DingTalk vs Slack (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Slack: it is first in our ranking of team communication apps, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
DingTalk grades higher on the free plan. Slack grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
DingTalk
Chat, meetings, docs and approvals in one work platform
Slack
Channel-based team messaging with huddles, workflows and AI
Which one is for you
Pick DingTalk if
- Fits if a small company wants chat, meetings and approvals in one account
- Works for teams that want a free tier for up to 10 people
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if store ratings matter to you, as the iOS app averages 1.4 from about 14,000 ratings
- Tight if you are over 10 people on Free, or over 300 on Basic
- Tight if you hold long meetings on Free, as they stop at 40 minutes
- Watch out: the lower price is assumed to be the annual rate, so confirm it
- Watch out: only an iOS app was confirmed, and no other platforms are named
Pick Slack if
- Fits if your team wants conversations sorted by channel instead of email threads
- Works for teams that share channels with outside partners or plug many apps into chat
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, as only 90 days of messages stay searchable and you get 10 apps
- Skip it if you want group huddles or Slack Connect for free, as both are 1:1 until Pro, which has no trial
- Pricey if you need single sign-on, SCIM or AI search, which start at Business+ for $15 a user a month
- Watch out: enterprise search and data loss prevention are on Enterprise+ at $45 a user, bought through sales
- Not for you if you'd run huddles in a browser other than Chrome or Firefox, as they aren't supported there
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADingTalkFair | 2.8GPASlackGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is $4 per user a month at the annual rate ($4.80 monthly), just above the $3.50 that marks the cheaper quarter of team-chat tools. The middle is $7. | CPro is $7.25 a user a month billed annually, $8.75 monthly, which is a shade above the $7 this category typically starts at. The parts people actually ask for next, SAML single sign-on and AI search, wait for Business+ at $15, double the middle figure. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree covers up to 10 users with 100 GB of storage, 40-minute meetings, 300 AI speech-to-text minutes per user and 180 days of chat history. A small team could use it, and paid plans get a free month. | CThe free plan keeps only 90 days of messages searchable, which for a team is the cap that hurts: ask what was decided in March and it's gone. Add 10 app integrations and huddles and external messages limited to 1:1, and there's no trial of Pro either. |
| Features | BChat, meetings, docs, drive, mail, calendar, AI minutes, an AI table, approvals and attendance. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core chat job. | AChannels, direct messages, threads, huddles with screen sharing, clips, canvases, lists and a no-code Workflow Builder, and two things its rivals here don't list: more than 2,600 apps in the directory, and Slack Connect shared channels with up to 250 other organizations. |
| Ease of use | FThe App Store listing shows 1.4 from about 14,000 ratings, and the recent reviews shown date from 2020. | C4.1 on the App Store from about 53,000 ratings, the lowest of the big three here. Channels are simple enough to join, but a workspace left to itself sprawls, and the canvases, lists and Workflow Builder are each another thing to learn. |
| Platforms and integrations | COnly an iOS app was confirmed from the listing, and the English pages name no other platforms. No API or integration list is shown. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, plus the biggest app directory in the category at 2,600-odd, Salesforce, Google Drive, Jira, Asana, Notion, GitHub, Zendesk and HubSpot among them. One oddity: in a browser, huddles work only in Chrome and Firefox. |
| Best for | a chat, meetings and approvals suite for a small company | channel-based chat that plugs into everything |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: DingTalk and Slack. How we grade
Price against what you get
DingTalk starts at $4 a month for each person and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Slack starts at $7.25 a month for each person and scores 3.3.
Slack scores higher, and starts $3.25 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other team communication apps on the chart, 14 score higher than DingTalk for less, and 1 scores higher than Slack for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- DingTalk also covers meeting notes, transcription and calendar.
- Slack also covers workflow automation, documents and file sharing.
At a glance
| DingTalk | Slack | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.00 per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly) | $7.25 per user / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | Free plan for up to 10 users: 100 GB storage, HD video meetings up to 40 minutes, 300 AI speech-to-text minutes per user a month, and 180 days of chat history. | 90 days of searchable message history, up to 10 app integrations, and huddles and external Slack Connect messages limited to 1:1. |
| Free trial | Free 1-month trial on paid plans | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | DingTalk (Singapore) Private Limited | Slack Technologies, LLC, a Salesforce company |
| Price read from | dingtalk.com | slack.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
DingTalk
- The pricing page was read through a Monthly or Annually toggle; the lower price is assumed to be the annual rate and a person should confirm it.
- Free is capped at 10 users and 40-minute meetings, and Basic stops at 300 users.
- Only an iOS app was confirmed from the App Store listing; the English pages name no other platforms.
- The App Store listing shows a 1.4 average from about 14,000 ratings, and the most recent reviews shown are from 2020.
Slack
- The Free plan keeps only 90 days of message history searchable, allows 10 apps, and limits huddles and Slack Connect to 1:1.
- SAML single sign-on and SCIM start at Business+; ongoing Slackbot access is on Business+ and Enterprise+, with a limited trial on Free and Pro.
- Enterprise search, multiple SAML configurations and native data loss prevention are limited to Enterprise+, listed at $45 per user / month paid annually and bought through sales.
- In a browser, huddles are supported only in Chrome and Firefox.
Key features
DingTalk
- Chat with long retention
- Messaging history is kept for 180 days on Free, 2 years on Basic, 10 years on Standard and 20 years on Premium.
- Video meetings
- Meetings run in HD on Free and Full HD on paid plans, with limits of 100, 300 or 500 participants depending on the plan.
- AI Minutes
- Speech-to-text and AI-generated meeting summaries are metered per user each month: 300 minutes and 5 summaries, or 1,500 and 50 on Premium.
- AI Table
- Spreadsheet-style tables for building business apps with automations, with row limits from 2,000 to 50,000 per sheet and monthly automation runs.
- Docs, drive, mail and calendar
- The same suite includes cloud docs, a drive with per-user storage, mail with attachment limits and a calendar.
- Approvals and attendance
- The English download page lists clock-in, clock-out and leave approval features, and the Chinese site lists approval and attendance products.
Slack
- Channels and direct messages
- Conversations are organized into channels for each project, topic or team, alongside direct messages. Paid plans keep the full message and file history searchable; Free keeps 90 days.
- Huddles and clips
- Huddles are audio and video meetings with screen sharing, 1:1 on Free and for groups on paid plans. Clips are recorded audio or screen updates shared in a conversation.
- Slack Connect
- Message people outside the company. Free allows 1:1 external direct messages; paid plans add group chats and shared channels with up to 250 organizations.
- Canvases and lists
- A canvas holds text, files, images and video inside Slack, and lists are used to manage projects and organize tasks with teammates.
- Workflow Builder and apps
- Workflow Builder automates routine processes without code, and the app directory lists more than 2,600 apps. A Free workspace can connect up to 10 of them.
- AI in Slack
- Pro includes AI conversation summaries. Business+ adds AI search, daily recaps, file summaries, workflow generation and the Slackbot personal agent, subject to plan limits.
Plans
DingTalk
Free$0.00
Up to 10 users, 100 GB storage, 100 participants per meeting and chat retained for 180 days.
Basic$4.00
per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly)
Up to 300 users, 2 TB plus 5 GB per user, Full HD meetings up to 24 hours and chat retained for 2 years.
Standard$8.00
per user / month, annual rate ($9.60 billed monthly)
From 3 users with no upper limit, 300 meeting participants, 500 GB mailboxes and chat retained for 10 years.
Premium$15.00
per user / month, annual rate ($18.00 billed monthly)
500 meeting participants, 1,500 AI speech-to-text minutes per user, 5 TB mailboxes and chat retained for 20 years.
Slack
Free$0
90 days of message history, up to 10 app integrations, and 1:1 huddles and external messages.
Pro$7.25
per user / month, billed annually ($8.75 billed monthly)
Unlimited message history and app integrations, group huddles, Slack Connect channels with up to 250 organizations, and AI conversation summaries.
Business+$15
per user / month, billed annually ($18 billed monthly)
Adds AI search, daily recaps, file summaries and workflow generation, the Slackbot agent, SAML single sign-on and SCIM user management.
Enterprise+$45
per user / month, billed annually
Bought through sales. Adds enterprise search across connected apps, multiple SAML configurations, EMM support, native data loss prevention and unlimited workspaces.
Ways to pay less
DingTalk
- Annual discount
About 17% off with annual billing
The pricing section shows annual rates roughly 17% below the monthly figures, for example $4.00 against $4.80 for Basic.
Slack
- Annual discount
About 17% less with annual billing
Pro is $7.25 per user / month paid annually against $8.75 paid monthly, and Business+ is $15 against $18. Salesforce's Slack pricing page puts the saving at approximately 16%.
- Other savings
50% off the first 3 months for new teams
A limited-time offer for teams that buy Pro or Business+ online within 7 days of creating the workspace. It applies to monthly billing only, and standard pricing follows after 3 months.
- Nonprofit
Free or 85% off for eligible nonprofits
Eligible nonprofits get a free Pro upgrade for workspaces with 250 or fewer members and 85% off above that size. Business+ is 85% off at any size.
- Education
85% off for educational institutions
The Slack for Education program gives approved institutions an 85% discount on the Pro or Business+ plan, applied at checkout.
- By country
Lower price shown to buyers in India
On October 9, 2026 Slack's pricing page showed a reader in India Pro at ₹245.25 per user / month paid yearly, beside a crossed-out ₹545. Its US page lists Pro at $7.25 per user / month paid annually.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, DingTalk or Slack?
As of Nov 12, 2026, DingTalk is cheaper to start with: $4 a month for each person, against $7.25 a month for each person for Slack. DingTalk starts at $4.00 per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly), and Slack starts at $7.25 per user / month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, DingTalk or Slack?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both DingTalk and Slack have a free plan.
Which platforms do DingTalk and Slack run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Slack lists a web app and macOS, Windows, Linux and Android apps. Both list an iOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.