Team chat · Comparison
Microsoft Teams vs Slack vs Webex
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 | Microsoft Teams | Slack | Webex |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | 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. | Compliance includedHIPAA/BAA compliance and chat with outside accounts listed on every Webex plan, with EU data storage set by country, from $12 a user. |
| Overall score | 7.5Best | 7.1 | 5.3 |
| Free option | Free plan | Free plan | Free plan |
| Card to start | –Not measured | –Not measured | No card needed |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $4/user/mo | $7.25/user/mo | $12/user/mo |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat | Per seat |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Plan priced for 50 people | Teams Essentials, $4/user/mo paid yearly | Pro, $7.25/user/mo billed annually ($8.75 monthly) | Webex Meet, $12/user/mo billed annually ($14.50 monthly) |
| What else the plan includes | Meetings up to 300 people, 10 GB storage per user | Chat only: huddles, canvases, lists, workflows | Meetings up to 24 hours and 200 attendees, AI Assistant, 10 GB cloud recording |
| 50 people, annual terms | $200/mo | $362.50/mo | $600/mo |
| Free option | Free Teams for personal accounts; 1-month business trial with a card | Free plan: 90 days of history, data older than 1 year deleted | Webex Free: unlimited messaging, 40-minute meetings, no card |
| Retention, legal hold, eDiscovery | 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+ | Messages kept 360 days by default; custom retention and legal hold with Pro Pack; eDiscovery covers 90 days without it |
| SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 | Both (Teams in scope) | Both | Both (Webex) |
| HIPAA BAA | By default through Microsoft’s data protection addendum | HIPAA support listed on Enterprise+ | HIPAA/BAA marked on every plan |
| EU data storage | For tenants that sign up in the EU | Business+ and up, set up through sales | For organizations set up with a European, Middle Eastern or African country |
| Company SSO | Microsoft Entra ID (free version included) | SAML from Business+ ($15); Pro has Google OAuth | Documented in Control Hub; not on the plan comparison |
| Audit log | Purview Audit (Standard) from Business Basic | Enterprise+ | Documented in Control Hub; not on the plan comparison |
| Working with outside people | Guest access included | Pro: guests and Slack Connect channels | Chat with external accounts on every plan |
| Bottom line | 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+. | From its public pages, Webex and Microsoft Teams are the two here that list a BAA and EU storage on their cheapest paid plans. History control is the trade-off: messages are kept 360 days by default, and retention and legal hold need Pro Pack. |
Evidence: 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; Webex: 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 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 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 Webex review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Webex when
- You want a published monthly price and the AI Assistant included at $12 a user.
- Pick Microsoft Teams when
- You want the lowest price for 50 people and company sign-in listed on the $4 plan.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- 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
- WebexWebex Meet$12/user/mo$144 per license a year ($14.50 billed monthly)
- Meetings up to 24 hours and 200 attendees
- AI Assistant, including message summaries
- 10 GB cloud recording
- Slido polling and Q&A
- Support by chat, call and case form
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Microsoft Teams 2026-10-15, Slack 2026-10-15, Webex 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).
- If you want to try it without entering a card
- WebexFree plan, no card needed; scored 5.3/10.
- 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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