Best Slack Alternatives (2026)
Looking for something other than Slack for communication? Here are the 10 alternatives we track, ranked, with verified pricing for each.
Pricing verified Sep 01, 2026
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Slack alternatives at a glance
| Product | Entry price | Plans | Free plan | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slack this page's subject | $8/mo | 4 | Yes | No |
| Zoom | $14/mo | 4 | Yes | No |
| Loom | $18/mo | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| Aircall | $30/mo | 3 | No | No |
| Airmeet | $199/mo | 4 | No | Yes |
| Bettermode | $499/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| Chanty | $4/mo | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| Circle | $89/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| CloudTalk | $25/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| Demio | $63/mo | 3 | No | Yes |
| Discord | $2/mo | 2 | No | No |
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Zoom
CommunicationVideo conferencing and meetings.
Zoom sits in the middle of the video conferencing pack — pricier than scrappy alternatives but cheaper than bundling into a full Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 seat just for video. They're leaning on brand trust and ubiquity rather than being the budget pick, aiming at teams who already default to 'let's Zoom it' and don't want to relitigate that choice.
Plans: Basic $0/mo per seat · Pro $14/mo per seat · Business $18/mo per seat · Enterprise Contact Sales
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Loom
CommunicationAsync video messaging for work.
Loom sits mid-pack for async video tools — pricier than scrappy Chrome-extension competitors but way cheaper than bundling video into a full collaboration suite. They're not competing on price at all; they're betting teams will pay a premium because Loom is the default verb for 'send a quick video' the way Slack is for chat.
Plans: Starter $0/mo per seat · Business $18/mo per seat · Business + AI $24/mo per seat · Enterprise Contact Sales
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Aircall
CommunicationCloud phone system for sales and support.
At $30-50/seat, Aircall sits mid-to-premium in the cloud calling space — pricier than bare VoIP tools like Grasshopper but cheaper than full contact-center suites like Five9 or NICE CXone. They're chasing SMB and mid-market sales/support teams who want call center features without enterprise-grade complexity or cost.
Plans: Essentials $30/mo per seat · Professional $50/mo per seat · Custom Contact Sales
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Airmeet
CommunicationVirtual events and webinars.
At $199/mo, Airmeet undercuts premium webinar tools like ON24 but sits above bare-bones options like Livestorm or StreamYard, positioning itself as the mid-market pick for teams that want polish without enterprise pricing. The custom tiers above that are clearly aimed at competing for large virtual conference and agency business where they're pricing against Bizzabo and Hopin rather than simple webinar software.
Plans: Premium Webinars $199/mo · Events Contact Sales · Managed Events Contact Sales · Agency Plan Contact Sales
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Bettermode
CommunicationCustomer community platform.
At $499 as a starting price, Bettermode is firmly a premium play — this isn't competing with cheap forum plugins or Discord alternatives, it's going after mid-market and enterprise teams who see community as core infrastructure. They're betting that buyers evaluating this have budget authority and are comparing against other serious platforms, not bargain-hunting startups.
Plans: Starter $499/mo · Growth $1750/mo · Premium Contact Sales
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Chanty
CommunicationSimple team chat with built-in tasks.
At $4/seat, Chanty undercuts Slack and Microsoft Teams by a wide margin, positioning itself as the budget-friendly alternative for small businesses and nonprofits who want core team chat without paying premium collaboration-suite prices. This is a value play aimed at price-sensitive teams, not enterprises chasing deep integrations.
Plans: Free $0/mo per seat · Business $4/mo per seat · Enterprise Contact Sales
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Circle
CommunicationCommunity platform for creators.
At $89-199/mo, Circle sits mid-to-premium compared to Discourse or Discord-based stacks, but it's cheaper than all-in-one giants like Kajabi once you factor in the community-plus-courses bundle. They're chasing creators and course businesses who've outgrown Facebook Groups but don't want Mighty Networks' complexity or Kajabi's price tag.
Plans: Professional $89/mo · Business $199/mo · Circle Plus Contact Sales
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CloudTalk
CommunicationAI-powered call center software for sales and support teams.
CloudTalk sits in the mid-market lane — pricier than bare-bones VoIP tools but well under enterprise contact center platforms like Five9 or NICE, so they're chasing scaling SMBs and mid-size sales/support teams who've outgrown a basic dialer but don't need a full CCaaS suite. The lack of a free plan signals they're not fighting for the bottom-of-funnel self-serve crowd.
Plans: Starter $25/mo per seat · Essential $29/mo per seat · Expert $49/mo per seat
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Demio
CommunicationWebinars built for marketing.
Plans: Starter $63/mo · Growth $117/mo · Premium $196/mo
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Discord
CommunicationVoice, video, and text communities.
There's really no direct competitor charging for chat itself, so Discord isn't fighting on price — it's more of a low-cost add-on play compared to what people already spend on Twitch subs or Spotify. At $2.99 and $9.99, it's priced like pocket change, banking on volume across hundreds of millions of free users rather than premium positioning.
Plans: Nitro Basic $2/mo · Nitro $9/mo
None of these fit? See every communication tool we price →
Slack Alternatives FAQ
- What is the best alternative to Slack?
- Zoom is the closest Slack alternative we track for communication. Paid plans start at $14/mo, and there is a free plan to start on. Loom and Aircall are also worth a look.
- Are there free alternatives to Slack?
- Yes — Zoom, Loom, Chanty offer a free plan, so you can switch without paying up front.
- How much do Slack alternatives cost?
- Entry prices range from $2/mo (Discord) to $499/mo (Bettermode). Each product page has the full verified tier breakdown.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Slack?
- Yes — Slack starts at $8/mo, while Discord ($2/mo), Chanty ($4/mo) start lower.
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