Slack vs Discord vs Mattermost vs Twist
Four team-communication platforms with very different free tiers — the workplace-chat default with a 90-day history cap, the unlimited-everything community favourite, an open-source self-hostable Slack alternative, and an async-first threaded tool — compared on free history, members, voice/video, self-hosting, and pricing.
| Slack | Discord | Mattermost | Twist | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier note | The default workplace chat. Slack Free is free forever with message & file history capped at 90 days (changed from the old 10k-message limit in Aug 2024), up to 10 app integrations, 5 GB total file storage, 1:1 and group audio/video huddles, and unlimited channels; paid Pro from ~$7/user/mo adds unlimited history, unlimited integrations, and Slack Connect. | Built for communities but a capable team-chat tool. Discord Free is free forever with unlimited servers, channels, full message history (no time cap), voice & video calls, screen share up to 1080p@60fps, and 25 MB file uploads; Nitro (~$9.99/mo) adds HD streaming, 500 MB uploads, and custom emoji. | Open-source (AGPLv3) self-hostable Slack alternative. Free to self-host with unlimited teams, channels, full message history, file sharing, and integrations; Mattermost Cloud offers a free tier for small teams, and paid Professional from ~$10/user/mo adds enterprise compliance, SSO, and analytics. | An async-first team-chat tool from Doist (makers of Todoist) built around threaded conversations instead of real-time channels. Twist Free is free forever for teams of up to 5 members with 1 month of message history and 5 GB file storage; paid Unlimited from ~$6/user/mo adds unlimited members, full message history, and unlimited integrations. |
| Bandwidth | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Builds | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Requests | 90-day message & file history, 10 integrations, 5 GB storage | Unlimited servers, channels, full message history, voice & video | Self-host unlimited teams, channels, full message history | 5 members, 1-month message history, 5 GB storage |
| Custom domains | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Paid from | $7/mo | $10/mo | $10/mo | $6/mo |
| Generosity ★ | 12 | 24 | 24 | 13 |
| Last verified | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 |
| Visit site | Slack ↗ | Discord ↗ | Mattermost ↗ | Twist ↗ |
Data verified 2025-09-01.