Slack Vs Google Chat: Which One Is Better?

After the epidemic, effective and rapid communication became a priority. Excellent team interaction such as effective online meetings is crucial to progress in today’s increasingly competitive company world. Since the advent of the post-pandemic age, there has been a drastic movement toward remote or hybrid labor, making digital engagement technologies a necessity.

The two best team chat apps are Google Chat and Slack. Both may be tailored to the specific demands of a business’s messaging system, and both provide a wide range of options for doing so. To aid our readers in making a wise choice, we’ve included a detailed comparison of Google Chat vs Slack below. With this comprehensive manual at your side, you’ll be able to choose the ideal application for your company confidently.

What Is Slack?

Slack is a messaging app for the office that allows users to stay in touch with their coworkers and the many resources they utilize daily, regardless of their physical location or task. In Slack, teams communicate and collaborate using “channels,” which may be categorized in various ways depending on the team’s needs. This facilitates users’ monitoring of subjects of interest. Everyone on the team has access to the global channels so that advertising can see what the engineering team is up to, and team members can quickly come up to pace rather than beginning with a blank inbox.

What Is Google Chat?

Google Chat is a messaging app that facilitates teamwork in companies of various kinds, from startups to NGOs. Users may organize virtual meeting spaces, discussion threads, and follow-up tasks in one place. Google Chat lets professionals stay abreast of file sharing and commenting activity in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides with instant alerts. The software can sync with Google Calendar so that teams may organize meetings around the accessibility of team members.

Is Google Chat as Good as Slack?

The app’s features are important, and how you weigh those in your choice will likely have a significant bearing on the outcome. Chat and Slack share a lot of features. However, Chat also has several features that are exclusive to it.

The following is a summary analysis of the functionality found in both applications. This section should devote more attention to each of them, but in the meanwhile, feel free to begin contrasting the following tools:

1. Interface Design and Settings

The term “interface” refers to our first category, which is concerned with the visual appeal and the overall quality of the user experience. Which user interface do you find to provide the most desirable features and functions? First and foremost, it ought to be easy to understand and nice to use. In addition to that, it needs to have an appealing visual appearance.

Slack

In addition to having an appealing appearance, Slack’s user interface is quite simple. Some instructions allow for the creation of shortcuts, such as beginning new channels or adding a GIF. In addition, you may alter the system’s color scheme and personalize your avatar. Exactly because of this, Slack has emerged victorious in this match.

Google Chat

Those who have used the Chat feature in Gmail, you’ll immediately recognize the similarities between it and Google Chat. This is the most effective method for providing customers with an experience that is reliable and constant. Aside from that, you may use the buttons at the front of the Chat group to get access to the common documents and assignments currently being discussed. In addition, a side panel with fast access allows for convenient navigation to the Calculator, Notes, Tasks, or Mind Mapping applications. Light and dark settings are the only options available, so if you want to be creative with alternative themes, you’ll have to stick to those two.

2. Messaging

In this respect, the two applications are most comparable to one another. Rooms in Google Chat and channels in Slack are dedicated areas for team discussions. The two programs both allow users to communicate with one another privately and in groups. Yet there are distinctions to be made.

Slack

All premium Slack subscriptions come with unlimited conversation history storage; however, the free app only shows the 10,000 most recent team conversations. Interactions with specific users will occur in Slack’s “Direct Messages” area. You may start new discussions with individuals currently in the workplace by clicking the large plus icon or ask to come from outside the company by selecting “Invite People.” In addition, you have a conversation with yourself while taking notes or recording other data. You may also have your questions answered by chatting with Slack’s support center, Slackbot.

Google Chat

For many groups, the ability to see past conversations is a must-have. The conversations must be recorded for everyone’s protection and future reference. Google Hangouts allows you to record your conversations at no extra cost. In addition, you may choose whether to save conversation logs. Toggle the History feature on or off using the available options. If you disable it, messages will be permanently removed from the system after 24 hours. Chat’s label for the part wherein you conduct private conversations is “People.” You may start a chat with anybody you have saved as a friend in your Google Workspace profile.

3. Video Callings

When a text discussion isn’t enough to get the job done, switching to a video chat could be required. You can post invitations to video meetings on your conversations inside Slack and Google Workspace, which makes it easier for you to begin such conversations.

Slack

Slack enables you to initiate calls and video conferences; however, in contrast to Google Chat, the functionality is housed inside the application. In addition, it is possible to add various third-party applications access to your workplace. Some examples of these applications are Zoom, GoToMeeting, and Cisco Webex. In this scenario, you would immediately attach meeting information to your conversations, leading you to the appropriate application.

Google Chat

There is a connection between Google Chat and Google Meet, which is Google Workspace’s application for teleconferencing. There is a link in your discussion box that, when clicked, instantly generates a link to a video conference. Individuals then have the option of using this link to access Google Meet.

4. Integrations

Your workplace will grow because of integration, and your processes will become more streamlined. To our great relief, the two software’s allow instruments developed by other parties to be used on their premises.

Slack

Integration with more than 2,400 productivity tools is available inside the Slack ecosystem. It’s a powerhouse of integration, all right! But at the end of the day, the number is irrelevant if a tool already has everything you need to function properly.

Google Chat

If you already use other Google Workspace applications in your regular work, you’ll love how well Google Chat integrates with them. Remember that the list of integrations tends to keep increasing since Google Chat has been updated so often lately. Bots are the term for these kinds of add-ons on the Chat platform.

5. Task Management

Task management features help you do what you need to do more quickly and efficiently. Even though the best task management software feature should be in line with your company’s guidelines, there are a few standards you should ensure it meets. Let’s compare the task management feature of Slack and Google Chat below:

Slack

Slack is useful not just for small projects but also for larger ones that need close monitoring. Slack is compatible with applications like the to-do list managers Wunderlist and Todoist. These add-ons make it possible to add tasks to your list inside a Slack conversation.

Google Chat

In Google Chat, if you are a member of a space, you can create and manage group tasks and delegate tasks to other users of the space. You can see tasks inside the place in which they were first generated. When given a task in Google Tasks, the work will show in the personal task list you created for yourself. A notice is posted in the area whenever another user creates or updates a task.

6. Search Functions

A powerful search function should be available inside your business’s messaging app. Quickly locating a needed file, communication, or conversation. Businesses now turn on apps to help them increase efficiency and cut down on wasted time. Let’s compare the search capabilities of Slack with Google Chat.

Slack

When it comes to searching, Slack isn’t sluggish. The procedure is a piece of cake. As a bonus, you won’t have to worry about being inundated with data again. Getting to the people, the channels, the files, or the discussions you desire takes a few seconds. You may also restrict your search to a certain time frame or media outlet.

Google Chat

Google Chat is an app developed by the company widely regarded as the best search engine in the world. The entire Google Workspace and its component apps are searchable with the Business and Enterprise packages. The search functionality in Google Chat’s free tier is extremely fundamental. Higher tiers of service are the only ones that provide access to more refined search parameters.

7. Notifications

An ideal system would notify you as soon as a message arrives. Please do your best to make it to that important meeting with your employer. Let’s compare the notification ability of both software:

Slack

Slack is supreme because of its versatility and power when it comes to notifications. If you are looking for robust and flexible notifications? Look no further than Slack. With Slack, you can get alerts about topics or people. Additionally, you can schedule your Do Not Disturb mode to go into effect at specific times of the day.

Google Chat

You may set Google Chat to notify you online via email, email attachment, or mobile device. With Google Chat, you can customize how and where you get alerts across your online browser, email, desktop computer, and mobile phone. While this is convenient, it restricts desktop notification settings to times when you aren’t using your computer.

8. Price Plans

Price may become a decisive factor when two programs are very similar, like Google Chat and Slack. The cost of rolling out a service to a company’s workforce must be carefully considered. Slack and Google Hangouts have fundamentally different price structures.

• Slack: Free to $12.50/month/person
• Google Chat: Start from $6/month/person to $18/month/person

3 Alternatives to Slack & Google Chat

In this part, you should introduce 3 alternatives to Slack & Google Chat

1. Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a chat-based workspace inside Microsoft 365 that allows users to view and collaborate on documents in-app, have a phone and video conferences, check conversation history and email-style threads, and more. Microsoft’s online meeting product, Skype for Business, has been replaced with Teams.

It’s easy to make Microsoft Teams work for any team by adding tabs for commonly used documents or cloud services. Microsoft Teams has native integrations with Office products, including Word, SharePoint, Excel, Power Point, and OneNote etc, facilitating the sharing and editing of various documents.

Top Features

• Skype for business integrates with Teams for phone and video conferencing.
• Teams allow users to access and collaborate on documents.
• Each team’s workspace may be customized with tabs and third-party connections.
• All team members may examine the team chat history and create private chats for smaller groups or one-on-one talks.

2. Cisco Webex

Webex Meetings is a video conferencing platform that integrates artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) features to help users do more with less effort. In addition to conference calls, it can support real-time technical help, online training, webinars, and team meetings.

Companies can produce high-impact webinars and online events using Webex and provide dynamic online courses with this Cisco product. Additionally, companies can use Webex to interact with colleagues, exchange documents and other information, and more. It may be modified to meet your firm’s specific requirements, and it can be completely included with mobile applications for the iPhone, iPad, Android, and BlackBerry.

Top Features

• Increase engagement rates with Slido’s dynamic polls and Direct response
• Customize the stage arrangement to emphasize information and people.
• Translate 100+ languages in real time.
• Transcripts, notes and highlights boost meeting productivity.

3. Blizz

Blizz is a video conferencing software that facilitates communication between distributed teams using text, audio, and video. Indexed messaging, chat encryption, support for multiple monitors, and group work are just a few of the useful features.

By using mirror screening, presenters may change the screen resolution, text size, and HD quality experience for their team members’ display screens during video conferences. This can also be used when you need to mirror youtube videos. It has a conference recording module, so users may record webinars and video sessions and save them for later use as learning resources. Another useful feature is that team members may easily communicate with one another via text messaging.

Top Features

• Blizz integrates with MS Outlook to import and accept contacts through email.
• Blizz supports PC, Mac, and mobile.
• Blizz includes VoIP and phone dial-in, instant messaging, and end-to-end encryption.
• One-click meetings and collaboration tools make online interaction as simple as face-to-face.

Final Thought

Slack and Google Chat provide a wealth of useful features, including the ability to communicate with your team via text messages, video, and file sharing and everything else required to collaborate effectively within a single application.

However, as with any other third-party service, you need to consider whether the extra expense is justified. Because of this, it is up to each business to evaluate their requirements and choose the best solution that meets those requirements. We are interested in hearing your ideas and experiences when comparing Google Chat with Slack. Please share them with us. Tell us in the comments how it went!