Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Chat: which team chat app to choose?

In short:

1. Three team chat apps are compared using their pricing pages checked on 9 November 2026: Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Chat.
2. Slack is the only one with a free plan for a team, with 90 days of history. Its Pro plan costs €8.25 per user per month billed monthly, with unlimited history.
3. Microsoft Teams Essentials is the cheapest, at €3.50 excl. VAT per user per month billed annually. Microsoft 365 Business Basic, at €6.07 excl. VAT, adds business email and web apps.
4. Google Chat is included in every Google Workspace plan, from €6.80 per user per month with an annual commitment (Business Starter, introductory price for new customers).

Team chat apps: comparison table

Method: prices come from the official pricing pages, consulted on 9 November 2026, in euros. Microsoft states prices excluding VAT. Slack and Google do not state whether their prices exclude VAT. A “not found” cell means the information did not appear on the pricing page consulted, not that the feature is missing.

Why a team chat app replaces internal email

Choosing a team chat app means moving internal exchanges from the inbox to conversations organised by topic, project or department. Decisions remain visible to the people concerned, without endless reply chains.

A team chat app belongs to a wider family of tools, presented in the article Collaboration tools: the categories to know.

The three tools compared share the same basics: channels or discussion spaces, direct messages, file sharing and video calls. They differ mainly in their model: a dedicated tool for Slack, a component of an office suite for Teams and Google Chat.

The criteria used for the comparison

• Whether there is a free plan and its limits.
• The price per user and the commitment required.
• The message history kept.
• Integrations with other software.
• The tool’s place in the company’s office suite.

Slack: the dedicated team chat app

Slack is first and foremost a team chat app, built around discussion channels. It is the only one of the three tools not tied to an office suite: it connects to Microsoft and Google environments alike. Plan details are on Slack’s pricing page.

According to the check made on 9 November 2026 on Slack’s French pricing page, Slack offers four plans. The free plan has no time limit. Pro costs €8.25 per user per month billed monthly, and Business+ €18. Both showed a 50% discount for 3 months at the time of the check, subject to Slack’s terms. Enterprise+ costs €45 per user per month billed annually, through the sales team.

Slack’s key features

• Permanent free plan: 90 days of message and file history, up to 10 integrated apps, calls and external messages one-to-one only.
• Unlimited history and unlimited integrations from the Pro plan.
• Slack Connect: conversations with people from other companies in shared channels, one-to-one on Free and in groups from Pro.
• Workflow Builder, listed in the feature table, to automate simple tasks such as a leave request or an internal form.
• AI features: conversation summaries, daily recaps and AI search, listed in the plan table.
• Security: the pricing page highlights encryption of data in transit and at rest. SAML single sign-on comes with Business+.

For a small team that wants to try a chat app without a budget, then keep it as it grows, Slack offers the most gradual path. Its price per user remains higher than the other two.

Comparative analysis: Microsoft Teams and Google Chat against Slack

Microsoft Teams, the chat app of the Microsoft ecosystem

Microsoft sells Teams in two ways to businesses with 1 to 300 employees. According to its comparison page for small and medium-sized businesses, checked on 9 November 2026:

• Microsoft Teams Essentials: €3.50 excl. VAT per user per month, billed annually with automatic renewal. Chat, calls, video meetings, 10 GB of storage per user.
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: €6.07 excl. VAT per user per month, billed annually. Teams, plus business email, web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, and 1 TB of storage per user.
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Copilot Business: €20.36 excl. VAT per user per month, with desktop apps and Copilot.

Meetings accept up to 300 participants for a maximum of 30 hours. Microsoft announces more than 250 apps that can be integrated into Teams. A free trial is offered. On Microsoft’s website, the free version of Teams appears under the plans for individual users.

For a business already using Outlook, Word and Excel, Teams is often already paid for within its Microsoft 365 subscription. It is still worth checking that the plan subscribed to is a version “with Teams”: Microsoft also lists plans without Teams.

Google Chat, the chat app built into Google Workspace

Google Chat is not sold on its own to businesses: it is included in every Google Workspace plan, alongside Gmail, Meet, Drive, Calendar and Docs. According to the pricing page checked on 9 November 2026, in euros:

These prices, per user per month, are flagged as an introductory price for new customers, applied to the first 20 users for 12 months. The standard rate that applies afterwards is not shown on the page. A 50% discount for 3 months was also offered at the time of the check. The free trial lasts 14 days.

Gemini in Chat (search, summarise and translate conversations) is not available on Business Starter, according to the feature table. It appears from Business Standard upwards.

Summary of the differences

Who is each tool for? Recommendations by profile

Small team that wants to try a chat app

Slack is the only one that lets a team start for free, with no time limit. The 90-day history limit is enough to check that the team adopts the tool. Moving to Pro unlocks full history and group meetings.

Business using Microsoft 365

Teams is already included in Microsoft 365 Business Basic and in higher plans with Teams. Adding another chat app would mean paying twice for the same use. Teams Essentials, at €3.50 excl. VAT, suits teams that do not need the rest of the suite.

Business using Google Workspace

Google Chat is already available in every Workspace account. It covers most of a small team’s needs, and relies on Meet for video calls.

Team that works with many tools and partners

Slack stands out with unlimited integrations from Pro, its Workflow Builder and channels shared with outside companies. To connect the chat app to other software, the comparison Zapier vs Make vs n8n helps choose the right automation tool.

How to choose a team chat app in 5 steps

1. Look at the office suite already in use: Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace may already include a chat app.
2. Count the users and calculate the real annual cost, commitment included.
3. Define how much history is needed to find past decisions.
4. List the tools to connect: CRM, project management, customer support.
5. Test with a real team during the free plan or the trial.

Security points to check

A team chat app holds internal and sometimes sensitive information. Enabling two-factor authentication on every account is part of small business cybersecurity best practices.

Access to these tools relies on passwords: a business password manager prevents passwords from being reused from one service to another.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Paying for a chat app already included in the company’s office suite.
2. Comparing monthly prices with prices that require an annual commitment.
3. Relying on a promotional price without knowing the rate that follows.
4. Creating many channels without naming rules or owners.
5. Forgetting to remove access for people who leave the company.

Frequently asked questions