Slack and Microsoft Teams are the two dominant team communication tools. Choosing between them mostly comes down to one question: what software does your team already use?
Where Slack Wins
Slack was built for communication first. The interface is cleaner, the search is faster, and the third-party integration library (with over 2,400 apps) is unmatched. Slack threads, channels, and huddles feel intuitive in a way that Teams took years to match.
If your team is mostly using non-Microsoft tools — Google Workspace, Notion, Figma, GitHub — Slack fits more naturally.
Best for: Tech startups, product teams, companies on Google Workspace, teams with developers.
Where Microsoft Teams Wins
Teams is bundled with Microsoft 365. If you already pay for Office, Teams costs you nothing extra. The integration with Word, Excel, SharePoint, and Outlook is seamless in a way Slack can never fully replicate.
Video meetings in Teams are also more polished than Slack's huddles, which matters for larger organizations.
Best for: Enterprises, companies on Microsoft 365, education, regulated industries already in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Head-to-Head
| Feature | Slack | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 90-day message history | Unlimited (with Microsoft account) |
| Video calls | Huddles (basic) | Full meeting suite |
| File storage | 5GB (free) | 10GB+ (with M365) |
| Third-party apps | 2,400+ | ~700 |
| Microsoft Office integration | Good | Native |
| Search | Excellent | Improving |
| Price (paid) | From $7.25/user/mo | Included in M365 |
The Verdict
Choose Slack if your team is small-to-medium, values UX, and lives outside the Microsoft ecosystem.
Choose Microsoft Teams if your company already pays for Microsoft 365 — there is no reason to pay for Slack on top of it.
The honest truth: for most enterprise buyers, Teams wins on price alone. For startups and tech teams, Slack wins on experience.
