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Source-backed analysis7

Review basis

Research-based review: the AppDuo Editorial Team compiled it from official pages, documentation, app stores, press and user feedback, without hands-on testing. Every claim links to a source with the date it was checked.

7 reference sources

Information updated Nov 10, 2026

How we review
Slack logo

Slack Review

Channel-based team messaging with a large app ecosystem, priced per user

Editorial Team7.3/10Write the first review

By Official AppDuo editorial team · Updated

  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Linux
  • API
Freemium · $8.75/mo (business plan)
Visit Slack
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Decide at a glance

Our verdict

Slack suits tech teams and businesses that want channel-based chat, many connected apps and a free plan to start. The trade-offs are 90 days of history on Free, per-user pricing that climbs with team size, and the strongest AI features starting at Business+ ($15/user/month billed annually).

Best for: Tech teams and startups wanting channel chat wired into GitHub, Google Drive and Zoom

Skip it if: Teams needing long history without paying: Free keeps only 90 days

Pros

  • A Free plan, and Pro at $7.25/user/month billed annually
  • Unlimited message history and apps from Pro
  • Broad app ecosystem and API; voice and video huddles

Cons

  • Free is limited to 90 days of history, 10 apps and 1:1 huddles, and deletes data after 1 year
  • Per-user pricing, higher on monthly billing (Pro $8.75, Business+ $18)
All pros and cons · Who is it for?

Pros

  • Clients on web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS and Linux; rated 4.6/5 on US Google Play

Cons

  • Free and Pro get only a Slackbot trial; ongoing access needs Business+
  • Has had a multi-hour outage (4 January 2021) and a private GitHub repository compromise (disclosed 31 December 2022)

Best for

  • Organisations already on Salesforce, which has owned Slack since 2021
  • Teams working with outside partners in shared channels (up to 250 organisations from Pro)

Skip it if

  • Organisations on Microsoft 365 wanting a bundled suite (see Microsoft Teams)

Problems it solves

Experience & key features

What is Slack?

Slack is a channel-based team messaging platform. According to Wikipedia it began as an internal tool at Tiny Speck, the company behind the game Glitch, and launched publicly in August 2013 with 8,000 sign-ups in the first 24 hours. Salesforce agreed to buy Slack on 1 December 2020 for about $27.7 billion, and the deal closed on 21 July 2021.

Plans and pricing

Slack’s pricing page lists four plans. Free keeps 90 days of history and up to 10 apps. Pro costs $8.75/user/month ($7.25 billed annually) with unlimited history and apps and AI conversation summaries. Business+ costs $18 ($15 billed annually) and adds full Slackbot, AI search and daily recaps. Enterprise+ is quote-based. The pricing page lists no storage limits.

AI and ecosystem

Per Wikipedia, Slack added huddles (voice) in March 2022, a ChatGPT integration in March 2023 and Agentforce in May 2025. In June 2025 Slack tightened its API terms to stop large language models from copying or storing API data long term. In January 2026 Slackbot became an agentic AI assistant powered by Anthropic’s Claude.

More analysis

Who it is for

Slack suits tech teams and businesses that want one chat hub wired into many tools. Organisations on Microsoft 365 may find Microsoft Teams more convenient; for an all-in-one suite, look at Lark. Weigh per-user pricing and the 90-day Free limit before choosing.

Screenshots

Slack on iPhone, image 1 (App Store)
Slack on iPhone, image 1 (App Store)
Slack on iPhone, image 2 (App Store)
Slack on iPhone, image 2 (App Store)
Slack on iPhone, image 3 (App Store)
Slack on iPhone, image 3 (App Store)

Plans & pricing

Prices last verified Nov 10, 2026

Free

Business

Free

Per the pricing page: 90-day message history, up to 10 apps, 1:1-only huddles and external messaging, one workspace; data is deleted after 1 year. Slackbot is a limited trial only.

Pro

Business

$8.75/mo/user

$7.25/mo billed yearly

$8.75/user/month billed monthly, $7.25 billed annually. Unlimited message history and apps, group huddles, connections with up to 250 external organisations and AI conversation summaries; Slackbot is a limited trial only.

Business+

Business

$18/mo/user

$15/mo billed yearly

$18/user/month billed monthly, $15 billed annually. Adds advanced AI: full Slackbot, AI workflow generation, AI search, daily recaps and file summaries.

Enterprise+

Business

Contact sales

Contact sales for a quote. The AI features of Business+ plus enterprise search, unlimited workspaces and multiple SAML configurations.

Free plan limits
Free keeps 90 days of message history, up to 10 apps, 1:1 huddles and one workspace; per the pricing page, Free data is deleted after 1 year.
Free trial
No free trial
Cancellation & refunds

The pages read give no refund policy. The pricing page offers 50% off the first 3 months of monthly-billed Pro or Business+, only for online purchases within 7 days of creating a team.

Privacy

Slack’s privacy policy (effective 5 July 2023) separates two kinds of data. Customer Data (messages and files users submit) is controlled by the organisation and processed only on its instructions. Other Information covers account details and usage data such as channels, features, logs and IP address. For huddles and clips Slack collects metadata such as time and participants; the policy does not say audio or video content is collected. Customer Data is kept per the organisation’s retention settings. The policy does not directly say whether customer data trains AI models. Slack says it does not sell personal information but may share identifiers and activity data with advertisers for ads outside Slack.

Official pricing page

Slack alternatives

Slack logoVSMicrosoft Teams logoSlack vs Microsoft Teams
Zoom logo7.5/10

Zoom

Dedicated video meetings with a 40-minute free tier and built-in AI notes

Freemium
Microsoft Teams logo7.5/10

Microsoft Teams

Chat, meetings and collaboration inside the Microsoft 365 ecosystem

Freemium
All alternatives

Frequently asked questions

Is Slack free?

Yes. The Free plan has no time limit but keeps 90 days of history, up to 10 apps and 1:1 huddles, and deletes data after 1 year.

How much does Slack cost?

Pro is $8.75/user/month ($7.25 billed annually); Business+ is $18 ($15 billed annually); Enterprise+ is quote-based, per Slack's pricing page.

Who owns Slack?

Salesforce, after the deal closed on 21 July 2021 per Wikipedia.

Does Slack have a Vietnamese interface?

No. The App Store lists English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) and Spanish.

Review evidence & sources7

Scores

Ease of use
8.0
Why this score

A familiar channel-and-thread model with clients on every major platform. Based on documentation and store listings.

Features
8.3
Why this score

Channels, huddles, unlimited apps from Pro, search and API; AI (Slackbot, AI search, recaps) is concentrated in Business+ and above.

Value for money
6.8
Why this score

Free is capped at 90 days; Pro at $7.25 and Business+ at $15 (annual) are per user, so cost grows with team size, and full AI starts at Business+.

Performance
7.0
Why this score

Wikipedia records several outages, including one on 4 January 2021 that blocked logins and messaging for hours. App ratings are mixed: 4.1/5 on the US App Store, 4.6/5 on US Google Play.

Support
7.0
Why this score

Docs, community and plan-based support exist; the pages read give no response times.

Privacy & security
6.5
Why this score

Organisations control customer data and retention. Marked down because the policy is not explicit on AI training with customer data, identifiers are shared with advertisers, and in late December 2022 Slack disclosed a private GitHub repository compromise (per Wikipedia).

What users say

Sources

Specs & compatibility
Developer
Slack Technologies (Salesforce)
Headquarters
United States
Launched
2013
Category
Business

Capabilities

  • Real-time collaboration
  • Integrations
  • AI features
  • Public API
  • Mobile app
  • Templates

Platforms

  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Linux
  • API

Interface languages

  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Portuguese
  • Chinese
  • Spanish

Integrations

  • Salesforce
  • Google Drive
  • Box
  • GitHub
  • Zoom
  • OpenAI ChatGPT

Support

  • Help center
  • Community forum
  • Live chat

Change history

  1. Feature.Slackbot becomes an agentic AI assistant powered by Anthropic's Claude.
  2. Update.Slack changes its API terms to stop large language models from copying or storing API data long term.
  3. Feature.Huddles (voice calls) introduced; video added in June 2022.
Full change history (8)
  1. Company.Salesforce's acquisition of Slack closes.
  2. Company.Salesforce agrees to acquire Slack for about $27.7 billion.
  3. Company.Slack goes public via a direct public offering at a $19.5 billion market value.
  4. Company.Slack acquires HipChat and Stride from Atlassian.
  5. Launch.Slack launches publicly with 8,000 sign-ups in the first 24 hours.
About the author

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