Slack Review
Last updated: 2026-07-11
Overview
Slack is a team communication and collaboration platform founded in 2013 by Stewart Butterfield, Eric Costello, Cal Henderson, and Serguei Mourachov. Headquartered in San Francisco, Slack serves over 65 million daily active users including Amazon, IBM, Airbnb, and Target. The platform organizes communication into channels (public, private, shared with external organizations), direct messages, and threaded replies. Acquired by Salesforce in 2021 for $27.7 billion, Slack now integrates deeply with Salesforce CRM and other Salesforce Cloud products. The platform handles messaging, file sharing, audio and video huddles, workflow automation, and persistent channel-level documents called Canvas. Rated 4.4/5 — excellent messaging experience and integration ecosystem, limited by message retention limits on lower tiers and no native task management.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Channel-based organisation keeps conversations structured and searchable
- Massive app ecosystem (2,600+ integrations)
- Excellent search — finds any message, file, or snippet
- Voice and video calls (Huddles) built in
- Workflow Builder for no-code automation
Cons
- Can become noisy and distracting in large organisations
- Free plan limited to 90 days of message history
- Pro plan is $7.25/user/mo — costs scale fast for large teams
- Thread management can be confusing
- No built-in task management (needs integration)
Features
Slack's core features include organized channels with public/private visibility, threading for organized replies within channels, direct messaging, and group DMs of up to 9 people. Huddles provide lightweight audio and video calls with screen sharing directly within channels — no separate meeting link needed. Slack Connect allows cross-organization messaging with external partners, vendors, and clients in shared channels. Workflow Builder enables no-code automation triggered by events (new channel member, emoji reaction), schedules, or button clicks — workflows can send messages, update profiles, or call webhooks. The Slack App Directory hosts 2,600+ integrations including Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, GitHub, Jira, Asana, Zoom, Salesforce, HubSpot, and ServiceNow. Canvas creates persistent documents within channels for team context, project briefs, or playbooks. Slack AI provides search-powered summaries and thread recaps for catching up on missed conversations (Enterprise add-on at extra cost). Limitations: message history is limited to 90 days on Pro and not available on Free, no native task management or issue tracking, file storage caps at 5 GB per user on Pro, and search performance degrades noticeably with large archives. The Salesforce acquisition has pushed upselling into CRM features.
| Free plan | 90 days history, 10 apps |
| Starting paid price | $7.25/user/mo (Pro), $12.50/user/mo (Business+) |
| Channels | Public, private, shared |
| Message history | 90 days (Free), 90 days (Pro), unlimited (Business+) |
| Video calls | Huddles (up to 50 participants on Business+) |
| File sharing | ✅ Yes |
| API access | ✅ Yes |
| Integrations | 2,600+ apps |
| Workflow Builder | Pro plan+ |
| Support | Email (Pro), 24/7 (Business+) |
Pricing
Slack offers four tiers. Free: 90-day message history, 10 app integrations, 1:1 video calls, 5 GB total storage, and canvas (read-only). Pro: $7.25/user/month annually ($8.75 monthly) — unlimited message history, unlimited integrations, huddles with video and screen sharing, canvas (full edit), and 10 GB/user storage. Business+: $12.50/user/month annually ($15 monthly) — adds SSO, identity management, compliance exports, message editing policies, and 20 GB/user storage. Enterprise Grid: custom pricing — adds unlimited workspaces, centralized admin controls, compliance archives, and HIPAA compliance. Slack AI is a $10/user/month add-on on Pro and above. No permanent free trial beyond the Free plan; Pro offers no separate trial period.
Final Verdict
4.4/5. Slack is the best-in-class team messaging tool with an unmatched integration ecosystem of 2,600+ apps and intuitive threading that keeps conversations organized. Huddles and Canvas add genuine value for real-time collaboration without leaving the platform. Drawbacks: message history limits on Free (90 days only) are restrictive for teams that need to reference past decisions, pricing per user adds up fast for growing teams, and the Salesforce acquisition is pushing the platform toward enterprise upsells rather than small-team improvements. Best for teams that live in real-time communication.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Slack worth it in 2026?
For real-time team communication, yes. Slack's threading, huddles, and 2,600+ app integrations make it the most capable messaging platform available. The Free plan's 90-day message limit is restrictive — teams needing full searchable history must upgrade to Pro at $7.25/user/month for unlimited message retention and app integrations.
How much does Slack cost?
Slack Free is $0 with 90-day message history and 10 app integrations. Pro is $7.25/user/month annually with unlimited history and integrations. Business+ is $12.50/user/month with SSO and compliance exports. Enterprise Grid uses custom pricing. Slack AI costs an additional $10/user/month.
What are the best Slack alternatives?
Microsoft Teams integrates natively with Microsoft 365 and offers bundled pricing for organizations already on Microsoft. Discord works well for community-driven teams and is free with no message limits. Mattermost provides self-hosted, open-source messaging for security-conscious teams. Rocket.Chat offers open-source messaging with federation.
Does Slack offer a free trial or free plan?
Yes. Slack's Free plan is permanent with 90-day message history, 10 app integrations, and 1:1 video calls. Pro and Business+ don't offer separate trials — upgrade from Free anytime. No credit card required for Free. The 90-day message history limit applies to all messages and files.