For Your Consideration: 8 Slack Alternatives

Zulip uses an interesting approach that helpfully groups messages into named threads called topics to keep things organized. It feels a bit more like threaded email than Slack’s more chat-like approach. The code is open source and can be customized for your organization. And it easily integrates with tools that may appeal to developers, including Github, Heroku, JIRA, Trello and Zendesk. Security-savvy businesses may prefer the option to install it on premises, though it can also be run in the cloud.

Gitter is another open-source collaboration tool that’s favored by developers because of its hooks for Github, including authentication with a Github username and password. Gitter can, for example, limit membership to the private users of a given Github repository, creating a space to chat among those working on the software project. Like Slack, it can display inline media, like video, and save message history to the cloud.

Google recently incorporated Hangouts Chat into Gmail, creating a more Slack-like appearance and approach for the email client. For G Suite users, the bottom left pane now shows Rooms (see photo above) for group conversations with other users. The familiar Hangouts Chat pop-up window is still used for one-on-one messaging with another user. For companies that have already standardized on G Suite, the integration offers a simple way to get Slack-like chat into a tool that’s already in use and familiar to your coworkers.

Like G Suite users who might prefer to stay within that platform, users of Zoho’s web-based productivity suite may want to consider the company’s Cliq collaboration service. Users of Zoho’s enterprise service can search across the organization’s email and chat messages. In terms of security and privacy, there’s no option to run Cliq on your own server, but it is GDPR-compliant, according to the company. One useful feature is the ability to use multiple panes within the interface to see several conversations at once (see photo above).

Open source? Check. Will run on your own server? Also check. This real-time chat tool offers a Slack-like appearance, and, as in Slack, you can incorporate custom bots created by third parties, for accomplishing day-to-day tasks. If you prefer the security and control of an on-premises real-time collaboration tool, you’ll find Mattermost stacks up well against Slack. However, if your organization would prefer not to self host, Mattermost may not be the right choice. (You can find a service to host it for your organization, however, on the Mattermost site.)

Again, getting users to adopt a platform they’re already familiar with may prove easier than introducing a new one. If your organization is using Office 365, your colleagues may appreciate the ability to chat using Teams (and you won’t have to set up an email integration, as in Slack). Administrators may appreciate the granular control Teams provides, including the ability to choose media types and control data storage by user. If your primary interest is governance or compliance, you might consider SharePoint instead, especially if the files you’re sharing don’t require immediate responses and you’re adopting its one-platform approach to collaboration, rather than using a mix of Skype, text, email, etc.

Webex Teams (formerly Spark) neatly integrates collaboration tools like whiteboarding, screen sharing and video conferencing into a single interface. Messages, files and whiteboard drawings all feature end-to-end encryption. Another useful security feature is the ability to wipe data from lost devices. If your organization needs a collaboration tool that allows for real-time chat but can also serve as the primary way to run meetings that can handle distributed teams, Webex Teams is worth a look.

Ryver offers an unusual feature set, essentially mixing a project management tool and real-time chat in one service. Like Zulip, it offers topic-threaded chat. And those conversations can be turned into tasks and scheduled. Initially promoted as a freemium alternative to Slack, the site now charges one monthly fee for an unlimited number of users. If you think your organization will benefit from a budget-minded single tool for chat, video and audio calls, as well as task management, Ryver warrants a demo.

Ryver offers an unusual feature set, essentially mixing a project management tool and real-time chat in one service. Like Zulip, it offers topic-threaded chat. And those conversations can be turned into tasks and scheduled. Initially promoted as a freemium alternative to Slack, the site now charges one monthly fee for an unlimited number of users. If you think your organization will benefit from a budget-minded single tool for chat, video and audio calls, as well as task management, Ryver warrants a demo.