{"id":3539,"date":"2021-08-25T10:49:22","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T17:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/?p=3539"},"modified":"2021-08-25T10:49:23","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T17:49:23","slug":"microsoft-teams-vs-slack-which-collaboration-app-is-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/?p=3539","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Teams vs Slack: Which Collaboration App Is Better?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

And with the COVID-19 situation leading to a major shift towards remote work, collaboration and chat tools are more important than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses are rushing to implement collaboration software to keep their productivity high in these uncertain times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you probably already know, besides the alternatives the two clear market leaders in the sector are Slack and Microsoft Teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a fierce market competition \u2014 more on that below \u2014 that goes beyond the number of users as Slack in 2020 filed a competition complaint against Microsoft<\/a> in Europe alleging that Microsoft \u201cillegally tied its Teams product into its market-dominant Office productivity suite\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short: it\u2019s game on between the two companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting aside legal disputes for a moment and focusing back on productivity, which of the two options is the best choice for your business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post, we\u2019ll compare Microsoft Teams vs Slack and do a deep dive into their features, pricing, user experience, market shares, to help you answer this key question and pick a winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams vs Slack \u2014 Market Share<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you looked at the market share in the collaboration software space even a few years ago, it would have looked completely different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack was in a clear lead with Microsft Teams growing among enterprise customers but not so fast that Slack was worried. In 2021, it\u2019s a different story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, Microsoft Teams surged past Slack in the number of daily active users \u2014 hitting 13 million<\/a> in July.\"microsoft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams vs Slack users 2014\u20132019 (Source: Statista.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it shows no sign of slowing down from its new growth rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COVID-19-related stay-at-home orders led to more remote working, skyrocketing Microsoft Teams\u2019 user base to a reported 75 million<\/a> in the first half of 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack is still growing too, of course, but not at the same breakneck pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will Microsoft Teams Kill Slack?<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Is Slack in danger of losing the battle for the collaboration market? Let\u2019s examine the data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams is adding massive numbers of users through large organizations, schools, government workers, and its existing Office 365 customer base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re Slack, this is a pretty scary graph<\/a>:\"slack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams and Slack enterprise market share 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of the end of 2019, Microsoft has clearly taken over the lead within enterprises and government organizations, used by 65% of surveyed respondents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Slack is still the clear leader within the startup sector and among developers and other young, tech-savvy workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re Microsoft Teams, this is a pretty scary graph:\"slack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack Microsoft Teams startup market share 2017\u20132019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft is making little headway in this market segment and Slack is showing little signs of letting up its hold on startups any time soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft might have more users, recruiting thousands at a time from big companies, but the avant-garde techies of funded startups still favor Slack. So it looks like the battle for office communication and team cooperation is still undecided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams vs Slack \u2014 Features Overview<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Feature<\/td>Microsoft Teams<\/td>Slack<\/td><\/tr>
Channels (Teams)<\/td>\u2714<\/td>\u2714<\/td><\/tr>
Private Messages<\/td>\u2714<\/td>\u2714<\/td><\/tr>
No. of Users<\/td>Up to 500k with free plan<\/td>Unlimited<\/td><\/tr>
Unlimited Messages<\/td>\u2714<\/td>\u2714<\/td><\/tr>
Comprehensive Message Search<\/td>\u2714<\/td>\u2714 (Up to 10,000 messages with free plan)<\/td><\/tr>
File Sharing<\/td>\u2714<\/td>\u2714<\/td><\/tr>
Guest Access<\/td>Limited to 5 per account even for paid plans<\/td>Unlimited collaboration with external users for paid plans<\/td><\/tr>
Screen Sharing<\/td>\u2714<\/td>\u2714 (Not included in free plan)<\/td><\/tr>
Video & Audio Calls (1-on-1)<\/td>Unlimited<\/td>Unlimited<\/td><\/tr>
Video Conferences<\/td>Up to 250 users with paid plans<\/td>Up to 15 users with paid plans<\/td><\/tr>
Web, Desktop & Mobile Apps<\/td>\u2714<\/td>\u2714<\/td><\/tr>
Shortcuts & Productivity Tools<\/td>(40+ Shortcuts for Desktop App)<\/td>(50+ Shortcuts for desktop app with most available for web app as well.)<\/td><\/tr>
Bots & Workflow Tools<\/td>\u2714 Who Bot (Paid only) and Third-Party Chatbots<\/td>\u2714 SlackBot<\/td><\/tr>
Integrations<\/td>472 apps to choose from<\/td>Up to 10 for free plans, with 2,000+ apps to choose from<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both Microsoft Teams and Slack offer a comprehensive list of features that will help your team collaborate and get more done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Features like private and public channel (or team) messaging, searchable message history, video conference calls, screen sharing, file sharing (with permission controls from Office 365 suite like SharePoint), and more, help companies work closely together, even though they\u2019re not physically in the same office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of the features, both solutions are quite evenly matched. Slack has the advantage in some areas, while Microsoft Teams has an advantage in others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One key difference is that collaboration with outside teams is very limited with Microsoft Teams. It has a limit of five users even on paid plans unless you buy more licenses, where Slack allows unlimited external collaboration with paid plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams offers more robust video conferencing. It can support video conferences of up to 250 users or live events with up to 10,000 people (using a combination of Teams, Microsoft Stream, and Yammer).\"microsoft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams live events<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This showcases the real strength of Teams \u2014 the rest of the Office 365 suite supports and extends its functionality. Many of the features unique to Teams are only useful for larger enterprises or organizations, though, so it\u2019s not an objective advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams vs Slack \u2014 Comparing Free Plans<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But which comes out on top when you strictly look at what\u2019s offered in Microsoft Team vs Slack\u2019s free plans?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First things first, Slack offers unlimited users and messages with all plans, and Microsoft Teams offers up to 500,000 (basically unlimited for most companies) and unlimited messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One big difference is that Slack only lets you search up to 10,000 archived messages in free workspaces.\"Slack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack 10,000 messages prompt<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft doesn\u2019t have an artificial limit here, letting you search your entire message history freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The free Microsoft Teams plan also includes screen sharing, while you would need to upgrade to a paid plan to use that feature in Slack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team video calls and small-scale video conferencing are also included as part of the free version of Microsoft Teams. But with Slack, you are limited to strictly one-on-one audio and video calls with the free version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, many companies already use a separate solution like Zoom for video meetings, so it\u2019s not a deal-breaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, Microsoft Teams\u2019 free plan has more unlocked features than Slack\u2019s and fewer limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But unless your team relies heavily on screen sharing or video calls, Slack\u2019s user experience won\u2019t feel limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams vs Slack \u2014 Pricing<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s time to dive deeper into Microsoft Teams vs Slack paid plans and pricing. Which paid plan is the best value?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start off by taking a closer look at Slack\u2019s plans.\"slack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack plans and pricing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack\u2019s basic plan \u201cStandard\u201d starts at $6.67 per user per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It removes the limit on searchable messages, apps and integrations, and video calling. It also includes 10GB  of file storage per user, instead of 5GB in total for the workspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also allows your workspace to add guests and external collaborators, perfect for agencies and consultants who work closely with partners and clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can set custom retention policies for messages and files to ensure compliance with any industry or local regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, it enables \u201cuser groups,\u201d a way to group users beyond channels, to message entire teams or departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlus\u201d costs $12.50 per user and includes more advanced compliance and security options, priority 4-hour response time support, and 20 GB storage for each user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, let\u2019s take a closer look at Microsoft Teams\u2019 plans and pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that there are no paid plans for exclusively Microsoft Teams, but instead Microsoft 365 plans that include a premium version of Teams, and other apps.\"microsoft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams plans and pricing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft\u2019s paid plans start with \u201cMicrosoft 365 Business Basic\u201d, at $5.00 per user per month for a collection of their collaboration tools, including Teams and SharePoint. This plan doesn\u2019t include access to the desktop versions of the Office 365 suite like Word and PowerPoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You get meeting scheduling and recording, 1TB of OneDrive storage per user, and security features like single sign-on and enforced multi-factor authentication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cheapest tier also includes administrative tools for managing your users and compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMicrosoft 365 Business Standard\u201d is priced at $12.50 and doesn\u2019t impact the available Teams features. Rather it gives your team access to the full desktop versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft\u2019s cheapest plan is slightly cheaper than Slack\u2019s but it\u2019s only a buck fifty per user. It\u2019s not enough of a price advantage to make it an obvious choice for small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second-tier plans cost the same at $12.50, with the advantage of more advanced features for both plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real price advantage comes if your company is already paying for the Microsoft 365 suite. The business and enterprise plans already include access to premium Teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if your company already pays for Microsoft 365, you could get the premium version of Teams without paying more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams vs Slack \u2014 User Interface<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Next, let\u2019s take a closer look at the UI. Specifically, we\u2019ll consider how easy it is for new users to go from clueless, to efficiently using the platform to collaborate and manage projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack\u2019s user interface is sleek and has become the industry standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not only that, in recent years, Slack has doubled down on creating a natural onboarding process, with a step-by-step tutorial for new users.\"Onboarding<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onboarding experience with Slack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there\u2019s nothing complicated about getting started, even without the guide. You can manage and add new users to your workspace in the \u201cPeople\u201d tab.\"slack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack workspace<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potential users will receive an invitation by email. If they already have a Slack account, your workspace will be added to their existing account, with no need to create or remember a new password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can easily add a Slack channel by clicking the \u201cAdd a channel\u201d link in the sidebar menu (in the channels section).\"slack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack workspace \u2014 create a channel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sending a message to your team is as easy as going to a channel and starting to type. You can target a message in a channel to a specific person (or multiple people) by using @ and their username.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will make sure Slack notifies them of the message you send them.\"slack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack mentions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a lot more to Slack, and we\u2019ll cover other parts of the UI in the sections on bots and shortcuts below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, let\u2019s take a closer look at the user interface of Microsoft Teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Slack competitors imitate, and Microsoft Teams is no exception. The touch and feel of the UI aren\u2019t very different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams offers some guidance after signing up in the form of docs and a tutorial video. But it doesn\u2019t include a step-by-step interactive tutorial like Slack.\"microsoft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams\u2019 UI<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cteams\u201d replace the \u201cchannels\u201d menu-section from Slack. Each team can have different channels to keep communication separate for different projects (one of Slack\u2019s main selling points).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve used Slack before, the channels aren\u2019t the only way the UI will remind you of Slack when you first open it. When you click a button or menu, it opens up a light-box rather than a completely new page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, you can create new channels by clicking the \u201cCreate more channels\u201d button on any team page.\"microsoft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating a new channel in Microsoft Teams<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like with Slack, you can also @ someone to make sure they notice your message.\"microsoft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft teams message<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ability to create multiple teams with their own channels can be helpful for larger companies and organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both tools are easy to use, but Slack has a slight edge when it comes to the step-by-step tutorial and general UX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Teams vs Slack \u2014 Shortcuts & Productivity<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Next, let\u2019s look at which tool has the best keyboard shortcuts and other productivity tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack is a productivity innovator, with shortcuts and productivity hacks for just about everything. Even Slack\u2019s web app has a comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts you can use to boost your productivity.\"slack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keyboard shortcuts in Slack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can toggle this list by pressing Command + \/ on Mac and CTRL + \/ on other computers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of our favorite shortcuts are:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n