Slack vs Discord: Price, Free Plans and Privacy Compared

Pick Slack if you are a company or work team that needs searchable history, app integrations and admin controls, and you are willing to pay per user. Pick Discord if you are running a community, a gaming group or a hobby server, because the core app is free for everyone and voice channels cost nothing.

Both are chat apps with channels, direct messages, voice and video. The difference is who pays and what they get: on Slack the workspace pays for every member, while on Discord each person can choose to buy Nitro for extra perks.

Slack vs Discord at a glance

Which is cheaper, Slack or Discord?

Discord, by a wide margin. Discord is free to use, and paying is optional and personal. Nitro Basic costs $2.99 a month and adds custom emoji anywhere and 50 MB uploads. Nitro costs $9.99 a month and adds 1 GB uploads, HD video streaming, 2 server Boosts and messages up to 4,000 characters.

Slack charges the workspace for every member. Its pricing page lists Pro at $8.75 a user a month when paying monthly, or $7.25 when paying yearly, and Business+ at $18 monthly or $15 yearly. Enterprise+ is listed at $45 a user a month, paid yearly. For a 20-person team on Pro, that is $145 a month on yearly billing.

What does the Slack free plan limit?

Mainly history. On 6 November 2026, Slack's pricing page said the Free plan keeps messages "saved and searchable for 90 days", allows up to 10 apps, and limits huddles (Slack's audio and video calls) to one-to-one. Slack's help center adds that messages and files on Free are only stored for one year, and anything older is permanently deleted.

That matters for work. A team that relies on finding old decisions in chat will lose access after 90 days unless it upgrades. Paid plans keep unlimited message history.

The same day, Slack's pricing page was showing a 50% off offer for the first 3 months on Pro and Business+ with monthly billing, so the first bill may be lower than the listed price.

Is Discord or Slack better for work?

Slack. It was built for companies, and it shows in the details: unlimited history on paid plans, more than 2,600 apps in the Slack App Directory, Slack Connect for channels with partner companies, and single sign-on and data loss prevention on higher plans.

Discord can work for a small team, especially since voice channels are free and always on. But it is built around servers and communities, and its paid features are personal perks like bigger uploads and profile customisation, not admin or compliance tools.

Is Discord more private than Slack?

For calls, Discord goes further. In September 2024 Discord announced it was moving audio and video in DMs, group DMs, voice channels and Go Live streams to end-to-end encryption. Text messages are not end-to-end encrypted: Discord says messages "continue to follow our content moderation approach".

Slack says it encrypts data at rest and in transit by default, and sells Slack Enterprise Key Management as an add-on for companies that want to use their own encryption keys. In a work setting, your company's Slack admins control retention and data settings, which is usually what a business wants.

Which works on more devices?

Both cover desktop and mobile well. Slack has desktop apps for Mac, Windows and Linux and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Discord says it is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and consoles, which suits gaming groups that chat while they play.

If you are weighing other chat tools too, see our list of Slack alternatives.

Which should you choose?

• You run a company or work team: Slack.
• You need to search old messages and files: Slack on a paid plan, since Free keeps 90 days.
• You run a community, gaming group or study server: Discord.
• You want free group voice and video: Discord. Slack's free plan only allows one-to-one huddles.
• You work with outside companies in shared channels: Slack, with Slack Connect.
• You have no budget at all: Discord.

FAQ

Is Discord free?

Yes. Chat, voice and video are free. Nitro Basic ($2.99 a month) and Nitro ($9.99 a month) are optional add-ons for one person.

How long does Slack's free plan keep messages?

Messages are searchable for 90 days. Slack says content older than one year on the Free plan is permanently deleted.

Is Discord end-to-end encrypted?

Audio and video calls are being moved to end-to-end encryption, which Discord announced in September 2024. Text messages are not end-to-end encrypted.

Can I use Discord instead of Slack for a business?

You can, and it costs less, but you give up Slack's work features, such as app integrations at scale, shared channels with other companies and enterprise admin controls.