{"id":16228,"date":"2024-03-07T17:59:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T17:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/?p=16228"},"modified":"2024-03-07T17:59:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T17:59:00","slug":"flock-vs-slack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/flock-vs-slack\/","title":{"rendered":"Slack vs Flock: Which Chat Solution is Right for Your Team?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Slack<\/a> is used by millions of users and teams of all sizes, making it one of the most popular team chat apps in the world<\/span>. Slack\u2019s pole position, however, has made it a target, with all kinds of Slack alternatives<\/a> taking aim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been delving deeper into some of those options and comparing them to Slack. That allows us to not only examine our solution, Brosix, but also provide you with the necessary information to choose the right team chat solution.<\/p>\n\n\n

[highlight_block title=”Explore our other head-to-head comparisons of:” link1=”https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/discord-vs-slack\/” link2=”” link3=”” ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flock emerged as another challenger. Born in India in 2014, Flock is hugely popular there. But Flock isn\u2019t just setting its sights on Slack. It wants to take on Google and Microsoft, as well, even setting up offices in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, how does Flock stack up against Slack? And is it the right chat solution for your team? Read on to find out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack vs Flock Pricing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A big reason more and more organizations are after Slack alternatives<\/a> is due to Slack\u2019s price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the growing field of business chat solutions, Slack is one of the pricier options. There\u2019s a free version, but that limits you to a 90-day message history and up to ten app integrations.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get the most out of Slack, you\u2019ll need to consider the Pro Plan. That gets you unlimited messaging history and a number of integrations. Furthermore, you\u2019ll be able to share channels with third parties, screen-sharing, and voice and video calls for up to 50 participants. It\u2019ll also cost you $7.25 per user per month if billed annually.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want enterprise controls like the ability to manage members, you\u2019ll need a Business+ plan. And for that, you\u2019ll need to fork over $12.50 per member per month annually. For large organizations, Slack offers Enterprise Grid. For pricing information on Grid,<\/span> you\u2019ll need to contact Slack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flock offers a freemium version as well<\/span>. <\/span> It provides more flexibility thanthan Slack, granting you file storage limit of 5 GB total per team, unlimited one-on-one and group messages, and 10K searchable messages in its free plan. Pro is Flock\u2019s cheapest paid option, costing you $4.50 per seat per month if billed annually. There\u2019s an Enterprise Plan, but, like Slack\u2019s <\/span>Enterprise Grid<\/span><\/a>, the price is kept under wraps, and you\u2019ll need to get in touch with Flock.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Affordability is more important than ever. <\/span>Secure team chat and collaboration shouldn\u2019t break the bank!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If cost is a factor, as it usually is for startups and small to medium-sized enterprises, give Brosix a look! <\/span>Brosix<\/span><\/a> Business is <\/span>more affordable<\/span><\/a> than Flock\u2019s and Slack\u2019s cheapest paid offerings, while Premium affords you robust team communication and peace of mind for just $6 per user per month for an annual subscription.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack vs Flock Interface<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Interface\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Interface and user experience are often matters of personal preference, depending on who you ask. <\/span>Flock and Slack are no exceptions, and both have their pros and cons.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, Flock is a bit more cluttered than Slack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Flock<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are multiple panels: left, right, and center. The left panel tracks conversations, while the right panel provides access to Flock\u2019s main features. In between is where chat happens. There are multiple search fields, recent chats, and shared to-dos, making it hard to figure out where to focus your attention.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack\u2019s design is much less busy; the focus is clearly on conversations. <\/span> Of the two main panels, the left panel organizes chats and features, while the more prominent panel on the right is where chat happens. But that also means more features are hidden, taking more clicks to get to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Slack<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another major difference is that Flock organizes itself by user. Users can be part of multiple teams, switching between them by navigating the (yet another) bar on the left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack, on the other hand, organizes users by workspace. If you\u2019re part of multiple workspaces, like your full-time and freelancing gigs, you\u2019ll need separate logins for each. That alone could compel you to consider Flock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flock or Slack Chat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Slack and Flock<\/span> both feature similar core features for communication and collaboration across direct messages and channels, group messages, threaded replies, and alerts and notifications. If that\u2019s all you\u2019re looking for, either platform could be the best one for you.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Threaded conversations are a controversial topic among a number of users of<\/span> team communication platforms<\/span><\/a>. While they provide a useful way to keep conversations separate, they can lead to a barrage of side conversations, create a noisy environment, and disrupt workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re after a different approach to team chat, consider Brosix. Brosix lets you organize chat spaces <\/span>any way you like<\/span>\u2014by project, department, or location, for instance. Better yet, there are myriad ways to<\/span> customize and focus<\/span> team chat spaces without threads or endless pings.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all its popularity, Slack still features a few surprising inconveniences. For example, Slack creates a new conversation each time you add a new participant to a group. That means you have to rehash old conversations each time someone new joins. Some people may say that Slack is a huge <\/span>productivity killer<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, Slack lets you add up to nine group chat participants.<\/span> If you need more, you have to convert the conversation into a private channel. It\u2019s an unnecessary annoyance, especially for temporary conversations. Both Flock and Brosix<\/a> avoid those inconveniences.<\/p>\n\n\n

[highlight_block title=”You might also like:” link1=”https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/slack-vs-viva-engage\/” link2=”” link3=”” ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack and Flock Extras<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Flock and Slack afford you the communication and collaboration extras you\u2019d expect, like voice and video capabilities, screen-sharing, and file sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both file sharing solutions<\/a> have their respective limits, though. Slack allows you full access to the past 90 days of file storage, uploads at 1GB, and 20GB of storage per member on the paid plans.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flock features a strict upload limit of just 100 MB. Teams on the free plan get 10GB of shared storage for all team members. For Pro and Enterprise plans, users get 10 GB and 20 GB per each member, respectively<\/span>. Brosix\u2019s unlimited size file transfer<\/a> never caps file transfers, neither by size nor volume. It\u2019s accessible with a click from a text chat or chat room<\/a>, and you can use it in tandem with voice and video chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Flock, you also get polls, built-in task management and to-dos, channel-based mailing lists, and some integrations. For this, it’s worth it to give Flock a try.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of third-party integrations, Slack still rules here. While Flock allows you to gain access to 60 or so key workplace apps like Google Drive, Trello, Dropbox, and Twitter, Slack enables 1,500 app connections in its directory.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flock vs Slack Security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Security\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Enterprise-grade security<\/a> is one area where team chat solutions like Flock<\/a>, Slack, and Brosix differ from consumer-grade apps like Messenger, WhatsApp<\/a>, Viber<\/a>, and Telegram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one of the most popular team collaboration tools<\/a>, you\u2019d expect Slack to be a leader with regard to security. As such, the platform encrypts data both at rest and in transit. Slack also features granular app management and SCIM provisioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slack also offers a range of features and add-ons for Enterprise Grid customers, like Enterprise Key Management and Enterprise Mobility Management. The only caveat is that, as we mentioned a bit earlier, Slack isn\u2019t forthcoming about how much those plans cost.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flock is a bit more vague about their security protocols. Specifically, they only mention the industry-standard TLS 1.2 data encryption employed on traffic between clients and servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Flock and Slack are hosted in the cloud using Amazon Web Services (AWS)<\/span>. We should specify that that fact alone in no way makes Flock and Slack unsecure. But it should give you some food for thought. For instance, the sheer number of companies using cloud applications on top of AWS can present a lack of security visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s next to impossible to know at all times who is accessing what and where across the organization (and, even more importantly, if any of the activity is malicious or anomalous).\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, cloud-based collaboration tools are causing concern<\/a> among some CEOs. According to Verizon\u2019s annual data breach report, about a quarter of data breaches are related to insiders who, thanks to these tools, have greater access to information than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what does it all mean for your<\/span> team collaboration?<\/span> Often, cloud-based platforms like Flock and Slack feature ample security protocols. But it\u2019s up to you to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Know the security features at your disposal.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Employ those features when necessary.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • And educate your team on proper cyber hygiene.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    If a cloud-based collaboration tool like Flock or Slack isn\u2019t right for you, try a self-hosted alternative like Brosix. You retain control over the data and every piece of information communicated on the network. <\/span>What\u2019s more, all communication and collaboration transpire via a private team network<\/a> featuring peer-to-peer channels, encryption, and antivirus and malware integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n