The Top 12 Slack Alternatives For 2020

10 min readJan 21, 2020

Slack has made quite a name for itself over the years. Today, the platform boasts 12 million daily active users, half of whom are paying customers. As a result, Slack is often considered as one of the best instant messaging apps for business.

But let’s face it, Slack isn’t a one-size-fits-all platform. If it was, you wouldn’t be scanning this article or others like it in search of suitable Slack alternatives.

For sure, Slack remains a capable team chat solution. It’s the undisputed leader in integrations, for instance, offering more than 1,500. But that also means that many of Slack’s capabilities are actually a result of other apps and technologies.

Sick of Slack? Consider These Alternatives Instead. Click To Tweet

Other questions and criticisms of Slack remain.

It’s complicated and disruptive — If you’re part of multiple teams, you face separate workspaces for each team and separate logins. That’s a lot of buried messages and missed details. What’s more, anyone who posts a message resulting in a thread then gets notifications about replies. And if you’re thinking of turning off notifications, other team members can bypass your Do Not Disturb mode.
It’s expensive — At $6.67 per user/month for Standard and $12.50 per user/month for Plus, Slack is out of reach for many startups or small to medium-sized enterprises. There’s a freemium version, but that limits you to 10K searchable messages and 10 integrations.
It may not be completely private — Questions have been raised surrounding Slack’s handling of user data, as well as the threat that the ever-growing number of third-party app integrations pose to the platform and the organizations using it.

The Top Slack Alternatives for 2020

Luckily, there’s no shortage of Slack alternatives available today, each offering distinct capabilities to suit teams of all sizes and functions.

Below, we’ll help you sort through them so you can make the best choice for your team and your enterprise. Read on to see the top Slack alternatives for 2020!

1. Brosix

Why not start with what we know best? It’s our blog after all! Brosix is a highly capable, secure, and customizable Slack alternative.

Brosix facilitates effective team communication via one-on-one text chats, chat rooms, and seamless voice and video calls. Our user-friendly UI lets you capture instant screenshots, share your screen, transfer files, and create whiteboard conferences with a click.

A multi-layer approach ensures communication, collaboration, and productivity while guaranteeing data privacy and security.

Comprehensive network administration and enterprise control allow you to create a fully individualized, private team network. End-to-end encryption, peer-to-peer communication channels, and anti-virus and malware integration practically eliminate the risk of outside threats.

Give Brosix a try today risk-free!

Top Brosix features:

Transfer unlimited files with no size restrictions.
Manage contact lists, features, and chat spaces.
Set multiple network administrators.
Establish specific data security levels.
Broadcast messages to reach targeted audiences and preserve workflows.
Pair the whiteboard with real-time communication to create dynamic whiteboard conferences.
Boost tech support with remote desktop.

Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and Web

Pricing: Startup lets you access communication and modest enterprise control for free; $4 per user/month for Business; $6 per user/month Premium.

2. Flock

Flock’s big claim is that it’s faster than Slack. With Flock, you get the standard team communication tools like one-on-one and group chat, as well as audio and video calls.

The freemium version includes integrations (60 or so like Google Drive, Trello, and Dropbox). It’s limited, however, to 10,000 searchable messages, video conferencing for four users for twenty minutes, and 10GB team storage.

Top Flock features:

Convert discussions to tasks with built-in task management.
Create polls, auto-generated mailing lists, and shared to-dos.
Invite guests onto the platform.

For more, explore our Flock vs. Slack comparison!

Available on: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and Web

Pricing: Paid plans run $4.50 per seat but you’ll get access to screen sharing, unlimited messaging history, and 10GB storage per user.

3. Hangouts Chat

Hangouts Chat is Google’s Slack alternative. Like Slack, Hangouts Chat provides dedicated spaces for team communication.

Unlike Slack, Hangouts doesn’t provide public channels. But, you can communicate via direct messages, in groups, or in a room. Rooms are thread-based, can be started any time you have an idea, and can accommodate up to 8,000 people.

Top Hangouts features:

Share your screen.
Access audio and video calls through Google Meet.
Create your own bots, like the Hangouts Chatbot.
Broadcast video calls on YouTube via Google Hangouts on Air.

Available on: iOS, Android, macOS, and Web

Pricing: $5 per user/month for Basic; $10 per user/month for Business; $25 per user/month for Enterprise; Free trial for 14 days.

4. Microsoft Teams

Subscribers of Microsoft’s Business Essentials or Business Premium plans are familiar with Microsoft Teams. Launched in 2016, Teams comes standard with an Office 365 plan.

Top Teams features:

There’s a freemium plan which offers you the usual suspects — chat and audio and video calls — as well as integrations, limited file storage, and the ability to communicate and collaborate with anyone inside or outside your organization.

Deep integration with Office 365 lets you access, edit, and share any Office or OneDrive document without ever leaving the app.
In-messaging Word-like formatting lets you change font styles, create bulleted lists, and more.
T-bot and Who-bot provide AI-powered onboarding and search.

We recently compared Teams vs. Slack in-depth. Check it out!

Available on: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Web

Pricing: Essentials starts at $5 per user/month; Premium runs $12.50 per user/month.

5. Glip

Developed by RingCentral, Glip’s team messaging tool offers more freebies than Slack or other alternatives.

You get unlimited chat, storage, guest users, integrations, and teams. Communication takes place one-on-one, privately, and publicly. There’s a catch, though. Glip restricts the number of shared video minutes to 500 for free plans. While a paid plan raises this allowance — 1000 minutes per user/month — video time on Glip is still capped.

Top Glip features:

Chat with ‘yourself’ to prioritize tasks.
Stay organized with a built-in calendar and notes.
Share your screen and files.

Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Web

Pricing: Free plan with loads of freebies; $5 per user/month for 1000 for shared video and administrative controls.

6. Mattermost

Mattermost is a self-hosted, open-source Slack alternative. For the non-techies, that means you can fumble with the source code, tailoring it to meet your organization’s needs. It also means you’ll need to deploy it on your server.

Communication happens via direct one-on-one messages, or in groups through public and private channels. There’s also voice, video, and screen-sharing.

Top Mattermost features:

Custom-build the mobile app.
Customize emojis.
Tweak branding and login page design.
Change languages in the UI.
Add encryption on both communication and server levels.

Available on: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, and Web

Pricing: Freemium plan for small teams. Paid plans start at $39 per user/year and require at least 10 users.

7. Discord

A voice-based Slack alternative, Discord may be new to some. For gamers, though, it’s a household name. That’s because Discord was conceived to bring the gaming community a more interactive experience.

Lately, Discord’s rich voice features — coupled with chat capabilities and screen-sharing — have begun to take hold in the business world.

Discord organizes conversations into ‘Servers.’ Servers are separated by text and voice. The latter continuously takes place in the background and by clicking on a channel, you’ll immediately start voice communication with other users.

See our Discord vs. Slack review for an in-depth comparison!

Top Discord features:

Push-to-talk lets you immediately start, and stop, voice communication.
Access all your workspaces on one interface.
Integrate natively with YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, or a host of others through Zapier.

Available on: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, and Web

Pricing: The free plan offers core functionality; For $9.99/month Nitro gets you custom emojis, larger file uploads, and GIF avatars.

8. Chanty

An up-and-coming Slack alternative, Chanty hit the market in 2018. The AI-powered team messaging tool is geared toward small to medium-sized enterprises.

Chanty allows for communication on a one-to-one basis, as well as through both public and private channels. You also get voice and video, file sharing, screen-sharing, and an unlimited searchable message history.

Top Chanty features:

AI-powered search and suggestions.
Organize tasks, messages, links, and files with the Teambook feature.
Turn messages into tasks and track them on the Kanban board.
Automate workflows through integrations with Trello, Mailchimp, and Google Drive.

Available on: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Web

Pricing: Free plans are limited to 10 users on a team; Paid plans start at $3 per user/month.

9. Ryver

We mentioned Trello as one of our top productivity apps. What’s that got to do with Ryver, you ask? Well, imagine the Kanban boards of Trello together with a team messaging platform and you’ve got Ryver.

Ryver allows for direct communication through direct messages, private groups, and open forums; all of which can be managed like tasks on a Kanban board. You also get voice and video calls and screen-sharing. Ryver offers unlimited integrations through Zapier.

Top Ryver features:

Chat, manage tasks, and automate workflows on one platform.
Turn messages into tasks and track them on the Kanban board.
Stream social media, news articles, and RSS feed content.

Available on: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Web

Pricing: There’s a 14-day free trial. Plans start at $49 per month for up to twelve users or $99 per month for unlimited users. If your teams rely heavily on integrations, you’ll need to shell out for a Zapier plan, too. And at $250 for 50K tasks — those don’t come cheap.

10. Trillian

The elder of this list, Trillian was released all the way back in 2000! With Trillian, you get encrypted direct and group messaging with desktop notifications, voice clips, peer-to-peer file transfers, and screenshots. You can also manage your email and social networking.

Centralized administration, control over features and contacts, customizable data retention periods, optional on-premises deployment make Trillian a versatile Slack alternative.

Top Trillian features:

Have the option to self-host or communicate behind Trillian servers.
Take advantage of numerous in-messaging text formatting options.
Integrate Trillian with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to stay on top of your social media.
Leverage in-game overlay to chat directly during full-screen games.

Available on: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS

Pricing: Business Plans start at $3.99 per user/month; Enterprise from $7.99 per user/month.

11. Workplace

Facebook isn’t just a social media giant anymore. In 2016, the Silicon Valley titan unveiled its very own Slack alternative, based on its notorious Facebook platform.

Workplace delivers team chat in familiar Facebook fashion. That means there’s a news feed, personal pages, posts, comments, and likes. Chat happens in direct messages, private or public chats, and Groups — for unified chat and collaboration. You also get voice and video calls, monitoring tools for IT teams, admin controls, and some integrations.

Top Workplace features:

Live stream events and get real-time feedback.
Invite partners, customers, or teams from outside the organization to the platform.
Establish Groups to unite chat and collaboration.
Communication, collaboration, culture and team-building with the familiarity of Facebook.

Take a look at our full Workplace comparison to Slack!

Available on: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Web

Pricing: $4 per user/month for Workplace Advanced; $8 per user/month for Enterprise.

12. Twist

Twist was created by a team working remotely across several time zones. Their priority was to design a Slack alternative to better organize the asynchronous communication typical with remote teams.

In this way, Twist organizes messages into an inbox where they’re threaded by topic, so responses don’t get buried in endless streams of conversation.

You get direct and group messaging, threaded conversations, highly customizable notifications, browseable and searchable conversation histories, and a handful of integrations.

If you need voice and video, you’ll need to look elsewhere as Twist doesn’t offer those.

Top Twist feature s:

Native integration with Todoist, an app we’ve written about to help you stay organized.
Preview messages before opening them.
Have access to all your messages in an inbox.
Invite guests like freelancers and consultants.

Pricin g: Free with 5 integrations, 5GB storage, and 1-month message history; $5 per user/month for unlimited everything.

Which Slack Alternative Is for Your Team?

Sick of Slack? Consider These Alternatives Instead. Click To Tweet

As this list proves, the list of Slack alternatives is long. What’s more, as needs vary from team to team and business to business, choosing the right tool isn’t easy.

You’ll need to consider things like:

Your specific team communication habits and preferences
Which features could enhance team performance, and which could hinder it
Your organization’s approach to data privacy and security

If you’re having trouble making up your mind, why not give Brosix a try?

It’s an intuitive, secure, and affordable Slack alternative, with the right amount of features to ensure teamwork, safeguard communications, and boost your business. Try it today!