In the post-pandemic work-from-home era, team communication solutions began to appear like mushrooms, giving you more alternatives than ever. Slack might be one of the most popular choices, but before selecting the ideal chat program to enhance teamwork, consider the advantages and disadvantages.
Understanding Slack
Slack is a messaging app that allows members of the same organization to interact, collaborate, and share files on a daily basis. It can be used on multiple devices and allows teammates to communicate in both one-on-one and group chats.
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Slack splits daily work into Channels (for group chat) and DMs (one-to-one direct messages). These can be accessed with a single click from the sidebar. You can also call your coworkers and use a video conferencing feature to talk, see each other, and share a screen if necessary.
Slack channels can be both public and private. You have the option to choose whether you want your channel to be searchable by everyone or if you want to invite others to join. Slack allows you to interact with different members and channels by switching between organizations. Slack supports standard chatting features like @ mentioning and integrations with:
- Google Drive and Google Calendar
- Dropbox
- Github
- Zendesk
- Zapier
We’ll examine the top Slack alternatives in this post to assist you in choosing the team communication tool that best meets your requirements. Based on its team collaboration capabilities, cost, and accessibility via mobile apps, we carefully selected each chat program.
1. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft created a business chat solution aimed at both small teams and corporate businesses. Anyone who has a Microsoft Office 365 subscription can already access Microsoft Teams. If you don’t have one of these plans, you can obtain a freemium version of Microsoft Teams. You will have free access to all chat features. Instant messaging, voice and video calls and different integrations are a few of them.
The free Microsoft Teams edition supports 500k internal and external members and up to 100 video chat participants. The subscription plan for this chat tool starts at $5 per month/per user if your business needs more. Users of Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and the Web can access it.
Microsoft Teams integrations function similarly to separate apps that you can add to your chat tool to customize it. They will assist you in better organizing your business, sharing files, and tracking your business intelligence. The free version of Microsoft Teams supports up to 100 video chat participants and 500k internal and external users. If your business requires more, the premium plan for this chat tool begins at $5 per month/per user. It is compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and the web.
2. Google Chat
Google Chat is a built-in feature of the Gmail service that is intended to replace Google Hangouts. You can interact with anyone who has a Gmail account using it. The chat tool is accessible to everyone, regardless of whether you or your contact has a free or paid Gmail account.
You’ll need to use Google Meet in addition to Google Chat to have video and audio chats. It is an excellent solution and SLack alternative for all corporate teams out there, particularly those that already use G Suite.
Google Chat is completely free for all Gmail users and is available on Android, iOS, and Windows.
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3. Rocket.Chat
Companies looking for self-hosted options that don’t mind more elaborate and tech-demanding alternatives to Slack should consider Rocket.Chat. This is another open-source chat tool that allows you to completely customize the omnichannel platform.
Users of Rocket.Chat has complete access to their code. This means that you, as a company, can modify this communication tool to meet your specific requirements. You can modify it by adding or removing features as you see fit. It also has end-to-end encryption, which ensures the security of your business communications.
The Rochet.Chat hosted plan is a paid service. It costs $3 per user/month. However, their open-source code allows you to have all of the available features for free as long as you host it internally only, within your company.
Rocket.Chat is compatible with every iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux device. There is also a Web version.
4. Fleep
Fleep is a task management-focused communication platform. It provides options for assigning and coordinating work in addition to the standard chat feature. A pinboard is also available for you and your coworkers to pin important messages and reminders. Fleep chat is built around the idea of having conversations about specific topics that everyone is welcome to discuss.
This conversation platform’s Freemium version offers unlimited one-on-one chat options. However, it can only support three group conversations at once. It also has a storage capacity of up to 10GB. However, if you require more, you must purchase the premium version. Although the plan is $5 per month per person, pricing will be done annually. The premium version comes with 100GB of storage space.
Fleep is compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android, and iOS.
5. Chanty
Chanty is an AI-powered collaboration software that is designed to boost productivity and team organization in your organization. It is also reasonably priced. Small teams of up to ten people can use it for free. However, if you have a larger team and require some of the extra features that this conversation platform has to offer, you will need to upgrade to the premium version. Even premium Chanty, at $3 per user per month, is very affordable.
For half the price, Chanty provides many of the same features as Slack. However, it also includes an integrated task management system that allows you to create and assign tasks to different team members. A feature called Teambook allows you to neatly organize tasks, chats, and files into folders, ensuring that your workspace is always orderly.
Android smartphones, iPhones, and iPads, as well as Windows and macOS users, are supported.
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Fortunately, you have a number of options when it comes to selecting the best communication tool for your team. We’ve gone over some of the best apps that your team might enjoy.
[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]