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All industries · head to head

Salesforce vs Slack

Salesforce logo

Salesforce

All industries

World's #1 CRM

From
$25/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Slack logo

Slack

All industries

Where work happens

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Slack has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Salesforce sales Cloud tiers as captured 2 January 2024: Starter Suite $25/user/month, Professional $80/user/month, Enterprise $165/user/month, all USD billed annually; Slack 90-day message history limit on free plan results in important conversations disappearing
  • They diverge on capability: Salesforce covers Contact management, Slack covers Channels.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Salesforce and Slack actually diverge.

Attributes where Salesforce and Slack differ
AttributeSalesforceSlack
Starting price$25/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux
Founded19992009

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (All industries).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Salesforce

  • Contact management
  • Opportunity management
  • Lead management
  • Reports & dashboards
  • Email integration
  • Workflow automation
  • Mobile access
  • AppExchange

Only in Slack

  • Channels
  • Direct messaging
  • Voice & video calls
  • Screen sharing
  • File sharing
  • Search
  • Workflow builder
  • Slack Connect

Both cover

  • Zoom
  • SOC2
  • ISO27001
  • HIPAA

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Salesforce

  • Sales managementnot Slack
  • Customer servicenot Slack
  • Marketing automationnot Slack
  • Lead generationnot Slack
  • Analytics & reportingnot Slack

Slack

  • Team communicationnot Salesforce
  • Project coordinationnot Salesforce
  • Customer supportnot Salesforce
  • Remote worknot Salesforce
  • Cross-functional collaborationnot Salesforce

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Salesforce

  • Sales Cloud tiers as captured 2 January 2024: Starter Suite $25/user/month, Professional $80/user/month, Enterprise $165/user/month, all USD billed annually

Slack

  • 90-day message history limit on free plan results in important conversations disappearing
  • Per-user pricing becomes expensive quickly for larger teams
  • Notification overload with 78% of employees feeling overwhelmed by notifications
  • Mobile app performance issues including lag and slow syncing
  • Huddles limited to 50 people and cannot be recorded
  • Requires dedicated video conferencing service for formal meetings and webinars

Pricing, plan by plan

Salesforce

$25/month
  • Essentials$25/month
    • Account & contact management
    • Opportunity tracking
    • Lead management
  • Professional$80/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Complete CRM
    • Lead scoring
  • Enterprise$165/month
    • Everything in Professional
    • Workflow automation
    • Advanced analytics
  • Unlimited$330/month
    • Everything in Enterprise
    • Unlimited customizations
    • 24/7 support

Slack

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Slack review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Salesforce if

  • You need contact management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want opportunity management.
Salesforce review

Choose Slack if

  • You need channels.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want direct messaging.
Slack review

Questions people ask

Is Salesforce or Slack better?
Neither clearly leads. Salesforce starts at $25/month and Slack at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Salesforce or Slack?
Slack has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month for Salesforce and Free for Slack.
Does Salesforce or Slack run on more platforms?
Salesforce runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Slack runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux.
Can I use Slack for free?
Yes. Slack has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Salesforce starts at $25/month.
What is Salesforce best used for?
Salesforce is most often used for sales management, customer service, marketing automation, lead generation. Of those, sales management and customer service are not what Slack is typically brought in for.
What can Salesforce do that Slack cannot?
Salesforce covers Contact management, Opportunity management, Lead management, Reports & dashboards. Slack covers Channels, Direct messaging, Voice & video calls, Screen sharing. Both handle Zoom, SOC2, ISO27001, HIPAA.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Slack: Does Slack have a free plan?

Yes, Slack offers a free plan indefinitely with no credit card required. Free users get 90-day message history, up to 10 app integrations, and 1:1 huddles.

Source
Slack: What are Slack's pricing plans?

Slack offers Free, Pro ($7.25/user/month with annual billing), Business+ ($12.50/user/month), and Enterprise Grid (custom pricing). Monthly billing costs approximately 20% more than annual.

Source
Slack: Does Slack support offline use?

Slack is a cloud-based platform and does not support robust offline work. Internet connectivity is required to access messages and collaborate.

Source
Slack: What integrations does Slack support?

Slack integrates with 43+ apps on average per team, including Google Drive, ChatGPT, Vercel, Asana, GitHub, and many others through their app marketplace.

Source
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Related pages

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