What is the difference between Slack and Chanty?

Slack is best for Teams that need organized, searchable communication, while Chanty is best for Small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat. Slack starts at $7.25/user/mo and Chanty starts at Free.

Is Slack or Chanty cheaper?

Slack starts at $7.25/user/mo with a free tier. Chanty starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Chanty?

Both Slack and Chanty offer free tiers.

Slack vs Chanty

Slack is team messaging platform with channels, threads, and integrations for workplace communication, while Chanty is simple team messaging with tasks, video calls, and unlimited message history on the free plan. The biggest difference up front: Chanty is free, while Slack starts at $7.25/user/mo. Slack is built for teams that need organized, searchable communication, whereas Chanty targets small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat.

At a glance

	Slack	Chanty
Best for	Teams that need organized, searchable communication	Small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat
Starting price	$7.25/user/mo	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Channels	✓	—
File Sharing	✓	—
Huddles	✓	—
Integrations	✓	—
Tasks	—	✓
Threads	✓	✓
Unlimited History	—	✓
Video Calls	—	✓

Slack

Strengths

Massive integration ecosystem with 2,400+ apps
Excellent search across all messages and files
Familiar interface that most people already know
Strong API for custom bots and workflows

Weaknesses

Expensive at scale — costs add up fast with large teams
Can become noisy and distracting with many channels
Free tier limits message history to 90 days
Desktop app is resource-heavy

Try Slack → Full review

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

Try Chanty → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Chanty is completely free (Free for up to 5 members), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Slack starts at $7.25/user/mo, but Free for small teams, 90-day history. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

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

Team fit: Slack is geared toward any size teams, while Chanty is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Where each tool shines: Slack's biggest strengths are: massive integration ecosystem with 2,400+ apps. excellent search across all messages and files. 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 Slack, users commonly note that expensive at scale — costs add up fast with large teams. With Chanty, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Slack if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams that need organized, searchable communication
You specifically need Channels and File Sharing
You care about excellent search across all messages and files
Your team size fits the any size profile Slack is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for small teams, 90-day history

Choose Chanty if...

You need a tool built for small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat
Budget is a hard constraint — Chanty is free, Slack is not
You specifically need Tasks and Unlimited History
You care about includes tasks as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Chanty is designed for