Lark vs Slack

Lark

• Teams of up to 20 that want free chat, docs and meetings in one app
• Multilingual teams, since message translation is on every plan
• Companies replacing separate chat, docs, email and workflow tools

Slack

• Teams that want conversations organized by channel rather than email threads
• Companies that work with outside partners in shared channels
• Organizations that already run on Salesforce
• Teams that connect many third-party apps to their chat

Lark

• The free Starter plan stops at 20 users, 100 GB of storage and 18 months of message history.
• Starter and Basic allow only 1-on-1 video meetings; group meetings need Pro at $12 per user / month.
• Single sign-on and advanced security controls are limited to Enterprise, and Basic and Pro stop at 500 users.
• Lark Basic is not sold in the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan or South Korea, and payment is in USD, SGD or JPY depending on country.

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+, which is priced by sales.
• In a browser, huddles are supported only in Chrome and Firefox.

Lark

Messenger

Team chat with real-time message translation on every plan. Starter keeps 18 months of message history, and the paid plans keep it without a limit.

Video meetings

Starter and Basic are limited to 1-on-1 video meetings. Pro and Enterprise host up to 500 participants, and Pro lists single meetings of up to 24 hours.

Minutes and AI Meeting Notes

Minutes turns meetings into searchable transcripts. AI Meeting Notes, which writes summaries and tracks action items, is a paid add-on at $1,699 for 1,800 notes.

Docs, Slides and Wiki

Documents, sheets and slides are created and shared inside Lark, and Wiki works as a central team knowledge base.

Base and Approval

Base builds workflows and dashboards without code, and Approval automates sign-offs. Tables hold 2,000 rows on Starter and Basic and 20,000 on Pro.

Email and Calendar

Lark includes team email and a shared calendar, with direct integrations for Exchange, Outlook, Google Calendar and Gmail.

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.

Lark

• Starter$0

  Up to 20 users, 100 GB of storage, 1-on-1 video meetings, 18 months of message history and 1,000 automations a month.

• Basic$6

  per user / month, billed annually

  Up to 500 users, 5 TB of storage and unlimited message history. Video meetings stay 1-on-1.

• Pro$12

  per user / month, billed annually

  Up to 500 users, 15 TB of storage, 500-participant video meetings, 50,000 automations a month and Base advanced permissions.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Unlimited users, 15 TB plus 30 GB per user, single sign-on, 500,000 automations a month and advanced security and compliance controls.

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+Custom

  Adds enterprise search across connected apps, multiple SAML configurations, EMM support, native data loss prevention and unlimited workspaces.

Lark

• Annual discount

  Save 16.6% with yearly billing

  Lark's plans page states a 16.6% saving for yearly billing. Monthly subscriptions are available for Basic and Pro at a higher rate.

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.