I used to think Slack and Microsoft Teams were basically the same thing with different logos. Then I watched multiple companies grow, switch tools, and sometimes switch back, and it changed how I look at both platforms.
If you want a straight answer: Slack is usually better for fast, flexible communication and integrations, while Microsoft Teams fits better if your company lives in Microsoft 365 and cares more about structure, meetings, and file control than chat feel. Slack feels lighter and more intuitive; Teams feels heavier but more controlled and “official.”
Where Slack and Teams Fit in Your Tech Stack
Before comparing features, it helps to understand what each tool is trying to be.
Slack started as a messaging app. A really good one that slowly grew into a collaboration hub. Its strength is still that core chat experience. People actually like using it. It feels fast. It feels alive. Over time, Slack added calls, workflows, huddles, canvas, and more, but the center of gravity stays in channels and DMs.
Microsoft Teams started as an entry point into Microsoft 365. It is chat plus meetings plus file storage plus SharePoint plus OneDrive plus Planner plus security policies glued together. Teams is less about joy and more about control and centralization. Some people love that, some tolerate it.
So, which suits you better? Let us walk through the details.
- Slack: Best if you care about flexible conversations, integrations with a wide variety of apps, and an interface people do not hate.
- Microsoft Teams: Best if you already pay for Microsoft 365, rely on Office files, and want meetings, chat, and documents in one managed place.
- For small teams: Slack tends to feel simpler to start with.
- For larger organizations: Teams often wins because it plugs straight into existing Microsoft licenses and security practices.
If you already standardize on Microsoft 365 across the company, picking Teams is usually the path of least resistance, even if people like Slack more.
Interface and User Experience
This sounds like a small thing. It is not. If the tool feels clunky, people avoid it or use it as little as possible.
Slack UI: Cleaner, lighter, more conversational
Slack puts conversation first. Left sidebar with channels and DMs. Middle pane with messages. Right side occasionally for threads, apps, or canvases. That is it.
What this does in practice:
- New users orient faster because the layout mirrors classic messaging tools.
- Channels are easy to scan; you can star and group them.
- Search and filters are in predictable spots.
There is some “noise” as your workspace grows. Lots of channels. Lots of apps. But Slack tends to handle clutter better than Teams because it feels like a modern chat app that happens to do more.
Teams UI: Busy but more “corporate”
Teams puts everything in tabs. You have:
- Activity
- Chat
- Teams
- Calendar
- Calls
- Files
Plus extra apps pinned on the left or inside individual teams.
For new users, this feels heavier. You click more to find things. There is confusion between:
- Chats (1:1 or small groups)
- Teams (groups of channels)
- Channels (inside Teams)
People often ask, “Should this go in Chat or in a Channel?” That confusion is not trivial. It affects how your information is stored and found later.
Teams feels like Microsoft Outlook grew legs and started doing meetings and chat. Slack feels like chat that grew up just enough to do work.
Messaging, Channels, and Threads
Communication is the core of both platforms, so this matters more than some of the fancy features.
Slack messaging and channels
Slack has:
- Public channels for open discussion across the workspace
- Private channels for sensitive topics or small teams
- DMs and group DMs for private chats
- Slack Connect for cross-company channels
Threads in Slack live inside channels, which helps reduce noise in busy spaces. That said, people often forget to reply in thread and answer in the main channel, so you still get clutter.
Some nice touches:
- Reactions to messages are quick and expressive, so you avoid “Thanks” spam.
- Huddles allow quick impromptu calls right from any channel or DM.
- Canvas and bookmarks help pin key information at the top.
Teams messaging and channels
Teams offers:
- Teams (groups), each with channels
- Standard and private channels inside each Team
- 1:1 and group Chats
In many companies, people abuse Chat for everything and underuse Channels. That leads to information trapped in private threads, which hurts visibility and knowledge sharing.
Threads in Teams channels are less visible than in Slack. Conversations break into “posts,” and people often accidentally start new posts instead of replying, which fragments context.
Slack nudges people toward channels as the default, while Teams silently encourages side conversations in Chat.
Meetings, Calls, and Video
This is one area where Teams often wins, even if people do not love the UX.
Microsoft Teams meetings
Teams is tightly tied to Outlook and Microsoft 365 calendars. That means:
- Scheduling is native and simple if your organization uses Outlook.
- Calendar integration is automatic.
- Meeting joins are one click inside Teams or via email invites.
Teams meetings support:
- Large groups
- Breakout rooms
- Recording stored in OneDrive/SharePoint
- Live captions and transcripts
- Meeting chat and persistent notes
For organizations that hold frequent formal meetings, this matters. It supports how they already work.
Slack calls and huddles
Slack offers:
- Audio-first Huddles (lightweight, ongoing calls in a channel or DM)
- Video calls using Slack, or deep integration with Zoom, Google Meet, etc.
Huddles are great for quick collaboration. People pop in and out. They feel informal, almost like standing at someone’s desk.
For more traditional, scheduled meetings, Slack usually defers to Zoom or similar tools. If you already pay for Zoom, that is not a problem. If you want everything inside one Microsoft stack, that is where Teams has a clear advantage.
If meetings are the heart of how you work, Teams is a better fit. If real-time discussion is the heart, Slack often wins.
Integrations and App Ecosystem
This is one of the most practical differences between Slack and Teams.
Slack integrations
Slack built its reputation on integrations. It connects to a huge number of tools:
- Developer tools: GitHub, GitLab, Jira, CircleCI
- Project management: Asana, Trello, ClickUp
- Customer support: Zendesk, Intercom
- Marketing: HubSpot, Marketo
- Analytics and alerts: Datadog, New Relic
Plus thousands more in the Slack App Directory, plus custom apps via API.
This is critical if:
- Your team uses many non-Microsoft tools.
- You want alerts, updates, and workflows centralized in channels.
- You rely on bots for approvals, notifications, and automation.
Slack workflows (via Workflow Builder) also let non-developers build simple automations: forms, approvals, notifications based on triggers.
Teams integrations
Teams has an app store and supports many of the same tools, but the focus is clearly around Microsoft 365:
- SharePoint and OneDrive for files
- Planner for light project tracking
- Power Automate for automation
- Power BI for reporting
- Forms, Lists, and other Microsoft apps
Third-party integrations exist, but they often feel a step more clunky than in Slack. It works, but it feels like a layer on top of a Microsoft-first structure.
If your tech stack is diverse and tool-heavy, Slack gives you more flexibility. If your tech stack is mostly Microsoft, Teams keeps everything under one roof.
File Sharing and Collaboration
People do not just chat; they share files, comment, and collaborate.
Slack files
In Slack, files are usually:
- Uploaded directly into channels or DMs
- Linked from Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, or OneDrive
You can preview and comment on some file types directly in Slack. Search works across messages and file metadata, which is helpful.
The downside: if you upload directly into Slack, file governance is weaker. Long term archiving and structured folders are not Slack’s strength. It is better to treat it as a front-end for another storage system.
Teams files
Teams connects directly to SharePoint and OneDrive. Every Team and channel maps to a SharePoint site and document library.
This offers:
- Real-time co-authoring in Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Version history, permissions, and retention policies
- Centralized control for IT and compliance
It is less “fun,” but it is very practical for organizations that care about where each document lives and who can touch it.
Here is a quick comparison:
| Feature | Slack | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| File storage | Inside Slack or linked from external drives | SharePoint and OneDrive, mapped to Teams |
| Office doc editing | Via links; editing in external apps | Native co-authoring inline |
| Governance | Good for search, weaker as a system of record | Strong governance and structure |
Search and Knowledge Management
Once you use a platform for more than a few months, search quality starts to matter a lot.
Slack search
Slack search is often underused but quite strong. You can:
- Filter by channel, person, date
- Filter by “has:link”, “has:reaction”, or file type
- Search in DMs and channels at the same time
Slack also uses signals like who you talk with often, which channels you use, and recency to rank results. It feels like a modern search experience.
Teams search
Teams search is improving, but it can feel disjointed:
- Search is spread across Chat, Teams, Files, and more
- Results often list messages and files in a way that feels harder to scan
- Finding older conversations can take more effort
On the flip side, if your whole company uses Microsoft 365, the wider Microsoft Search (across Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams) can surface emails, documents, and messages from one place. So you trade in-app ease for all-up coverage.
Slack usually wins on search feel inside the app; Teams can win on search breadth across your entire Microsoft environment.
Security, Compliance, and Administration
This is where leadership and IT teams often have the strongest opinions.
Slack security and admin
Slack offers:
- Enterprise-grade security for paid tiers (SSO, data exports, etc.)
- Enterprise Grid for large organizations with multiple workspaces
- Retention policies, legal holds, and compliance exports (on higher-tier plans)
Admin controls are solid, but Slack is still often seen as an “open” tool where users can create channels and integrations freely. That is great for agility, but some IT teams feel nervous about sprawl and shadow IT.
Teams security and admin
Teams benefits from Microsoft’s compliance story:
- Central control through Microsoft 365 admin center
- Data residency, retention, and eDiscovery built-in
- Conditional access, DLP, and strong controls over external access
For industries with heavier regulation, this can be decisive. Your security team already speaks the Microsoft language. They know how to manage identities, devices, and data in that ecosystem.
Here is a simplified view:
| Area | Slack | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance | Strong at higher tiers, separate from other systems | Deeply integrated with Microsoft 365 compliance center |
| Control | More user freedom, risk of sprawl | More centralized, stricter by default |
| External sharing | Slack Connect is very good for cross-company channels | Guest access managed via Microsoft 365 and Azure AD |
Pricing and Licensing
Cost is not just “how much per user.” It is also “what are we already paying for and not using?”
Slack pricing
Slack has:
- Free plan with limits on message history and some features
- Paid tiers (Pro, Business+, Enterprise Grid) per user per month
If you are a small or mid-sized team, paid Slack can feel a bit expensive, but you get clarity: you pay for Slack and use it heavily.
One catch: the free plan has a limit on searchable messages. For fast-growing teams, this can push you into paid sooner than you expect.
Teams pricing
Teams is usually bundled with Microsoft 365 business plans. So if you already pay for:
- Exchange / Outlook email
- Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- OneDrive and SharePoint
You might already be paying for Teams, whether you use it or not.
If your company already pays for Microsoft 365 for everyone, picking Slack means paying extra for something that kind of duplicates chat and meetings.
For some companies that extra cost is worth it because Slack usage is higher, and people are more engaged. For others, that extra line item is a hard sell.
Onboarding, Training, and Adoption
Getting people to actually use the tool is half the battle.
Slack adoption
Slack tends to spread from the bottom up:
- One team starts using it
- They invite others
- It slowly becomes core to how they work
People often need minimal formal training. You still need guidelines (naming channels, expected behavior, use of threads), but the learning curve is not steep.
Teams adoption
Teams tends to roll out top down:
- IT deploys it company-wide
- Leadership announces it as “the new standard”
- Training sessions follow
Adoption can drag if:
- People are used to email and do not see the benefit
- The UI feels confusing
- There is poor guidance on when to use channels vs chats vs email
On the upside, you get standardization faster. Everyone “has” Teams, whether they want it or not.
Slack vs. Teams for Different Types of Organizations
Not every company has the same needs. Here is how I look at it in a more practical way.
Startups and small tech companies
These teams usually:
- Move fast
- Use a wide range of SaaS tools
- Care about developer workflows, CI/CD, and alerts
Slack often fits better here because:
- Integrations with dev tools are strong
- Chat is fast, informal, and more natural for these teams
- There is less need for heavy compliance from day one
If you force Teams on a small product or engineering org that loves GitHub, Jira, Figma, etc., you might get resistance and more back-channel tools.
Mid-sized businesses
At this stage, you have more structure, some security needs, and growing teams across departments that are not all tech-focused.
It can go either way:
- If your core tools are Microsoft and your leadership cares about standardization, Teams makes sense.
- If you want to keep flexibility and you already use many cloud tools outside Microsoft, Slack may still be the better option.
You need to be honest here. I have seen companies pick Slack on “vibe” and then struggle with compliance and cost. I have also seen companies pick Teams only because it is bundled, then watch actual adoption lag while teams stick to unofficial tools.
Enterprises and regulated industries
Enterprises care about:
- Control
- Compliance
- Standardized tooling
Teams often wins in this group:
- One vendor to manage
- Deep integration with identity and access management
- Legal and compliance teams already know Microsoft 365
Slack can fit into enterprise, especially with Enterprise Grid, but the argument usually has to be stronger: higher engagement, better integrations, or specific needs that Teams does not meet well.
Feature Comparison Snapshot
Here is a simple feature table to see the differences at a glance:
| Category | Slack | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Core focus | Messaging and integrations | Unified hub for Microsoft 365 (chat, meetings, files) |
| Best for | Fast-moving teams, heavy third-party tools | Organizations standardized on Microsoft 365 |
| Chat experience | Light, intuitive, channel-first | Heavier UI, split between Chat and Teams |
| Meetings | Good via integrations (Zoom, Meet); huddles shine | Strong native meetings and scheduling |
| File management | Works well with external drives; weaker as main repository | Tightly connected to SharePoint/OneDrive with strong control |
| Integrations | Very broad third-party app catalog, strong developer focus | Best with Microsoft apps, decent third-party coverage |
| Security / compliance | Strong, but independent stack | Deep integration with Microsoft security and compliance |
| Pricing | Separate subscription; clear but can be costly at scale | Usually included in Microsoft 365 licenses |
| External collaboration | Slack Connect is polished for cross-company channels | Guest access with Microsoft account management |
How To Decide: A Practical Checklist
If you are stuck between Slack and Teams, try a simple decision filter instead of chasing marketing claims.
Ask these questions first
- Do we already pay for Microsoft 365 for nearly everyone?
- How many non-Microsoft tools do we rely on daily?
- Are our biggest risks around compliance, or around poor communication?
- Do our teams already love something (Slack, Zoom, etc.) that Teams would replace?
- Who will own governance for channels, teams, and integrations?
Some honest outcomes:
- If your answer to the first question is “yes” and your IT and compliance teams are strict, picking Teams is the least painful path.
- If your teams are frustrated by email and heavy tools, and they already use a ton of SaaS apps, Slack is often a better cultural fit.
Choosing Slack for a company locked into Microsoft 365 is fighting the gravity of your own stack. Choosing Teams for a dev-heavy, tool-heavy startup is fighting the gravity of your people.
Where I see people make mistakes
I do not agree with the idea that “we should just pick whatever is cheaper.” That is short-sighted.
Common missteps:
- Picking Slack while ignoring legal and compliance requirements, then scrambling later.
- Picking Teams only because it is bundled, then watching adoption stall and usage sit near zero.
- Running both long term without a clear separation of purpose, which doubles confusion.
A better approach is:
- Run a time-boxed pilot with a real team in Slack and in Teams separately.
- Measure actual usage, not just survey opinions.
- Talk with IT and legal early instead of asking for forgiveness later.
When Slack Wins, When Teams Wins
To make this very concrete, here are cases where I would lean strongly toward one or the other.
Pick Slack if
- Your core product and engineering teams already live in tools like GitHub, Jira, Figma, Notion.
- You care about flexible workflows more than rigid structure.
- External collaboration across companies via channels matters a lot.
- Culture leans toward open discussion and public channels, not heavy email chains.
Pick Teams if
- Microsoft 365 is your central platform and will stay that way.
- Your organization cares deeply about file governance, retention, and centralized control.
- Formal meetings and scheduled collaboration are core to how you work.
- You want IT to have strong, unified control over identities, devices, and access.
If your use case sits between these, you are not alone. Many organizations do. You might even phase your decision:
- Short term: Allow both tools, monitor usage, and see what sticks.
- Medium term: Standardize on one, with narrow exceptions for specific teams.
- Long term: Invest in training, guidelines, and governance around that one platform.
The real advantage rarely comes from the tool itself. It comes from choosing one, committing, and teaching your teams how to use it well.
