for async work.

Twist organizes conversations by thread instead of a live feed, which reduces interruption. It is calmer than Slack and a worse fit for teams that need real-time presence all day.

- URL: https://twist.com
- Category: Async messaging
- Pricing: freemium — Free plan; paid from around $6/user/mo.
- Audience: Remote teams that prefer async threads
- Tags: async, threads, remote

### Mattermost

Self-hosted team messaging with enterprise controls.

A Slack-shaped messenger you can run on your own infrastructure. It is built for regulated and on-prem teams; expect to own upgrades and operations.

- URL: https://mattermost.com
- Category: Team chat
- Pricing: freemium — Free self-hosted; paid cloud and enterprise plans.
- Audience: Security-sensitive engineering teams
- Tags: self-hosted, security, chat

### Zulip

Threaded chat that keeps every conversation findable.

Zulip's topic-based threading makes long technical conversations searchable. The interface is less polished than Slack, but the async model is genuinely better for deep work.

- URL: https://zulip.com
- Category: Team chat
- Pricing: freemium — Free self-hosted; cloud from around $6.67/user/mo.
- Audience: Open-source and distributed engineering teams
- Tags: threads, open source, async

## FAQ

### What is the best free Slack alternative?

Discord is the strongest free option for a community or open-source project. For a company that needs threads and integrations without a paid plan, Mattermost self-hosted is a reasonable server-side choice.

### Should internal chat and community chat live in the same tool?

Usually not. Internal discussion needs permissions and focus; a community needs discovery and public channels. Running Discord for users and Slack or Twist for the team is a common and healthy split.

### Can I migrate Slack history to another tool?

Most tools import channels and messages, but threads, files and integrations usually need manual work. Start by archiving what matters, then run the new tool alongside Slack for a week before switching off notifications.

## Links

- [HTML page](https://rebupl.fun/alternatives/slack)
- [Alternatives index](https://rebupl.fun/alternatives)
- [Editorial policy](https://rebupl.fun/editorial-policy)