TL;DR

They're more similar than different, but the choice often comes down to your existing tools.

  • Choose Slack if: You want the best UX, need lots of integrations, or your team values chat culture
  • Choose Teams if: You already use Microsoft 365, need better video conferencing, or want one app for everything
  • The honest truth: If your company already pays for Microsoft 365, Teams is hard to justify skipping. If not, Slack is probably better.

Our take: Both work fine. Pick based on your existing ecosystem, not features.

The Core Difference

Here's what it comes down to: Slack was built as a chat tool. Teams was built as Microsoft's answer to Slack.

That origin story shapes everything. Slack feels like a product designed by people who obsess over user experience. Teams feels like a product designed to check every enterprise box and integrate with Office.

Neither is wrong—they're just optimized for different priorities.

Where Slack Wins

The User Experience Gap Is Real

This is the most consistent feedback from people who've used both: Slack just feels better. The interface is cleaner, navigation is more intuitive, and everything loads faster.

Teams has improved significantly, but there's still a noticeable difference in how polished the experience feels. Little things—like how quickly messages appear, how easy it is to find channels, how threading works—Slack gets the details right.

Better Third-Party Integrations

Slack has 2,400+ apps in its directory. Teams has fewer, though Microsoft is catching up. More importantly, Slack integrations tend to be more mature and better designed.

If you rely heavily on non-Microsoft tools (Figma, Notion, Asana, GitHub, etc.), Slack's integrations are typically more robust.

Channel Organization

Slack's channel system is more flexible and easier to navigate. Creating, joining, and organizing channels feels natural. Teams' channel structure is tied to its "Teams" hierarchy, which can get confusing.

The Culture Thing

Custom emoji, Giphy, reaction culture, huddles—Slack has fostered a certain vibe that many teams love. It makes chat feel more human. Teams has these features too, but the culture around them is different.

Where Teams Wins

Microsoft 365 Integration

If your organization lives in Microsoft 365, Teams is hard to beat. Real-time co-editing in Word/Excel/PowerPoint, SharePoint integration, Outlook calendar sync—it all works seamlessly because it's the same ecosystem.

Slack can integrate with Microsoft tools, but it's never as smooth as the native experience.

Video Conferencing

Teams supports 300 participants in video calls. Slack maxes out at 50 (and you need the paid plan for that). Teams' video features—background blur, breakout rooms, meeting recordings, live captions—are more mature.

Many organizations use Slack for chat but Teams (or Zoom) for video calls. If you want one app for both, Teams is better.

The Price Argument

If you're already paying for Microsoft 365 Business ($12.50+/user/month), Teams is included. Slack Pro costs $8.75/user/month on top of that.

For a 50-person company, that's an extra $5,250/year to use Slack instead of the Teams you're already paying for. That math matters.

Enterprise & Compliance

Teams has stronger enterprise features out of the box—eDiscovery, compliance tools, advanced security, government certifications. Slack has these too, but often at higher tiers.

The Problems With Each

Slack's Issues

Teams' Issues

Pricing Comparison

Plan Slack Microsoft Teams
Free 90-day history, 10 integrations, 1:1 video Unlimited chat, 60-min video, 5GB storage
Starter/Essentials $8.75/user/month $4/user/month
Pro/Business Basic $15/user/month $6/user/month
Business+/Premium $15/user/month $12.50/user/month (includes Office apps)
Enterprise Custom pricing $22/user/month (Microsoft 365 E3)

Note: Teams pricing is often bundled with Microsoft 365, which includes Word, Excel, Outlook, etc. Direct price comparison is tricky because of this bundling.

Feature Comparison

Feature Slack Teams
Max video participants 50 300
App integrations 2,400+ 1,000+
Message search (free) 90 days Unlimited
File storage (free) 5GB total 5GB/user
Screen sharing Yes (paid) Yes (free)
Breakout rooms No Yes
Custom emoji Yes Yes
Threaded conversations Excellent Good

Who Should Use What

Choose Slack

  • Startups and small teams
  • Creative/design teams
  • Teams using mostly non-Microsoft tools
  • Organizations that value UX and chat culture
  • Tech companies (it's the default in Silicon Valley)

Choose Teams

  • Already paying for Microsoft 365
  • Need robust video conferencing
  • Enterprise with compliance requirements
  • Want one app for chat + video + files
  • Budget-conscious (if bundled with M365)

The Alternatives

Don't want either? Here are other options:

The Bottom Line

Our Verdict

There's no wrong choice. Both Slack and Teams are capable tools used by millions of people every day.

The decision usually comes down to:

  1. Are you already paying for Microsoft 365? If yes, try Teams first. It's included.
  2. Do you care deeply about UX? Slack is more polished.
  3. Do you need robust video conferencing? Teams is better.
  4. What does your team already use? Switching costs are real. Don't change for marginal gains.

Our recommendation: Most companies should just use whatever tool fits their existing ecosystem. The productivity difference between them is minimal compared to the switching costs and learning curves of changing platforms.