team communication software · Tool Face-Off

Discord vs Slack

Quick answer

Slack wins for serious workplace teams needing deep integrations and structured workflows; Discord wins for communities, gaming squads, and budget-conscious teams who love persistent voice channels.

Discord

Built for communities, surprisingly capable for teams

4.2★

Slack

The OG workplace chat that enterprises actually trust

3.8★

Free Plan

Unlimited servers, 2-week message history

90-day message history, 10 integrations

Paid Starting Price

~$2.99/mo (Nitro Basic) — personal, not team

~$7.25/seat/mo (Pro)

Message History (Free)

Last 14 days

Last 90 days

Persistent Voice Channels

Yes — always-on rooms

No — huddles are temporary

Native Integrations

~30 official bots/apps

2,600+ app integrations

Video Conferencing (paid)

Up to 25 users via Stage/Go Live

Up to 50 users (Pro)

File Storage (free)

500 MB per server

5 GB per workspace

Thread Support

Basic forum channels + replies

Full threaded conversations everywhere

Guest Access

Yes, via server roles

Yes, paid guests only on Pro+

API / Workflow Automation

Basic bot API

Workflow Builder, no-code automations

Screen Sharing

Yes (free)

Yes (paid plans)

End-to-End Encryption

No (TLS in transit only)

Discord

Pricing★★★★★

Features★★★★☆

Ease of Use★★★★☆

Integrations★★★☆☆

Voice & Video★★★★½

Community Tools★★★★★

Mobile Experience★★★★☆

Slack

Pricing★★★☆☆

Features★★★★½

Ease of Use★★★★½

Integrations★★★★★

Voice & Video★★★☆☆

Community Tools★★½☆☆

Mobile Experience★★★★☆

Worth knowing

Discord has over 500 million registered accounts, dwarfing most enterprise chat tools in raw user count.
Slack's free plan quietly cut message history from unlimited to 90 days in 2022 — ouch.
Discord's always-on voice channels let teammates 'hang out' without scheduling a call first.
Slack has native Salesforce integration after Salesforce acquired it for $27.7 billion in 2021.
Discord Nitro costs less per year than a single Slack Pro seat per month.

Discord was originally built for gamers to coordinate raids in MMORPGs — yet somehow it now hosts therapy communities, book clubs, and Fortune 500 side projects.

If you want

You need enterprise-grade integrations and structured async work

Slack's 2,600+ integrations and Workflow Builder make it the undisputed hub for tool-heavy teams.

→ Pick Slack

If you want

You're running a community, open-source project, or gaming group

Discord's server model, roles, and free persistent voice channels were literally built for this.

→ Pick Discord

If you want

You're a small team on a tight budget

Discord is functionally free with no meaningful paywalls for small collaborative teams.

→ Pick Discord

If you want

You need reliable searchable message history on the free tier

90 days beats Discord's 14-day window when you need to find that link from last month.

→ Pick Slack

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