Team chat · Comparison
Google Chat vs Microsoft Teams vs Slack
3 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Google Chat | Microsoft Teams | Slack |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Compliance includedChat included with Workspace from $7 a user, with SSO, Chat audit logs and a HIPAA BAA on the cheapest Business plan. | Worth the priceChat, meetings and guest access for $4 a user, under Microsoft’s SOC 2, ISO 27001 and default HIPAA BAA terms. | Built-in reachChat on its own terms: channels shared with other companies, unlimited history and custom retention from $7.25 per active user. |
| Overall score | 7.0 | 7.5Best | 7.1 |
| Free option | 14-day free trial | Free plan | Free plan |
| Card to start | –Not measured | –Not measured | –Not measured |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $7/user/mo | $4/user/mo | $7.25/user/mo |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat | Per seat |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Plan priced for 50 people | Workspace Business Starter, $7/user/mo with a 1-year commitment ($8.40 flexible) | Teams Essentials, $4/user/mo paid yearly | Pro, $7.25/user/mo billed annually ($8.75 monthly) |
| What else the plan includes | Gmail, Meet, Drive (30 GB pooled per user), Docs | Meetings up to 300 people, 10 GB storage per user | Chat only: huddles, canvases, lists, workflows |
| 50 people, annual terms | $350/mo | $200/mo | $362.50/mo |
| Free option | 14-day Workspace trial | Free Teams for personal accounts; 1-month business trial with a card | Free plan: 90 days of history, data older than 1 year deleted |
| Retention, legal hold, eDiscovery | Vault on Business Plus ($22) | Retention policies from Business Basic ($7); eDiscovery cases need Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 | Custom retention on Pro; legal holds and Discovery API on Enterprise+ |
| SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 | Both (Google Workspace) | Both (Teams in scope) | Both |
| HIPAA BAA | Accepted by an admin in the Admin console | By default through Microsoft’s data protection addendum | HIPAA support listed on Enterprise+ |
| EU data storage | Data regions from Business Standard ($14) | For tenants that sign up in the EU | Business+ and up, set up through sales |
| Company SSO | Third-party IdP on every Business plan | Microsoft Entra ID (free version included) | SAML from Business+ ($15); Pro has Google OAuth |
| Audit log | Chat log events on every Business plan | Purview Audit (Standard) from Business Basic | Enterprise+ |
| Working with outside people | Starter: external 1:1 and group DMs; external spaces from Standard | Guest access included | Pro: guests and Slack Connect channels |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Google Chat gives the strongest admin controls on the cheapest plan here, because they come with Workspace. It is not sold alone, and retention, eDiscovery and EU regions start on higher plans. | From its public pages, Teams Essentials is the cheapest way here to give 50 people chat and meetings, under Microsoft’s certifications and default BAA. Plan on Business Basic or above if you need retention policies or an audit log. | From its public pages, Slack is the most complete chat product sold on its own, with the only free team plan here. Admin and compliance controls step up by plan: SAML on Business+, audit logs, legal holds and HIPAA on Enterprise+. |
Evidence: Google Chat: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Microsoft Teams: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Slack: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our Google Chat review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Google Chat when
- You also need email and documents, and want SSO, an audit log and a BAA on the cheapest plan.
- Pick Slack when
- You want chat alone, a free team plan, and custom retention on the entry paid plan.
From our Google Chat review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Google Chat when
- You want an audit log and SSO with your own identity provider on the cheapest plan, plus email and documents.
- Pick Microsoft Teams when
- You want the lowest price for 50 people, or EU storage without upgrading the plan.
From our Microsoft Teams review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Microsoft Teams when
- You want the lowest price for 50 people and a HIPAA BAA without an enterprise plan.
- Pick Slack when
- You want a free team workspace and custom retention on the entry paid plan.
From our Microsoft Teams review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Microsoft Teams when
- You want chat and meetings at $4 per user and EU storage without a plan upgrade.
- Pick Google Chat when
- You want an audit log, SSO and external group chats on the cheapest plan, with email and documents included.
From our Slack review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Slack when
- You want a free team workspace, custom retention on the entry plan and channels shared with other companies on Slack.
- Pick Microsoft Teams when
- You want the lowest price for 50 people and a HIPAA BAA without an enterprise plan.
From our Slack review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Slack when
- You already have email and documents and want chat alone, with retention control on the entry plan.
- Pick Google Chat when
- You also need business email and documents, and want SSO and an audit log on the cheapest plan.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- Google ChatBusiness Starter$7/user/mo1-year commitment, billed monthly ($8.40 flexible); up to 300 users
- Chat, Gmail with a custom domain, Meet (100 participants)
- 30 GB pooled storage per user
- SSO with a third-party IdP and Chat audit logs
- External one-to-one and group direct messages
- Microsoft TeamsLowest priceTeams Essentials$4/user/moPaid yearly, annual subscription; 1–300 users
- Unlimited chat, including guest access
- Meetings up to 30 hours and 300 participants
- 10 GB of cloud storage per user
- Microsoft Entra ID (free version)
- SlackPro$7.25/user/moPer active user, billed annually ($8.75 monthly)
- Unlimited message history
- Custom retention policies
- Guests and Slack Connect channels
- Group huddles
- Google OAuth sign-in
- 24/7 support
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Google Chat 2026-10-15, Microsoft Teams 2026-10-15, Slack 2026-10-15.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- Microsoft TeamsSelf-serve sign-up; the highest score of the 3 self-serve products here (7.5/10).
- Lowest starter price
- Microsoft Teams$4/user/mo for the Teams Essentials plan.
- Highest overall score
- Microsoft Teams7.5/10 (Good). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score
Full reviews
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