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This article is Sponsored Content by Rebecca Lazar.
When searching for a free alternative to Slack, it helps to know what exactly you’re looking for. Do you need a plan with unlimited message history, a different feature set, or a mobilefirst user experience?
Comparing the options is the smartest way to find the right fit. This guide will help you make the best choice for your business by breaking down the top 5 free Slack alternatives in the market.
1. Zenzap: Best free Slack alternative for real teams
First on the list is Zenzap, a professional work chat app that offers a uniquely powerful free plan designed to give businesses a secure and complete foundation, no matter what size.
Zenzap is the best free Slack alternative for teams that want all the professional features needed, in an app that’s genuinely easy to use.
Pros:
- No limits on users or history: Zenzap offers a generous free plan with unlimited users and unlimited message history, which is a huge advantage for a professional business.
- Full professional feature set: You get access to all the essential business features, including admin controls, enterprisegrade security, and builtin task management.
- Incredibly easy to use: Zenzap’s interface is clean and intuitive, feeling as convenient as texting, which means your team can start using it instantly with no training.
- Keeps your data secure: All files are stored securely in the app, not on employees’ phones, and you have full control over your company’s data.
Cons:
- The only limitations on the free plan are on the total amount of file storage and access to some advanced privacy controls. All essential features are included.
2. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a massive, allinone work communication app, and its free version is one of the most generous available.
Pros:
- Comes with Microsoft 365: The free plan for Microsoft Teams offers unlimited chat and message history, robust video conferencing (for up to 60 minutes), and a good amount of file storage.
Cons:
- Poor user experience: The app is often described as cluttered and clunky, making it inconvenient for basic daytoday chat conversations.
- Can be unreliable: Users frequently report issues with slow performance, glitches, and syncing problems, which can be a major source of frustration.
3. Pumble
Pumble is a work chat app designed as a Slack lookalike, with its main selling point being that it looks like Slack but has a more generous free plan.
Pros:
- Unlimited message history: Pumble offers unlimited message history in its free plan.
- Familiar design: The app is a nearperfect copy of Slack, so there is virtually no learning curve for teams who are already used to that layout.
Cons:
- Lacks innovation: As a tool built to imitate another, it may lag behind on new features and has a much smaller library of integrations.
- Potential for noise: By copying Slack, it also inherits a lot of the reasons you might be looking to move away.
4. Google Chat: Best for convenient, basic messaging
Google Chat is the simple messaging function built directly into the Google ecosystem.
Pros:
- Builtin and convenient: For teams already working in Gmail all day, Google Chat is right there, requires no setup, and offers unlimited message history.
- Included in workspace: It’s included with any personal Google account or a paid Google Workspace subscription, so there are no extra costs.
Cons:
- Too basic for business: Google Chat is too simple and basic, and lacks the organizational and productivity features that businesses need in a work chat app.
- Not a central hub: It’s not built to be a full team communication tool, so a lot of teams will find it unsatisfactory.
Discord is a popular chat app that started in the gaming world but has been adopted by some teams for its casual, social feel.
Pros:
- Good for team bonding: The app is great for building a sense of community, and its alwayson voice channels can help a remote team feel more connected.
- Very flexible: You can create endless channels for both work and nonwork topics.
Cons:
- Not a professional team chat app: It lacks the basic security and admin controls that a business needs. Your company has no real control over its data.
- Chaotic and unprofessional: The interface is designed for social interaction, not focused work, and can quickly become a disorganized and distracting environment.
Choosing the right free Slack alternative
When looking for a free alternative to Slack, the goal is to find a platform you can actually build your business on. A free plan that deletes your data, is too confusing, or is unprofessional, isn’t a real solution.
While each team chat app on this list solves the message history problem, Zenzap is the best free alternative to Slack because it delivers a complete, professional feature set with unlimited users, in a package that’s genuinely easy to use.
