InterviewUC&C18 Aug 2021 · 12 min read

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Which is Best?

Microsoft Office 365 had 155 million users as of October 2018. But, what does it mean for the collaboration game?

Slack and Microsoft Teams have been among the top competitors in the collaboration tool space for some time now. The two companies have been battling for the top spot among simple, convenient, and flexible tools for chat and conferencing ever since Microsoft announced Teams.

Slack stands as one of the earliest companies to introduce us to a new age of innovative meetings and communication. The solution, based largely around chat and file sharing, makes it quick and easy for teams to stay connected. Integrations with leading tools and the purchase of Slack by Salesforce makes this product a force to be reckoned with.

Microsoft Teams is a powerful all-in-one tool for UCaaS. Offering everything from video conferencing and chat to business telephony, Microsoft Teams ensures companies can built a cloud-based environment ready for the age of hybrid work.

Let’s take a closer look at the two products.

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Features

Many of the features of Microsoft Teams and Slack are the same. You can share files and screens on both services, access video and voice calling, and set up group or private chats. Microsoft Teams and Slack also integrate with a wide range of crucial apps, to help companies create a single pane of glass for work.

Microsoft Teams is more of an all-in-one UCaaS experience, with access to the full Microsoft Office productivity suite, as well as phone support. Slack, on the other hand, doesn’t have direct phone support, but it can allow for external communication between companies through Shared Channels. Slack also now exists within the Salesforce ecosystem, making it ideal for sales teams.

Features	Microsoft Teams	Slack
Messaging and chat	Unlimited messaging in all plans. File sharing, emojis and gifs also supported.	Up to 10,000 messages in the free plan or unlimited in paid plans. File sharing, emojis and gifs also supported.
Voice calling	Audio conferencing, Microsoft phone plans, and direct routing or operator connect.	Audio conferencing available
Integrations	More than 700 integrations with leading apps	More than 800 integrations with leading apps, including Salesforce
File storage	Up to 1TB per organisation	Up to 10GB on a standard plan, or 20GB on Plus
Security	SAML, AD, and SSO account controls, with two-factor authentication, data encryption, and protection of data at rest. Microsoft Teams is compliant with HIPAA, SOC I and SOC 2, EU privacy clauses, and ISO 27001.	Encryption for all files, messages, and data. 2-factor authentication.
Content sharing	Document management, SharePoint for storage, to-do lists, and file sharing. (Up to 100GB limit per file)	Range of integrations with file-sharing apps.
Pricing plans	Both free and paid options are available.	Both free and paid options available.
UCaaS	Full ecosystem of tools for meetings, video, chat, and collaborations, including business phone.	No business phone solution

While Microsoft Teams has gradually begun gaining steam as an all-in-one UCaaS solution for modern teams, Slack continues to be highly focused on simple messaging and asynchronous chat. The solution, purchased by Salesforce, could become a critical tool for managing workflows among hybrid teams in the future of sales, however. Of course, Microsoft Teams has it’s own solutions for Sales support, including integrations with Salesforce.

Microsoft Teams vs Zoom: Innovation

As collaboration and communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams continue to earn attention as the central hub for the hybrid workforce, companies are focusing more aggressively on innovation. If your entire organisation is going to be based in a tool like Slack or Teams, you need to ensure you have access to the latest functionality in these apps.

Microsoft has always been a forward-thinker in the technology space. Over the years, Microsoft Teams has evolved from being a simple replacement for Skype for Business, to the number one tool for hybrid teams.

Today, Microsoft Teams offers access to some of the most impressive intelligent tools and innovations, including AI assistants, and build-your-own bot solutions. The flexible ecosystem means companies can easily connect their preferred phone system provider through direct routing or operator connect, and there’s even access to APIs and SDKs too.

Microsoft is also one of the top companies investing in extended reality for the future of collaboration, with Microsoft Mesh and HoloLens technology.

Slack isn’t quite as laser-focused on the future as Microsoft. The company seems committed to keeping asynchronous communication as simple as possible, with access to custom notifications, bookmarked content, and bots. However, there aren’t as many innovations as possible in the world of disruptive development and extended reality to speak of.

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: User Experience

Both Microsoft Teams and Slack are built for exceptional ease of use – making them top picks for companies making the transition into the new hybrid age of work. The Microsoft Teams application is organised into tabs, where you can find things like Activity, Chat, Teams, Files, and Messages. There’s also access to unique engagement features like Microsoft Viva for training, and even improving workforce satisfaction.

Microsoft Teams works seamlessly with the rest of the Microsoft productivity ecosystem. You can arrange meetings through your Outlook calendar and remind people over email when it’s time to join a discussion.

Microsoft Teams is designed to align with and enhance your existing communication stack. This even involves allowing companies to choose the business phone providers they want to use and select preferred data center locations too.

Slack is notoriously one of the simplest tools for collaboration on the modern market. You can easily set up the UX with your own skin or change the theme to suit your needs. There’s an intelligent search function for easily finding the files you need and easy starting a new channel or conversation. Adding integrations to Slack is quick and simple too, making it a top choice for extensibility.

Since Salesforce acquired Slack, the sales and CRM solution has been working on making the technology as intuitive as possible for the flexible modern sales team. We may find this tool becomes the ultimate pick for sales professionals in an evolving hybrid environment.

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Pricing Options

Both Slack and Microsoft Teams have free options, so you can test the app’s quality and some of its features before you sign up for a paid package. The Slack free model offers unlimited public and private channels, 5GB of storage, file sharing, and 10 app integrations. The Microsoft free package comes with a maximum meeting duration of 1 hour, support for 300 participants, and collaboration for up to 500 people.

Slack and Microsoft also have various premium packages to choose from. The standard package from Slack costs $6.67 per month when you pay annually, and it allows you to access unlimited integration, while increasing storage to around 10GB per member. There’s also a “Plus” plan for up to 20GB of storage per member, and a host of extra features. Enterprise Grid provides companies with much more access to a wide range of tools, and 1TB of storage for each user.

Microsoft’s paid pricing options start at $5 per month for all the basic features of Microsoft Teams, and access to a small selection of Microsoft Office applications, like OneDrive. You can access 10GB of storage per license with this plan, but you’ll need the Standard Microsoft Business plan for a wider range of features, like access to Word and Excel integrations.

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Video Meetings & Teamwork

Both Slack and Microsoft Teams allow companies to host one-to-one video calls or group conversations via video. However, the Slack experience is generally far more simplistic than the one you’ll get from Microsoft Teams.

While Slack can connect you to your colleagues through video, there are limitations in what you can do with things like grid views, and presentations. The best way to upgrade your video conferencing experience with Slack is to integrate an app like Zoom, so you can access things like virtual backgrounds and new video layouts.

Microsoft Teams, on the other hand, is excellent for all kinds of video conferencing, with a 1080p resolution at 30fps as standard to ensure your meetings look great. You can access things like virtual backgrounds and multiple grid modes within the app, as well as a “Together mode” which presents users in a shared virtual space. You can also record your video meetings with Microsoft Teams, whereas Slack recording would require integrations.

Microsoft’s video ecosystem is growing increasingly impressive with the addition of new tools and features for hybrid teams. Today’s employees can access everything from intelligent framing and positioning of video frames, for better eye-contact in meetings, to automatic video enhancements.

Microsoft Teams vs Slack: Messaging

Messaging is one of the most popular forms of asynchronous communication in the current landscape, particularly among professionals in the hybrid working space. When a video or audio call isn’t appropriate, a quick message with access to files, links, and information sharing can be extremely convenient.

Both Microsoft Teams and Slack offer messaging functionality, with a range of overlapping features, like private and public channels. Slack has the unique “Shared channels” feature to offer, which allows people in a company to communicate securely with people from another organization. Microsoft Teams is currently working on its own Shared Channels experience via Microsoft Teams “Connect”, which the company introduced in Ignite 2021.

Microsoft makes communicating via chat on Teams as simple and streamlined as possible, with @mentions, threaded messages, and the option to format your messages however you choose. You can add emojis and gifs to your conversations, to improve engagement, and drag-and-drop files direct from your computer into a thread.

Slack has always been one of the top tools for messaging in the collaboration market. Chat on Slack is quick and convenient, with threaded messages, intelligent search functionality, and a host of ways to enhance your conversations through formatting.

You can build a host of team channels on Slack, including private environments where you can keep conversations as secure as possible. There’s also access to plenty of file sharing options with the ability to connect tools like Google Drive, Asana, and more.

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Voice

Unfortunately, Slack’s options for voice are somewhat limited. While you can host a video call through an integration, or a quick voice call in seconds – you can’t connect business telephony. Slack’s voice solution is easy to use but basic.

Alternatively, Microsoft Teams offers a wide variety of voice communication options. You can host voice-based meetings within the app, or access Business Phone plans from Microsoft, to make external calls to people around the world. If you want to use Microsoft Teams at the heart of your UCaaS stack, and you already have your own voice provider, there’s direct routing.

Operator Connect, one of the more recent additions to the Microsoft voice environment, also allows companies to access more convenient, managed services when working with voice vendors.

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Meeting Rooms

Meeting rooms continue to be an essential investment for all kinds of modern teams in the digital age. However, different collaboration and communication tool providers take different approaches to meeting room technology.

With Microsoft, you get access to a full ecosystem in the form of Microsoft Teams Rooms’ – an approach to meeting room systems which combines the efficient technology employees need with the hardware they want for one-click meetings. Partnerships with leading providers like AudioCodes, Yealink, and Poly make it easy to start any meeting in no time.

Not only does Microsoft offer a range of ways to build your meeting rooms, but it also makes these environments more intelligent, with AI software solutions built into the Teams ecosystem.

Slack doesn’t have its own “Meeting Rooms” portfolio. You can definitely find tools that integrate with Slack out there, but the focus more on “chat” than video or audio means you’re unlikely to get a dedicated all-in-one experience from Slack.

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: The Salesforce / Microsoft Factor

One of the top selling points of Microsoft Teams has always been its inherent access to the rest of the Microsoft ecosystem. When you purchase Teams, you’re getting a comprehensive productivity suite, complete with word processing, planning tools, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.

This Microsoft ecosystem makes it quick and easy for users to share information and collaborate on files in a shared single-pane-of-glass environment. Microsoft’s flexibility when it comes to integrating with UCaaS and CCaaS tools, combined with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem essentially gives you everything you need to keep hybrid teams aligned in one space.

It’s not just productivity tools you get from Microsoft either. There’s also Microsoft BI to consider, and the various Microsoft solutions designed for things like automation and field service management. Slack has struggled to compare for some time.

However, there is a chance that Slack could catch up in the years ahead, thanks to the combination of Slack and Sales Cloud. For sales teams, the Salesforce acquisition of Slack meant huge things, including the introduction of Slack-First Customer 360. This platform now connects employees, partners, and customers with each other and the apps they’re already using.

Salesforce records are available within Slack, as are a host of essential Salesforce tools, for powerful cross-company interactions. There’s certainly room for Salesforce and Slack to start making a serious impact on at least one part of the business landscape.

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Security and Integrations

Slack and Microsoft Teams have no shortage of ways to expand your collaboration ecosystem and protect your employees. Both options come with a variety of different “bots” you can use to manage your teams and improve collaboration.

There are over 600 integrations to choose from in the Microsoft app store, with various connections to leading tools like Trello, Clickup, and Asana. You’ll also have the added benefit of in-depth integrations with the Microsoft Office productivity tools and access to Microsoft APIs.

Slack has well over 800 integrations available, with many leading services like Zoom and even Microsoft tools like Teams Calls and Outlook Calendar. Slack was recently purchased by Salesforce, so there’s likely to be an even stronger connection between these two apps in the future.

From a security perspective, both tools are excellent at delivering peace of mind and compliance. Slack is ISO 27001 compliant, just like Microsoft Teams. You also get end-to-end encryption on both platforms and multiple options for controlling who has access to what information. Microsoft is slightly more advanced with security, thanks to HIPAA compliance, Microsoft SharePoint encryption, and Cloud Security Alliance certifications.

Slack vs. Microsoft Teams: Which is Best?

Both Microsoft Teams and Slack will help companies collaborate and connect in the age of remote and hybrid work. While Slack seems more like a tool dedicated to quick and convenient message-based chat, Microsoft Teams is a more comprehensive UCaaS solution, equipped with various IP calling options and unique tools.

Slack is excellent for beginners in the collaboration space, and it’s likely to be a top choice for salespeople, thanks to Salesforce’s recent purchase. However, Microsoft Teams may offer a slightly more advanced environment for communications.

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