Team chat · Comparison
Microsoft Teams vs Slack vs Zoom Workplace
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 | Zoom Workplace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 includedRetention periods, legal holds and searchable chat exports on the entry paid plan, with meetings, mail and calendar in the same app. |
| Overall score | 7.5Best | 7.1 | 5.9 |
| Free option | Free plan | 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 | $4/user/mo | $7.25/user/mo | $14.16/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) | Workplace Pro, $14.16/user/mo billed annually ($16.99 on the monthly view) |
| What else the plan includes | Meetings up to 300 people, 10 GB storage per user | Chat only: huddles, canvases, lists, workflows | Meetings up to 30 hours, Mail and Calendar clients, 10 GB cloud recording per user |
| 50 people, annual terms | $200/mo | $362.50/mo | $708/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 | Basic: one free license; cloud chat copies kept 2 years |
| 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+ | Retention periods, legal holds and Chat History search and export on every paid plan |
| SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 | Both (Teams in scope) | Both | Both (Zoom Chat in scope) |
| HIPAA BAA | By default through Microsoft’s data protection addendum | HIPAA support listed on Enterprise+ | Zoom signs BAAs; plans not named, healthcare through sales |
| EU data storage | For tenants that sign up in the EU | Business+ and up, set up through sales | Regional Infrastructure for Education and Enterprise accounts |
| Company SSO | Microsoft Entra ID (free version included) | SAML from Business+ ($15); Pro has Google OAuth | SAML from Business ($18.33) |
| Audit log | Purview Audit (Standard) from Business Basic | Enterprise+ | Admin activity logs from Pro |
| Working with outside people | Guest access included | Pro: guests and Slack Connect channels | External contacts in chats and channels, admin-controlled |
| 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, Zoom Workplace puts the most records controls on its entry paid plan here: retention, legal holds and chat exports on Pro. It is also the most expensive way here to give 50 people chat, and SSO starts on Business. |
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; Zoom Workplace: 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 Zoom Workplace review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Zoom Workplace when
- You need retention, legal holds and searchable chat exports on the entry paid plan, with meetings, mail and calendar in one app.
- Pick Microsoft Teams when
- You want the lowest price for 50 people, company sign-in on the entry plan and a HIPAA BAA by default.
From our Zoom Workplace review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Zoom Workplace when
- You need legal holds and chat exports without an enterprise plan, and want meetings in the same price.
- Pick Slack when
- You want a lower price for chat alone, a free team plan and history kept for the life of the workspace.
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
- Zoom WorkplacePro$14.16/user/moBilled annually as one upfront charge ($16.99 on the monthly view); 1–99 licenses
- Meetings up to 30 hours
- Zoom Mail and Calendar clients
- 10 GB cloud recording per user
- Chat retention settings, legal holds and the Chat History report
- Admin activity logs
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Microsoft Teams 2026-10-15, Slack 2026-10-15, Zoom Workplace 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
Add a product
Search by product name or by what it does, such as “email” or “feature flags”. 1 more fits in this comparison.