Benefits of a Business Messaging App

1. Increases employee productivity

Messaging apps provide a streamlined way for employees to interact with each other and with clients. The majority of employees believe that work chat platforms make them more productive.

There’s no need to schedule calls for when both parties are available with a business messaging app, you can simply send the message, and all the important information in it will be ready and waiting when the other person is free to access it.

This is known as asynchronous communication, and it means that both parties are free to get on with other important tasks in the meantime, increasing their productivity.

2. Ensures secure messaging

Many business messaging apps are secured with end-to-end encryption and other enterprise-grade security features. This ensures that any messages or attachments sent through them are secure and can only be accessed by the intended recipients.

3. Reduces cost of communication

Many business messaging apps offer a cost-effective method of communication, providing a lower-cost alternative to international calling plans.

What Makes a Good Business Messaging App?

Your choice of instant messaging app should depend largely on the needs of your business, but there are several factors you should consider:

User-friendly interface

This ensures ease of deployment throughout the organization and increases the likelihood of being adopted by your teams. A tool that is too complex could end up being more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to communication.

Secure messaging

It’s imperative that the team messaging app you choose is able to keep messages secure and confidential. The cost of data breaches can be cripplingly high to many businesses, especially when remote working is a factor.

If you’re sharing sensitive information, such as customer data or marketing strategies, through your team messaging app, then utilizing a solution with robust security features will help you to avoid data leakages and will keep you compliant with data protection regulations. A secure messaging app can help keep this information confidential.

Easy integration with your current tools

A new business messaging app can help bring your employees closer and collaborate more effectively, but only if it integrates well with the tools they already use. Otherwise, it could cost you more time and money as you try syncing everything.

It’s also worth looking for solutions that will work across a range of devices and operating systems. That way, your employees, clients, and leads can stay connected regardless of whether they’re using iOS, Android, Mac, or PC.

10 Best Business Messaging Apps

We’ve gathered a list of 10 of the best asynchronous communication tools for your consideration.

1. ClickUp

Best for project management, team collaboration, instant messaging

ClickUp is an all-in-one project management and productivity tool that offers a fully customizable platform to support any type of team and business across industries, and hundreds of advanced features, including collaboration features, to streamline all your work and communication under one roof.

This app supports real-time and asynchronous collaboration and makes it easier to communicate with anyone at any time—hybrid and remote employees, clients, external teams, and so much more. Get access to a built-in instant messaging feature, Chat view, to instantly exchange messages in a group chat or directly with one person, and communicate within tasks via comments and assign comments to a team member, clients, and more.

If you’re looking for a more efficient way to handle your emails, ClickUp offers an Email in ClickUp feature that allows you to seamlessly send and receive emails without ever leaving the platform.

With this feature, you can easily integrate your most-used email apps like Gmail, Outlook, or Front, and start responding to emails directly within your ClickUp tasks. This means no more switching back and forth between different apps or losing track of important emails. 📧

Try Email in ClickUp

Aside from its instant messaging and email management features, ClickUp also offers a screen recording feature to help keep internal communication as seamless and clear as possible. Clip by ClickUp lets you create and send video messages within ClickUp to ensure your message is clear and concise—a feature that’s extremely valuable when explaining complex topics and instructions and helpful to those who are visual learners.

And if you’re looking to boost your productivity when it comes to writing, ClickUp AI is the feature for you. Whatever your role or job function, ClickUp AI can transform the way you work. Its research-based tools ensure high-quality content by using prompts tailored to specific roles—use ClickUp AI for everyday tasks like instantly generating an email, blogs, and so much more.

Best of all, ClickUp has successfully achieved ISO 27001:2013, the highest standards of security for customer data in software, meaning your conversations, work, and important information are protected at the highest level.

These key features for communication and collaboration, along with hundreds of customizable features, make ClickUp one of the best business messaging apps available today.

Best features

• Fully customizable platform: Customize every part of ClickUp to fit your team and business needs
• 15+ custom views: Choose from over 15 ways to view your work, including Chat view
• Chat view: Send instant messages to your team and keep conversations alongside your work
• Email in ClickUp: Manage all your email communications in one place without the need for extra programs and software. Send company news, assignments, tasks, information, and critical messages in ClickUp without needing to change tabs
• Whiteboards: Create visual aids for virtual meetings, and map out projects and ideas to communicate plans with your teams
• Watchers: When someone is assigned as a watcher, they will automatically get notifications when updates are made on a task—eliminating the need to follow up manually
• Assigned comments and mentions: Create action items within a task and assign them to others or even yourself, and use the mentions feature to bring their attention to items within tasks or Chat view
• Privacy, permissions, and guests: Invite external members to your Workspace and have full control of what they can see and have access to
• Integration capabilities: Connect ClickUp to over 1,000 work apps to consolidate your apps and bring all your work in one place
• Mobile app: Access your work and conversations anytime from anywhere with the ClickUp mobile app

Limitations

• Some users may experience a steep learning curve due to the number of available features. ClickUp offers 24/7 customer support and multiple resources to help mitigate this issue

Pricing

• Free Forever: Feature-rich free plan
• Unlimited: $7 per user/month
• Business: $12 per user/month
• Enterprise: Contact for custom pricing

Customer reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.7 out of 5 (6,500+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7 out of 5 (3,500+ reviews)

2. Dialpad

Best for business communication and customer experience solution

Dialpad is a unified communications solution, giving you everything from business messaging features to call center software, all designed to bring your communications together in one easy-to-use platform.

Dialpad offers voice and video calls, group chat, and internal/external communication with AI integration. It also integrates with HR software like Rippling and customer service software. You can use it for business messaging with features such as SMS, MMS, and group messaging. Additionally, channels can be organized by team, project, or topic, and you can post status updates to inform your teammates of your availability.

Dialpad is easily accessible on multiple devices. Post status updates to let your teammates know if you’re unavailable and can easily switch to using Dialpad on another device when you’re out of the office.

Best features

• Share files: Send a range of file types through Dialpad’s chat feature, including photos, videos, and files. So if you want to share a file of a voicemail transcript, automatically transcribed by Dialpd Ai, you can do so quickly and easily
• One app, many devices: Dialpad brings all your communications together in one place, so you don’t need to switch between apps constantly. What’s even better is that you can access that place from virtually anywhere. Android and iOS apps are available, alongside apps for Mac and PC, and browser-based access
• AI built-in: Dialpad AI helps you simplify workflows and save time across all communication channels. Predictive CSAT helps boost customer satisfaction in your contact center, and live coaching helps you get the most out of your sales team before, during, and after calls
• 24/7 support: Get access to support to help with onboarding or any problems that might arise. This is incredibly helpful when your team is distributed around the world. You know there is always someone available to help
• Real-time analytics: Provides managers and admins with the ability to analyze call volume, usage, and adoption no matter where in the world they work

Limitations

• Because Dialpad has so many features to use, the learning curve may be quite steep. A comprehensive help center and 24/7 live chat support are available for assistance

Pricing

• Standard: $15 per user/month
• Pro: $25 per user/month
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing

Customer reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.4 out of 5 (1,500+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3 out of 5 (450+ reviews)

3. Slack

Best for instant messaging with internal and external teams

Slack provides a platform for bringing teams together. Built around channels and organized spaces for discussing projects and sharing resources, Slack aims to provide the flexibility to work when and how you want to, making it one of the most-used and popular instant messaging apps today.

Best features

• Integrations: Slack features third-party integrations with a number of commonly used productivity tools, meaning that you can do more in one place. Platforms such as Google Drive, Outlook Calendar, and ClickUp are all supported. There are also integrations offered with other apps, such as email marketing software like Mailchimp
• Channels: Channels make it easy to organize multiple projects, keeping everybody up to date with progress and in sync, boosting productivity
• Huddles: Team members can easily jump from messaging to a call. There’s no loss in productivity, and they can even share screens for an added collaborative boost
• Security: Slack offers enterprise-grade data protection so you know only approved people and devices can access your communications. You can also rest easy that you’re fully compliant with data protection regulations
• Canvases: Improves collaboration and provides a dedicated space to curate and share information from to-do lists to project briefs

Limitations

• Some users have noted that Slack’s plans are quite expensive, especially compared to other platforms with a similar number of features

Pricing

• Free: $0
• Pro: $7.25 per user/month
• Business+: $12.50 per user/month
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing

Customer reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.5 out of 5 (31,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7 out of 5 (22,000+ reviews)

Compare Slack Vs Asana!

4. Microsoft Teams

Best for team collaboration

Microsoft Teams is an all-in-one app designed to help you connect with other people online. Alongside instant messaging functionality, it also provides video calling features, the ability to share files from the entire Microsoft Office toolkit, and a community creator that brings like-minded people together to collaborate.

Best features

• Communicate anywhere: Microsoft Teams offers a range of mobile apps that let you stay in touch no matter where you are. You can receive notifications of instant messages on your mobile and reply with voice notes if you haven’t got time to type
• Schedule send: Schedule messages to send at a future date, so you can respect the working hours of remote employees, even if they’re in another time zone. Messages can be edited at any time before they’re sent. These are features that are missing in many Microsoft Teams alternatives
• Integrations: Syncs with a wide range of different tools. This means you can optimize your workflows and bring data across from other apps.
• Instant translation: Makes it easier to communicate with international coworkers and clients. With their translation feature, you can translate a message into over 100 different languages
• External access: Invite people to join a chat from outside your Teams organization. This improves collaborations and helps you keep all your communications in one place

Limitations

• Some users have noted that Microsoft Teams can be buggy and unreliable, with spotty connections when video chatting, and disappearing links within chats

Pricing

• Essentials: $4 per user/month
• Business Basic: $6 per user/month
• Business Standard: $12.50 per user/month

Customer reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.3 out of 5 (13,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 (9,000+ reviews)

Compare Teams to Slack!

5. Chanty

Best for group messaging and integrated video technology

Chanty is a budget option when it comes to team messaging apps, with the free plan promising unlimited, secure messaging forever. It is also a team collaboration tool, offering video calls, task management, kanban boards, and file sharing.

Best Features

• Task management: Any message can be turned into a task, helping to streamline workflows when it comes to task management, and every member of the team can be kept up to date with the progress of projects
• Easy sharing of code: Quickly share blocks of code to keep projects running smoothly. This is an ideal feature for software developers who want to exchange snippets of code quickly
• Voice messages: Keep communication going even when you’re not at your desk by sending high-quality audio messages to your whole team
• Kanban board view: Optimize workflows with the flexibility of switching to a kanban board view to manage tasks from a single place
• Cost-effective: Chanty’s free plan gives up to 10 team members unlimited conversations, voice messages, and one-to-one audio calls. The feature-rich plan that offers group calling and screen sharing is only $3

Limitations

• Some reviews reported connectivity issues

Pricing

• Free: $0
• Business: $3 per user/month

Customer reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.5 out of 5 (30+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7 out of 5 (30+ reviews)

6. Zoho Cliq

Best for organized team communication and collaboration

Zoho Cliq is a team communication tool that helps you organize conversations, connect to existing tools, and automate routine tasks. It simplifies remote team collaboration with features like check-ins and visibility into availability, such as when in a meeting. You can create shortcuts and custom bots to save time for your team.

Best features

• Searchable conversations: Easily search for text or files that have been shared in your conversations, so you can always look back at any important information right when you need it most
• Work agenda: Day-to-day tasks, calendars, and schedules are easily viewable, so you can always stay on top of your upcoming deadlines. Reminders can be set for upcoming events and projects, right from within your chats
• Customizable bots: You can build your own bots to automate your workflows, connect with your existing tools,  and act as a virtual assistant
• Top-notch security: With data encryption, data privacy for integrations, and a secret chat feature you know that your company’s data is secure
• Whiteboard: This makes it easier to collaborate with team members inside the chat window. The completed board can then be shared in the chat as an image

Limitations

• Some reviewers have noted a lack of third-party integrations compared to its competitors. For example, there are limited integrations with remote access solutions such as VNC Connect (see this rundown of Team Viewer vs VNC for a better idea of what remote access solutions can offer)

Pricing

• Free: $0
• Unlimited: $1 per user/month

Customer reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.4 out of 5 (140+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 (70+ reviews)

7. Google Chat

Best for text-based chat, video conferencing, and file sharing

Google Chat is a team communication tool within Google Workspace. It has direct and group messaging features, accessible via Gmail or a standalone app. Search is integrated for easy access to past conversations, and the platform has strong security measures for data encryption and privacy.

Best features

• Spaces: Spaces provide dedicated areas for teams to engage in discussions, share knowledge, collaborate on projects, and build communities
• Part of Google Workspace: Use Chat and Spaces to seamlessly collaborate with team members and clients in Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets. Integrations with other apps are also available, such as CRM software like Salesforce
• Wide selection of plans to choose from: Google Chat offers several different tiers with a range of features so you can choose the right one for your business. It’s also easily scalable as your business grows
• Guest access: Allows you to provide temporary guest access so you can easily collaborate with people from outside your organization
• Integrations: Integrate Google Chat with third-party apps and use bots to streamline your workflows with automation

Limitations

• Some reviewers have noted that Google Chat is somewhat lacking in features when compared to similar products, such as the ability to share screens or record meetings

Pricing

• Business Starter: $6 per user/month
• Business Standard: $12 per user/month
• Business Plus: $18 per user/month
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing

Customer reviews and ratings

• Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 (2,100+ reviews)

8. Twist

Best for async messaging app

Twist is a messaging app focused on asynchronous communication for distributed teams. It combines email, chat, and forums, without any of the negatives, to create structured channels that organize information by topic. It also has one-on-one messaging for team building and feedback.

Best features

• Threads: Twist makes it easy to cut through the chit-chat and get straight to the important stuff with dedicated threads, ensuring that important information doesn’t get buried. It’s easy to get new employees up to speed when onboarding and inboxes can be individually prioritized
• Integrations: Integrate platforms such as Asana, Google Drive, and Trello are all supported. You can even create your own custom automations to streamline your workflows further
• Easily organized channels: You can structure channels by topic, project, or client to ensure that all communications are clear and accessible
• Easy onboarding: Twist provides easy-to-access threads so new employees can quickly catch up on previous conversations and decisions
• Smart notifications: All notifications are gathered into one place, making it easy for team members to prioritize tasks and messages

Limitations

• Unlike some of its competitors and Trello alternatives, Twist’s search functionality is somewhat limited, meaning that if you lose track of an important thread, it may be hard to find it again

Pricing

• Free trial: $0 for one month
• Unlimited: $6 per user/month

Customer reviews and ratings

• G2: 3.9 out of 5 (19 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3 out of 5 (30+ reviews)

9. Workplace by Facebook

Best for one-on-one and group instant messaging

Workplace by Meta (formerly Facebook) is an all-in-one internal communication solution that offers features like Events, Groups, Polls, Surveys, and Profiles to enhance employee engagement and strengthen company culture. It serves as a business version of Facebook, providing a company intranet with team communication capabilities.

Best features

• Knowledge Library: Discover and access key information from any device with the Knowledge Library feature in Workplace. Flexible permissions mean you can decide who has access to which content, and an intuitive search function helps you quickly locate exactly what you’re looking for
• Make connections: Designed with mobile in mind, meaning it can be easily accessed from virtually all mobile devices. Connections with a range of apps make it easy to stay connected without switching between several different windows
• Workplace insights: Analyze how your employees are using Workspace to discover better ways to connect your organization
• Workplace groups: Easily communicate with the right people and make announcements to specific teams or regions. You can even use it to recognize a job well done by sending an achievement post
• Workplace safety center: Share important safety information and keep on top of security during a crisis event

Limitations

• With so many features in Workplace, some users have found it difficult to locate exactly what they’re looking for when they need it. This can be especially confusing for new users, with a more robust tutorial being requested by some on how to use the platform to its fullest

Pricing

• Core plan: $4 per user/month
• Add-ons: Enhanced admin and support for $2 per user/month, and Enterprise Live $2 per user/month

Customer reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.0 out of 5 (1,600+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4 out of 5 (1,200+ reviews)

10. Zoom Chat

Best for video meetings, team chat, VoIP phone, and webinars

Team Chat is the chat function of Zoom One. Perhaps best known for its video calling functionality, Zoom actually provides a host of collaboration tools and other features designed to make life easier for businesses, such as Zoom Phone, its VoIP offering, and one of many Vonage alternatives available.

Best features

• Easy-to-use: Easy for teams to adopt the technology and get working quickly. Internal and external audiences alike have access to a range of smart features that will help them to collaborate
• Secure: Features such as advanced encryption and multi-factor authentication make it easy to ensure that all your correspondence is kept secure and confidential
• Search capabilities: Easily find messages, contacts, and files through its search feature. This saves you time scrolling back through chats, as all information can be easily accessed
• Advanced admin controls: Tailor security settings, communication styles, and permissions to your company’s exact needs
• Cloud storage: Store files, documents, and content from your chat channels, so you never have to worry about losing important information

Limitations

• Some users have described Zoom’s interface as clunky. Others have noted that its price isn’t quite as appealing as some of its competitors and Zoom alternatives, making it a potentially costly choice for small and medium businesses

Pricing

• Basic: Free
• Pro: $149 per user/year
• Business: $199 per user/year
• Business Plus: $250 per user/year
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing

Customer reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.5 out of 5 (50,000+ reviews)

Stay Connected With Business Messaging Apps

Business instant messaging apps can provide a cost-effective way for your teams to stay in touch, fostering better collaboration, productivity, and engagement. They should form a key part of any modern workplace communication strategy.

A whole host of different apps are available, each with their own unique selling points, from instant messaging apps, screen sharing, to video conferencing tools, and so on. Consider your needs and budget when choosing from the variety of available apps, each with unique features like screen sharing, video conferencing, chat channels, and third-party app integration, and research which ones integrate with your current tools and are easy for your employees to adopt.

It’s time to modernize your communication tools—get a modern messaging app to support your growing business!

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