Team Communication

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Team Communication page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 9, 2026.

Chat, channels and async updates for teams.

Before you choose, here are 8 things to know about team communication apps, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 34 team communication apps

   28 of them are free or have a free plan, and 6 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $7 a month in the middle

   From $2.40 (Dailybot) to $74.92 (Rock), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: Pumble and Jitsi Meet

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   27 of 34 have iPhone and Android apps

   33 run in a web browser and 27 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.4

   5 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is Discord, at 3.6.

6. 6

   Best free option: Discord

   Discord has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.6. Free text, voice and video chat built around servers.

7. 7

   34 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 34 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

8. 8

   4 price changes in the past year

   That's how many price moves we've recorded for team communication apps in twelve months. Prices change, so check the maker's page before you pay.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three team communication apps we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   2.8GPA

   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.

   The Slack Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   3.0GPA

   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.

   The Microsoft Teams Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   3.6GPA

   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.

   The Pumble Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, Pumble and Jitsi Meet give the most for the money among team communication apps: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $7 a month across the 29 that charge, from $2.40 (Dailybot) to $74.92 (Rock). 2 more cost nothing at all.

7 of the 31 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 9 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded team communication apps, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
Discord	A	A	C	A	A	3.6
Pumble	A	B	B	A	A	3.6
Zoho Cliq	A	C	B	A	A	3.4
Jitsi Meet	A	A	C	D	A	3.0
Microsoft Teams	B	C	B	A	B	3.0
Chanty	B	C	B	C	A	2.8
Element	C	A	B	D	A	2.8
Google Chat	C	B	B	B	B	2.8
Google Meet	C	B	C	A	B	2.8
Slack	C	C	A	C	A	2.8
Twist	C	C	C	A	A	2.8
Webex	C	B	C	B	A	2.8

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where team communication apps land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 34

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every team communication app we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1DiscordFree plan · from $2.99/mo3.6
2. 2PumbleFree plan · from $2.49/mo3.6
3. 3Zoho CliqFree plan · from $16.20/mo3.4
4. 4Jitsi MeetFree3.0
5. 5Microsoft TeamsFree plan · from $4.00/mo3.0
6. 6ChantyFree plan · from $3/mo2.8
7. 7ElementFree plan2.8
8. 8Google ChatFree plan · from $7/mo2.8
9. 9Google MeetFree plan · from $7/mo2.8
10. 10SlackFree plan · from $7.25/mo2.8
11. 11TwistFree plan · from $6/mo2.8
12. 12WebexFree plan · from $12/mo2.8
13. 13ZulipFree plan · from $3.50/mo2.8
14. 14ZoomFree plan · from $14.16/mo2.6
15. 15ChatworkFree plan · from $7/mo2.4
16. 16DailybotFree plan · from $2.40/mo2.4
17. 17FlockFree plan · from $4.50/mo2.4
18. 18GeekbotFree plan · from $2.50/mo2.4
19. 19GlueFree plan · from $6/mo2.4
20. 20MattermostFree plan2.4
21. 21RoamFree trial · from $19.50/mo2.4
22. 22RockFree plan · from $74.92/mo2.4
23. 23Rocket.ChatFree plan2.4
24. 24RyverFree trial · from $69/mo2.4
25. 25Troop MessengerFree trial · from $2.50/mo2.4
26. 26WherebyFree plan · from $10.99/mo2.4
27. 27BrosixFree trial · from $40/mo2.2
28. 28GatherFree trial · from $12/mo2.2
29. 29LarkFree plan · from $6/mo2.2
30. 30ONCE CampfireFree2.2
31. 31RangeFree plan · from $8/mo2.2
32. 32TandemFree plan · from $64/mo2.2
33. 33SteadyFree trial · from $25/mo2.0
34. 34WireFree plan · from €7.45/mo2.0

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 3,189

  tools graded

• 94

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries