BAND vs Slack
BAND and Slack are both team communication tools. BAND is aimed at developers and enterprise, while Slack is aimed at small businesses and enterprise. Slack costs less, from $8.75/mo versus $17.99/mo for BAND. Both have a free plan.
| Pricing | Freemium · $18 | Freemium · $9 |
| Starting price | $17.99/mo | $8.75/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Developers, Enterprise | Small businesses, Enterprise |
| Platforms | web, macos, windows, linux, android | web, macos, windows, linux, ios, android |
| Country | IL | US · 2013 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose BAND if
Developers and engineering leaders who run several AI agents at once and need one place to coordinate and audit them.
- Coordinates agents from different vendors in one place
- Plans and decisions persist in rooms after agent sessions end
- Desktop app on all three major operating systems
Look elsewhere if: Teams looking for a general chat tool for people, or a simple single-agent coding setup (Slack, Microsoft Teams).
Choose Slack if
Teams of any size that are not already standardized on Microsoft Teams and value integrations.
- Best-in-class UX for team chat
- Huge integration ecosystem
- Slack Connect for working with partners
Look elsewhere if: Microsoft 365-centric organizations (Teams is included) or teams preferring async-first tools (Twist).
BAND vs Slack pricing
BAND
- Free$01 personal user, 20 remote agents, 2-week data retention
- Pro$17.99/mo1 user, 40 connected + 40 native agents, 500 active rooms
- EnterpriseCustomTeams, unlimited agents, custom retention, full API
Slack
- Free$090-day message history, 1:1 huddles
- Pro$8.75/user/mo$7.25/mo billed annually; unlimited history and apps, group huddles
- Business+$18/user/mo$15/mo billed annually; Slack AI, SAML SSO, data exports
- Enterprise+CustomEnterprise search, DLP, advanced security; contact sales
BAND · Key features
- Shared rooms where humans and agents chat, delegate and hand off tasks
- Python SDK with adapters for LangGraph, CrewAI, Codex and OpenCode
- BAND Desktop for macOS, Windows and Linux that runs coding agents
- View of agent activity, blockers and questions waiting for you
- Control plane for delegation, authority, approvals and audit
- Rooms synced across desktop, web and an Android app
Cons
- Free and Pro are limited to a single user
- Free plan is for personal, non-commercial use only
- Two-week data retention on the free plan
Slack · Key features
- Channels, threads, DMs and shared channels across companies (Slack Connect)
- Huddles with screen sharing and canvases for docs
- Workflow Builder and 2,600+ app integrations
- Slack AI: summaries, search answers, recaps
- Lists for lightweight task tracking
- Enterprise security: SSO, DLP, EKM, compliance exports
Cons
- Expensive per seat for large teams
- Free plan's 90-day history limit
- Notification overload without discipline
BAND vs Slack: FAQ
Which is cheaper, BAND or Slack?
Slack starts at $8.75/mo and BAND at $17.99/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do BAND and Slack have a free plan?
Yes, both BAND and Slack have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.
Which is better for small businesses, BAND or Slack?
Slack lists small businesses as a core audience, while BAND is aimed more at developers and enterprise.