TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

    Score8.8 out of 10
    N/ASkype for Business was an online messaging and conferencing tool, now superseded by Microsoft Teams.N/A

    Slack

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/ASlack is a group messaging or team collaboration app that aims to simplify communication for businesses. Features include open discussions, private groups, and direct messaging, as well as deep contextual search and message archiving, and file sharing. Slack integrates with a number of other tools, such as MailChimp, Dropbox, and Google Drive. Slack was acquired by Salesforce in December 2020. The product is free to use, and also has paid plans with more features and greater controls. The…

    $8.75

    per month per user

    Pricing
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Slack
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Free
    $0
    Pro
    $7.25*
    per month per user
    Business+
    $12.50*
    per month per user
    Enterprise
    Contact Sales
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Slack
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—*Per active user, per month, when paying once a year. Pro is $8.75 USD per active user when paying month to month. Business+ is $15.00 USD per active user when paying month to month.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Slack
    Considered Both Products
    Discontinued Products
    No answer on this topic
    Salesforce
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    80%
    Would buy again
    84 Answers
    97%
    Would buy again
    389 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    79 Answers
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    330 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    97 Answers
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    392 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    46 Answers
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    222 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    56 Answers
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    250 Answers
    Features
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Slack
    Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
    Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) and Slack
    Feature
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
    8.0
    195 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    High quality audio9.1191 Ratings00 Ratings
    High quality video9.0185 Ratings00 Ratings
    Low bandwidth requirements5.0181 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile support9.0146 Ratings00 Ratings
    Screen Sharing
    Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) and Slack
    Feature
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
    7.0
    191 Ratings
    12% below category average
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    Desktop sharing9.0191 Ratings00 Ratings
    Whiteboards5.0120 Ratings00 Ratings
    Online Meetings / Events
    Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) and Slack
    Feature
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
    9.3
    188 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    Calendar integration10.0174 Ratings00 Ratings
    Meeting initiation9.5182 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with social media8.182 Ratings00 Ratings
    Record meetings / events9.0143 Ratings00 Ratings
    Slideshows10.0115 Ratings00 Ratings
    Online Events Collaboration
    Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) and Slack
    Feature
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
    7.5
    173 Ratings
    9% below category average
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    Live chat8.5171 Ratings00 Ratings
    Audience polling7.094 Ratings00 Ratings
    Q&A7.094 Ratings00 Ratings
    Online Events Security
    Comparison of Online Events Security features of Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) and Slack
    Feature
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
    6.8
    156 Ratings
    18% below category average
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    User authentication9.0142 Ratings00 Ratings
    Participant roles & permissions8.5148 Ratings00 Ratings
    Confidential attendee list3.0109 Ratings00 Ratings
    VoIP system collaboration
    Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) and Slack
    Feature
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
    7.8
    1 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    Video conferencing7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Audio conferencing8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Video screen sharing8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Instant messaging8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) and Slack
    Feature
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Slack
    8.3
    479 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Task Management00 Ratings8.2310 Ratings
    Gantt Charts00 Ratings6.961 Ratings
    Scheduling00 Ratings7.9259 Ratings
    Workflow Automation00 Ratings8.4284 Ratings
    Mobile Access00 Ratings9.5460 Ratings
    Search00 Ratings8.8463 Ratings
    Visual planning tools00 Ratings8.0187 Ratings
    Communication
    Comparison of Communication features of Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) and Slack
    Feature
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Slack
    8.9
    488 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Chat00 Ratings9.8488 Ratings
    Notifications00 Ratings9.1484 Ratings
    Discussions00 Ratings9.6473 Ratings
    Surveys00 Ratings8.1302 Ratings
    Internal knowledgebase00 Ratings7.8300 Ratings
    Integrates with GoToMeeting00 Ratings8.9110 Ratings
    Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts00 Ratings8.7182 Ratings
    Integrates with Outlook00 Ratings8.9120 Ratings
    File Sharing & Management
    Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) and Slack
    Feature
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Slack
    8.7
    461 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Versioning00 Ratings8.4229 Ratings
    Video files00 Ratings8.9412 Ratings
    Audio files00 Ratings9.1403 Ratings
    Document collaboration00 Ratings8.5318 Ratings
    Access control00 Ratings8.4305 Ratings
    Advanced security features00 Ratings8.4264 Ratings
    Integrates with Google Drive00 Ratings9.0211 Ratings
    Device sync00 Ratings9.1339 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Slack
    Small Businesses
    ClickMeeting
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Flock
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    JioMeet
    Score10 out of 10
    Microsoft Viva Engage
    Score7.9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Webex Meetings
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Google Keep
    Score9.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Slack
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.4
    (198 ratings)
    9.4
    (488 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (7 ratings)
    10.0
    (23 ratings)
    Usability
    9.0
    (14 ratings)
    9.2
    (103 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.5
    (40 ratings)
    10.0
    (66 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Slack
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Discontinued Products
    Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams is a remote/virtual team collaboration tool must have...especially if you already use Microsoft tools. Of course, since it now part of an MS 365 subscription, it really doesn't make sense to use anything else. It is easy to use and just works. I'm not sure how anyone who works with digital files/documents and needs to work with other people doing similar work can be effective without such a tool. Of course, there are a number of alternatives like Zoom or Webex, but why pay or use another separate tool if you don't need to. :-)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    If you population likes technology, then I would recommend Slack. It is more difficult to implement if not everyone is on Slack or knows how to use it. Slack was used well by some employees who loved it. Slack allowed them to plan annual events and get feedback and ideas from those involved in the event
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Discontinued Products
    • Instant messaging to anyone who we know only by name/email. Even if they're offline, they get the message in missed convos and a notification automatically goes to them via Outlook mail. All conversations are saved and accessible via Outlook.
    • Video and voice calls are a norm in the WFH scenario, and an average employee has around 4-5 calls a day. Skype gives notifications for upcoming meetings, allows easy scheduling via outlook calendar, and its audio/video quality [is] reasonably good compared to the amount of data it consumes.
    • Status availabilities - in the WFH scenario, you could be off for lunch, out of office, busy, sharing screens - and might not want to be disturbed. Skype allows you to do that, and in case you're off, ensures that you know that you have missed messages.
    • Screen sharing - we have to share screens at least once or twice a day with a coworker when working on some issues/features, and Skype easily lets us do that. One of the best things about Skype is that the screen can be shared without being on a video/voice call - which is of immense advantage because oftentimes, you could prefer sharing the screen, while it [is] too noisy to talk.
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    • Huddles Run smoothly without any interferences.
    • Smooth individual calls quick and easy without any interruptions.
    • seamless notifications across multiple devices
    • The ability to easily tag a team member to urgently attend to a specific escalation.
    • Slack being user friendly and able to integrate easily with other platforms and apps.
    • How to easily open up different channels for different escalations and needs.
    • a safe direct messaging option.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Discontinued Products
    • Connection issues can be hard to diagnose when they come up(as some knowledge of server information may be needed to reestablish as the connection troubleshooting options on the sky are not as user-friendly as the rest of the platform.
    • Some issues setting up camera/sound could use more info on troubleshooting options with playback sound, video, etc.
    • Statuses sometimes are unreliable and do not display correctly .
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    • Would love a better integration with GitHub. For example, notifications when your PR is updated, when review is requested, @-mention in comments, etc.
    • Improved "Later" tab, for example the ability to create to-do lists or making the "Later" tab into a more powerful to-do list (annotate items with notes)
    • More powerful integrations, e.g. Google Calendar could render a calendar view within Slack, rather than sending the daily schedule
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Discontinued Products
    The software is simple to install and configure. It is rather simple to explain for correct use. It is possible to profile users for the different functions offered. It is integrated quite completely with Outlook and with Active Directory security. It performs all communication functions well with one or more interlocutors and the possibility of granting control of your computer is convenient.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    To be more transparent, I give 10 because Slack serves our collaboration needs. It provide us a good platform for team communication relaying important update within the company, it has even mobile app where you can install in your phone to monitor any updates within that team that needs your immediate attention and intervention.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Discontinued Products
    Very easy to use. Even though Microsoft Teams has a lot of features and integrations, as a user I feel completely comfortable on finding what I need, getting information about the app extensions and using them. It's a very comprehensive tool, intuitive design and does not make me feel tired to be using it. I am glad with the current experience.
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    Slack is one of the easiest platforms to use! It is very aesthetically pleasing and you can arrange the chats and other features the way you personally like it. They kept it pretty simple for people who aren’t looking to do anything more than streamlining communication, but they definitely have options for folks to build out the Workspace more.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    Yes, the app works 24/7. I don't even recall having any period that we could not use since the implementation. Even the maintenance periods are barely noticeable and our work is not impacted by it when it happens.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Salesforce
    Slack is a soft app, we don't have many issues with it. I recall one or two people complaining about something during our usage period, but I didn't have a bad experience. When the app is slow, usually the problem is with my computer or my internet. The app works just fine.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Discontinued Products
    I have only had to reach out to the Support team at Skype for Business once with an issue, and I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged by the quickness and thoroughness of their response. The wait time was short and my question was dealt with politely and clearly, so I would say the support team has it together.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    Whenever I've had to troubleshoot an issue with Slack (which, to be honest, has not happened very often), their online documentation has been easy to locate, easy to understand, and effective in resolving my issue. Slack's ever-growing popularity also means that there's a large community of practice out there that can be depended upon.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Discontinued Products
    Skpe for business is utilized company wide in regards to my company. Everyone not only uses it, but uses it often. It is an effective way of communicating. It also integrates very nicely with outlook and all conversation history is pushed to a folder within the outlook system. We also have it so that if someone misses a message, they are sent an email reminder saying that there is a message that went unread.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    I was not part of the implementation team, but I recall being 100% happy and excited to learn and use a new tool. I'm still am to be honest.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Discontinued Products
    For the below reason I will always choose this app over its competitors: Better audio and video quality, Little to no disconnections or freezing when on a call/video conference Integrates well with mailbox/ calendar/ one drive, and SharePoint is easy to use
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    Having had a lot of experience with Google Chat and Teams, Slack is far and away the better option. In comparison to Teams, Slack is much cleaner with a far more user friendly AI, Teams is far too clunky and feels tiresome to use, whereas it is super easy to pick up Slack and be able to configure it do exactly what you need. Whilst I don't find a massive difference between the usability and UI of Google Chat to Slack. Slack's range of features far outweighs Google Chat. The ease of external connections, workflows, file sharing, external connections for notifications (Make, Zapier etc), plus the huge range of apps you can connect to enhance your workspace is incredible. Google Chat does benefit from directly integrating into your Google Suite so you can get access to automatic status updates based on calendar activity, which would be nice for Slack to have
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Discontinued Products
    • Skype for Business has enabled a migration in part away from fixed line telephony and introduced the user to mobile working with a headset which cannot be overstated as being a game changer.
    • Being able to schedule Skype for Business meetings through Outlook has meant meetings with colleagues without a meeting room has been a great enabler.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    • Use of Slack has enabled us to stay aligned with sales and ensure accurate forecasting.
    • The product has reduced delays in decisions making and helps us to improve on transparency in our departments.
    • Slack has eliminated the use if emails as it allows direct messaging. This has ensured real-time communication.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots