The Best Team Chat Apps in 2026
We researched team chat apps using official websites, including pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. Rankings focus on the core job of workplace messaging, value for money and verified features. This is desk research, not hands-on testing.
Our top picks
-
Top ranked
Microsoft Teams#1 of 639.4/10A broad team chat workspace with a free plan and deep Microsoft 365 integration.
Free plan
-
Runner-up
Slack#2 of 639.3/10A capable team-chat hub for integration-heavy teams, with limited free history.
Free plan
-
Top-ranked free plan
Zoho Cliq#3 of 639.1/10A broad team chat suite with strong Zoho ecosystem fit and a capable free plan.
Free plan · 14-day trial
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
The full ranking 63 tools, best first · page 1 of 2
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Best forOrganizations using Microsoft 365
A broad team chat workspace with a free plan and deep Microsoft 365 integration.
- Guest access
- Channels
9.4/10★★★★★Try Microsoft Teams -
Best forIntegration-heavy teams
A capable team-chat hub for integration-heavy teams, with limited free history.
- Guest access
- Channels
9.3/10★★★★★Visit Slack -
Best forTeams in the Zoho ecosystem
A broad team chat suite with strong Zoho ecosystem fit and a capable free plan.
- Guest access
- Channels
Free plan · 14-day trial Our Zoho Cliq verdict → Visit Zoho CliqFor vendors Sponsor this spot · #3 · $79/mo →9.1/10★★★★★Visit Zoho Cliq -
Best forSelf-hosted technical teams
A flexible team chat platform for technical teams that need self-hosting and automation.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit Mattermost -
Best forOrganizations needing controlled deployments
A flexible, open-source chat platform for controlled and isolated deployments.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit Rocket.Chat -
Best forTeams that prefer topic-based discussions
A flexible, topic-focused team chat with cloud and self-hosted plans.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit Zulip -
Best forTeams needing an all-in-one workspace
A broad collaboration workspace with valuable free access and paid tiers for scale.
- Channels
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit Lark -
Best forTeams wanting free chat plus work tools
A broad team chat workspace with a capable free Starter plan and useful work tools.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit Flock -
Best forCommunities centered on voice and live interaction
A capable community chat platform built around voice, live interaction, and streaming.
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Discord -
Best forNextcloud and self-hosted organizations
A flexible open-source team chat option for Nextcloud and self-hosted organizations.
- Guest access
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Nextcloud Talk -
Best forSecurity-focused organizations needing federation
A security-focused team chat app with federation, encryption, and broad client support.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Wire -
Best forPrivacy-focused and sovereign teams
A privacy-focused, open-source chat platform for teams needing control and federation.
- Guest access
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Element -
Best forTeams seeking low-cost full chat
A low-cost team chat app with unlimited history and a broad feature set.
- Guest access
- Channels
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Pumble -
Best forBudget-conscious collaborative teams
A low-cost team workspace combining chat, collaboration tools, and searchable history.
- Guest access
- Channels
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Chanty -
Best forRegulated teams needing external interoperability
A compliance-focused team chat platform for regulated financial-services organizations.
- Guest access
- Channels
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit Symphony -
Best forAsync, thread-focused teams
A structured team chat app for asynchronous, thread-focused collaboration.
- Guest access
- Channels
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Twist -
Best forLow-cost teams needing secure messaging
A low-cost, security-focused team chat suite with broad calling and admin features.
- Guest access
- Channels
7.6/10★★★★☆Try Troop Messenger -
Best forOrganizations connected to LINE
A LINE-connected team workspace with messaging, collaboration, calls, and administration.
- Guest access
- Channels
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit LINE WORKS -
Best forOrganizations wanting simple persistent chat
A straightforward chat platform with broad client support and business-grade administration.
- Guest access
- Channels
7.4/10★★★★☆Visit Trillian -
Best forTeams needing straightforward hosted chat
A broad team chat platform with wide device coverage and a paid entry point.
- Guest access
- Channels
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit Talkspirit -
Best forSmall businesses needing simple chat and tasks
A practical chat-and-task workspace for small businesses that need simple communication.
- Guest access
- Channels
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit Chatwork -
Best forSecure communities needing portals and events
A broad, secure workspace for communities that need chat, events, portals, and permissions.
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit Whaller -
Best forTeams needing deep content search
A feature-rich team chat app with particularly strong content search.
- Guest access
- Channels
6.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Convo -
Best forUsers consolidating multiple chat services on desktop
A practical desktop hub for consolidating multiple chat services and accounts.
- Channels
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Franz -
Best forTeams needing secure desktop and mobile coverage
A private team chat suite with broad device coverage and paid-only access.
- Guest access
- Channels
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit Brosix -
Best forOrganizations running branded member communities
A branded community app suite with broad member tools and per-app pricing.
6.6/10★★★☆☆Visit Minsh -
Best forOrganizations wanting a broad work suite
A broad work suite for organizations that need chat plus collaboration tools.
- Guest access
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit DingTalk -
Best forTeams wanting chat with AI administration
A broad team chat workspace with generous collaboration tools and plan-based limits.
- Guest access
- Channels
6.4/10★★★☆☆Visit JANDI -
Best forGoogle Workspace organizations
A capable team chat choice for organizations already centered on Google Workspace.
- Guest access
- Channels
6.3/10★★★☆☆Visit Google Chat -
Best forTeams needing chat plus project management
A paid workspace that combines secure chat with structured project management.
- Guest access
- Channels
6.1/10★★★☆☆Visit Stackfield -
Best forTeams that collaborate by email and chat
A team chat workspace that connects conversations, tasks, email, files, and integrations.
- Guest access
- Channels
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit Fleep -
Best forFrontline and emergency-response teams
A focused team messenger for frontline communication, alerts, and controlled deployment.
- Guest access
5.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Teamwire -
Best forSmall teams combining chat and tasks
A practical fit for small teams that want chat and task boards together.
- Guest access
- Channels
5.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Ryver -
Best forOrganizations integrating chat with Canvas
A broad team communication suite for organizations that use Canvas.
- Channels
5.7/10★★★☆☆Visit Pronto -
Best forSmall communities wanting open-source chat
A flexible chat space with community tools, calls, and a self-hosted option.
- Channels
5.6/10★★★☆☆Visit Fluxer -
Best forTeams wanting inexpensive self-managed messaging
A low-cost self-hosted chat suite with broad built-in collaboration tools.
- Channels
5.5/10★★★☆☆Try Output Messenger -
Best forField-service and mobile workforces
A broad coordination suite for field teams that need chat, calls, location, and push-to-talk.
- Channels
5.4/10★★★☆☆Try Team on the Run -
Best forSmall communities wanting free, self-hostable chat
Free, self-hostable chat for communities, with channels, voice, video, and moderation.
- Channels
5.3/10★★★☆☆Visit Stoat -
Best forSmall desktop-first teams on a tight budget
A low-cost desktop team chat with broad communication features and limited platform coverage.
- Guest access
- Channels
5.2/10★★★☆☆Visit Hubgets -
Best forTeams needing private chat with self-hosting
Compass combines private team chat, calls, automation, and self-hosting for business teams.
5.1/10★★★☆☆Visit Compass -
Best forOrganizations needing XMPP-based controlled messaging
AstraChat fits organizations that need controlled XMPP messaging across desktop and mobile.
5.0/10★★☆☆☆Visit AstraChat -
Best forTeams already using IRC
A focused IRC hub with persistent connections, synchronized history, and mobile access.
- Channels
4.9/10★★☆☆☆Visit IRCCloud -
Best forFree informal groups and school communities
A free, flexible choice for informal groups, schools, clubs, and communities.
- Guest access
4.8/10★★☆☆☆Visit GroupMe -
Best forWindows-centric controlled deployments
A Windows-focused team chat suite for organizations needing control, archiving, and permissions.
- Channels
4.7/10★★☆☆☆Visit Bopup IM Suite -
Best forFree voice-first private deployments
A free, voice-first conferencing system for private server deployments.
- Channels
4.5/10★★☆☆☆Visit TeamTalk 5 -
Best forWindows-centric local-network messaging
A focused LAN messenger with perpetual licensing, file transfer, conferencing, and directory support.
4.4/10★★☆☆☆Visit Softros -
Best forLinux users needing a lightweight IRC client
A focused, free IRC client for Linux users—not a full hosted team workspace.
- Channels
4.2/10★★☆☆☆Visit GNOME Project -
Best forTeams prioritizing task boards over chat
A task-led workspace for teams that want chat alongside projects, files and schedules.
- Channels
4.1/10★★☆☆☆Visit Collabee -
Best forSmall teams combining custom email and chat
A focused option for small teams that want custom email and chat together.
- Channels
4.0/10★★☆☆☆Visit Pingly -
Best forTeams bridging Slack and Microsoft Teams
A focused relay for teams that need Slack and Teams channels to stay in sync.
- Guest access
- Channels
3.9/10★★☆☆☆Visit SlackBridge
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Channels | Guest access | Message history | Integrations | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft Teams | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Microsoft 365, SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, Exchange, Planner, Forms, Power BI, OneNote, Power Apps, Power Automate, LinkedIn | 9.4 | |
| 2 | Slack | Yes | $7.25/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Limited | Salesforce, Jira, Google Drive, ChatGPT, Asana, Miro, Notion, Zoom, GitHub, GitLab, PagerDuty, Box, Dropbox, Zendesk, Freshdesk, HubSpot | 9.3 |
| 3 | Zoho Cliq | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Zoho People, Zoho Projects, Zoho Calendar, Zoho Notebook, Office 365, Twitter, third-party extensions | 9.1 | |
| 4 | Mattermost | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365, Outlook, ServiceNow, Zoom, Pexip, Splunk, Zapier | 8.9 | |
| 5 | Rocket.Chat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | GitHub, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Meet, Jira Cloud, Microsoft Teams, Pexip, Telegram, Trello, WhatsApp, Zapier, Zoom | 8.8 | |
| 6 | Zulip | Yes | $3.50/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Limited | GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Calendar, Zoom, Jitsi Meet, Zapier, IFTTT, Sentry, Zendesk | 8.7 |
| 7 | Lark | Yes | Yes | Limited | Exchange, Outlook, Google Calendar, Gmail, AnyCross, Lark Developer, Lark Base | 8.6 | ||
| 8 | Flock | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited | Google Drive, Google Calendar, GitHub, Trello, Dropbox, Twitter, Bitbucket, Asana, Jira, Zapier, Zoom, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Todoist, GitLab, Zendesk, Freshdesk, OneDrive, Mailchimp | 8.5 | |
| 9 | Discord | Yes | $29.99/user/yr | 8.4 | ||||
| 10 | Nextcloud Talk | €71.29/user/yr | No | Yes | Nextcloud Files, Nextcloud Groupware, Nextcloud Calendar, Nextcloud Deck, Nextcloud Whiteboard, Matterbridge, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Matrix, IRC, Slack, Mattermost, XMPP, Pexip, SIP | 8.3 | ||
| 11 | Wire | Yes | €7.45/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Poll, Reminder, GitHub | 8.2 | |
| 12 | Element | Yes | No | Yes | Unlimited | Etherpad, Grafana, Google Calendar, Jitsi, Spotify, YouTube, Ethercalc, TradingView, GitHub, RSS Bot, GitLab, Jira, Webhooks | 8.1 | |
| 13 | Pumble | Yes | $2.49/seat/mo | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Google Calendar, Plaky, Clockify, AI Assistant, Calendly, Email, GitHub, GitLab, Gmail, Google Drive, Jira, Polls, RSS, Zapier | 8.0 |
| 14 | Chanty | Yes | $3/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Zapier, Giphy, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, YouTube, Vimeo, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Trello, Asana, Google Calendar, Mailchimp, Jira, Box, ClickUp, Clockify, Loom, Basecamp, Wrike, Process Street, Make, Monday.com, HubSpot, n8n | 7.9 |
| 15 | Symphony | No | Yes | Yes | DTCC, FinTech Studios, FlexTrade, Hammerstone Markets, HSBC Global Research, ipushpull, Morgan Stanley Research, Saphyre, Taskize, TradingView, Appian, DataParser, Genesis, Jira, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Symantec, Unqork, LINE, Microsoft Teams, SMS, WeChat, WhatsApp, Zoom | 7.8 | ||
| 16 | Twist | Yes | $6/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Limited | Todoist, Asana, CircleCI, GitHub, GitLab, Jira Software, Make, n8n, Pipedream, Zapier, Google Calendar, Calendly, Jitsi Meet, Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Sheets, OneDrive, Box, Trello | 7.7 |
| 17 | Troop Messenger | No | $2.50/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Dropbox, Google Drive, Zapier, LDAP/Active Directory | 7.6 |
| 18 | LINE WORKS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited | kintone, Unipos, miibo, Blue Ocean, GENBAx | 7.5 | |
| 19 | Trillian | Yes | $3.99/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Olark, Jabber, Global Relay, Active Directory, OpenLDAP, Duo, RSA SecurID | 7.4 |
| 20 | Talkspirit | No | Yes | Yes | Limited | Facebook, GitHub, Twitter, RSS, Zapier, incoming webhooks | 7.3 | |
| 21 | Chatwork | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited | Backlog; Money Forward Cloud Expense; Gmail; Google Calendar; Jobcan; Zapier | 7.2 | |
| 22 | Whaller | Yes | €3/user/mo | 7.1 | ||||
| 23 | Convo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Google Apps, Zapier | 6.9 | ||
| 24 | Franz | Yes | Yes | Slack, Microsoft Teams, Mattermost, Rocket.Chat, Zoho Cliq, Twist, Chatwork, Zulip, Cisco Webex Teams, Yammer, Element, Nextcloud Talk | 6.8 | |||
| 25 | Brosix | No | $6/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Limited | Gmail, Google Sheets, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Shopify, HubSpot, Dropbox, Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, Slack | 6.7 |
| 26 | Minsh | No | $124/mo | Facebook, Instagram, Zapier, iCal, Zoho CRM | 6.6 | |||
| 27 | DingTalk | Yes | Yes | Limited | OA approvals, Attendance, Calendar, Announcements, Robots, CRM, Yida, Ding Drive, Ding Docs, DingTalk Meetings | 6.5 | ||
| 28 | JANDI | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited | Google Calendar, RSS Feed, Trello, JIRA, GitHub, Bitbucket, Incoming Webhooks, Outgoing Webhooks | 6.4 | |
| 29 | Google Chat | Yes | $7/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Meet, Google Groups, Asana, Jira, PagerDuty, GitHub, Workday, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Trello, Zapier | 6.3 | |
| 30 | Stackfield | No | €9/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Microsoft Teams; incoming webhooks; Stackfield API | 6.1 | |
| 31 | Fleep | No | €5/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Email, Trello, Zapier, IFTTT, Dropbox, OneDrive, Whereby, Slack, Sameroom, Pivotal Tracker, Webhooks, New Relic, Fleep API, Google Drive, JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket Cloud, Bitbucket Server, GitHub, GitLab | 6.0 |
| 32 | Teamwire | No | €3.45/user/mo | No | Yes | LDAP, Active Directory, ArcGIS, WhatsApp Business, SAP, Salesforce, Splunk, Sisense, SAP Crystal Reports, MDM/EMM/UEM via AppConfig | 5.9 | |
| 33 | Ryver | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Google Drive, Dropbox, Box.com, Zapier, API, Webhooks | 5.8 | |
| 34 | Pronto | Yes | Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace | 5.7 | ||||
| 35 | Fluxer | Yes | Yes | 5.6 | ||||
| 36 | Output Messenger | Yes | $3/user/yr | Yes | Output Desk, Output Wall, Output Time, Jitsi Meet, GitHub | 5.5 | ||
| 37 | Team on the Run | Yes | Dropbox, Google Drive, Alfresco | 5.4 | ||||
| 38 | Stoat | Yes | Free | Yes | GitHub (via webhook); bots; external services via webhooks | 5.3 | ||
| 39 | Hubgets | Yes | $2.50/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Limited | 5.2 | |
| 40 | Compass | No | $4.89/user/mo | Unlimited | 5.1 | |||
| 41 | AstraChat | Yes | Unlimited | Active Directory, email servers, SQL Server | 5.0 | |||
| 42 | IRCCloud | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Slack, GitHub | 4.9 | ||
| 43 | GroupMe | Yes | Free | Yes | Microsoft Teams, Facebook, Spotify, X, Instagram, TikTok | 4.8 | ||
| 44 | Bopup IM Suite | Yes | $1.20/user/mo | Yes | Unlimited | Active Directory (LDAP), Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL/Postgres Pro, command-line integrations | 4.7 | |
| 45 | TeamTalk 5 | Yes | Free | Yes | 4.5 | |||
| 46 | Softros LAN Messenger | No | $12.95/user one-time | 4.4 | ||||
| 47 | Polari | Yes | Free | Yes | 4.2 | |||
| 48 | Collabee | Yes | Yes | 4.1 | ||||
| 49 | Pingly | Yes | $5/user/mo | Yes | 4.0 | |||
| 50 | SlackBridge | Yes | $49.99/mo | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Slack; Microsoft Teams | 3.9 |
Head-to-head All 28 comparisons →
- Microsoft Teams vs Slack
- Microsoft Teams vs Zoho Cliq
- Microsoft Teams vs Mattermost
- Microsoft Teams vs Rocket.Chat
- Microsoft Teams vs Zulip
- Microsoft Teams vs Lark
- Microsoft Teams vs Flock
- Slack vs Zoho Cliq
- Slack vs Mattermost
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How we rank team chat apps
Every tool on this page was researched by iTechGuides Editors from its official website — pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. We rank on how well each one does this category's core job, what the free or entry plan includes, and where it falls short. Where we have enough verified facts, the score out of 10 is a rubric — job fit, value and how much we could verify — shown with its breakdown on every tool's page; a tool we have not verified enough to score yet shows its rank without a number. Scores are re-checked when a product changes its plans. Read the full editorial policy, or submit a tool we missed.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update