At a glance

Pumble Chanty
Best for Teams wanting a free Slack alternative Small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat
Starting price Free Free
Free tier
Open source
Free tier available
Open source
Channels
Tasks
Threads
Unlimited History
Video Calls

Pumble

Strengths

  • Unlimited message history on every plan — nothing gets lost or archived
  • Organizes conversations into channels so discussions stay focused and searchable
  • The core product is free with no paywalled essentials
  • Includes video calls alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

  • May lack some advanced features
  • Some advanced features require upgrading to a paid plan
  • Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
  • Notification overload is a real problem as the number of channels grows

Chanty

Strengths

  • Unlimited message history on every plan — nothing gets lost or archived
  • Includes Tasks as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
  • Free for up to 5 members — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
  • Includes video calls alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

  • Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
  • Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
  • Notification overload is a real problem as the number of channels grows
  • Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Pumble and Chanty are free. You can try both without spending a dollar.

Feature gaps: Pumble offers Channels that Chanty lacks. Chanty brings Tasks that Pumble does not have. Both share Threads, Unlimited History and Video Calls.

Team fit: Both tools target small teams teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

Where each tool shines: Pumble's biggest strengths are: unlimited message history on every plan — nothing gets lost or archived. organizes conversations into channels so discussions stay focused and searchable. Chanty's biggest strengths are: unlimited message history on every plan — nothing gets lost or archived. includes tasks as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows.

Watch out for: With Pumble, users commonly note that may lack some advanced features. With Chanty, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Pumble if...

  • Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting a free slack alternative
  • You specifically need Channels
  • You care about organizes conversations into channels so discussions stay focused and searchable

Choose Chanty if...

  • You need a tool built for small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat
  • You specifically need Tasks
  • You care about includes tasks as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
  • The free tier works for you: free for up to 5 members

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