What is the difference between Twist and Chanty?

Twist is best for Remote teams wanting async-first communication, while Chanty is best for Small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat. Twist starts at $6/user/mo and Chanty starts at Free.

Is Twist or Chanty cheaper?

Twist starts at $6/user/mo with a free tier. Chanty starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Chanty?

Both Twist and Chanty offer free tiers.

Twist vs Chanty

Twist is async communication tool from Doist that organizes conversations into threads, not a firehose, 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 Twist starts at $6/user/mo. Twist is built for remote teams wanting async-first communication, whereas Chanty targets small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat.

At a glance

	Twist	Chanty
Best for	Remote teams wanting async-first communication	Small teams wanting simple, affordable team chat
Starting price	$6/user/mo	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Async-First	✓	—
Channels	✓	—
Integrations	✓	—
Tasks	—	✓
Threads	✓	✓
Unlimited History	—	✓
Video Calls	—	✓

Twist

Strengths

Threaded replies keep side conversations from cluttering the main channel
Includes Async-First as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
Free for 1 month history — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes channels 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 Twist → 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. Twist starts at $6/user/mo, but Free for 1 month 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: Twist offers Async-First, Channels and Integrations that Chanty lacks. Chanty brings Tasks, Unlimited History and Video Calls that Twist does not have. Both share Threads.

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

Where each tool shines: Twist's biggest strengths are: threaded replies keep side conversations from cluttering the main channel. includes async-first as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows. 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 Twist, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Chanty, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Twist if...

You need a tool built for remote teams wanting async-first communication
You specifically need Async-First and Channels
You care about includes async-first as a core feature, purpose-built for team communication workflows
The free tier works for you: free for 1 month 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, Twist is not
You specifically need Tasks and Unlimited History
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