Slack review: Projects & Ops, pricing and who it's for
A team chat tool for a small company, with huddles and app alerts in the same workspace. The free plan keeps 90 days of history and 10 apps.
Slack is team chat for a company, with channels, huddles and alerts from other apps in one workspace. The free plan includes 90 days of message history, 10 apps and 1:1 huddles. Pro is $8.75 per user a month, or $7.25 when billed annually. Business+ is $18, or $15 billed annually.
Free plan; paid from $7.25 per user/month billed annually ($8.75 monthly)
Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never affects our verdicts.
Reviewed · Facts checked · Projects & Ops · Platforms: Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
Good fit if
- Small teams that want one hub for team chat, huddles and app alerts, with a free plan.
Skip if
- you need a public community with open rooms for people outside the company. Look at Discord.
Use cases
Move a project's discussion out of email into a channel
Free plan (90 days of history)Small teams with project chatter spread across inboxes. 1) Create a channel per project or client. 2) Invite the people working on it and pin key files and links. 3) Use threads for each topic so the channel stays readable.
Source: slack.com/pricing
Work with a client or partner in a shared channel
Pro plan (both sides on a paid plan)Agencies and startups working closely with another company. 1) Create a channel and choose to share it with people outside your company. 2) Invite their contact by email; their admin approves. 3) Both teams chat in one channel from their own workspaces.
Collect requests with a form that posts to a channel
Pro plan (Workflow Builder needs a paid plan)Teams fielding IT, design or ops requests in Slack. 1) Open Workflow Builder and create a workflow started from a link or button. 2) Add a form step for the request details. 3) Send the answers to a channel and notify the owner.
Sources: slack.com/help/articles/17542172840595-Bu…, slack.com/pricing
Watch-outs
The free plan keeps 90 days of message and file history, 10 apps, and 1:1 huddles and Slack Connect. Free workspaces also delete data after one year.
Source: slack.com/pricing · checked
Slack bills members who take an action in a 28-day window. If a billed member becomes inactive, Slack adds a prorated credit for the unused time.
Source: slack.com/pricing · checked
SAML single sign-on starts on Business+. Free, Pro and Business+ each include one workspace. Unlimited workspaces start on Enterprise+.
Source: slack.com/pricing · checked
At a glance
Price
Free plan; paid from $7.25 per user/month billed annually ($8.75 monthly)
Source: slack.com/pricing · checked
Free plan
Yes · 90 days of message history, 10 apps, 1:1 huddles
Source: slack.com/pricing · checked
Platforms
Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
Source: slack.com/downloads · checked
Key integrations
- MCP server
- Salesforce
- Jira
- Google Drive
- ChatGPT
Source: slack.com/pricing · checked
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | MonthlyFree | Annual— | What's included90 days of message history, 10 apps and 1:1 huddles. One workspace. |
| Proper user/month | Monthly$8.75 | Annual$7.25 | What's includedFull message history, unlimited apps and group huddles. |
| Business+per user/month | Monthly$18 | Annual$15 | What's includedSAML single sign-on and SCIM user management. |
| Enterprise+per user/month billed yearly | Monthly$45 | AnnualBilled annually | What's includedUnlimited workspaces. Sold through sales and billed annually. |
Pricing checked on · Slack pricing page
Trust & security
SOC 2 Type II · Type II
Source: slack.com/trust/compliance · checked
ISO 27001 certified · ISO/IEC 27001
Source: slack.com/trust/compliance · checked
Does not train on your data · Does not train LLMs on customer data
Sources: slack.com/pricing, slack.com/trust/ai-principles · checked
AI & integrations
Official MCP server · Official Slack MCP server
Server URL:
https://mcp.slack.com/mcpSource: docs.slack.dev/ai/slack-mcp-server · checked
Public API · Web API · API docs
Source: api.slack.com/methods · checked
Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never affects our verdicts.
FAQs
Slack or Microsoft Teams: which fits a small team?
Microsoft Teams bundles chat with Microsoft 365 meetings and files. Slack is a separate workspace for team chat, huddles and an app directory. Slack's free plan includes 90 days of message history and up to 10 apps.
Sources: slack.com/pricing, microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/group…
Is Slack a good fit for a small team's daily chat?
Yes, if you want one place for team chat, huddles and alerts from other apps. The free plan is a single workspace with 1:1 huddles. Group huddles and full message history start on Pro.
Source: slack.com/pricing
How much does Slack cost?
Free is $0. Pro is $8.75 per user a month, or $7.25 per user a month when billed annually. Business+ is $18, or $15 when billed annually. Enterprise+ is $45 per user a month when billed annually, and you buy it through sales.
Source: slack.com/pricing
What do I lose on Slack's free plan?
Message and file history is limited to 90 days, you can install 10 apps, and huddles and Slack Connect are 1:1 only. Free workspaces also delete data after one year. Paid plans keep history, and you can change how long it is kept.
Source: slack.com/pricing
Where can I use Slack?
Slack runs in the browser and has apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. Install the app from Slack's downloads page and sign in to the same workspace.
Source: slack.com/downloads
Ready to try Slack?
A team chat tool for a small company, with huddles and app alerts in the same workspace. The free plan keeps 90 days of history and 10 apps.
Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never affects our verdicts.
Alternatives to Slack
Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams bundles chat with Microsoft 365 meetings and files. Slack is a separate workspace with its own app directory.
Discord: Discord is built for public communities and open servers. Slack is built for a company's private workspace.
Google Chat: Google Chat sits inside Google Workspace. Slack is a separate workspace with huddles and its own app directory.
Other Projects & Ops tools
BasecampFlat-price projects and client communication for a small team that hates tool sprawl. Opinionated by design; pick ClickUp if you want to configure everything.
Cal.comScheduling with booking pages, round-robin and routing forms. Free for individuals, scales to teams.
CalendlyThe booking link everyone already knows, with almost no setup. The free plan is one event type only; pick Cal.com if you want open source or more free event types.
Something wrong or out of date?
Private — not published. Every report is read.