Some tools in this article have affiliate relationships with OperDrive. This never influences what we write, what we recommend, or how tools are ranked. Our research determines that. Nothing else.
THE SHORT ANSWER
If your team works in Microsoft 365 → Teams
If you are a digital-first startup relying on integrations → Slack
If you run a community, creator business, or gaming-adjacent brand → Discord
The communication tool decision is 80% about ecosystem fit and 20% about features. The right answer follows where your team already lives.
AT A GLANCE
| Slack Free | Slack Pro | Teams Free | Teams Essentials | Discord Free | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | Free | $8.75/seat ($7.25 annual) | Free | $4/seat | Free |
| Message history | 90 days | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Video calls | 1-to-1 | Group | Group(60min) | Group(300min) | Group |
| Integrations | 10 apps | Unlimited | MS ecosystem | MS ecosystem | Bots |
| Best for | Tech startups | Growing teams | MS 365 users | SMBs in Microsoft | Communities, creators |
| OperDrive deal | Standard | Standard | Standard | Standard | Free |
Microsoft Teams — for Microsoft 365 users
If your team already uses Microsoft 365, Teams is the answer — it is already paid for. Microsoft Teams is free with unlimited message history and a 60-minute meeting cap. Essentials at $4/seat/month lifts meetings to 300 minutes and adds 10GB storage. The value play is Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $6/seat/month — Teams plus Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and 1TB OneDrive. The critical insight: if your team uses Microsoft 365 at any tier, Teams is already included at no additional cost.
Slack — for integration-dependent teams
If your team relies on GitHub, Jira, Figma, or similar integrations, Slack is the answer. Slack Pro costs $8.75/seat/month, or $7.25/seat/month on annual billing — unlocking unlimited message history, unlimited integrations, and group video. The free tier's 90-day message history limit is the real constraint: after 90 days, messages are hidden, not deleted, but inaccessible without upgrading. For a 10-person team on Pro annual: $870/year. The same team on Teams Essentials: $480/year. Slack costs 81% more for the same core functionality — its justification is integration depth.
Discord — for communities
If you run a community alongside your business, Discord is the answer. It is free for businesses using it as a communication tool — server creation, channels, voice, and video all cost nothing. Nitro ($9.99/month per user) and Server Boosts ($4.99 each) are optional upgrades, not requirements. The trade-off: Discord was built for communities, not business workflows. It lacks threaded channel conversations, task assignment, and formal approval flows.
When it actually pays off
10-person team, 1 year:
| Tool | Annual cost | Message history | Integrations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slack Free | $0 | 90 days | 10 max |
| Slack Pro | $870 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Teams Free | $0 | Unlimited | Microsoft ecosystem |
| Teams Essentials | $480 | Unlimited | Microsoft ecosystem |
| Discord Free | $0 | Unlimited | Limited |
Discord and Teams free both beat Slack free significantly on message history. The only reason to pay for Slack is integrations — specifically if your team relies on GitHub, Jira, Salesforce, or Figma, where Slack's integration depth beats Teams.
What nobody else mentions
Slack's 90-day free message limit is more painful than most articles convey. For teams using Slack as a searchable knowledge base, losing access to anything older than 90 days is genuinely limiting. Teams free has no such limit.
Microsoft Teams improved dramatically with its 2025 redesign — speed and reliability now match Slack. The UX gap that once justified Slack's premium has narrowed significantly.
Discord has a growing number of business users — agencies, creator businesses, and younger startups. The always-on voice channel model produces different team dynamics than Slack's text-first approach.
Teams includes Microsoft Copilot at the Microsoft 365 tier, while Slack AI costs an extra $10/seat/month. For Microsoft 365 users, the AI comparison favours Teams.
FAQ
Is Microsoft Teams free?
Yes, with unlimited message history and a 60-minute meeting cap. If you have any Microsoft 365 subscription, the full Teams is already included.
Why is Slack more expensive than Teams?
Slack charges per seat ($7.25–$12.50/seat/month) where Teams is bundled into Microsoft 365. For equivalent functionality, Slack costs roughly 80% more.
Can I use Discord for business?
Yes, and many agencies and creator businesses do. It is free but lacks business-specific features like threaded channels and task assignment.
Which has the best free plan?
Teams and Discord both offer unlimited message history free, beating Slack's 90-day limit. Teams is best for business workflows; Discord for community-style communication.
Communication tools are infrastructure.
If you want to know which communication platform belongs in your specific business — that is what OperDrive does. Your Stack. Precisely.
What remains is not a suggestion.