Slack and Flock are messengers focused on the internal communication of work groups or companies. The proposal is that they are practical platforms for exchanging messages in co-operative environments, being more efficient than e-mails, for the instantaneous, better than «word of mouth», since everything is registered, and better than WhatsApp groups or Telegram, for being more organized. Check, in the comparison below, which is the best messenger option to work with your team remotely or in person.
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Slack versus Flock – Photo: Arte / dnetc
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Flock offers a free version, but with limited storage of up to 10,000 messages. The paid version is called Pro, this has 90 days of testing and, after that period, costs $ 3 per user, monthly. There is the promise of another plan, Enterprise, which is not yet active and will offer more features.
Slack has three plan options, one of which is also free. The paid versions are Standart, which costs U $ 6.67 or U $ 8 per month, per user. Depending on whether it is the annual or monthly plan, the tool can have unlimited message storage or files up to 10 GB, respectively. The other paid plan is Plus, which offers everything the Standart plan has, with even more features and the 20 GB file storage space – plenty of space.
Slack is more expensive than Flock – Photo: (Reproduction / Luana Marfim)
Integration with other services
Flock and Slack are integrated with several teamwork services, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Trello, Hangouts, Asana, Zendesk, Google Calendar and more. In total, Flock offers compatibility with 44 other applications.
Slack, in turn, has a kind of internal app store, with a much higher number of options (there are so many that it was not possible to count).
Despite this, Flock seems to be more concerned with offering features in this integration, for example: Google Drive gains an internal search bar and it is possible to create collaborative documents even within the messenger.
Slack has a multitude of compatible applications – Photo: Reproduction / Luana Marfim
The messengers offer a very clean, intuitive interface and specially designed to optimize teamwork. Both are even alike. On the screen, the sessions are organized identically. Despite this, in Flock, the items are more monochromatic and spaced, which makes it look less confusing. But, it is a personal matter. Both deliver a great product, the winner is up to the user’s taste.
Flock messenger interface is clear and intuitive – Photo: Reproduction / Luana Marfim
Both Flock and Slack have browser versions, desktop applications, as well as being compatible with Android and iOS (iPhone) devices, which makes them accessible from anywhere. Here, none gets ahead.
Slack and Flock are compatible with Android and iOS – Photo: Aline Batista / dnetc
In general, the two services have the same main feature: the exchange of messages with teams and are even organized in a similar way. The difference here is in the extra functions that each one offers. Slack, for example, has more options for integrating with other external applications. Flock, despite having less, offers two innovative features: polls and task lists with date and checklist within group conversations. Furthermore, it promises to be much faster than Slack. An important point is that only the Flock has a Portuguese version and therefore, the messenger stands out in the country.
Flock has exclusive features and promises to be faster – Photo: Reproduction / Luana Marfim
However, neither manages to replace WhatsApp or Telegram widely. That’s because they are focused on work. With your company account, you will not be able to talk to your mother, for example, because through them, the user can only gain access to co-workers and members of the same team. However, with a regular user account, this is possible. However, not many people use Slack or Flock in their daily lives.
Slack is a messenger of teams already very consolidated in the market and, therefore, more mature, with more options of paid plans and more compatibility. Flock arrived in Brazil this year, but with a Portuguese version, while Slack, which has been here for a long time, works only in English. If your team doesn’t speak English, it can be tricky to master Slack first.
The choice of the best option will depend on the demand of the team or company itself. It is important, for example, to check if the programs most used by your team are supported by the messenger. At this point, it is possible that Slack does, while Flock does not yet. On the other hand, Flock is much cheaper than Slack, in addition to offering a good trial period on your paid plan, Slack does not do that.
That is, if the proposal is to test a team messenger, choose Flock, but if you already know exactly what you want from the product, Slack is the best option.
