Is Microsoft Teams free if we have Microsoft 365?

Teams is included in most Microsoft 365 business and enterprise plans, so for those organizations the marginal cost of Teams is typically zero — a major reason it wins default status in Microsoft-centric companies.

Which is easier to use, Slack or Teams?

In our evaluation, Slack is the easier product for chat-first teams to adopt — its interface is focused on channels and messaging. Teams is broader, combining chat, meetings, files and Office apps, which makes it denser but more complete for Microsoft 365 organizations.

Which is better for small businesses?

It depends on your existing stack. Small businesses already paying for Microsoft 365 should start with Teams because it is effectively included. Small teams outside the Microsoft ecosystem often prefer Slack's simpler, messaging-first experience — and both offer free plans to evaluate.

Can Slack replace Microsoft Teams?

For messaging, yes; for meetings and telephony, only partially. Slack covers chat, huddles and workflow automation well, but organizations using Teams for large meetings, webinars or phone systems would need additional tools if they switched to Slack.

Do Slack and Teams work together?

They serve the same job, so most organizations standardize on one. Both integrate with the other's ecosystem at the edges — Slack connects with Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook and OneDrive, and Teams supports third-party app integrations — but running both as primary chat platforms creates fragmentation.

Slack vs Microsoft Teams

Slack is often the preferred standalone chat platform for its interface and app ecosystem. Microsoft Teams is usually the default for organizations already paying for Microsoft 365, where it is effectively bundled. If your company runs on Microsoft 365, start with Teams; if you are choosing a best-of-breed chat hub and budget allows, evaluate Slack.

Slack — best for: Technology and distributed teams wanting a best-in-class, standalone chat hub.

Microsoft Teams — best for: Organizations standardized on Microsoft 365 that want chat, meetings and calling in one suite.

Published 2026-08-23 · Updated 2026-08-23 · SaaSVise Editorial Team

Slack vs Microsoft Teams: the differences that matter

Dimension	Slack	Microsoft Teams
Best for	Tech and distributed teams choosing best-of-breed	Microsoft 365 organizations and enterprises
Core strength	Messaging UX and a very large app directory	Bundled value and deep Office/365 integration
Pricing context	Standalone per-seat subscription	Included in most Microsoft 365 plans
Meetings & calling	Lightweight huddles	Full meetings, webinars and telephony add-ons
Ecosystem	Large cross-platform app directory	Microsoft and Power Platform ecosystem
Free plan	Yes — limited message history and integrations	Yes — with meeting and participant limits
Compliance	Enterprise options on Business+ and Grid	Deep compliance and eDiscovery via Microsoft 365

Which should you choose?

Choose Slack if…

Messaging experience and integrations are your top priority
Your stack is not Microsoft-centric
You are willing to pay separately for a dedicated chat platform

Choose Microsoft Teams if…

You already pay for Microsoft 365
You need meetings, webinars and telephony in the same tool
Enterprise compliance and eDiscovery are requirements

Where each product is stronger

Where Slack is stronger

Polished, messaging-first interface teams adopt quickly
Very large third-party app ecosystem across mixed stacks
Strong search, notification controls and workflow builder
Best-of-breed choice independent of office-suite decisions

Where Microsoft Teams is stronger

Effectively bundled with Microsoft 365 — marginal cost near zero
Full meetings, webinars and calling in the same product
Deep integration with Word, Excel, SharePoint and Outlook
Enterprise compliance, eDiscovery and administration via Microsoft 365

Key differences in depth

Ease of adoption

Slack's interface is consistently cited as the easier one to love: channels, threads and search are polished, and teams tend to adopt it without training. Teams packs chat, meetings, files and Office apps into one surface, which is denser — powerful for Microsoft-centric organizations, but heavier for teams that just want fast messaging.

Pricing considerations

The pricing story is asymmetric. Teams is bundled with most Microsoft 365 business and enterprise plans, so its marginal cost is often zero. Slack is a standalone per-seat subscription with a free plan whose message-history limits push growing teams to paid tiers. For Microsoft 365 shops, paying separately for Slack needs a clear UX or integration justification; for everyone else, Slack's free and Pro tiers are straightforward to trial.

Integrations and ecosystem

Slack's app directory is one of the largest in business software, with deep integrations across Google Drive, GitHub, Jira, Salesforce, Zoom and thousands more — it acts as a notification and workflow hub for mixed stacks. Teams integrates most deeply inside the Microsoft world: Word, Excel, SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook and Power Platform. Outside that ecosystem, its third-party integrations exist but are less central to the experience.

Meetings, calling and collaboration

Teams is the stronger meetings platform: scheduled meetings, large webinars and phone-system add-ons are first-class features tied into Exchange calendars. Slack's huddles are deliberately lightweight audio/video for quick conversations. For document collaboration, Teams leans on Office and SharePoint; Slack leans on canvases, lists and whatever document stack you already use.

Who should avoid each product

Avoid Slack if…

Your organization already pays for Microsoft 365 and budget is tight
You need built-in telephony and large-scale webinars
You want documents, email and chat under one vendor and bill

Avoid Microsoft Teams if…

Your stack is not Microsoft-centric and you want a lightweight chat tool
Messaging UX and third-party integrations are your top priority
Your team finds dense, multi-purpose interfaces slow to adopt

Our bottom line

This decision is mostly about ecosystem and budget, not features: Teams is effectively included if you pay for Microsoft 365, while Slack earns its separate subscription when messaging experience and third-party integrations are the priority.

Go deeper

Slack review

Slack is a channel-based team messaging platform with a large app ecosystem, widely used by technology and distributed teams as their communication hub.

Microsoft Teams review

Microsoft Teams is the chat, meetings and collaboration hub of Microsoft 365, bundled with the suite and tightly integrated with Office apps.

Frequently asked questions

This comparison is based on official vendor documentation and our published methodology. Neither vendor paid for placement or influenced this comparison.