Microsoft Teams vs Slack… What’s The Best Workplace Communication Tool?

Communication is key in business and we aren't only talking about the break room conversations your team has about which type of coffee should go in the tin.

When your employees talk to one another, ideas are shared, information is given, and work (after all the chatting) gets done. For remote workers, Slack was the go-to communication tool of choice for most workplaces but during COVID (when everybody was stuck at home), Microsoft Teams began to gain traction. 

But which is better? Whether your employees are at home or in the office, your team needs something to help them communicate efficiently. Does Slack still rule the roost? Or is Teams now the go-to communication tool? Let's take a closer look.

Messaging

When it comes to messaging abilities, Slack and Teams are quite similar. They offer all of the text functions you would expect and you can tag somebody with @ to make sure they get the message. Both support Gifs too so messages can be personalised and made fun although Teams seems to be ahead in this area as there is a ready-made toolbar at the bottom of the screen that provides access to a library of GIFS and stickers.  Slack however allows you to make your own emojis and gifs tailored to your company.

In terms of the messaging interface, there is more customisation with Slack. Your team can use one of the preset colour options and even create a customised theme for themselves. Microsoft Teams only has three colour themes - light, dark, and high contrast. 

Pricing

Mercifully, for those businesses wanting to save money, both Slack and Teams offer freemium models. Admittedly, you will get more bang for your buck if you choose a payment model, but you can still benefit from file sharing, app integrations, and 5GB of shared storage if you choose not to pay. However, Teams also includes screen sharing in their free package whereas Slack does not, so this is something to consider when you're weighing up the two. 

For more features, you can upgrade. Slack has three price plans, starting at US$6.67 a month. With these premium packages, you can increase storage, benefit from screen sharing, have access to your entire message history, and much more besides. Microsoft Teams has three pricing tiers, starting at US$10 a month. With these, you can increase storage, record meetings and transcripts (with the mid-level plan), benefit from phone and web support, and more. 

Web Conferencing

Slack offers one-to-one video and voice calls. If you want to include additional callers, you will have to opt for a paid plan. The maximum number of callers is 15. Microsoft Teams, on the other hand, has a meeting capacity of 100 participants on the free plan and up to 300 on a premium plan. You can also record meetings in the premium tiers, which is something Slack doesn't seem to offer. In this regard, Microsoft Teams is the better choice. 

Which Is The Best Workplace Communication Tool?

Both Slack and Microsoft Teams are excellent communication tools so it's in your best interests to implement one of them. If your business already operates within the Microsoft 360 environment, then it’s best to stick with Teams. Teams has better videoconferencing capabilities, however, so if you run a big business with a lot of employees, this may be the better choice if you need to host meetings with a large number of callers. If you run a small business, the features offered by Slack may be enough for you, depending on your everyday needs and growth strategy.