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Most buyers should pick Lark.
Choose Lark if you want chat, documents, meetings and workflows in one workspace, with paid plans starting at $6 per user/month on annual billing. Choose Slack if channels, connected apps and communication are the priority; its Pro plan starts at $7.25 per user/month annually. Both offer free plans, but Lark Starter caps teams at 20 users and Slack Free limits message history to 90 days and apps to 10. Lark’s monthly paid rates are not published.
01Side by side
| Lark | Slack | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; paid from $6/user/month, annual billing | Free; paid from $7.25/user/month, annual billing |
| Free plan | 20 users, 100 GB, 18-month history | 90-day history, 10 apps, 1:1 huddles |
| Best for | Teams wanting chat, docs, meetings and workflows together | Teams centered on chat, channels and connected apps |
| Core strength | Bundled collaboration and workspace-wide AI context | Team conversations, app connections and AI tools |
| Learning curve | Not published | Not published |
| Integrations/data | AI draws context across chats, docs, meetings and workflows | Pro includes unlimited app integrations |
| Team/seat costs | Basic: $6 annually; 500-user maximum | Pro: $7.25 annually; seat cap not published |
| Support | Review support score: 5 | Review support score: 5 |
Lark Choose Lark if
- Choose Lark if you want chat, docs, meetings and workflows bundled.
- Choose Lark if a lower published annual starting price matters.
- Choose Lark if workspace-wide AI context fits your workflows.
Slack Choose Slack if
- Choose Slack if your team prioritizes channels and conversations.
- Choose Slack if unlimited app integrations on Pro matter.
- Choose Slack if you need external messaging with up to 250 organizations.
02Pricing compared
Lark is cheaper on the published annual rates: Basic is $6 per user/month and Pro is $12, with yearly billing saving 16.6%, according to its pricing page. Lark supports monthly subscriptions on Basic and Pro, but does not publish those monthly rates. Starter is free for up to 20 users, with 100 GB storage, 18 months of message history and 1,000 automations a month. Slack Pro is $7.25 per user/month billed annually or $8.75 monthly; Business+ is $15 annually or $18 monthly. Slack Free allows 90-day message history and up to 10 apps. Lark’s free plan offers a longer stated message-history period, but its 20-user cap may be a constraint. Slack’s advanced AI is listed on Business+, while Lark lists AI Meeting Notes as a $1,699 add-on per 1,800 notes.
03Features and depth
Lark is the broader all-in-one workspace on paper: it combines chat, email, documents, slides, meetings, calendars and workflows. Its no-code workflow tools can build automations and dashboards, and its AI features can use context across chats, documents, meetings, workflows and data. AI meeting notes can sync across the workspace and make transcripts searchable.
Slack centers on team communication through channels, huddles and Slack Connect for conversations with clients and vendors. It also supports connected apps, workflows for tasks such as approvals, AI search across company files and conversations, and Slackbot, which the product describes as an AI teammate working across connected apps and agents. Huddles include AI-generated meeting notes.
Choose Lark when you want documents and workflows alongside chat in the same workspace. Choose Slack when channels, external conversations and connected apps are central. The feature lists do not establish that either product replaces every tool your team already uses.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Neither pricing or feature information gives a reliable measure of which product is easier to learn. The practical difference is how much of the workspace you plan to adopt. Lark brings chat, documents, meetings, calendars and workflows together, so teams moving those activities into one product will need to decide how to organize them there. Slack’s setup is more centered on channels, connected apps, huddles and workflows; its complexity will depend partly on which integrations and automations you enable. Lark describes its workflow builder as no-code, but that does not tell us how quickly a team will configure it. For a switch, map the tools and routines you need to move before comparing interfaces.
Questions people ask
Is Lark cheaper than Slack?
On published annual rates, Lark Basic costs $6 per user/month and Slack Pro costs $7.25. Lark Pro is $12, compared with Slack Business+ at $15. Lark does not publish monthly rates for Basic or Pro, so a monthly-billing comparison is not available.
What are the main free-plan limits?
Lark Starter is free for up to 20 users and includes 100 GB storage, 18 months of message history and 1,000 automations a month. Slack Free includes 90-day message history, up to 10 apps, 1:1 huddles and 1:1 external messages.
Which is better for a small team?
Lark Starter may fit a team of 20 or fewer that wants chat, documents and workflows together. Slack Free may fit a team prioritizing channels and connected apps, but it limits history to 90 days and apps to 10. The better fit depends on which limits matter to your team.
Does Lark include AI meeting notes in its plan price?
Lark lists AI Meeting Notes as a paid add-on at $1,699 per 1,800 notes. Slack lists AI-generated meeting notes for huddles, but the published pricing details do not specify a separate add-on price for that feature. Check the current plan terms before switching.