Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Discord all get lumped into “team chat” conversations, but they solve a narrower problem than the video-meeting tools that often get compared alongside them. This article is specifically about day-to-day text chat — channels, threads, search, and app integrations — not video conferencing. If you’re trying to pick a meeting platform instead, our Google Meet vs Microsoft Teams vs Zoom comparison covers that separately. Every price and limit below was pulled directly from each vendor’s own pricing or product pages as of November 2026.
At a Glance
| Tool | Entry paid price | Free plan | Best for |
| Slack | Pro: $7.25/user/mo billed annually ($8.75 monthly) | Yes — unlimited users, but message history capped at 90 days and apps capped at 10 | Teams that want polished channels, search, and the deepest app ecosystem |
| Microsoft Teams | Essentials: $4/user/mo billed annually | Yes — a free consumer/small-business tier exists; group meetings run free up to 60 minutes and 1:1 calls up to 30 hours, with 100 meeting participants and 5 GB storage per user. Microsoft’s own pages don’t publish a chat-history cap for this tier. | Companies already on Microsoft 365 that want chat bundled with meetings and Office apps |
| Discord | Nitro Basic: $2.99/mo (optional — chat itself is free) | Yes — core text and voice chat is free with no seat limit; Discord’s own pricing pages don’t publish a message-history cap the way Slack does | Communities and informal teams that want always-free, unlimited-history chat with voice channels built in |
Short Verdict
Slack is still the most polished dedicated business chat tool, but its free plan’s 90-day message-history cutoff is the single biggest limitation among the three. Microsoft Teams makes the most sense if you’re already paying for Microsoft 365, since chat, file sharing, and search come bundled rather than priced separately. Discord is the odd one out — built for communities and gaming, not enterprises — but its free tier doesn’t impose Slack’s history cap, and for small, informal, or dev-adjacent teams that don’t need admin controls or compliance features, it’s a genuinely usable (and free) alternative.
What It Is
Slack is a channel-based business messaging app owned by Salesforce, built around organizing conversations by topic (channels), threading replies so discussions don’t bury the main channel, and a large third-party app directory. Microsoft Teams is Microsoft’s chat-and-collaboration hub, bundled into Microsoft 365 alongside Outlook, Word, and Excel, combining persistent chat with its own channels and integrated Office file collaboration. Discord started as a gaming-community chat app and has since picked up genuine workplace use among startups, open-source projects, and remote teams, offering text channels, threads, and voice channels (always-on voice rooms, not scheduled meetings) in the same server.
Pricing Breakdown
| Plan | Price | Message history | Key chat features |
| Slack Free | $0 | 90 days | Channels, search, up to 10 app integrations, 1:1 huddles, 1 workspace |
| Slack Pro | $7.25/user/mo annual ($8.75 monthly) | Unlimited | Unlimited apps, group huddles, Slack Connect, Canvases, Lists, AI thread/channel summaries |
| Slack Business+ | $15/user/mo annual ($18 monthly) | Unlimited | Adds Slackbot AI daily recaps, file summaries, AI search, AI translations, AI workflow generation, and Slack CRM features |
| Slack Enterprise+ | Custom (contact sales) | Unlimited | Adds enterprise search and frontline-teams add-on |
| Teams (free) | $0 | Not published by Microsoft for this tier | Chat via email/phone, file sharing, tasks, polls, 5 GB storage/user |
| Teams Essentials | $4/user/mo annual | Not published as a separate cap on this tier | Unlimited chat, guest access, 300-participant meetings, 10 GB storage/user, English-only live captions |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | $7/user/mo ($5.40 without Teams) | Same chat as above | 1 TB storage/user, 250+ integrated business apps, 30+ language live captions |
| Business Standard w/ Copilot | $23.50/user/mo ($20.30 without Teams) | Same chat as above | Bundles Microsoft 365 Copilot across Teams, Word, Excel, and Outlook |
| Discord (free) | $0 | Not capped on the pages Discord publishes | Text channels, threads, voice channels, bot/app integrations via Discord’s app directory, basic emoji and stickers |
| Discord Nitro Basic | $2.99/mo | Unaffected — Nitro changes perks, not history | 50 MB file uploads, 2 Server Boosts, custom emoji/stickers/soundboard, messages up to 4,000 characters |
| Discord Nitro | $9.99/mo | Unaffected | 1 GB file uploads, HD video streaming, custom profiles, all Basic perks |
One flag worth calling out: Microsoft’s own Teams pricing and comparison pages don’t state an explicit chat/message-history retention limit for the free or Essentials tiers the way Slack does for its Free plan (90 days). We’re noting that gap rather than guessing at a number. Similarly, Discord’s Nitro and pricing pages don’t publish a standalone price for purchasing a single Server Boost outside of a Nitro subscription (a Nitro subscription simply includes 2 Boosts), so we’re leaving that figure out rather than citing an unverified third-party estimate.
Pros
Slack
- Cleanest channel/thread organization of the three for structured, topic-based conversations
- Largest and most mature third-party app directory (2,600+ apps on paid plans)
- AI features (summaries, daily recaps, search) are built into Business+ rather than sold as a separate add-on
Microsoft Teams
- Cheapest paid entry point of the three ($4/user/month for Essentials)
- Deep native integration with Outlook, Word, Excel, and SharePoint if you’re already on Microsoft 365
- Highest meeting participant cap (300) bundled in at the entry paid tier
Discord
- Core chat (channels, threads, voice channels) is entirely free with no seat limit
- No published 90-day history cutoff the way Slack’s free plan has
- Built-in voice channels work as always-available drop-in rooms, which neither Slack nor Teams chat plans offer natively
Cons
Slack
- Free plan’s 90-day message history and 10-app cap are the tightest limits of any free tier compared here
- Per-seat pricing climbs quickly once you need Business+ for AI and compliance features
Microsoft Teams
- Pricing structure is the most layered of the three — Essentials, Business Basic, and Business Standard each gate different storage, caption, and AI capabilities
- Copilot AI is an add-on ($18/user/month) or bundled only at the pricier $23.50/user/month Business Standard tier, not included at the entry price
- Free and Essentials tiers don’t publish a clear chat-history retention policy, which makes it harder to plan around than Slack’s stated 90 days
Discord
- No official admin/compliance tooling comparable to Slack’s or Teams’ enterprise tiers
- Nitro perks are aimed at individual users (profiles, emoji, boosts), not team productivity features like app integrations or AI assistants
- Free-tier file upload size is well below both Nitro tiers (50 MB on Nitro Basic, 1 GB on Nitro), and Discord’s own pages don’t state the free-tier figure
Who It’s a Good Fit For
Slack fits teams that live in channels and threads all day and want a mature app ecosystem — marketing, product, and cross-functional teams that juggle a lot of tools tend to get the most out of it, especially once Business+ unlocks AI recaps and search. Microsoft Teams fits organizations already paying for Microsoft 365, where chat, file storage, and Office apps sharing one login and one bill genuinely saves money and admin overhead. Discord fits small teams, open-source projects, creator businesses, and dev-adjacent groups that want free, unlimited-history chat with built-in voice channels and don’t need formal compliance or enterprise admin controls.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
Skip Slack’s free plan if you need to search further back than 90 days of history without paying — that cap is firm. Skip Microsoft Teams if you’re not on Microsoft 365 and don’t want Office apps bundled into your chat bill; the standalone value proposition is weaker outside that ecosystem. Skip Discord if you need SSO, audit logs, data-loss prevention, or any formal compliance certification — none of that is part of its consumer-facing pricing pages, and it’s not built for that use case.
Bottom Line
There’s no universal winner, because these three tools solve the “team chat” problem for different kinds of teams. Slack remains the most purpose-built business chat tool, with the caveat that its free tier’s 90-day history cap is a real constraint. Microsoft Teams is the pragmatic default if you already pay for Microsoft 365, since the chat layer is effectively bundled rather than an added cost. Discord is the free, no-compromise-on-history option for smaller or less formal teams willing to trade enterprise admin tooling for zero cost and built-in voice channels. Match the tool to whichever ecosystem — Salesforce/Slack, Microsoft 365, or neither — your team is already closest to.
FAQ
Which of the three has the longest free message history?
Slack explicitly caps its Free plan at 90 days of searchable message history. Microsoft Teams and Discord don’t publish an equivalent cap on their own pricing or product pages for their free tiers, so Discord in particular is commonly used as a free, effectively unlimited-history chat tool — but neither vendor states a guaranteed retention period in writing the way Slack does.
Is this about video calls too?
No — this comparison is specifically about text chat features: channels, threads, search, and integrations. All three tools also offer video calling, but we cover video-meeting platforms separately in our Google Meet vs Microsoft Teams vs Zoom comparison.
Does Slack or Teams include AI chat features for free?
Slack’s Free plan includes only basic AI features like Slackbot and AI search per its pricing page; the fuller set — daily recaps, file summaries, AI translations, and AI workflow generation — requires Business+ at $15/user/month (annual). Microsoft’s Copilot for Teams is either a $18/user/month add-on or bundled only into the pricier $23.50/user/month Business Standard plan — it isn’t included at the free or Essentials tiers.
What does Discord charge for, if chat itself is free?
Discord charges for Nitro ($2.99/month for Nitro Basic, $9.99/month for full Nitro), which unlocks personal perks like larger file uploads (50 MB and 1 GB respectively), custom emoji and profiles, HD streaming, and Server Boosts that unlock perks for an entire server. Core text and voice chat for any server remains free regardless of Nitro.
Which tool is cheapest for a small team that needs more than the free plan?
Microsoft Teams Essentials, at $4/user/month billed annually, is the cheapest paid entry point among the three. Slack Pro starts at $7.25/user/month billed annually. Discord has no required per-seat paid tier at all — Nitro is optional and purchased per individual, not per team.
Sources
- Slack — Official Pricing Page
- Microsoft Teams — Essentials Plan Page
- Microsoft Teams — Free Plan Page
- Microsoft — Compare Microsoft Teams Options
- Discord — Nitro Pricing Page
- Software Online Review — Slack Review (2026)
- Software Online Review — Google Meet vs Microsoft Teams vs Zoom (2026)
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