Slack vs. Zoom Workplace: Which Team Communication Tool Fits a Small Business?
Slack is built around chat and keeps its free plan to 90 days of history. Zoom Workplace is built around meetings and charges a flat per-user price for each tier.
Both tools now cover chat, calls and AI summaries. The big difference is where they start. Slack starts with channels and messages, and Zoom Workplace starts with video meetings and adds chat, calendar and mail around them.
| At a glance | Slack | Zoom Workplace |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, 90 days of message history and 10 apps | Basic plan with no price listed, 40-minute meetings and 100 participants |
| Lowest paid plan (annual billing) | Pro, $7.25 per user a month | Pro, $14.16 per user a month |
| Mid paid plan (annual billing) | Business+, $15 per user a month | Business, $18.33 per user a month |
| AI on the free plan | Basic AI | 3 meeting summaries and 20 AI queries a month |
| Top-tier AI | Business+ adds Slackbot and AI workflow steps | Pro and up include unlimited meeting summaries and AI note-taking |
| Main strength | Chat channels and app integrations | Video meetings |
| Enterprise pricing | Contact sales | Contact sales |
Slack
- Free plan with no time limit
- Pro removes the message history cap and app limit
- Slack Connect for messaging outside your company
- Business+ adds a personal AI agent (Slackbot) and workflow AI
- Free plan keeps only 90 days of visible message history and 10 app integrations
- Advanced AI needs Business+
- Slackbot is only a trial experience on Free and Pro
Zoom Workplace
- Pro allows meetings up to 30 hours
- Pro and above include unlimited meeting summaries and in-meeting AI questions
- Includes Team Chat, Mail, Calendar, Whiteboard and Clips
- Business raises meetings to 300 participants
- Basic meetings stop at 40 minutes
- Basic includes only 3 AI meeting summaries a month
- Costs about twice as much per user as Slack Pro
Pick Slack if your team talks all day in chat and you want the cheapest paid step, $7.25 per user a month. Pick Zoom Workplace if client and team video calls are the center of your week and you want AI meeting notes included. Many small teams will use Slack's free plan for chat and Zoom's Basic plan for meetings before paying for either.
Prices and features checked October 28, 2026 from each company's own site. They change often, so confirm before you buy. We are not paid by either company.
- Slack pricing (Slack)
- Zoom Workplace pricing (Zoom)
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