Technology has always played a big role in business organisation and managing resources more efficiently. Squad communication and messaging is one expanse in particular where we've seen a ton of action lately, with apps such every bit Slack becoming the ultimate tool for workgroup collaboration.

Because messaging is such a broad category, we're going to focus on software that facilitates team communication and inside this group, the free to utilize options. In short, this app roundup is for startups, small businesses, and anyone looking to optimize squad communication without spending any money.

There are a couple of standout apps and services: Slack and HipChat, which are followed by a group of very similar featured programs with a lot smaller user bases: Btrix24, Rocket.Chat, Ryver, and Fleep. Nigh of these use the freemium model, that is, offer a complimentary working version with subscription-based plans that add features – with the exception of Rocket.Chat which is free and open source.

We'll compare core app features offered before you lot demand to pay, and highlight pros and cons for each program, so y'all tin can choose which ane suits your team'due south needs the best.

To better visualize what's on offer gratis of charge, here's a feature overview comparison the different apps. It hit us while preparing this feature how generous the starter gratuitous tiers have go, particularly for the more than renown alternatives:

Slack HipChat Ryver Spark Btrix24 Fleep Rocket.Chat
Number of Users Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Free Online Storage 5GB 5GB Unlimited 5GB 5GB 5GB Up to you
Guest Admission No Unlimited Unlimited Aye No Yes Unlimited
Apps for Win/Mac/
Android/iOS		 Yes Yes Yep+Linux Yeah Yes+Linux Aye Yes+Linux
Searchable Content 10K well-nigh contempo messages 25K virtually contempo messages Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Custom or App Integrations 10 Unlimited Unlimited 10 Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Voice and Video Calls Yes (only 2-person calling) No No Yes (video upwardly to 3 people) Aye No Yes
Self Host No No No No No No Yes
Standard Tier
per Month		 $8 per user $two per user N/A All gratuitous $12 per user $99 apartment fee €one per user N/A All free

Slack

Slack is the heavy hitter of the group with a valuation of over $3 billion. Their main clients are large companies that used to rely on the previous generation of SaaS solutions from Oracle and others. That said, Slack is very polished and great for whatsoever squad regardless of their size.

Thanks to its sheer popularity, Slack can exist integrated with nearly every service you lot tin can think of. The free tier will permit you lot use up to ten of these, but for small teams it should be plenty.

The ii main cons of Slack's free version is lack of guest admission which is essential for firms who want clients or providers to participate actively with their teams, and the 10K limit for searchable messages. To give yous an idea, internally our team advice app with approximately 12 members has gone through 50,000 messages in virtually 3 years.

HipChat

This is TechSpot's app of choice, non because it's necessarily amend than the others but it's the second solution nosotros tried a few years ago and we've stuck with information technology. Information technology's pretty skillful, as well. Search is efficient. Interface is clean and integrations piece of work well. It's multi-platform, though some of its apps could use comeback, particularly in Windows (interface and updates) and Android (speed).

HipChat improves on Slack'south free tier past including unlimited guest access, expanding the searchable messages to 25,000 and the integrations to unlimited. The 5GB of online storage seems generous and pretty standard beyond the board if your not sharing huge files. If you do, then coupling this with some cloud storage provider would be the mode to become.

Slack and Hipchat should be your first two choices unless you foresee the limitation in searchable messages will crusade you trouble down the line. It'southward by far their biggest con, and why we are expanding the list to include the side by side four apps.

Ryver

Ryver is a startup that was conceived as a free messaging option from its inception. It offers unlimited users, unlimited online storage, unlimited guest access and unlimited integrations.

The only major feature non nowadays is voice telephone call and video briefing, just information technology makes up for it with a user friendly interface. Most everyone agree that Ryver on current form is a great alternative to Slack, only notifications could use some work.

If yous are just getting aboard with this new generation of team advice apps and desire a solution that tin can grow with you without having to migrate to a paid plan, this might be the i for you.

Cisco Spark

The networking and telecommunications giant is well known for its collaboration portfolio, facilitating over 5 1000000 meetings around the world every month, their audio and video conferencing solutions come 2nd to none. With this kind of background, information technology's no surprise Cisco Spark has become a hit. What was surprising though, was the company's aggressive move into Slack's territory and what's on offer complimentary of charge.

Spark's interface is clean, minimalist and modern. The stiff arrange for the complimentary version of Spark has to be the unlimited sound and video calls, plus integration to current Cisco equipment. Although VoIP calls have no limit on the number of participants, video calls are express to 3 people per phone call. Their cease-to-finish encryption is likewise worth a mention.

Btrix24

Btrix24 is on the list considering its free version offers unlimited searchable messages, unlimited voice and video calls, and it'due south found itself a niche as a communication platform that also provides built-in chore and project direction, as well as CRM and sales automation.

The standard version with a flat fee of $99 /mo regardless the number of users tin can be a great deal for larger organizations, too.

Conversely, the biggest downside if y'all don't demand all the actress features is a somewhat cramped interface. Because I use our team advice app to send messages, share screenshots and the occasional file, the calendar, tasks, projects, scheduling and streams seem a lot to process, but it might be just what yous need if you want to consolidate all those in one place.

Fleep

Fleep separates itself from the grouping by offering an open approach when information technology comes to bringing people in. Instead of having to register, sign-up, download, install and learn how to use a given program, you can integrate people outside the app through email.

The users in Fleep see the invitee or outside collaborators as regular users, but they receive the messages every bit email threads. As for features, Fleep is quite well rounded. You can manage tasks, pin important messages, and keep a drawer with important files and photos for easy admission. It's too got a deep built-in integration with Google Hangouts for audio and video calls.

Rocket.Chat

One for developers and power users that tin can handle a piffling more trouble that can pay off in the long run. Rocket.Chat had to be on the list because information technology's open source and tin be cocky-hosted. The community backing this project is quite committed and continuously improving features. Information technology's also one of the few to provide a adept native app for Linux. For a visitor with a capable IT department, this is a bang-up choice.

The list of key features is just as good equally any of the other programs mentioned above. Although some open source products lack proper support, for affordable rates you can receive full back up, customization and integrations.