So, to begin with, let us first take a quick look at what Slack is before we deal with the Slack alternatives. Therefore, it is technically a messaging program. The primary usage is in office spaces. However, one can use it for personal work as well. So, the Canadian company Slack Technologies originally developed it back in 2013. However, now, Salesforce controls it. So, Slack offers a host of different IRC-style features. These include direct messaging, private groups as well as channels or chat rooms that are organized on the basis of topics. However, that is not just it. Along with online messaging, Slack also brings together other software.
However, the question is why are we looking for Slack alternatives. So, no company or application cannot have anything perfect. There will always be some foil that decreases its overall performance. The user’s job is to check out which software provides the best service that is the most suitable for them. Therefore, let us see a few cons of Slack that push us towards Slack alternatives.
So, one of the biggest drawbacks of Slack is that it deletes every conversation after 14 days. Therefore, if you had said something very crucial and did not keep another note of it, you will find yourself in big trouble. Moreover, Slack also deletes files in the course of time. This is because unlike in email transfers, you cannot have unrestricted memory here. So, Slack controls that as per the price plan you chose. Moreover, these are chat rooms. Therefore, there is every chance that you can get engaged in something which is not important to you. Hence, that might be extremely distracting. You are capable of ending up in every conversation. Finally, getting notifications from Slack all day can be pretty annoying.
Free Slack Alternatives 2023
So, let us see what Slack alternatives are available completely for free. Therefore, let us take a quick look at a few options.
nTask
So, nTask provides free services for team management. Moreover, its paid plan starts from as low as $1 and has an assortment of features. So, there are very strong searches as well as filter tools. Moreover, there are constant reminders, notifications, and alerts along with to-do lists to ensure that the team members are not getting extracted. It also has great security.
Rocket Chat
So, another one of the Slack alternatives, Rocket Chat is at once open source as well as unlimited. Moreover, the pricing of the community plan is absolutely free. So here, the users have the option to chat in private as well as in teams. It gives access to several users, including guest users. Moreover, you can search for anything important through conversations. If the team members are remote and culturally different, it is going to be a huge help because it offers translation services in real-time. It also has UI personalization and customization, E2E encryption, and so on.
Fleep
So, Fleep is also one of the most efficient Slack alternatives. Therefore, it allows audio and video conversations along with simple chats. Moreover, you also have the option to share your screen. With Fleep, you can also get several options to track the progress of certain tasks and also create them. Moreover, you can include a wide array of data in these chats. So, these might include links, files, notes, and so on. Additionally, you can also pin the important texts and also highlight them such that nobody in the chatroom misses that out. Moreover one can easily track the online status of any member. Therefore, there is very little space for random doubts.
Twist
So, Twist also provides the features of most of these Slack alternatives. Therefore, it has both iOS and Android versions for mobiles. There are options for private conversations which are extremely secure. Moreover, you can also transfer images, files, etc with this. Here also, you have certain search tools to get hold of important stuff from a conversation thread. There are also several channels. So, these work on the basis of the teams, clients, or even the projects. Moreover, the users can also archive channels with Twist.
Glip
It is also one of the best Slack alternatives. There are options to share files and documents. Moreover, the space constraints are not as strict as Slack. The chat facilities are also available to any number of users. Therefore, this also means there is no restriction on the number of messages. Glip also allows the users to chat over video as well as share their screens. However, there is one very interesting part. So, Glip also gives a centralized team calendar. Therefore, this organizes all notes, events, and tasks automatically for the entire team. Therefore, deadlines become very strict and the members hardly have the chance for distraction.
Open Source Slack Alternatives 2023
So, let us first see what is open source. Therefore, it is simply a piece of code that the public can access. Hence, nobody has a trademark over this. So, anyone can see this code, modify it and distribute it as per their requirements. Now, you can install Slack on Linux. However, one has to keep in mind that Slack is strictly not an open-source solution. But, there are open source solutions in the market that also have the same objective and work to do as Slack does. Let us take a quick look at some of them.
Element
So, to begin with, the Slack alternatives, we have Element at first. Therefore, it provides decentralized communication and allows communication across platforms, third parties, and their involvements. Moreover, there are also both paid and unpaid options.
Zulip Chat
Zulip Chat is also one of the best open source solutions that teams might go for which allows both free and paid plans. So, it supports self-hosting, third-party involvement like GitHub, integration with Matrix, communication over different platforms, etc.
Rocket
Then we have Rocket chat which is one of the best Slack alternatives again. Therefore, it is a decentralized system allowing cross-platform communications, extensive customer support, integration with Matrix, self-hosting, and so on.
Mattermost
Another one of the Slack alternatives is Mattermost. It is probably the best option if you have an enterprise and want to customize the messaging system. Here again, there are both paid as well as free options. This also allows integration from third parties as well as supports self-hosting.
Wire
Wire is another one of the Slack alternatives. It is open source but it has no free plan. So, the only option is to avail the trial period of 30 days. However, it gives a lot of importance to privacy.
Slack Alternatives 2023
During the pandemic, a number of group chat options developed which have wonderfully got into the office space now. For example, Discord is now a household name. However, it was not so before 2020. From gaming to watching movies together, there is literally nothing for which we do not use it. However, it also finds wide usage in the office space- between the members of the enterprise, channels with clientele, and so on. However, for availing of the services properly, you have to take up a paid version. Therefore, this is one of the leading Slack alternatives today because of its rich features.
So, there are many other options that make communication both rich and easy, like Microsoft Teams. Moreover, there are also other options like Flowdock, Ryver, Chanty, Flock, Glip, etc. Therefore, let us quickly see when you should take up which one.
So, if you basically want Slack but your budget is very tight, go for Flowdock. It charges $3 per month/per user. Moreover, if you are looking for something absolutely free, go for Rocket chat. It has a free pricing plan. On the other hand, if your concern is speed, go for Flock. For tasks that need the entire focus on teamwork, the best one among all Slack alternatives is Chanty. So, for the best communication and management amongst the members of the team is Ryver. Discord gives a very extensive functionality making it one of the best Slack alternatives. Mattermost is the one that you can customize the most. However, Glip is almost like Slack. There is not much difference at all. Moreover, there is also Hangouts Chat. It is also one of the best Slack alternatives but it is far more sophisticated.
So finally, the best alternative, in general, is Microsoft Teams.
Slack Alternatives On-Premise 2023
So, when we are talking about Slack, it is essential to remember that it is entirely software based on cloud computing. Therefore, there is no on-premise version of the same. Hence, this is one of the cons which might push some people to look for Slack alternatives. However, in today’s world, we are fast shifting to cloud computing for functionality and memory both. This is very obvious when we use a google drive or iCloud for storing even our personal documents. So, it clearly means that we are storing these in the cloud. Therefore, in the professional space too, it is nearly impossible to find something that will only have an on-premise version. It is true that with cloud computing the question of security becomes very significant. However, most of these Slack alternatives have a 2-factor authentication process. Therefore, we have to trust the process.
However, there are some options that offer both a cloud and an on-premise version. So, therefore, you do have the option to select in some cases. For example, one of the Slack alternatives as we already know is Mattermost. However, Mattermost has an on-premise as well as a cloud-based system.
Slack Alternatives Self-Hosted 2023
So, as we have already seen, there are many Slack alternatives. Moreover, most of the ones that we have discussed here are self-hosted. Let us take a quick look to sum up. Therefore, Zulip Chat, Rocket Chat, Mattermost, Wire, Twake, and so on have options to support self-hosting as well. It is only obvious that there are many more in the market with similar ones. However, these are the popular ones. Moreover, most of these sites also do not restrict messages to anyone and have excellent accessibility and security. Therefore, such Slack alternatives are definitely better options compared to Slack itself now.
Slack Alternatives FAQs
Is there a free alternative to Slack?
Yes, there are a number of free Slack alternatives. In the article itself, we find examples like that of Rocket Chat and a bunch of others. However, one has to realize that these free plans are very basic ones. If you want to go ahead with your team for serious work, then a free plan will not work. So, when you go for a paid plan, you get a lot of important and useful features as well as technical support. Therefore, some alternatives like Rocket Chat or Flowdock start with plans as less as $3 per month/ user.
What are good alternatives to Slack?
So, it depends mostly on why you are looking for Slack alternatives. Therefore, it might be because of the cost or pricing plans. It might be because you need something more accessible and open source. Moreover, you might simply need some features. So, scroll up and check out what your demands are and accordingly, you will be able to find a bunch of options. However, it is essential to remember that you will not get everything in one software. So, go by your primary necessity.
Is there a Google equivalent to Slack?
Yes, indeed there is a Google equivalent to Slack. So, this is called Google Hangouts. We must have all seen the application on our phones. However, we hardly care to use it. But, it might act like one of the good Slack alternatives if we heavily use other Google services like Gmail, google drive, google docs, and so on.
Is Slack self-hosted?
So no, Slack is not self-hosted. This is also one of the many reasons why you might be looking for Slack alternatives. Therefore, there are a number of options that are both open source and self hosted. For example, there is Mattermost. So, scroll up and check the “Slack alternatives self hosted” section to know more about these options.
Is Rocket chat better than Slack?
So, to begin with, the pricing plans of Rocket Chat are more affordable than Slack. Therefore, if the price is your concern, the answer is yes. Otherwise, they are pretty much the same. However, Rocket Chat does provide you with a lot of security. So, this is because it uses end-to-end encryption. The developers developed it on Matrix and it stores all our data on a private server.
Is Google chats free?
Google does allow you to chat for free if you have a Google account.
Does Slack delete messages after 10000?
Yes, Slack does delete messages after 10000 messages. So, Slack has strict limits when it comes to messaging- the number of messages or the number of days before it deletes them. Hence, it deletes messages from both private and public channels once the 10K limit is reached. Therefore, this is one of the most important reasons why people look for Slack alternatives.
Is Slack really useful?
So, Slack is extremely popular in the office space as a communication software. However, with recent developments, there are parallel, if not better options. You should check them out as well!
