SlackSlack was acquired by Salesforce in 2021 for £23 billion, making it one of the largest SaaS acquisitions ever95.0NEWFree (limited); £8/user/month (Pro)
Microsoft TeamsTeams surpassed 300 million monthly active users by 2023, more than doubling since the start of the pandemic92.7NEWFree (limited); Microsoft 365 Business Basic from $6/user/month
DiscordDiscord reached 200 million monthly active users in 2023 and has expanded significantly beyond gaming into enterprise and education90.3NEWFree; £7.99/month (Nitro)
Google Workspace ChatGoogle Chat replaced Hangouts as Google's primary workplace communication tool, consolidating messaging into Workspace in 202188.0NEWFree (limited); £5/user/month (Google Workspace Business Starter)
MattermostMattermost is built on an open source codebase, allowing organisations to self-host and modify the platform freely85.7NEWFree (self-hosted open source); £10/user/month (Cloud Team)
Rocket.ChatRocket.Chat is GDPR compliant and fully open source, making it popular among organisations with strict data residency needs83.3NEWFree (self-hosted open source); £3/user/month (Cloud Basic)
Jira Align (via Atlassian)Atlassian's suite of tools serves over 5 million developers, making it dominant in technical team collaboration81.0NEW£5/user/month (Jira Cloud Standard)
ZoomZoom's user base grew from 10 million daily users in 2019 to over 300 million by 202378.7NEWFree (limited); Pro from $15.99/month
RingCentral GlipRingCentral serves over 600,000 business customers and integrates messaging with phone systems and video76.3NEW£20/user/month (included in RingCentral Standard plan)
Twist (by Doist)Twist is built by Doist, the company behind Todoist, and is purpose-designed for asynchronous team workflows74.0NEWFree (limited); £4/user/month (Standard)
Slack is a cloud-based messaging platform designed for team collaboration with channels, direct messaging, and extensive app integrations. It enables asynchronous communication, searchable message history, and workflow automation through custom bots and third-party integrations.
Microsoft Teams integrates chat, video conferencing, and file collaboration within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. It offers channel-based communication, one-on-one messaging, and native integration with Office applications and SharePoint.
Discord is a voice, video, and text communication platform built for communities and teams. It features server-based organisation, rich media sharing, screen sharing, and low-latency voice channels ideal for real-time collaboration.
Google Chat provides team messaging integrated into Google Workspace, offering channels, direct messaging, and native integration with Google Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Meet for seamless collaboration.
Mattermost is an open source, self-hosted team communication platform offering channels, direct messaging, and integrations. It provides data sovereignty, on-premises deployment options, and extensive customisation for organisations with strict compliance requirements.
Rocket.Chat is an open source, fully customisable communication platform offering messaging, video conferencing, and file sharing. It supports both cloud and self-hosted deployments with flexible architecture for enterprise requirements.
Whilst primarily a project management suite, Atlassian products (Jira, Confluence) include integrated team communication features. They offer channel discussions, commenting, and direct messaging within a development-focused collaboration environment.
Zoom is primarily known for video conferencing but includes integrated chat and instant messaging capabilities. It offers channels, direct messaging, file sharing, and recording features with strong video quality and reliability.
RingCentral Glip offers team messaging, channels, and task management integrated with RingCentral's unified communications platform. It combines chat, video, phone, and calendar functions for comprehensive workplace communication.
Twist is a communication platform designed around asynchronous messaging, emphasising focused, threaded conversations over rapid back-and-forth chat. It includes channels, project integration, and file sharing optimised for remote teams.
Synchronous tools like Slack and Discord prioritise real-time messaging and immediate responses, best for teams requiring quick decisions. Asynchronous tools like Twist emphasise thoughtful, threaded conversations that respect different time zones and work schedules, ideal for remote and distributed teams.
Slack leads with over 2,400 third-party integrations through its app ecosystem. However, Microsoft Teams excels for organisations already using Office 365, as it integrates natively with Outlook, Excel, and SharePoint. Google Chat integrates deeply with Google Workspace.
Yes. Discord and Twist offer generous free tiers with full core features. Mattermost and Rocket.Chat provide free self-hosted open source options. Google Chat and Microsoft Teams also offer free plans if your team uses Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 respectively.
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