Slack vs Microsoft Teams vs Google Chat: Which Fits?

Team chat can cut email clutter and speed up decisions, or it can become a never-ending stream of interruptions. The tool you choose matters, but how you set it up matters even more. Here is how Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Chat compare for small businesses.

Coworkers sitting side by side at a long table working on laptops in a bright office — Good chat habits keep a team connected without drowning it in messages.

Key takeaways

Your office suite usually decides the shortlist: Teams fits Microsoft 365 businesses, Google Chat fits Google Workspace businesses, and Slack works across both.
Slack is known for its polished chat experience, huge app directory and strong tools for working with outside companies.
Teams combines chat, meetings, calling and file collaboration deeply tied to Microsoft 365.
Google Chat is a simpler, lighter option that comes with many Google Workspace plans. Check current editions, pricing and terms before deciding.

When a team grows past a handful of people, email stops working for quick questions. Threads multiply, replies get lost and nobody knows which version of a decision is final. Team chat promises a faster, more organized way to talk.

For most small businesses, the choice comes down to three tools: Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Chat. Each can run a company's daily conversations well. The right one depends mostly on the tools you already use and how you work with people outside your company.

What a team chat tool should do

Look past the emoji reactions and focus on the jobs that matter:

Organized conversations: channels or spaces by team, project or client, with threads to keep side discussions tidy.
Search and history: finding a decision or file from months ago in seconds.
Integrations: notifications and actions from your project tool, CRM, help desk and calendar.
Calls and huddles: quick voice or video conversations without scheduling a formal meeting.
External collaboration: secure ways to talk with clients, freelancers and partners.
Admin and security controls: user management, retention settings, single sign-on and data export.

Common mistake

Rolling out chat without any norms. Without agreed rules on channels, response times and when to use chat versus email or meetings, people feel they must watch messages all day. The tool then hurts focus instead of helping it.

The three tools compared

Slack

Slack, owned by Salesforce, is widely credited with popularizing channel-based work chat. It is known for a fast, pleasant interface, powerful search, a very large directory of app integrations and workflow features. Slack Connect lets separate companies share channels, which many agencies and B2B businesses use to work with clients and partners.

It tends to suit tech-savvy teams, businesses that use many different apps, and companies that collaborate heavily with outside organizations. The trade-off is that it is a separate subscription on top of your office suite, and free plans have historically limited message history and some features. Check the current plan details.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams combines chat, video meetings, phone calling options and file collaboration, and it is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 apps such as Outlook, Word, Excel, SharePoint and OneDrive. Files shared in Teams channels are stored in SharePoint, so documents and conversations sit together.

It tends to suit businesses already on Microsoft 365, especially those that rely on Office documents and want one platform for chat and meetings. Some users find the interface busier than Slack. Following scrutiny by the European Commission, Microsoft also sells some Microsoft 365 suites without Teams, so check which edition you are buying and whether Teams is included.

Google Chat

Google Chat is part of Google Workspace and connects with Gmail, Google Meet, Calendar and Drive. Spaces organize conversations by team or topic, and you can open shared Docs and Sheets directly from conversations.

It tends to suit businesses on Google Workspace that want a simple chat tool without paying for another product. It is generally seen as lighter than Slack or Teams, with a smaller integration ecosystem, which can be an advantage for teams that want fewer bells and whistles.

Group of colleagues sitting around a table in a meeting room with laptops and notebooks — Chat works best when it complements meetings rather than replacing every conversation.

Side-by-side comparison

This table summarizes general strengths and typical fit. It deliberately leaves out exact prices, because plans and bundles change often. Check current pricing and terms with each vendor.

Factor	Slack	Microsoft Teams	Google Chat
Best ecosystem fit	Works with any suite	Microsoft 365	Google Workspace
Chat experience	Polished, fast, highly regarded	Feature-rich, can feel busy	Simple and clean
Integrations	Very large app directory	Strong Microsoft and third-party apps	Smaller but growing set
Meetings and calls	Huddles and calls; many teams also use a separate meeting tool	Full meetings, webinars and calling options	Connects to Google Meet
External collaboration	Shared channels with other companies	Guest access and external chat	External users in spaces, depending on settings
Cost model	Separate subscription	Often included or offered with Microsoft 365	Included in many Workspace plans

1 The main question that decides most chat tool choices: which office suite does your team already live in every day? Start here before comparing features

How to decide

Start with your suite. If you are deep in Microsoft 365, Teams is the natural default. If you use Google Workspace, try Google Chat first. Only add Slack if you have a clear reason.
List your reasons to add Slack. Common ones: heavy client collaboration across companies, many third-party apps, or a team that strongly prefers its interface. If none apply, the bundled tool may be enough.
Count total cost. Include the chat subscription, any meeting or phone add-ons and admin time. A bundled tool may already be paid for.
Check integrations. Make sure your project tool, CRM and help desk send useful notifications into chat.
Pilot with one team for two weeks. Set up channels, norms and integrations, then ask whether email volume and meeting time went down.
Roll out with written norms. Publish simple rules before inviting everyone.

Hypothetical example

Suppose an eight-person accounting firm already pays for Microsoft 365 and stores client files in SharePoint. Teams lets staff chat, meet and co-edit files in one place without another subscription. Now imagine a marketing agency on Google Workspace that works with fifteen client companies, many of which also use Slack: shared channels with clients might justify paying for Slack despite the bundled Google Chat.

Using your suite's bundled chat

Often no extra subscription
One login, one admin console, one vendor
Tight links to your email, calendar and files

Adding a separate chat tool

Extra cost per user
Another system to secure and manage
Worth it only if it solves a real problem

Security, retention and privacy

Chat quickly becomes a store of sensitive information: customer details, pricing, passwords pasted in a hurry and HR conversations. Treat it like any other business system:

Turn on multi-factor authentication or single sign-on for every account.
Set retention rules that match your legal and business needs, rather than keeping everything forever by default.
Control guest access. Limit guests to specific channels and review them regularly.
Never share passwords in chat. Use a password manager's sharing feature instead.
Check data location and DPAs. If you handle personal data of people in the EU or UK, confirm where chat data is stored and that the vendor offers a GDPR-compliant data processing agreement. Some data residency options are available only on certain plans.

Pro tip

Create a short "how we use chat" note and pin it in your general channel. Cover channel naming, expected response times, when to use threads, when to switch to a call and when to use email for anything formal or external.

Chat norms that protect focus

The tool you choose matters less than the habits around it. Simple norms help:

Default to channels, not direct messages, so knowledge stays searchable for the whole team.
Use threads to keep channels readable.
Set expectations on response time. Chat is not an emergency line; agree on what truly needs an immediate answer.
Respect status and do-not-disturb settings, especially across time zones.
Move decisions to a lasting place. Summarize important decisions in your project tool or docs, not only in chat.

Moving off personal messaging apps

Many small businesses start out running the team on WhatsApp, Telegram or text message groups. It is free and everyone already has the app, so it feels natural. The problems appear as the business grows:

The company does not own the conversations. Messages, files and customer details sit on employees' personal phones and accounts.
Offboarding is messy. Removing a departing employee from every group is easy to forget, and they keep the history on their phone.
Work and personal life blur. Staff get work messages next to family chats, with no clear off switch.
Search and organization are limited. Finding a decision or file from months ago in a busy group is slow.

Moving to a business chat tool fixes these issues because accounts belong to the company and admins control access. Make the switch on a fixed date, recreate your main groups as channels and ask everyone to stop posting work updates in the old groups. Keep personal messaging apps for genuinely social chat if the team wants it.

Your team chat rollout checklist

Confirm which office suite your team uses daily
Write down any specific reasons to add a separate chat tool
Compare total cost including bundled options
Set up channels for teams, projects and announcements
Connect your project tool, CRM and calendar
Turn on multi-factor authentication and retention rules
Publish chat norms before inviting the whole team

Frequently asked questions

Can a small business use a free chat plan?

Yes, many do at first. Free plans often limit message history, integrations, call features or admin controls. Check the limits, because losing access to old conversations can hurt once chat becomes your main record of decisions.

Can Slack and Teams users talk to each other?

Not natively in the same way as users of one tool. Each offers ways to work with external people, and third-party connectors exist, but cross-platform chat is usually less smooth than staying in one system.

Should we use chat for customer support?

Internal chat tools are not designed as customer help desks. For customer conversations, a dedicated support or live chat tool usually provides better tracking, history and reporting.

Does team chat replace email?

Not entirely. Chat works best for quick internal questions and day-to-day coordination. Email remains the norm for formal communication, external contacts who are not in your workspace, and anything that needs a clear, lasting record such as contracts or approvals.

How many channels should we create?

Start with fewer than you think: one for announcements, one per team and one per major project or client. Archive channels that go quiet. Too many channels make it hard to know where to post.

The bottom line

Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Chat all handle team conversations well. Teams fits businesses on Microsoft 365, Google Chat fits those on Google Workspace, and Slack earns its extra cost when your team strongly prefers its chat experience or you need broad integrations or heavy collaboration with other companies. Start with your existing suite, pilot with one team, write clear norms and check current pricing and terms before rolling out.