Collaborative work apps have become the go-to standard for organizing workflows and managing projects. Slack remains the most popular choice among small and medium-sized teams, thanks to its ease of use, clean interface, and solid communication tools. The one catch? Getting the most out of it doesn’t come cheap.
Luckily, Slack isn’t the only game in town. The market is full of alternatives that can go toe-to-toe with the original — some even surprise you with what they offer for the price. Here, AdmiGram.com rounds up five of the best options, and we’re confident at least one of them will fit right into your workflow.
5 Best Slack Alternatives
Mattermost
While most collaboration apps focus on chat and project management, Mattermost sets itself apart with strong privacy controls and an impressive library of third-party integrations (over 700). You can access it through a browser, desktop app, or mobile device.
The interface will feel familiar to Slack users and is easy to pick up. Self-host Mattermost on your own servers, and most features are free to use — a setup that’s both budget-friendly and secure, with end-to-end encryption built in.
Rocket.Chat
Rocket.Chat is a feature-rich collaboration platform offering video conferencing, channels, and direct messaging, alongside numerous integrations and multi-level permission controls. It’s one of the more robust options for teams that rely on constant communication and information sharing.
The interface feels familiar if you’ve used other modern messaging apps. What sets Rocket.Chat apart is its flexibility — you can favorite channels and contacts, and customize how channels are displayed to fit your workflow.
Zulip
Zulip is an open-source team chat app that pairs real-time messaging with threaded conversations. By subscribing to “streams” and organizing them into topics, you can follow discussions in a clear, logical order — and skip past anything that isn’t relevant to you.
Zulip’s interface looks different from Slack’s, and that’s part of its appeal: instead of juggling dozens of channels, you get a cleaner, more organized structure. It also covers the basics you’d expect — image and video sharing, plus a range of integrations for productivity and data exchange.
Chanty
For small teams on a budget, Chanty is hard to beat. Built with small businesses in mind, it packs in advanced instant messaging features — many of them free — that rival what you’d get from Slack or other corporate messengers.
The interface is clean and easy to navigate. Click the “plus” icon and you can start a call, jump into a public conversation, or create and assign a task — all in a couple of clicks. Sharing files and updates is straightforward, and you can switch to dark mode to ease eye strain during long sessions.
Fleep
If you want something simple without sacrificing functionality, Fleep is worth a look. It presents itself as a basic messenger, but under the hood, it’s a full team chat and collaboration tool with solid project management features. Tasks, boards, team spaces, and file management all set it apart from the competition.
The interface is clean, intuitive, and efficient. Beyond chat, audio, and video calls with screen sharing, Fleep offers a categorized to-do list for creating and tracking tasks — making it much harder for anyone on the team to lose track of what’s assigned to them.
image on top: Stephen Phillips / Unsplash
