Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Which One Should Your Team Live In?

Slack vs Microsoft Teams are often compared side by side, and no wonder. They both serve as viable solutions to streamline team communication and productivity, but with some deal-breaking differences. 

In case you cannot decide whether to choose Microsoft Teams vs Slack for your business needs, you’ve come to the right place. 

Explore their core differences through cost and feature benchmarking, everyday use cases, real-life user insights, and more.

Big Picture: How They Differ

At their core, both Slack and Microsoft Teams help streamline communication, but their visions and business impact differ.  

Key takeaways on Slack vs Microsoft Teams differences:

• Slack’s chat-based communication vs Teams’ video calls, telephony, document-based collaboration, etc. 

Slack excels as an intuitive solution for messaging and chat-based coordination. Microsoft Teams, in turn, is designed as an all-in-one solution (docs, email, storage, collaboration, security, etc.).

• Slack’s flexible integrations vs Microsoft-based IT ecosystem of Teams.

Slack easily integrates with 2,000+ various tools (via built-in integrations or API). Microsoft Teams has much more limited support for external tools. In turn, it’s tightly integrated with the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Since Teams is included in Microsoft 365, paying extra for Slack may seem unjustified for some businesses. But, does it really? Let’s take a deeper look. 

Pick your team’s tools!

Click to select one or more tools.

Explore credits

What’s your company size?

Just click to select.

1-50

50-100

100-200

200+

Back Explore credits

What’s your business email?

We'll send you calculations right away

Back

The email is flying to your inbox!

Beyond discounts, you may qualify for up to $100K in AWS credits.

Explore credits

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Functionality Benchmarking

Slack and Microsoft Teams cover many similar business needs, but in different ways and to a different extent:

> Slack excels in an intuitive UX, well-structured communication system, and easily configurable automation workflows, to name a few. Users also value its marketplace of integrations and lower setup complexity compared to Teams. 

> Microsoft Teams’ value lies in enterprise-level meetings & telephony, centralized IT control & governance, complex compliance needs, and access to a unified Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Features Slack Has, but Teams Doesn’t

Delving into more details on Slack vs Microsoft Teams functionality, several Slack features gain spotlight:

> Nested threads

Slack supports hierarchical threaded replies inside channels. This way, conversations stay organized and easy to follow. Microsoft Teams only has flat replies, which makes long discussions harder to track.

Why it matters: reduced noise and prevents message clutter in busy channels.

> DevOps/CI/CD/monitoring integrations

Users mention Slack integrates seamlessly with essential dev tools (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, New Relic, and many others). This way, devs can easily monitor IT performance and receive real-time deployment alerts or incident notifications directly in Slack channels.

Why it matters: Real-time deployment alerts and incident response workflows improve engineering speed.

> Flexible external channels

Slack enables shared channels with external partners, vendors, and customers with self-service access management through Slack Connect. Teams doesn’t support such a feature, and any partner should be added as a new Team group member.

Why it matters: Removes IT bottlenecks, makes cross-company collaboration seamless.

> Easy automation/webhooks

Slack lets anyone easily build automations, bots, and notifications using webhooks and the Workflow Builder without IT support. 

(In contrast, the Teams automations typically require Power Automate and Azure permissions.)

Why it matters: Faster automation, lower dependency on IT, and improved productivity.

> Open APIs for customization

Slack’s API quickly enables custom bots, triggers, scripts, and internal applications, which proves ideal for developer teams. 

In turn, Microsoft Teams customization often requires enterprise admin approval and Azure AD complexity.

Why it matters: Enables teams to tailor Slack to their workflows rather than adapt to limitations.

Features Teams has, but Slack doesn’t

> Full phone & meeting system

Teams includes built-in VoIP calling, PSTN support, direct routing, and contact-center-grade telephony. Also, Teams users mention better working microphone isolation.

Why it matters: Replaces standalone phone systems and enables organizations to manage calling, conferencing, and voice workflows in one platform.

> All-in-one collaboration suite

Microsoft Teams offers a comprehensive suite of solutions in a single workspace (chat + video meetings + file storage + scheduling + tasks + email). With this versatility, it can cover 10+ use cases simultaneously in some business scenarios.

Why it matters: Reduces tool sprawl and simplifies IT management by centralizing daily work in one hub.

> Built-in document co-editing

Real-time collaboration directly inside Teams across various content formats and tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

Why it matters: Distraction-free work, higher productivity gains.

> Advanced security & compliance

Enterprise-level identity management (Microsoft Entra ID), governance controls, retention policies, advanced regulatory compliance, etc.

Why it matters: Strict security control, particularly crucial for highly regulated industries.

> Large meeting capacity (10k+)

Supports large-scale external meetings or live events, even with an audience of up to 20,000 participants.

Why it matters: Ideal for company-wide town halls, conferences, client events, and global announcements.

Slack, Microsoft Teams: “vs” or “and”?

As we see above, there’s a range of unique features and strengths that both Slack and Teams solutions bring to the table. Due to them, it’s not uncommon to see companies use both Slack and Teams, especially across different departments or teams with specific work management needs.

With this in mind, cases where Slack works best:

• Fast, real-time collaboration across teams (product-engineering-design-marketing sync);
• Dev teams and integrations-heavy workflows;
• External communication with stakeholders via Slack Connect.

Teams can be more suitable in these scenarios:

• Structured video meetings;
• Telephony at scale;
• Streamlined document collaboration across various content formats.

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Pricing and Cost Considerations 

For Slack vs Microsoft Teams, pricing depends on way more factors than simply the number of users. 

Unless you understand your priorities, how each platform scales with growth, and where indirect costs may appear, you most probably will end up overpaying or choosing the wrong tool.

To avoid this, meticulously analyze your current (and future) business needs and benchmark with pricing details, both evident and hidden ones.

Here’s a quick overview of key pricing differences:

• Both Slack and Microsoft Teams have a freemium plan. However, each comes with limitations. Slack’s freemium limits include only 90-day message history, 10-integration caps, and no native group video meetings – which, in contrast, are all supported in Teams’ free plan;
• Paid plans start at US$8.75 per user/month for Slack and $4 per user/month for Microsoft Teams;
• Teams’ cost can add up if you need add-ons like Teams Phone or Microsoft Teams Rooms. Slack doesn’t offer comparable add-ons, which means you either need to upgrade to a higher tier to access specific features, or you won’t have a chance to pay less for features you don’t use within your tier.
• Slack pricing includes 4 tiers (3 with publicly available pricing + a quote-based Enterprise plan). Microsoft’s pricing is more granular, with 4 Business plans + 3 Enterprise plans, plus a Teams Premium add-on that can be purchased on top of enterprise plans.
• Microsoft’s Business plans primarily support annual commitments, which can be a substantial upfront payment for smaller teams. Slack, in turn, offers both monthly and annual subscription options, providing more flexibility for budgeting and scaling.
• Slack’s Enterprise plan is quote-based and negotiated individually. Microsoft’s Enterprise pricing is publicly available, ranging approximately from $8.55 to $57 per user/month, depending on feature requirements. This offers greater transparency, but also leaves less room for price negotiation.

At first glance, it might look like Microsoft Teams is a more cost-efficient option, but is it really? Let’s explore.

Free virtual cards for non-EU residents

Open in 1 working day, issue 100 virtual cards, and get up to 1.25% cashback.

Get a free account

Factors That Might Drive Up Slack and Teams Costs

Slack

> The need to upgrade from free to paid due to usage limits

When your team outgrows the 90-day message history, 10-integration cap, or needs external collaboration, you’ll have to move to paid plans. Based on our observations, most clients use the free tier for 3–5 months before upgrading, so plan your budget accordingly.

> The costly organization-wide upgrade

When you upgrade to a higher tier, you have to upgrade the entire organization (there’s no option to move just one or several users to a different plan). So, evaluate how many users from your team will actually use specific higher-tier features to see if it’s worth the price.

>  Cost of integrated tools

For premium third-party tools, developer hours spent on setting up and maintaining custom integrations will be added to the total cost. Plus, more integrations mean more subscriptions to third-party tools (most of which are not free).

Microsoft Teams

> Extra storage fees

Default storage limits include 1 TB base + 10 GB per licensed user for Teams. If you exceed them, you’ll have to pay extra. 

While it may seem like a lot, it’s not uncommon for this amount of storage to run out due to:

• Frequent or long recorded meetings. A 1-hour recording uses around 400 MB, so daily standups, webinars, or training sessions can quickly consume storage space. 
• Large or numerous shared files. Project assets, multimedia, and shared documents stored in SharePoint/OneDrive eat into pooled storage.
• Team growth. More licensed users increase storage allocation but also increase usage, especially if many record meetings or store files.
• Shared channels collaboration. Channel meetings and shared libraries draw from tenant-wide storage, which fills faster with many active teams.
• Large media & heavy files. High-resolution video, images, and large datasets consume capacity rapidly, even with high per-file limits.

Other factors include:

> Multi-geo add-on for multi-region management

> Premium Enterprise support comes at an extra cost, based on the % of total license spend

When Each Stack Makes Financial Sense

Eventually, it all comes down to your business requirements. In practice, Slack’s entry-level paid plan (Pro) is usually priced higher per user than Teams’ comparable tiers. Still, many organizations consider Slack worth the investment, all thanks to its sleek, intuitive user experience, flexibility, and ease of extending functionality through integrations. 

Particularly, Slack makes sense if:

• Your team relies on messaging and chat-based collaboration;
• You use many non-Microsoft tools (third-party apps, diverse workflows, etc.);
• You want fast, flexible onboarding with minimal overhead; 
• You want to minimize relying on IT configuration and administration;
• You value an intuitive, lightweight interface that reduces context-switching;
• You prioritize developer productivity and automation-driven workflows rather than requiring rigid governance structures.

However, keep in mind that if you need an enterprise-level Slack, it’ll turn out to be quite costly. Enterprise pricing is quote-based, but a rule-of-thumb estimate is anywhere in between 240$-420$+ per user. So, in case you’re already paying for Microsoft Teams as part of your Microsoft 365 subscription, the additional benefits Slack provides may bring a substantial extra cost.

Microsoft Teams / Microsoft 365 might prove more cost-efficient if:

• You need not only chat but also email, file storage, Office apps, and meetings unified in one tech ecosystem; 
• You rely heavily on video meetings, telephony, and PSTN calling plans; 
• You value enterprise-grade security, compliance, identity management, and structured workflows (for Slack, they come at higher tiers); 
• You want straightforward onboarding and centralized admin control over large user groups (through Azure AD and Entra ID); 
• You’re running a medium-to-large organization already invested in Microsoft tools.

Pro Tips to Ensure a Cost-Efficient Decision

Whatever SaaS you ultimately choose between Slack vs Microsoft Teams, there are universal best practices to set the right cost expectations from the start and maximize ROI. See them below.

Tip #1. Always run a total cost projection. 

Consider unobvious factors such as the cost of add-ons, storage needs, expected user growth, and potential future requirements (compliance, security, telephony, premium integrations, etc.).

Tip #2. Count in administration, support, and training costs.

Managing permissions, onboarding new users, governance setup, IT support, and end-user training all consume time and resources, whether they’re handled internally or outsourced to an external provider.

Tip #3. Always negotiate the price.

Both Slack and Microsoft frequently offer discounts. They can be granted based on commitment length, user volume, contract renewal timing, or other vendor-negotiation factors. In particular, Enterprise plans are almost never purchased at full list price. So, make sure you ask for custom pricing packages, bundled discounts, or incentives for an annual commitment. To ensure securing the best deal, opt for vendor negotiation services.

How To Reduce Your Slack & Microsoft Teams Bill

The Spendbase team is well-versed in slashing SaaS and cloud costs for clients. We know exactly when and how to negotiate to secure the maximum possible discount.

In doing so, we take over the full negotiation cycle so your team can focus on work while we lower your SaaS costs and maximize ROI.

For example, with Spendbase, you can secure up to 50% off your Slack plan. We handle the end-to-end negotiation to get you the best deal.

If you opt for Microsoft Teams, Spendbase can help you secure up to a 15% discount. 

Apart from that, additional discounts for tools within the Microsoft ecosystem are also available:

• Microsoft 365 Copilot: up to 25% off
• Microsoft 365 Backup: up to 15% off
• Microsoft Power Automate: up to 25% off
• Microsoft Fabric: up to 15% off
• Microsoft Clarity: up to 20% off

Reach out to the Spendbase team to check your eligibility and let us perform a free SaaS audit of your current tech stack. On average, our clients cut their IT bills by at least 39% when partnering with us.

Other Factors That Impact ROI From Slack and Microsoft Teams

The ROI from Slack vs Microsoft Teams isn’t determined by subscription pricing alone. It also comes down to how effectively the tool performs the following:

✔️ Enables faster decision-making;

✔️ Reduces operational friction;

✔️ Minimizes context-switching;

✔️ Aligns with the way teams naturally work;

✔️ Accelerates collaboration;

✔️ Minimizes administrative overhead.

The more above-mentioned (and other equally essential) checkboxes the solution ticks, the higher the returns. So, choosing the right tool is ultimately about optimizing the total cost-to-value ratio, not simply choosing the cheapest plan on paper. 

At Spendbase, we’ve benchmarked the core ROI-driving factors based on real user feedback and market analysis. See the aggregated insights in the table below, highlighting the strongest and weakest areas of Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Something Else?

As analyzed above, Slack vs Microsoft Teams perform best in different scenarios in work realities. To land with the right tool, start by understanding the adoption goal. Assessing your business needs, team’s workflows, and current tech ecosystem will help you do that. Also, factor in all cost-related elements beyond the standard pricing (add-ons, support, storage, IT involvement costs, etc).

Plus, whatever SaaS you choose, make sure to maximize ROI by proactively negotiating contracts. Spendbase can help you do that efficiently.

Slack & Microsoft Teams Alternatives: Monthly Pricing Breakdown

Definitely, Slack and Teams are not the only work management solutions out there on the market. Take a look at their alternatives and how they compare on pricing.

Whichever You Choose, Spendbase Will Cut Costs for You

The Spendbase team will ensure you don’t overpay. Our customers slash their SaaS bills by an average of 39%, often in ways they wouldn’t even imagine is possible. 

Here are some of the many ways you can save with us:

• Get off-the-shelf discounts from Spendbase Discount Marketplace (featuring deals for 7,000+ SaaS tools); 
• Let us handle vendor negotiations for you to secure the best deals;
• Secure free cloud runway with up to $100,000 in AWS credits; 
• Enjoy digital banking services at 0$/user;  
• Issue instant corporate virtual cards that help you prevent overspend and keep all your team’s expenses under precise control.

If you’re ready to slash your SaaS and cloud spend significantly, reach out to us and we’ll lead the way for you.

Save up to 30% on your stack

We can unlock discounts on 10,000+ tools you already use.