How does ToolGPA rank team communication apps?

From what each tool's own pages show (price, free plan, platforms, features and limits) and from what people say about it in public reviews and discussions. Not from our own testing. First place goes to the tool that suits the most people, and second and third to the best choices for the readers it leaves out.

Team Communication

Q: What are the best team communication apps?

ToolGPA ranks Slack first (for: most teams), Microsoft Teams second (for: organizations that already pay for Microsoft 365), Pumble third (for: teams that want to pay nothing and keep their message history). The first two are close. Slack comes first because its Free plan covers a whole workspace and it has a Linux app, where the free version of Microsoft Teams is for one person. Teams costs less to pay for, from $4.00 per user a month against $7.25, comes with Microsoft 365, and its app is rated 4.8 against 4.1. Pumble is third as the free choice: its free plan has unlimited message history against Slack's 90 days, but it connects fewer apps than Slack and holds smaller meetings than Teams. Zulip narrowly missed: it is open source and free to host yourself, but calls need an outside provider.

Chat, channels and async updates for teams.

Our top three team communication apps

The first two are close. Slack comes first because its Free plan covers a whole workspace and it has a Linux app, where the free version of Microsoft Teams is for one person. Teams costs less to pay for, from $4.00 per user a month against $7.25, comes with Microsoft 365, and its app is rated 4.8 against 4.1. Pumble is third as the free choice: its free plan has unlimited message history against Slack's 90 days, but it connects fewer apps than Slack and holds smaller meetings than Teams. Zulip narrowly missed: it is open source and free to host yourself, but calls need an outside provider.

First: Slack
Free plan · from $7.25/mo
For: Most teams
Slack organizes conversations into channels, with direct messages, huddles for audio and video and a Workflow Builder, and its directory lists more than 2,600 apps. It runs on the web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, and its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.1 from about 53,000 ratings. A workspace can start on the Free plan, and Pro is $7.25 per user a month, billed annually, with unlimited message history, group huddles and channels shared with other companies. Know the limits: the Free plan keeps only 90 days of message history searchable, allows 10 app integrations and limits huddles to 1:1, and SAML single sign-on starts at Business+, at $15 per user a month, billed annually.
iPhone and iPad app: 4.1 out of 5 on the App Store
Slack pricing and details
Second: Microsoft Teams
Free plan · from $4.00/mo
For: Organizations that already pay for Microsoft 365
Microsoft Teams puts chat, channels, video meetings, calling and file sharing in one app, and it is included in Microsoft 365 business plans alongside Outlook, OneDrive and the Office apps. On its own, Teams Essentials is $4.00 per user a month, paid yearly, less than Slack Pro, with meetings of up to 300 people and recordings with transcripts. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 from about 3.4 million ratings. It is second because its free version is built for one person, where Slack's Free plan covers a workspace, and there is no Linux desktop app. Essentials and the Microsoft 365 Business plans stop at 300 users, and phone service, Teams Premium and Copilot are separately priced add-ons.
iPhone and iPad app: 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store
Microsoft Teams pricing and details
Third: Pumble
Free plan · from $2.49/mo
For: Teams that want to pay nothing and keep their message history
Pumble is team chat with channels, threads and voice and video meetings. Its free plan has no limit on users or message history, where Slack's Free plan keeps 90 days searchable, and Pro is $2.49 per seat a month, billed annually. It runs on the web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, and its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 from about 1,800 ratings. It is third because it does less around the chat than the two above: a free workspace connects 3 apps where Slack's connects 10, and meetings stop at 100 people against 300 on Teams Essentials. Group meetings and screen sharing start on Pro, and guest access and meeting recordings need Business at $3.99 per seat a month, billed annually.
iPhone and iPad app: 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store
Pumble pricing and details

Ranked on Oct 6, 2026 from what each listing shows and what people say about the tool, not from our own testing. How we rank

Price

Runs on

Must be

34 tools

Brosix
Team Chat
Private team messaging network with admin controls
Free trial · from $40/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Chanty
Team Chat
Team chat with built-in tasks, calls and AI agents
Free plan · from $3/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Chatwork
Team Chat
Business group chat with built-in tasks, files and video calls
Free plan · from $7/moWeb · macOS · Windows +2
Dailybot
Team Chat
Async standups, check-ins and kudos inside your team chat
Free plan · from $2.40/moWeb
Discord
Team Chat
Free text, voice and video chat built around servers
Free plan · from $2.99/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Element
Team Chat
End-to-end encrypted chat and calls on the Matrix standard
Free planWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Flock
Team Chat
Team messenger with channels, video calls and shared to-dos
Free plan · from $4.50/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Gather
Team Chat
Virtual office with presence, meetings and chat for remote teams
Free trial · from $12/moWeb · macOS · Windows
Geekbot
Team Chat
Async standups, polls and surveys in Slack and Microsoft Teams
Free plan · from $2.50/moWeb
Glue
Team Chat
Work chat organized into named threads, with AI agents built in
Free plan · from $6/moWeb · macOS · Windows +2
Google Chat
Team Chat
Team messaging and spaces built into Google Workspace
Free plan · from $7/moWeb · iOS · Android
Google Meet
Team Chat
Browser-based video meetings included with Google Workspace
Free plan · from $7/moWeb · iOS · Android
Jitsi Meet
Team Chat
Free, open-source video meetings you can self-host
FreeWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Lark
Team Chat
All-in-one suite of chat, meetings, docs, email and workflows
Free plan · from $6/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Mattermost
Team Chat
Self-hosted team messaging with playbooks, calls and boards
Free planWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Microsoft Teams
Team Chat
Chat, video meetings and calling tied into Microsoft 365
Free plan · from $4.00/moWeb · macOS · Windows +2
ONCE Campfire
Team Chat
Self-hosted group chat from 37signals, free and open source
FreeWeb
Pumble
Team Chat
Team chat with unlimited message history on the free plan
Free plan · from $2.49/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Range
Team Chat
Async check-ins, meeting agendas and goal tracking for teams
Free plan · from $8/moWeb
Roam
Team Chat
Virtual office with drop-in meetings, chat and AI meeting notes
Free trial · from $19.50/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Rock
Team Chat
Team chat with tasks, notes and files in every project space
Free plan · from $74.92/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Rocket.Chat
Team Chat
Open-source, self-managed chat for security-focused teams
Free planWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Ryver
Team Chat
Team chat, task boards and voice calls in one app
Free trial · from $69/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Slack
Team Chat
Channel-based team messaging with huddles, workflows and AI
Free plan · from $7.25/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Steady
Team Chat
Async check-ins, goal updates and digests for people and AI agents
Free trial · from $25/moWeb · macOS · Windows
Tandem
Team Chat
Virtual office with one-click calls and shared-cursor screen sharing
Free plan · from $64/momacOS · Windows · Linux +2
Troop Messenger
Team Chat
Secure business messenger with calls, sold as SaaS or on-premise
Free trial · from $2.50/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Twist
Team Chat
Async team messaging organized into threads
Free plan · from $6/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Webex
Team Chat
Cisco's app for video meetings, messaging and calling
Free plan · from $12/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Whereby
Team Chat
Browser-based video meetings with permanent room links
Free plan · from $10.99/moWeb · iOS
Wire
Team Chat
End-to-end encrypted messaging and calls for organizations
Free plan · from €7.45/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Zoho Cliq
Team Chat
Team chat, calls and meetings from the Zoho suite
Free plan · from $16.20/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Zoom
Team Chat
Video meetings bundled with team chat, phone and AI notes
Free plan · from $14.16/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3
Zulip
Team Chat
Open-source team chat that organizes channels by topic
Free plan · from $3.50/moWeb · macOS · Windows +3

Our top three team communication apps

First: Slack

Second: Microsoft Teams

Third: Pumble

Tools