# Alternatives to Slack (https://devrel.directory/directory/slack/alternatives)

Slack is listed under Community platforms. This page lists the alternatives this directory has curated, compared on the same criteria.

## Curated alternatives

- [Zulip](https://devrel.directory/directory/zulip): Open-source threaded team chat; the community home of Rust and other projects that outgrew unthreaded chat.
- [Discord](https://devrel.directory/directory/discord): Real-time chat platform positioned primarily as a gaming and social platform, though widely used by developer communities.

## Also in this space (ranked by shared tags, not hand-picked)

- [Advocu](https://devrel.directory/directory/advocu): Runs developer ambassador and experts programs: applications, activity tracking, and program reporting in one place.
- [Answer Overflow](https://devrel.directory/directory/answer-overflow): Indexes Discord help channels into Google so community answers become searchable content.
- [Apache Answer](https://devrel.directory/directory/apache-answer): Open-source Q&A platform for running a self-hosted developer support forum with reputation and moderation.
- [Bevy](https://devrel.directory/directory/bevy): Platform for distributed chapter and meetup programs; powers Google Developer Groups and CNCF community groups.

## Compared on the same criteria

| Criterion | Slack | Zulip | Discord | Advocu | Answer Overflow | Apache Answer | Bevy |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Category | Tools | Tools | Tools | Tools | Tools | Tools | Tools |
| Type | Community platforms | Community platforms | Community platforms | Community platforms | Community platforms | Community platforms | Events & speaking |
| Focus | community, chat | community, chat, open-source | community, chat | advocacy, community | community, seo | community, forum, open-source | events, community |
| Public source repo | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Last commit | Not stated | Aug 2026 | Not stated | Not stated | Jul 2026 | Jul 2026 | Not stated |
| Stars | Not stated | 25k | Not stated | Not stated | 2.0k | 15k | Not stated |
| Documentation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Not stated |
| llms.txt | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Pricing model | Freemium (checked Jul 26, 2026) | Open core (checked Jul 26, 2026) | Not stated | Paid (checked Jul 26, 2026) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Link verified | Aug 1, 2026 | Aug 1, 2026 | Aug 1, 2026 | Aug 1, 2026 | Not stated | Aug 1, 2026 | Aug 1, 2026 |
| Listed since | Jul 12, 2026 | Jul 12, 2026 | Jul 8, 2026 | Jul 12, 2026 | Jul 8, 2026 | Jul 12, 2026 | Jul 12, 2026 |

## How to read this

Every fact on this page is copied from the product's own site or repository and dated. We do not test these tools hands-on, and the criteria are structural (what a product publishes) rather than qualitative (how well it works). Pricing is read off each product's own pricing page and carries the date it was read, so check the current page before budgeting. Where a product does not state something, the table says so instead of guessing.