Free Alternatives to Slack for Small Teams (Under 10 People)

Slack charges $8.75/user/month for Pro. For a 10-person team, that's $1,050/year — just for chat. We tested 7 free alternatives to find which ones genuinely replace Slack for small teams without sacrificing productivity.

Why Small Teams Don't Need Slack Pro

Before diving into alternatives, let's be honest about what small teams actually need from a chat tool:

1. Unlimited message history — Slack Free cuts you off at 90 days
2. Group voice/video calls — Slack Free only allows 1:1
3. File sharing — Every tool does this
4. Integrations — GitHub, Google Drive, calendar basics
5. Organization — Channels, threads, search

Most free alternatives nail points 1-4. Slack wins on #5, but the gap shrinks when your team is under 10 people because you don't have 50 channels to navigate.

The 3 Best Free Slack Alternatives (Tested)

1. Discord — Best Overall Free Alternative

Why it wins: Discord's free tier is absurdly generous compared to Slack's.

| Feature | Slack Free | Discord Free | |---------|-----------|-------------| | Message History | 90 days | Unlimited | | Integrations | 10 limit | Unlimited (bots) | | Voice Calls | 1:1 only | Group, unlimited | | Video Calls | 1:1 only | Up to 25 people | | Screen Sharing | ❌ Paid | ✅ Free | | File Upload | 5GB workspace | 25MB per file | | Price | Free / $8.75/user/mo | Free |

What we loved:

• Always-on voice channels. Instead of scheduling a call, team members drop into a voice channel. This replicates the "tap someone on the shoulder" experience of an office. Our 6-person team replaced all daily standup Zoom calls with one Discord voice channel.
• Unlimited bots. GitHub notifications, deployment alerts, CI/CD updates — all free. No "pick your 10 integrations" limitation.
• Screen sharing works perfectly. We presented design mockups, did code reviews, and pair programmed — all on Discord's free plan.

What we didn't love:

• The interface has a "gaming" feel. Some team members found it less professional.
• No native email integration.
• Thread support exists but isn't as intuitive as Slack's.
• Search is functional but not as powerful as Slack's.

Best for: Developer teams, creative agencies, startups prioritizing budget over polish.

Setup tip: Create a "General" and "Random" text channel, plus an "Office" voice channel. Set the voice channel as the default "remote office" — it transforms team dynamics.

2. Google Chat — Best for Google Workspace Teams

Why it wins: If you're already paying for Google Workspace ($6/user/month for Business Starter), Google Chat is included at no additional cost.

What makes it a real alternative:

• Unlimited message history — No 90-day cutoff
• Spaces — Google's version of channels, with threaded conversations
• Native Drive integration — Files shared in chat are automatically accessible in Drive
• Meet integration — Start video calls from any chat with one click
• Smart search — Google's search technology applied to your chat history

Limitations:

• The interface is functional but uninspired compared to Slack
• Third-party integrations are limited (mostly Google ecosystem)
• Bot ecosystem is tiny compared to Slack or Discord
• Mobile app is slower than Slack's

Best for: Teams that live in Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Drive. If you're already in Google Workspace, adding another chat tool doesn't make sense.

3. Rocket.Chat — Best Self-Hosted Option

Why it wins: Full data sovereignty with a Slack-like feature set, entirely free.

What you get for free (self-hosted):

• Unlimited everything — users, messages, channels, history
• Voice and video calls
• Custom integrations via webhooks
• Full admin controls
• E2E encryption
• Guest access

Limitations:

• You need a server to host it ($5-20/month on DigitalOcean or similar)
• Setup takes 1-2 hours for someone comfortable with Docker
• Mobile apps exist but aren't as polished as Slack's
• No native equivalent to Slack Connect for external messaging

Best for: Teams with a technical member who can handle basic DevOps. Total cost: $5-10/month for a VPS instead of $87.50/month for Slack Pro with 10 users.

Honorable Mentions

Mattermost (Self-Hosted)

Similar to Rocket.Chat but more enterprise-focused. Open-source, self-hosted, with a strong feature set. Better suited for teams of 10+ who need compliance features.

Zulip (Free Open-Source)

Unique threading model that organizes conversations by topic rather than time. Excellent for academic and engineering teams. Free for self-hosted, with cloud hosting starting at $8/user/month.

Twist (by Doist)

From the makers of Todoist. Focuses on async communication — no "online status" indicators, no notification pressure. Free plan supports up to 500 messages. Better for teams that prefer thoughtful, async communication over real-time chat.

Migration Checklist: Moving from Slack Free

If you're switching from Slack Free to one of these alternatives:

Week 1: Preparation

1. Export your Slack data — Settings → Workspace Settings → Import/Export → Export. This preserves your 90-day history.
2. List critical integrations — Which of your 10 Slack integrations do you actually use daily?
3. Choose your replacement — Discord for most teams, Google Chat for Google Workspace users, Rocket.Chat for data-conscious teams.

Week 2: Setup

4. Create your channel structure — Mirror your Slack channels, but consolidate. Most teams have too many channels anyway.
5. Set up integrations — Configure GitHub, Google Calendar, and your top 5 tools.
6. Invite the team — Start with a "test week" where both tools run in parallel.

Week 3: Transition

7. Set Slack to read-only — Stop new messages but keep it accessible for historical search.
8. Move all active conversations — Post a summary of ongoing projects in the new tool.
9. Sunset Slack — After 2 weeks with no issues, archive the Slack workspace.

Cost Comparison: 1 Year with 10 Users

| Tool | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | Savings vs Slack Pro | |------|-------------|-------------|---------------------| | Slack Pro | $87.50 | $1,050 | — | | Discord | $0 | $0 | $1,050 saved | | Google Chat* | $0* | $0* | $1,050 saved | | Rocket.Chat | ~$10 (VPS) | ~$120 | $930 saved | | Microsoft Teams† | $0† | $0† | $1,050 saved |

* Included with Google Workspace. † Free tier available.

Our Recommendation

For most small teams (under 10 people): Start with Discord. Yes, it looks like a gaming platform. But it offers more features for free than Slack Pro does for $8.75/user/month. Your team will adapt to the interface within a week.

If you're already in the Google ecosystem: Use Google Chat. It's included in your Workspace subscription, and the native integrations with Gmail, Drive, and Meet are genuinely seamless.

If data privacy is non-negotiable: Deploy Rocket.Chat on a $10/month VPS. Total control over your data for a fraction of Slack's cost.

Want a deeper analysis? Check our full Slack review, Slack vs Teams comparison, or our best team chat tools roundup.