Microsoft Teams vs Slack

Both Microsoft Teams and Slack are the communication channels used by organizations to communicate with their employees. Microsoft Teams was developed in 2017 whereas Slack was created in 2013. Microsoft Teams is mainly used in large organizations and is integrated with Office 365 enhancing the features of the application while Slack is defined as an instant messaging platform used by organizations. 

What is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is a part of the Microsoft 365 family of products. Its programming language is TypeScript and is developed by Microsoft Corporation, GitHub, and StarLeaf in 2017. Basically, it is a business communication platform and is a collaborative workspace within Microsoft 365/Office 365 that acts as a central hub for workplace conversations.

Key Features

• It helps you to collaborate Live in real time.
• It has the best security features internally and externally.
• It can quickly integrate with third-party applications like Zendesk, Polly, Smartsheet, etc.
• New features include- that it can work faster with slash(/) commands.

Advantages

• Formation of channels around a team, project, or topic.
• form channels around a team, project, or topic.
• No extra cost for Microsoft 365 users.
• Each channel has its own file storage.

Disadvantages

• The number of notifications is lacking.
• The number of channels is limited to 200 public and 30 private channels per team.

What is Slack?

An instant messaging application for businesses that connects people is known as Slack. It was designed by Slack Technologies in 2013 and owned by Salesforce. It helps you to work in a more connected and flexible environment. It makes it easy to contact other colleagues in an organization for work-related talks.

Key Features

• It pins the messages and reference links to channels.
• It manages and tracks documents.
• It has advanced search modifiers.
• To keep track of a standard workday, setting reminders is a great option.

Advantages

• It provides great security as data within the platform is always protected.
• Easy to share and collaborate with someone in real-time.
• It supports pre-existing platforms with integration that allows users to access critical features directly.

Disadvantages

• Minimum file storage.
• Messages of only 14 days are visible. Rest all messages are deleted automatically.
• User has to pay to use slack’s features.

Difference between Microsoft Teams and Slack:

	Microsoft Teams	Slack
Time for setting up	Takes more time.	Takes less time compared with Microsoft Teams.
Installation	It is complex.	It is easy compared to Microsoft teams.
Data Collection	It requires personal data at the time of signup that includes emails, phone numbers, and credit card details.	No personal information is required.
Limit of message history	Unlimited.	Limit up to 10,000 users.
Video/ Audio calls	The limit is up to 250 users in a single call.	One-to-one video conferencing is free.  15 users can be added in a single call.
Sending Invitations	Complex to execute.	Simple to execute.
Screen Sharing	Provided in all plans.	This feature is missing in the free version.
Integration	It can integrate over 180 plus applications and tools.	It can integrate up to 10 apps in the free plan and up to 800 apps in the paid plan.
Design and Layout	Quite professional.	Less professional compared to Microsoft Teams.
Limit to Store Files	250 GB	The user can store up to 5 GB of files in a free plan. The user can store up to 20 GB in the plus plan.
Color options	Three themes are light, dark, and high contrast theme.	Sidebar has the custom themes and can be set by the user as per his or her choice.
Target Audience	It is for Large Organizations.	It is for Middle and Small Size Organizations.
Pricing	It has different plans for business and for Home. For Home: Microsoft 365 Personal- Rs 4899/year. Microsoft 365 Family- Rs.6199/year. For Business: Microsoft Team Essentials- Rs. 110/ month Microsoft 365 Business Basic- Rs. 136.25/month. Microsoft 365 Business Standard- Rs. 719.40/month	Its Pro plan costs $2.63 or Rs. 218 per month It Business+ plans costs $4.53 or Rs. 375 per month

Conclusion

Both Microsoft Teams and Slack are the communication channels used by organizations to communicate with their employees. Both tools have their own pros and cons. The selection of the right platform is all up to the organization’s needs and requirements.