Keep your team members informed, engaged, and in sync with team communication software. These top alternatives to Microsoft Teams make it easy to achieve smooth employee communication without information overload.
It’s difficult for businesses to be competitive and successful if their employees can’t effectively communicate and collaborate with each other. Team communication tools are crucial in keeping employees engaged, working well together, and always in the loop on important topics.
They also help employees collaborate on projects while making it easier for you to manage and contact team members quickly and efficiently wherever they are.
A popular workplace communication tool is Microsoft Teams. But is it right for you? Below, we dive into Teams’ features and explore 7 Microsoft Teams alternatives that might serve your needs better.
If you don’t have the time to read through our research, jump down to our quick comparison table.
Our Top Picks
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The best alternative to Microsoft Teams
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Good for video conferencing
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Good for group messaging
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Our team of unbiased software reviewers follows strict editorial guidelines, and our methodology is clear and open to everyone.
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chosen
What Is Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft Teams is a collaborative software platform designed for team communication and work management. Teams allows users to chat, make video calls, share files, and collaborate on documents within a single platform. Remote teams often use it to collaborate on projects.
Teams allows users to organize conversations and files into channels for specific projects or topics. It’s integrated with Microsoft Office 365 applications such as OneDrive, SharePoint, and Outlook. It can also work with other Microsoft business applications like Planner and Power BI, making it a popular choice for larger companies that use many Microsoft products.
Why People Are Moving Away From Microsoft Teams
While many user reviews for Microsoft Teams are positive, some people find Teams complicated to use. For example, one reviewer stated that Teams is “very difficult to use.” Another said they found “the interface could be overwhelming, with many different tabs and features to navigate.”
Others find Teams to be slow and unresponsive. For instance, one user noted that Teams “often takes up in excess of 3GB,” which “causes the product to lag badly and become unresponsive.” Another wrote, “While Microsoft Teams is very useful, it can be quite slow at times, making it difficult to use when trying to collaborate.”
In addition, some users have claimed that Teams makes multitasking difficult. For example, one user wrote that because “you cannot open more than one item at a time,” they found it “very confusing to keep track of what [they were] doing.” They felt it “negates the whole timeliness advantage of using chat over email.”
Overall, Microsoft Teams is a popular communication tool and gets broadly positive reviews from users. But there are some alternatives to Team that may be a better option for you.
The Best Microsoft Teams Alternatives & Competitors for Employee Communication
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Connecteam — The best alternative to Microsoft Teams
Connecteam is an all-in-one work management and team communication platform. It enables quick and direct communication with your workforce wherever they are. Beyond team communication, Connecteam allows you to manage events, create a company knowledge base, create surveys and polls, and more.
Let’s take a closer look at some of Connecteam’s key features.
Communicate in real time from anywhere with the built-in chat app
With Connecteam’s highly secure built-in team chat, you can create one-on-one or group chats to communicate with team members anytime and anywhere. You’re able to send files, videos, images, audio notes, GIFs, and emojis in messages.
You can set custom user permissions so only the relevant people can see certain conversations. Also, users with admin status can remove any inappropriate content and ensure all chats stay on topic and professional.
Collaborate on documents together in the knowledge base
Connecteam enables you to create a knowledge base for your business. It provides you with a central location to upload and store company documents and other information relevant to your staff. This can include:
- Health and safety information.
- Employee handbooks, guidelines, and protocols.
- Wellness and benefits information.
- Further resources specific to your business, such as customer lists and inventory sheets.
Employees can access any information they need at any time, from anywhere. In addition, Connecteam lets you set access permissions on files, giving you complete control over who can view or edit each document.
The knowledge base is also perfect for team collaboration on documents. For example, employees can work on files simultaneously, leaving comments and responding to them right from within the Connecteam app.
Keep everyone in the loop with company-wide updates and announcements
Connecteam’s updates feed makes it easy to keep your team members in the loop. You can share important updates and announcements with individuals, teams, or the entire company at once.
Connecteam will also send push notifications to employees so they don’t miss any posts. In addition, workers have control over which notifications they receive, so there’s never the risk of information overload.
Create and manage company events stress-free
Connecteam also enables you to create and manage company events—from team meetings and conferences to safety inspections and fun workplace outings. You can create events for your entire company or just a few people or teams.
You can send out event invites instantly and require employees to confirm their attendance if needed. At a glance, you can see exactly how many people to expect at an event. Employees can add comments and reactions to events and even use the built-in chat feature shortcut to talk more about events.
You can also set caps on the number of attendees allowed for certain events, and attendees can be automatically reminded when there’s an upcoming event.
Gather feedback with surveys and polls
With Connecteam’s polls and surveys feature, you can gather instant feedback from employees. Workers can fill out surveys and take part in polls right from the Connecteam app.
You can quickly create customizable surveys or use one of Connecteam’s handy templates. Fill out surveys with multiple-choice, open-ended, and yes/no questions, or even ratings. You’re also able to offer anonymous surveys so workers feel more comfortable sharing their honest opinions. And with Connecteam’s live digital polls, you can get results in real time, at any time and from anywhere.
When you publish a survey or poll, Connecteam will send push notifications to your team members’ devices asking them to complete it. You can also send automated reminders so nothing gets missed. Plus, there’s no limit on the number of surveys or polls you can create.
Tools for improved insight and oversight
Connecteam offers you several ways to see and measure how your employees are performing and communicating.
You can easily measure the impact of your communications by seeing how many team members have been reading and responding to messages and newsfeed posts. You can turn on read receipts and see engagement stats for each update you share on the company newsfeed.
Connecteam will also show you which company documents in your knowledge base are being viewed the most and what employees are searching for. This can help you improve the documentation available to staff and show you where you should focus your attention.
Additionally, Connecteam’s built-in employee clock-in app, which is accurate down to the second, makes it easy to see when workers have punched in and out. With the GPS location tracking feature, you can verify employees’ locations while they’re working.
Furthermore, Connecteam enables you to generate custom reports on things like employee attendance, labor costs, time spent on projects, and more. These give you better insight into your business operations and help you make data-driven decisions.
And much more
In addition to these features, Connecteam has tools for employee scheduling, paid time off (PTO) and absence management, rewards and recognition, training and onboarding, and much more. It’s a do-it-all work management system with everything you need to succeed.
Connecteam offers a free-forever plan that covers up to 10 employees, making it perfect for small businesses. For larger businesses, Connecteam’s paid plans start at just $29/month for up to 30 users. Plus, you can try out Connecteam with a 14-day free trial.
Connecteam also offers a free for life plan – Get Started Now!
Key Features
Secure business chat messaging
File, video, and audio clip sharing
Chat moderation
User-friendly apps for desktop and mobile
Collaborative central knowledge base
Customizable updates and notifications
Pros
Very easy to use for both employees and managers
Built-in knowledge base for easy document collaboration
Easy to attach video and audio clips in conversations
Events, surveys, and polls keep employees engaged
Cons
No video conferencing yet
Pricing
Free-for-life plan availablePremium plans start at $29/month for 30 users
14-day free trial, no credit card required
Start your free trial -
Zoom — Good for video conferencing
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
- Mac
Zoom is a video conferencing platform for virtual meetings, webinars, and general team collaboration. It supports up to 1,000 concurrent participants in a meeting.
For team collaboration, Zoom supports screen sharing, text chat, meeting recording, an online whiteboard, and polls. However, Zoom focuses on video and audio conferencing. This means that while it’s fine for video meetings, it lacks many features useful for team collaboration. For example, there’s limited support for working on documents together, requiring users to collaborate on files shared using other software.
Zoom has experienced security breaches in the past. However, its recent security record has been better.
Key Features
- Video and audio conferencing
- Shared whiteboard
- Text chat
- Polls in meetings
Pros
- Supports meetings with many participants
- Free plan for meetings up to 40 minutes
Cons
- Limited team collaboration features
- Poor security track record
Pricing
Starts at at $14.99/host/month Trial: No Free Plan: Yes
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Slack — Good for group messaging
Slack is a group communication and collaboration tool for keeping teams organized and connected. Slack can be used to create multiple channels, each with its own set of members. Team members can use group chats, have audio and video meetings, and send messages and files directly to each other.
However, Slack has a busy interface that some employees may find confusing to use. It also has limited integration with the Microsoft productivity suite, so it may not be best suited to teams that use Microsoft Office a lot.
Key Features
- Group text chat
- Create multiple channels
- Share files with team members
- One-to-one audio and video chat
Pros
- Still works well on older computers
- Basic free plan available
Cons
- Busy interface
- Limited integration with Microsoft software
Pricing
Starts at $8.25/user/month Trial: Yes Free Plan: Yes
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Google Meet — Good for quick meetings
Google Meet is a video conferencing tool developed by Google that allows users to host online meetings, webinars, and video chats with colleagues or friends. Its features include
screen sharing, chat messaging, and virtual backgrounds. With a paid plan, users get additional features such as video call recording, file storage on Google Drive, photo editing tools, and more.
While Google Meet can be useful for organizing quick remote meetings, some users may find it too basic for team collaboration on more complex projects. Though it can be used with Google Workspace and Google Calendar, it doesn’t have features like annotating a shared screen or breakout rooms. The software also often requires more than 4GB of RAM to run. This can make it run slower on older hardware.
Key Features
- Video and audio conferencing
- Live stream video calls on YouTube (Premium plan only)
- Video call recording (Premium plan only)
- Background noise cancellation (Premium plan only)
Pros
- Free limited plan
- Up to 2TB of storage
Cons
- Expensive paid plan
- Slow on older devices
Pricing
Starts at $12/user/month Trial: Yes — 14-day Free Plan: Yes
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Mattermost — Good for technical teams
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
- Mac
Mattermost is an open-source messaging and collaboration platform for teams. It’s designed to enable secure and flexible messaging, file sharing, and real-time communication among team members across an organization or project.
Mattermost can be hosted on-premises or in the cloud. It offers features such as customizable channels, integrations with third-party apps and services, and advanced search capabilities. It also includes support for voice and video calls, screen sharing, and threaded conversations.
Mattermost integrates with software development platforms like GitHub and Jira. It’s commonly used by businesses, developers, and organizations that require a more secure and customizable solution. The downside is that it’s more complex to set up and configure, especially for businesses that require integrations with other software.
Key Features
- Can be self-hosted or cloud-hosted
- Unlimited teams, users, and file storage
- Workplace messaging with file sharing
- Group calls with screen share
Pros
- Lots of features, particularly for technical teams
- Free-forever plan available
Cons
- Can be difficult to set up
- Premium support costs extra
Pricing
Starts at $10/user/month Trial: Yes Free Plan: Yes
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Troop Messenger — Good for self-hosted team messaging
Troop Messenger is a team collaboration tool. It includes instant messaging, audio and video calling, group chat, file sharing, and remote screen sharing.
Troop Messenger can be installed on a company’s own premises or on Troop Messenger’s cloud servers. In addition, it includes features such as employee live location tracking, the ability to mute conversations, personalized chat backgrounds, and end-to-end encryption for data security.
Unfortunately, Troop Messenger can be expensive, especially when a team has many users. There’s also no free plan, and it’s more challenging to set up than most team messaging software, especially if the self-hosted option is chosen.
Key Features
- Self-hosted or cloud options
- End-to-end encryption
- Remote screen sharing
- Voice and video calls
Pros
- Can be installed on site
- Customizable wallpapers and fonts
Cons
- Relatively expensive
- Complex setup process
Pricing
Starts at $2.5/user/month Trial: Yes Free Plan: No
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Chanty — Good for team task management
Chanty is a team collaboration tool with messaging, file sharing, and task management features.
It supports one-on-one and group messaging, where users can send messages to individuals or groups and create public or private channels to organize conversations. In addition, users can share files, images, and documents with their team members and search for files using keywords. It also has a task board in a Kanban view, so employees can discuss responsibilities, set due dates, and work together on projects.
Users can make voice and video calls within the app, allowing for real-time communication and collaboration. Chanty also supports up to 4K video definition, with up to 1,000 video participants and 49 videos on the screen at a time.
On the other hand, Chanty has fewer integrations with third-party software than most team collaboration software. Its per-user pricing is also on the high side, making it an expensive option for larger businesses.
Key Features
- One-to-one and group messaging
- Kanban task board
- Video and audio conferencing
- File sharing
Pros
- Up to 4K video definition
- Built-in task management tool
Cons
- Limited integrations with third-party tools
- Poor customer support has been reported
Pricing
Starts at $3/user/month Trial: No Free Plan: Yes — Up to 5 team members
Compare the Best Microsoft Teams Alternatives
| Topic |
Start for free
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reviews |
  |
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| Pricing |
Starts at just $29/month for the first 30 users
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Starts at at $14.99/host/month
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Starts at $8.25/user/month
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Starts at $12/user/month
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Starts at $10/user/month
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Starts at $2.5/user/month
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Starts at $3/user/month
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| Free Trial |
yes
14-day
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no
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yes
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yes
14-day
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yes
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yes
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no
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| Free Plan |
yes
Free Up to 10 users
|
yes
|
yes
|
yes
|
yes
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no
|
yes
Up to 5 team members
|
| Use cases |
The best alternative to Microsoft Teams
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Good for video conferencing
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Good for group messaging
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Good for quick meetings
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Good for technical teams
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Good for self-hosted team messaging
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Good for team task management
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| Available on |
Web, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac
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Web, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac
|
Summary
Microsoft Teams is a popular team collaboration and communication tool, but some users have found it’s not the perfect solution. Many have stated in reviews that Teams is slow and unresponsive. Others find the software isn’t very user-friendly. This has led many to look for an alternative to Microsoft Teams including the users of Meta Workplace, which is shutting down.
Connecteam is the best Microsoft Teams alternative on the market today. It’s easy to set up, versatile, and intuitive. You get secure group and one-on-one chats, chat moderation, a collaborative knowledge base, surveys, polls, and more. Connecteam even has a free-forever plan that supports teams of up to 10 people. Paid plans start at just $29/month for up to 30 users.
Sign up for onnecteam today and start improving employee communications in your business.