Slack Software Reviews

“Dedicated channels for specific discussions”

Pros

Having dedicated channels for specific conversations between teams and people is a really practical idea and it helps keep communication more organized.

Cons

To be honest the interface feels fairly complicated to me and I'm not a fan of how it opens a separate side conversation in threads.

“Made a real difference”

Pros

Right away this software made a real difference in how our team communicates and works together. It has completely improved our way of collaborating and the instant messaging feature is especially useful for keeping conversations quick, natural and efficient.

Cons

At certain times the connection between different team members can be affected.

“Built around real-time conversation”

Pros

It is built around real-time conversation instead of post-style threads and that makes a huge difference. If you've ever used Teams, you've probably seen abandoned posts with no engagement and then someone answers without using the reply feature which just creates another disconnected post. It becomes messy and difficult to follow. Slack avoids that because it's truly designed as a chat app at its core and that approach works brilliantly.

Cons

I don't have any complaints. I really have no notes.

“Works on laptop and mobile”

Pros

Having multiple channels in one place makes teamwork really organized and features like screen sharing, calls, status icons and message reactions make daily communication much better. It also works well on both laptop and mobile and I appreciate being able to quickly see mentions and reactions to my messages.

Cons

A couple of times the app logged me out unexpectedly and I still haven't figured out why. I also couldn't find a desktop app icon notification or unread count for messages or mentions when several channels are connected which would have been really helpful.

“Jira and Figma plugins are a nice bonus”

Pros

It has been really useful for teamwork. File sharing and screen sharing both work well and communicating with coworkers through group channels or direct messages feels simple. Creating new groups is quick and overall it just works. The Jira and Figma plugins are also a nice bonus and fit well into the workflow.

Cons

it can sometimes be difficult to figure out where certain settings are located. There are also a lot of prompts introducing new features but accepting them does not always lead to a better experience and it is often unclear how to disable those features or even what they are called.

“Fairly complete tool”

Pros

Feels like a fairly complete tool overall and its instant messaging is definitely a step above many competitors. The option to create channels, both public and private, is very convenient especially when you only want to include the people who actually need to be there. I also appreciate the quick call feature, with screen sharing included which is especially useful when working remotely.

Cons

Document and attachment management is not its strongest point and the free version comes with a file size limit that can be restrictive. Another downside is message history since older conversations disappear after a certain period of time. Pricing is also a significant weakness because for larger teams it starts to become a pretty substantial expense.

“Never goes down”

Pros

Using it has been a really positive experience because it's very simple to navigate and the app is hardly ever unavailable.

Cons

Everyone ends up having access to your phone number which I'm not a fan of.

“Had a real impact on how we communicate”

Pros

It has completely changed the way our team works together. Communication feels smooth, information stays better organized and the collaboration tools are user-friendly enough to keep everything moving without friction. The integrations are especially powerful and being able to tailor notifications plus use the mobile app on the go makes the whole experience even better. From a user perspective, it has had a real impact on how my team communicates and gets work done, improving productivity, efficiency and overall results.

Cons

Even with all of its strengths there are still a few areas that could use some refinement. Getting fully comfortable with the platform can take a bit of time and notification settings, file organization and search were slightly challenging at times. That said, these issues feel fairly minor when compared with the overall value Slack brings to team collaboration. With regular updates and a clear focus on user feedback, it seems well positioned to improve these areas and keep growing as a leading collaboration platform.

“Flexible notification controls”

Pros

Working with a global team feels much more connected with it and the notification controls are genuinely useful since they can be switched on or off depending on what I need. Setting up threads, group chats, one-to-one messages and private channels only takes a couple of clicks which makes it really handy for both quick updates and longer-term projects. It's also nice that channels can be renamed, adjusted or deleted without much hassle. I also really appreciate being able to add profile pictures, pronouns and emojis, as it makes communication feel more personal. The status update feature is another big plus because it's very helpful for showing holidays, meetings and other availability details. On top of that, the holiday setting and pause notifications option are both very practical, the quick huddle feature is handy and the phone app works well too.

Cons

quick huddles open in a new window which can be confusing and sometimes makes it too easy to lose the screen you were on. It can also be frustrating to find pinned tasks, messages, threads or documents and I really wish there were better document sections or a clearer files-and-folders setup, more like how WhatsApp separates media, links and docs inside groups and chats. Right now, it can mean a lot of scrolling and searching to track things down. The search feature is also a bit inconsistent and doesn't always return what I expect.

“Easy to direct messages to right groups”

Pros

Creating separate channels for different topics has been really useful especially when managing conversations by team or project. It helps keep communication organized and makes it much easier to direct messages to the right group.

Cons

The notifications are a weak point for me because I usually have to open the app to see whether I've received any messages. If I don't check it manually, I often miss updates without realizing it.

“Everyone stays updated”

Pros

Having separate channels for different teams and employees makes a big difference since everyone can stay updated at the same time while still keeping priority topics organized and focused.

Cons

there's nothing to complain about. It's been consistently helpful for our company and has really improved both communication and productivity.

“Syncs well with development tools”

Pros

Working as a Lead Software Engineer, the features I value most are its integrations with development tools like GitHub and Jira which keep the workflow connected and cut down on constantly jumping between different platforms. The customization and notification controls are also a big plus since they let engineers adjust the experience to match their own needs and preferences. On top of that, the search feature is really useful for quickly locating older conversations or shared files without wasting time.

Cons

From a lead software engineer's perspective even though I appreciate most of what the platform offers, the part I like least is how overwhelming it can get in larger teams or organizations especially when there are too many channels and constant notifications.

“Powerhouse for team chat”

Pros

Between huddles, custom emoji, quick setup and channel organization, Slack feels like a powerhouse for team communication. It's very simple to use and connects really well with the rest of my tools like Figma, Jira, Confluence and Google Calendar.

Cons

I'd still want the ability to customize the keyboard shortcuts since some of them don't feel very user-friendly to me. Aside from that, the overall experience is highly customizable.

“Keeps conversations focused”

Pros

Channels and threads do a really good job of keeping conversations centered on specific topics and groups so I can ignore the ones that don't apply to me. The newer open-in-a-separate-window option has also been an excellent addition and easily one of my favorite updates in 2023.

Cons

it's still possible to lose the context of a discussion and feel a bit buried in long threads. It would be better if recently viewed conversations were organized in a clearer way.

“Love the integrations”

Pros

It really shines when it comes to connecting with other tools. Integrations with Google Drive, Zoom and plenty of others make it incredibly helpful to use.

Cons

Building new workflows can be a bit challenging at first and the step-by-step instructions can feel long and drawn out but they're still very useful for getting through the setup.

“Lightweight and resource-friendly”

Pros

Compared with other team chat apps, the biggest win here is how little memory and CPU it uses. That's easily the standout benefit for me. I also appreciate that it's available on the web since it lets us sideload multiple accounts when needed. On top of that, the web interface stays lightweight too so running several browser instances doesn't end up draining system resources.

Cons

There really isn't much to complain about since it feels very solid compared to others in the same category. If I had to point out one thing, it would be the pricing, as there are cheaper or even free alternatives out there though the value you get does help justify the cost.

“indispensable during COVID”

Pros

Collaborating and staying in touch with teammates, including people across other teams, has been really simple with Slack. It became absolutely essential during remote work especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cons

Calling feature could definitely be better. It can take a while to connect and there are times when notifications don't come through for me.

“Useful web-based version”

Pros

Right from the start, it feels user-friendly and lightweight and having a web-based version available makes it even more convenient. It comes with really useful features like file sharing, screen sharing, group chats, bots and webhook integrations which make team communication much more efficient.

Cons

The audio conferencing feature Huddle works really well and is a strong part of the platform. That said the video conferencing side could still use some improvement.

“Simple to organize conversations by topic”

Pros

It is really user-friendly, offers plenty of customization options and makes it simple to organize conversations by topic through different channels, whether private or public.

Cons

free plan feels pretty limited since older messages disappear quickly and the paid plans can end up being quite expensive for medium to large teams.

“makes communication convenient”

Pros

It makes communication really simple and convenient.

Cons

I don't have any complaints about it.