Slack vs Microsoft Teams: Which Should Your Team Use in 2025?

Slack vs Microsoft Teams in 2025

The choice between Slack and Microsoft Teams affects how your entire organization communicates daily. Both platforms offer messaging, video calls, file sharing, and app integrations. But they serve different ecosystems and prioritize different workflows. This comparison covers everything you need to make an informed decision.

Pricing

Plan	Slack	Microsoft Teams
Free	90-day message history, 1:1 calls	100 participants, 60-min meetings
Starter/Essentials	$8.75/user/mo	$4/user/mo (Teams Essentials)
Pro/Business	$12.50/user/mo	$6/user/mo (M365 Business Basic)
Business+/Standard	$17.50/user/mo	$12.50/user/mo (M365 Business Standard)

Microsoft Teams is significantly cheaper at every tier, especially when bundled with Microsoft 365. If your organization already pays for Microsoft 365, Teams is effectively free. Slack's pricing can strain budgets for large teams.

Messaging Experience

Slack's messaging is best-in-class. Channels are organized, searchable, and customizable with emoji reactions, threads, and canvas documents. The interface is clean and fast, and Slack's search reliably surfaces old conversations.

Teams messaging works well but feels more formal. The interface is busier, and threading can be confusing for new users. However, Teams integrates seamlessly with SharePoint for file management, which is a major advantage for document-heavy teams.

Video Conferencing

Microsoft Teams has a clear edge in video meetings. It supports up to 300 participants on business plans, offers breakout rooms, together mode, live captions, and recording with transcription. Teams meetings integrate natively with Outlook calendars.

Slack added huddles for quick audio and video calls, but full-featured meetings require integrating Zoom or Google Meet. For organizations that rely heavily on video conferencing, Teams eliminates the need for a separate tool.

Integrations

Slack leads with over 2,600 app integrations in its directory. Most developer tools, SaaS platforms, and productivity apps offer Slack integrations first. Custom integrations via Slack's API are well-documented and widely used.

Teams has fewer third-party integrations but deeper integration with Microsoft's ecosystem: SharePoint, OneDrive, Power BI, Power Automate, and the full Office suite. If your stack is Microsoft-centric, Teams is the natural hub.

Best For

• Choose Slack if: You use diverse SaaS tools, value a polished messaging experience, work in tech or creative industries, or need extensive third-party integrations.
• Choose Teams if: You already use Microsoft 365, need robust video conferencing, work in a document-heavy environment, or need to minimize per-user costs.

The Bottom Line

Slack is the better messaging tool. Teams is the better value proposition. If your company already invests in Microsoft 365, switching to Teams saves money and simplifies your stack. If you prioritize user experience and third-party integrations, Slack justifies its premium pricing. Many organizations use both: Teams for meetings and document collaboration, Slack for daily communication.