Naven
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Google Chat vs Slack vs Naven: which is better?
Slack is the most polished for teams and has the most integrations, but its free plan hides messages older than 90 days. Google Chat is free with any Google account and fits groups already using Gmail and Drive. Naven is free, needs nothing installed and no phone number, and suits clubs, families and classes more than companies.
Slack. The benchmark for team chat: channels, threads, huddles, excellent search, and thousands of integrations. The free plan limits history to 90 days and huddles to two people, so volunteer groups and clubs often lose their history. Paid plans are priced per user.
Google Chat. Free with a personal Google account and included in Google Workspace. It has spaces with threads, direct messages, and close integration with Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Meet. It is a good fit if everybody in the group already uses Google, and awkward if some do not. AI features (Gemini) are on paid Workspace plans.
Naven. Free, runs in a browser with nothing to install, and needs only an email address, so it works for people on school Chromebooks, library computers and tablets. It has group chats, channels, voice and video calls, scheduled and disappearing messages, voice notes, polls, a public forum and free Naven AI. Every message is screened before it is sent, and anybody under 18 needs a parent's agreement. It has no business integrations, and it is not end-to-end encrypted (neither are Slack nor Google Chat by default).
Choose Slack for a company or a technical team that lives on integrations. Choose Google Chat for a group already in Google Workspace. Choose Naven for a group of people who are not all in the same organisation, especially if some of them are teenagers.