Collaboration is key for any business to thrive in today‘s work environment. With remote work and distributed teams becoming the norm, choosing the right collaboration and communication platforms is crucial.
Slack and Microsoft Teams are two of the most popular cloud-based collaboration tools businesses rely on. But how do you decide which one best suits your business needs?
I have extensively used both these platforms over the years. In this comprehensive guide, I compare Slack vs Teams across over 10 key parameters to help you make an informed decision.
A Quick Overview of Slack and Microsoft Teams
Before we compare Slack and Teams feature-by-feature, let me briefly introduce what each platform does.
What is Slack?
Slack is a leading cloud-based instant messaging and collaboration platform launched in 2013. It brings together chat, video/voice calling, file sharing, and app integrations into one unified platform.
Key features of Slack:
- Group direct messaging organized into channels
- Video calling support for up to 15 participants
- 1:1 audio calls
- File sharing up to 1GB
- Workflow bots like Slackbot
- 2800+ app integrations with tools like Salesforce, Google Drive etc.
Slack currently has over 12 million daily active users with customers like IBM, Target, Uber and others leveraging it.
What is Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft Teams is Microsoft‘s team collaboration platform that is part of the Office 365 suite. Introduced in 2017, it combines workplace chat, meetings, file collaboration, and app integrations.
Some key things you can do on Microsoft Teams:
- Have group chats with up to 250 people
- Host webinars for 1000 attendees and meetings with up to 300 participants
- Co-edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents in real-time
- Integrate tools like Trello, Zoom, Salesforce etc.
- Get 5GB cloud storage per user (can be expanded based on subscription)
Microsoft Teams now boasts of over 270 million monthly active users globally.
Now that you have context on what each platform offers, let‘s dive deeper into this Slack vs Teams comparison.
Slack vs Teams – Detailed Feature Comparison
1. User Interface and Experience
Slack has always stood out for its user-friendly and easy to navigate interface. The sidebar on the left shows you Team/Channels, Direct Messages and Apps in a structured way. You‘ll get used to Slack‘s interface within minutes of using it.
In comparison, Microsoft Teams has a more cluttered interface showing Chats, Teams, Assignments, Files, Apps etc. There‘s definitely a learning curve to understand where things are placed and how navigations work.
The good thing is you can customize what sections appear on Teams as per your preference. But overall, Slack wins when it comes to having an intuitive user interface.
Winner: Slack
2. Mobile and Desktop Apps
Both Slack and Microsoft Teams have mobile and desktop apps in addition to the web version:
Slack
Microsoft Teams
The mobile apps are very similar and easy to use on both platforms. But Microsoft Teams‘ desktop app is quite heavy and consumes a lot of CPU and RAM. It tends to slow down computers unlike Slack‘s lighter desktop app.
Winner: Slack
3. Communication Features
When it comes to everyday messaging and communication, Slack and Teams are almost on par. You have features like:
- Group messaging in channels/teams
- Thread conversations
- Send direct messages and files
- Customizable notifications
- Search for messages
The one area where Teams pulls ahead is its seamless integration with Microsoft Outlook. This means all your Outlook contacts automatically sync with Teams so you can send messages across.
Slack doesn‘t have native integration with email. You have to manually invite and add contacts which is a bit cumbersome.
So for business communication, Microsoft Teams matches up well with the entire Microsoft software stack.
Winner: Microsoft Teams
4. Video Calling Capabilities
Microsoft Teams brings robust video calling features for meetings, townhalls, training sessions and more.
Some of its video highlights include:
- Up to 300 participants in video meetings
- Ability to stream meetings to 10K viewers on Teams
- Background effects (blur/images)
- Record your sessions with transcripts
- Seamless scheduling from Outlook calendar
With Teams, you also get access to full webinar capabilities like lobbies, Q&A, polls etc.
In comparison, Slack‘s native video calling feature Huddle allows up to 15 participants at a time. For large meetings and webinars, you‘ll have to rely on integrating other apps like Zoom or WebEx.
So if your business has frequent training, townhalls or public webinars, Microsoft Teams is the better video calling platform over Slack.
Winner: Microsoft Teams
5. File Sharing and Cloud Storage
When it comes to storing and accessing files, Microsoft Teams pulls ahead because of its deep integration with Sharepoint and OneDrive storage which is unlimited. You can store a ton of files and share easily with anyone in your organization.
In Slack, the free version only lets you search messages from the past 10K messages. The paid plans give you access to the full message history but there‘s no unlimited cloud storage.
You can store and share files up to 1GB in size to both platforms. But again, Microsoft‘s unlimited OneDrive storage for document collaboration is a big advantage.
Winner: Microsoft Teams
6. Workflow Automation
Slack stands out when it comes to workflow automation powered by Slackbot which can take many repetitive tasks off your plate.
You can use Slackbot for:
- Onboarding new employees: Create a workflow to send them links to your handbook, schedule training sessions etc automatically when they join
- Request time-off: Employees can just send a Slackbot message instead of routing through multiple approvals with managers
- Ticket handling: Forward any support ticket messages on Slackbot for it to go into your Zendesk account automatically.
There are hundreds of pre-built templates to automate tasks between your favorite apps.
Teams also has workflow automation called Power Automate – but it‘s more complex involving creating flows and getting approvals. Slackbot makes it easier without any prior coding/skills.
So Slack takes the cake when it comes to easy-to-use workflow bots.
Winner: Slack
7. Third-Party Integrations
Given how long Slack has been in the market, it boasts of over 2800 app integrations in its directory spanning CRM, Project Management, Code Tools and more.
No matter what software tools your company uses, Slack integrates well with them. Some examples are:
- Salesforce
- Asana
- GitHub
- Zendesk
- HubSpot
Microsoft Teams isn‘t far behind with over 800 app integrations as of today. You have apps ranging across meetings, messaging, workflows, forms and more.
It‘s easy to connect your existing business apps like Salesforce, Zoom etc. with Teams.
Both platforms make it easy to integrate your other business applications used across the organization. So this one‘s a tie when comparing the two collaboration platforms.
Winner: Tie
8. Security
As a customer, security is likely your topmost priority before choosing any work collaboration tool.
Here‘s an overview of some top security aspects with Slack and Microsoft Teams:
Slack
- 256-bit AES encryption for messages
- Enterprise key management for compliance
- SOC 2, ISO 27001 security compliance
- Data loss prevention features
- 90-day message deletion
Microsoft Teams
- End-to-end encryption for messages/files
- Privacy controls and compliance
- Motion data loss prevention features
- Advanced protection against malware/phishing
-自定义消息保留策略
As you can see, both tools check the right boxes when it comes to keeping your company data and conversations secure.
Microsoft does have an edge with more advanced compliance with ISO, SOC 2, GDPR and more.
Winner: Tie
9. Pricing and Plans
Both Slack and Microsoft Teams have free and paid versions for different customer needs.
Let‘s compare their pricing plans:
Slack Pricing
| Plan | Price | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | 10K searchable messages |
| Standard | $8/user/month | Unlimited message history, 5GB file storage |
| Plus | $15/user/month | Unlimited message history, 10GB file storage |
Microsoft Teams Pricing
| Plan | Price | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | 2GB file storage per user |
| Business Basic | $5/user/month | Unlimited chat history + file sharing, 50GB storage |
| Business Premium | $12.50/user/month | Everything in Basic + advanced features like analytics |
Microsoft Teams pricing is available as add-on plans with Office 365 subscriptions. So you not only get Teams access but also apps like Word, Excel, Sharepoint to cover your entire suite of work collaboration needs.
Choosing between Slack vs Teams pricing comes down to which features suit your specific business needs. Both offer competitive and flexible plans – so evaluate in context of your priorities.
Winner: Tie
Key Differences at a Glance
Before deciding which is better for you, let‘s summarise some of the main differences between Slack and Microsoft Teams:
| Criterion | Slack | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| User Interface | Intuitive and easy to use | Steeper learning curve |
| Desktop/Mobile Apps | Light apps, fast performance | Heavier resource usage |
| Communication | Channels, threads and video calls | Integration with MS Office apps |
| Video Meeting Features | Up to 15 participants | 300 video call participants + 10K attendee broadcasts |
| File storage | 1GB file upload limit | Unlimited storage with Sharepoint/OneDrive |
| Workflow Automation | Powerful and easy with Slackbot | Complex flows with Power Automate |
| Third-party Integrations | Zendesk, Salesforce, GitHub ++ | Zoom, Salesforce, Trello |
| Security compliance | SOC2, ISO27001, GDPR | Advanced security + compliance features |
| Pricing | From free – $15/user/mo | Part of MS 365 suite subscription |
This gives you an easy snapshot of what sets Slack and Microsoft Teams apart.
Now the big question – which tool is better suited for your business collaboration needs?
Which Should You Choose – Slack or Microsoft Teams?
The Slack vs Teams decision depends primarily on your specific use cases and business priorities.
Here is an overview of scenarios where Slack or Teams works better:
Choose Microsoft Teams when:
1. You already use Microsoft 365 tools: Teams seamlessly integrates with MS Word, Excel, Sharepoint, OneDrive and more. File sharing, co-editing with Office apps becomes a breeze.
2. Your business does large team meetings, trainings etc: Teams supports up to 300 participants in video meetings – ideal for company-wide sessions.
3. You need advanced security/compliance: Teams compliance certifications (SOC2, ISO etc) matter for your business use case.
4. You have outsourced IT teams: Being a Microsoft product, most outsourced IT vendors are well-versed in managing and supporting Teams versus Slack.
Go With Slack When:
1. You want an intuitive platform: Slack wins hands-down when it comes to having an interface easy for anyone to start using instantly.
2. Your teams need workflow automation: Slackbot makes it easy to set up no code automations for tasks between your business apps.
3. Most of your work is messaging and file collaboration: Slack channels and shared folders fit this use case well without added complexity in Teams.
4. You want apps like Salesforce, Asana integrated: With over 2800+ integrations, Slack plugs easily into niche SaaS tools companies use.
So in summary, if you are already on Microsoft stack with Outlook and Office 365 environment, Teams makes the most sense.
Otherwise for intuitive collaboration on the cloud withchat and workflow bots, Slack takes the cake.
I hope this detailed Slack vs Microsoft Teams comparison helps you decide the best collaboration platform for your business needs in 2023 and beyond!
