11 Best Slack Alternatives for Team Communication in 2025

Slack changed the game for real-time team communication. But as teams scale, priorities shift—and not every organization wants (or needs) Slack’s feature set, pricing model, or app sprawl. Whether you're looking for more structured collaboration, fewer distractions, or deeper integration with your workflows, there’s a new wave of Slack alternatives in 2025 built to meet teams where they work best.

In this blog, we’ll explore 11 top alternatives to Slack, with side-by-side use cases, key features, and real examples—so you can choose the right tool for your team’s rhythm.

Let’s start with the top pick 👇

TL;DR: Best Slack Alternatives at a Glance

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Why Use a Slack Alternative?

Slack is great—but it’s not one-size-fits-all. As your team scales or shifts in how they communicate, you might need:

• Less noise: Slack’s real-time nature can feel overwhelming. Some teams need more async, structured conversations
  
• More context: Many alternatives integrate tasks, notes, and decisions directly with conversations
  
• Better control: Whether it’s data hosting, permissions, or customization, Slack doesn’t always give you full flexibility
  
• Cost savings: Some tools offer more value at lower price points—especially for growing startups
  
• Deeper integration with workflows: Tools like ClickUp or Mattermost connect messaging with your actual work, not just chat
  

The right Slack alternative brings clarity to your communication—not more clutter.

1. ClickUp

ClickUp is more than a messaging tool—it’s your all-in-one productivity platform for tasks, docs, meetings, and team communication. With built-in Chat, threaded comments, and real-time collaboration across every part of your workflow, ClickUp gives you the context Slack often lacks.

Centralize team chat where the work happens

ClickUp Chat brings conversations directly into your projects. You can embed real-time threads inside tasks, Docs, or Whiteboards—so decisions don’t get buried or lost between apps.

Use case: A product team discusses feature requirements inside a task thread and converts suggestions directly into subtasks without switching tools.

Eliminate app switching with unified collaboration

Instead of juggling chat, docs, and project tools, ClickUp combines everything in one place. That means less tab overload, more focus, and better alignment.

Use case: A marketing lead shares a campaign plan inside a Doc, discusses it in a sidebar Chat, and assigns follow-ups—all in the same view.

Connect async updates to real-time execution

Use Comments for async collaboration and ClickUp Chat for fast-moving discussions. Either way, your conversations link back to deliverables, keeping everyone on the same page.

Use case: A remote team uses ClickUp Chat for quick questions during standups, while using comments for thoughtful input on launch timelines.

Organize your workspace by channels, teams, or projects

Create Channels for your departments, cross-functional pods, or clients—so conversations stay focused and relevant to the right people.

Use case: A customer success team has dedicated channels for onboarding, escalations, and feature requests—making triage faster and clearer.

Collaborate across Docs, tasks, and meetings

ClickUp Chat works seamlessly across all your workspace elements. Mention teammates, drop task links, or collaborate on Docs without leaving the chat thread.

Use case: A founder drafts meeting notes during a VC call and shares updates via ClickUp Chat to loop in the finance team immediately.

Why ClickUp Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Teams who want to turn conversations into tasks, not just threads
• Users tired of disconnected chats and context switching
• Orgs looking for one platform for tasks, Docs, meetings, and Chat
• Managers who need a real-time + async blend across projects

Try ClickUp for free today!‍

2. Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is Microsoft’s all-in-one collaboration platform built for workplace communication, document sharing, and integrated productivity. With deep connections to Microsoft 365, Teams brings together chat, meetings, and file collaboration in one secure environment—ideal for enterprises and organizations already using Microsoft tools.

Collaborate with Microsoft 365 integration

Teams connects directly with Word, Excel, OneNote, SharePoint, and Outlook, letting users co-edit documents, schedule meetings, and manage workflows without leaving the app.

Use case: A marketing team collaborates on a campaign brief in Word, schedules review meetings, and shares assets—all from within Microsoft Teams.

Run secure video calls and webinars

Teams supports internal meetings, webinars, and live events with enterprise-grade encryption, breakout rooms, and meeting recordings.

Use case: An HR team runs a virtual town hall and records it for global team members who couldn’t attend live.

Organize communication with teams and channels

You can structure communication by team, department, or topic using persistent chat channels, threaded conversations, and @mentions for clarity.

Use case: A product org creates separate channels for bugs, features, and launch updates to reduce cross-talk.

Integrate apps and workflows

Microsoft Teams supports a wide range of third-party integrations and Power Automate flows, allowing teams to build task bots, auto-notifications, and approval pipelines.

Use case: A procurement team automates vendor approval workflows with built-in Teams notifications and tracking.

Manage permissions and compliance

Built for regulated industries, Teams includes advanced admin controls, retention policies, and compliance certifications like HIPAA, SOC 2, and GDPR.

Use case: A financial services firm uses Teams to collaborate securely while maintaining audit trails for client communications.

Why Microsoft Teams Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Organizations already using Microsoft 365 for productivity
  
• Large teams needing enterprise security and compliance
  
• Companies managing cross-functional collaboration with integrated tools
  
• Enterprises looking for a unified hub across chat, meetings, and files
  

3. Discord

Originally built for gamers, Discord has evolved into a powerful communication platform for online communities and remote teams. With voice channels, text chat, and rich integrations, Discord offers a casual, always-on communication environment that’s especially popular with startups and creative teams.

Host persistent voice channels

Discord’s voice channels are always open—no need to start or schedule a meeting. This supports spontaneous conversations and drop-in collaboration without friction.

Use case: A startup team uses a “dev hangout” voice channel where teammates can join throughout the day to pair program or brainstorm.

Share screens and stream with ease

Discord allows high-quality screen sharing and low-latency streaming, making it ideal for walkthroughs, demos, or collaborative work sessions.

Use case: A design team hosts live wireframe reviews via screen share, receiving real-time feedback from stakeholders.

Organize discussions with roles and channels

Servers can be segmented into topic-specific channels and role-based access groups, helping teams manage internal conversations without clutter.

Use case: A remote agency uses channels like #clients, #design, and #announcements to streamline internal comms by function.

Automate workflows with bots

Discord supports powerful bots for moderation, task automation, reminders, and integrations with GitHub, Trello, and more.

Use case: A developer team uses a custom bot to send build status alerts and pull request updates directly into a #dev channel.

Build community through customization

With features like emojis, permissions, themes, and pinned messages, Discord offers a flexible environment for building company culture and community.

Use case: A remote-first team runs team-building games, Friday socials, and recognition shoutouts in a #watercooler channel.

Why Discord Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Startups and creative teams looking for casual, real-time collaboration
  
• Remote teams that value persistent voice chat and async flexibility
  
• Communities that thrive on culture, engagement, and minimal structure
  
• Teams using bots and integrations to automate workflows
  

3. Twist

Twist is a communication platform by Doist, designed for focused, asynchronous team collaboration. Unlike real-time chat apps, Twist emphasizes thread-based messaging to reduce noise and improve clarity—making it ideal for remote and distributed teams that operate across time zones.

Communicate through organized threads

Instead of chaotic channels, Twist uses threads within channels to group conversations by topic. This helps teams stay aligned without losing important context in chat floods.

Use case: A remote product team creates a dedicated thread for each feature discussion, making it easy to reference decisions weeks later.

Keep work async and distraction-free

Twist avoids typing indicators, read receipts, and notifications by default—encouraging deep work without the pressure to respond immediately.

Use case: A developer turns off notifications during a sprint and checks threads once daily to avoid context switching.

Search and reference past discussions

All conversations in Twist are searchable and neatly stored, ensuring that historical context is never buried or lost.

Use case: A new teammate reviews past onboarding threads to get up to speed without needing to ping coworkers.

Integrate with project tools

Twist integrates with tools like Todoist, GitHub, and Zapier, making it easy to connect communication with action items.

Use case: A team links Twist threads to specific Todoist tasks, so every conversation results in a clear deliverable.

Set up time zone-friendly collaboration

With built-in timezone indicators and async-first design, Twist supports global teams who prefer structured communication over real-time chat.

Use case: A globally distributed team uses Twist to collaborate on launches without needing overlapping work hours.

Why Twist Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Remote teams prioritizing async communication and focus
  
• Managers tired of real-time chat interruptions and pings
  
• Teams that prefer structured, searchable discussions
  
• Organizations operating across time zones

4. Mattermost

Mattermost is an open-source messaging platform built for engineering and operations teams that need secure, customizable communication. It offers self-hosted deployment options, granular permissions, and deep integrations with DevOps tools—making it a strong fit for technical teams.

Enable secure, self-hosted collaboration

Mattermost gives you full control over your data and deployment environment, supporting private cloud or on-premise setups—ideal for industries with strict compliance needs.

Use case: A healthcare software company deploys Mattermost on its own servers to ensure HIPAA-compliant internal communication.

Organize communication with channels and threads

Like Slack, Mattermost uses channels for team chats, but it also supports threads for focused follow-ups—helping reduce noise while maintaining flow.

Use case: An SRE team tracks incidents in a dedicated channel and uses threads to resolve individual issues without disrupting others.

Integrate with DevOps and CI/CD pipelines

Mattermost connects to tools like GitLab, Jenkins, and Jira, allowing you to receive build alerts, deploy updates, or manage incidents directly from chat.

Use case: A DevOps lead is alerted to a failed deployment via Mattermost and clicks directly into Jenkins to trigger a rollback.

Automate workflows with Playbooks

Mattermost Playbooks help teams standardize recurring processes like incident response or sprint planning, using checklists and real-time tracking.

Use case: An engineering team launches a new sprint by running a Playbook that assigns tasks and kicks off the standup process automatically.

Customize with plugins and APIs

With full API access and a growing plugin library, Mattermost is easy to tailor to your team’s workflow—whether that’s custom bots, dashboards, or integrations.

Use case: A systems team builds a Mattermost bot that flags infrastructure anomalies and pulls logs directly into the chat.

Why Mattermost Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Technical teams that need self-hosted or private-cloud chat
  
• Organizations with strict security or compliance requirements
  
• DevOps teams integrating chat with build and incident tools
  
• Teams automating structured workflows like incident response
  

5. Google Chat

Google Chat is a communication tool integrated with Google Workspace, making it a natural fit for teams already using Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Meet. It’s lightweight, collaborative, and designed for seamless productivity across Google’s ecosystem.

Collaborate directly within Google Workspace

Google Chat is deeply integrated with Gmail, Calendar, and Docs, enabling you to chat, schedule, and collaborate without leaving your workflow.

Use case: A marketing team discusses campaign updates in Chat, drops a link to the shared Google Doc, and sets a follow-up meeting via Calendar—all in one thread.

Organize team convos with spaces and threads

Chat offers dedicated “spaces” for teams and projects, with threaded replies to keep discussions focused and organized across topics.

Use case: A product team uses a Chat space for their launch plan and creates separate threads for QA, design, and marketing checklists.

Collaborate asynchronously with smart replies

Smart suggestions and AI-powered replies make asynchronous work more efficient—great for distributed teams working across time zones.

Use case: A team lead working late at night gets a quick “Looks good to me” smart reply from a teammate reviewing the sprint scope.

Use built-in bots and Google integrations

Google Chat includes bots and integrations with tools like Drive, Meet, and Sheets—automating actions like file sharing and meeting creation.

Use case: A design team uploads assets into Drive, and Chat’s Drive bot notifies the thread, prompting quick review and approvals.

Search across messages and attachments

Google’s search functionality extends to Chat, letting you find messages, documents, and conversation history with speed and accuracy.

Use case: A team member searches for last quarter’s OKR recap by typing keywords from the shared Doc name in Chat.

Why Google Chat Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Teams already working in Google Workspace
  
• Departments needing streamlined messaging + Docs + Calendar
  
• Distributed teams communicating async with smart suggestions
  
• Organizations preferring native Google integrations over third-party tools
  

6. Rocket.Chat

Rocket.Chat is an open-source messaging platform built for security-conscious teams and organizations. It offers full control over data, on-premise deployment, and extensive customization—ideal for industries like healthcare, government, and finance that require strict compliance and data sovereignty.

Self-host your communication platform

With Rocket.Chat, you can host your workspace on your own servers or private cloud, ensuring complete control over your data and security protocols.

Use case: A government agency runs Rocket.Chat on-premise to meet internal security standards and avoid reliance on third-party cloud infrastructure.

Customize workflows with open-source flexibility

Rocket.Chat is fully open-source, letting developers modify the platform to fit their workflow, integrate with in-house tools, or create new bots and automations.

Use case: A dev team builds a custom Rocket.Chat bot to trigger Jenkins deployments from within chat threads.

Collaborate securely with role-based permissions

Set granular permissions for different roles to manage user access across channels, files, and integrations—critical for teams with strict compliance requirements.

Use case: A hospital IT team sets view-only permissions for interns in patient case channels while granting full access to doctors and staff.

Integrate with CRMs, help desks, and automation tools

Rocket.Chat supports integrations with tools like Salesforce, Zapier, Jira, and HelpDesk, streamlining support workflows and internal operations.

Use case: A support rep receives a new ticket notification in Rocket.Chat, links it to the CRM, and escalates it to engineering with a slash command.

Enable omnichannel communication

Connect email, live chat, SMS, and social media into a single workspace to support customers and users across channels in real time.

Use case: A fintech startup handles support tickets from Facebook, WhatsApp, and their website live chat—all in one Rocket.Chat channel.

Why Rocket.Chat Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Companies needing full data control and on-premise deployment
  
• Industries with strict compliance or security standards
  
• Teams wanting open-source flexibility and custom bots
  
• Support teams managing omnichannel communications from one hub
  

7. Chanty

Chanty is a simple, team-friendly Slack alternative that combines chat, task management, and voice/video calling in one place. Its clean interface and easy-to-use features make it ideal for small businesses or teams new to collaboration tools. Chanty focuses on boosting productivity without overwhelming users.

Chat in public or private conversations

Chanty allows teams to communicate in both public and private conversations. You can create threads to keep discussions organized and avoid information getting lost in group chat chaos.

Use case: A marketing team uses a public conversation for their weekly updates and private threads for campaign feedback and edits.

Turn messages into tasks

With Chanty’s built-in task management, any message can become a task. You can assign, set due dates, and track progress—all within the app.

Use case: A sales manager converts a product request message into a task and assigns it to the product team, keeping the entire workflow visible and actionable.

Use built-in audio and video calling

Chanty includes voice and video calls, allowing for quick discussions or scheduled check-ins without relying on third-party tools.

Use case: A remote founder schedules a bi-weekly video call with the core team directly through Chanty for faster updates.

Share files and screen easily

You can drag-and-drop files into any conversation and even share your screen during calls. Everything is stored and searchable for future reference.

Use case: A designer shares mockups with the dev team during a call and uses screen sharing to walk through the proposed user flow.

Leverage unlimited message history

Unlike Slack’s free tier, Chanty gives you unlimited message history—even on the free plan. That means you’ll never lose context or decisions over time.

Use case: A startup revisits a conversation from six months ago to check how a product feature was scoped—no need for screenshots or backups.

Why Chanty Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Small businesses and startups needing affordable collaboration
  
• Teams wanting messaging, tasks, and calls in one tool
  
• Managers frustrated by Slack’s message history limits
  
• Users who value simplicity over endless integrations

8. Zulip

Zulip is a unique team chat tool that combines real-time and asynchronous communication through a topic-based threading model. It’s perfect for large teams, open-source projects, and remote orgs that want structured conversations without losing context.

Keep conversations organized by topic

Unlike traditional chat apps, Zulip lets you send messages within threads inside channels (called streams), reducing noise and improving discoverability.

Use case: An engineering team creates streams for “frontend” and “backend,” then uses topics like “bug fix #2025” to separate conversations.

Catch up asynchronously without missing context

Because each message lives inside a specific topic, you can come back hours later and jump into a conversation without backscrolling through dozens of unrelated messages.

Use case: A distributed dev team in different time zones uses Zulip to collaborate async without constantly pinging each other.

Search and filter by stream, topic, or person

Zulip’s search lets you find any message by filtering on specific streams, topics, keywords, or senders—making it easier to pull historical context.

Use case: A PM searches the “UX feedback” stream for past usability comments tagged by QA leads.

Host it yourself or use the cloud version

Zulip supports both self-hosted and cloud options, giving technical teams flexibility in how they deploy and scale.

Use case: An open-source foundation runs a Zulip server for its contributors to avoid dependency on closed platforms.

Customize notifications by stream and topic

You can fine-tune which streams and topics you receive alerts for, reducing distractions while staying informed.

Use case: A designer mutes engineering topics in the general stream but gets alerts for “UI bugs” tagged by QA.

Why Zulip Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Remote teams that want async, organized chat
• Engineers and open-source projects needing structure
• Companies looking to cut noise with thread-based communication
• Organizations that want searchable, topic-driven transparency

9. Missive

Missive blends email and team chat into one shared workspace. Designed for teams handling high volumes of customer or partner communication, it helps unify collaboration across email, chat, SMS, and social channels—all in a single inbox.

Share inboxes and collaborate on emails

Missive lets teams manage shared inboxes (like support@ or sales@) and assign emails, chat internally about them, or co-write replies in real time.

Use case: A customer success team co-drafts a response to a high-priority client email directly inside the shared inbox.

Combine chat, tasks, and email in one thread

Every message thread can include emails, chat comments, and even task lists—so all context stays together instead of scattered across tools.

Use case: A sales manager adds a to-do list to a client thread, assigning follow-ups to teammates without switching apps.

Manage multichannel communication

Missive supports email, SMS, Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp—all in one place. You can route, tag, and reply to messages without juggling different tabs.

Use case: A support agent replies to an Instagram DM and a support email from the same Missive interface.

Automate workflows with rules and integrations

Use workflow automation to archive, assign, tag, or forward messages based on rules. Missive also integrates with tools like Pipedrive, Asana, and Zapier.

Use case: A recruiter sets a rule to auto-assign all LinkedIn messages tagged “application” to HR.

Control visibility and team collaboration

Messages can be private, shared with select teammates, or visible to everyone. You can also comment internally on any external message thread.

Use case: A founder privately discusses a sensitive investor email with the CFO before replying.

Why Missive Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Teams managing shared inboxes across departments
• Customer-facing teams unifying chat and email
• Managers needing comment threads on emails
• Organizations centralizing external and internal comms

10. Flock

Flock is a lightweight messaging app that combines team chat with productivity tools like to-dos, reminders, polls, and notes. It's designed for small businesses and teams looking for a simple, all-in-one Slack alternative.

Chat in channels, DMs, or threads

You can create channels for teams or projects, chat one-on-one, and start threaded replies to keep discussions tidy.

Use case: A small agency sets up channels for “Clients,” “Design,” and “Finance” to keep convos segmented.

Create tasks and to-dos from messages

Flock includes a built-in task manager where you can turn any message into a to-do and assign it to team members.

Use case: A team member flags a message in the “Marketing” channel as a task to schedule next week’s campaign.

Launch video calls and screen sharing

You can start a native video call or screen share directly from within a chat—without needing a separate meeting tool.

Use case: A content lead jumps on a quick screen share with a writer to finalize a blog draft.

Use built-in tools like notes and polls

Flock comes with mini productivity apps like note-taking, file sharing, reminders, and team polls to reduce context switching.

Use case: A manager runs a quick team poll inside Flock to finalize event timing.

Integrate with apps like Google Drive and Asana

Flock connects with popular tools so you can pull in updates or share files without leaving the chat.

Use case: A designer links a Figma prototype from Google Drive into the team’s #UX channel.

Why Flock Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Small teams wanting built-in task and poll tools
• Teams that prefer native video and screen sharing
• Agencies using chat as a central workspace
• Users looking for a budget-friendly Slack alternative

11. Ryver

Ryver combines team communication with task management and workflow automation in a single platform. It's suited for organizations that want both Slack-style messaging and Trello-style boards under one roof.

Chat in channels, topics, and private threads

You can organize conversations into teams and topics, similar to Slack’s channels, with threaded discussions and private chats.

Use case: A startup uses topic-based threads in Ryver to separate engineering updates from product feedback.

Convert messages into tasks instantly

Turn any message into a task or checklist item without losing context. Tasks can be tracked in boards or lists inside Ryver.

Use case: A product manager converts a bug report message into a task for the QA team during a stand-up.

Use Trello-style task boards

Ryver’s task manager includes boards with drag-and-drop functionality for workflows like kanban, sprints, or project planning.

Use case: A content team uses a kanban board to manage article production from pitch to publish.

Automate repetitive actions with workflows

Ryver offers built-in automation (like “If this, then that” rules) to help route messages, assign tasks, or notify teams.

Use case: An ops team sets up an automation to notify finance when a new “Invoice Approved” task is created.

Centralize communication and project work

By combining chat, tasks, and automation, Ryver eliminates tool sprawl and keeps everything aligned in one system.

Use case: A nonprofit runs operations entirely in Ryver—discussing, assigning, and tracking initiatives without switching platforms.

Why Ryver Is a Good Slack Alternative

• Teams wanting task management built into chat
• Orgs replacing Slack + Trello with one platform
• Users automating project workflows and task handoffs
• Nonprofits or SMBs consolidating communication tools
  
  

Conclusion: Find the Right Slack Alternative for Your Team

Slack isn’t the only option—and depending on your team’s size, workflows, and budget, it might not even be the best one.

Whether you need structured task management, better email integration, or just a simpler chat tool that doesn’t overwhelm you with notifications, there’s a Slack alternative that fits.

From ClickUp’s all-in-one platform with tasks, Docs, and AI meeting notes, to chat-first tools like Flock, or hybrid solutions like Ryver, the key is picking something that works the way your team already works.

✨ So take a moment, test a few options, and choose the tool that helps your team communicate clearly and collaborate confidently—without the noise.

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