So, do you want to build an app like Slack?
Smart move. Teams want one place for all their conversations, files and updates, and many businesses now want that space to be their own. Creating an app like Slack is not a piece of cake, but it is not impossible either.
If you’re wondering, How much time will this take? And how much will it cost me?, this blog answers your most common questions: how Slack grew, what a first release needs, the tech stack, what it costs and what to plan for in 2026. Let’s get started.
How Slack Went from an In-House Tool to a Workplace Staple?
Slack didn’t burst onto the scene as a game-changer right away. Funny enough, it started as a side project. Tiny Speck, a gaming company, was building an online game called Glitch and built its own chat tool to work together. The game closed, but the tool had more potential: Slack opened as a preview in August 2013 and launched publicly in February 2014.
People loved it because it was simple to use, connected with other tools effortlessly and had an interface that just made sense. In 2021, Salesforce completed its $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack.
Today, Slack has more than 200,000 paid customers, including 77 of the Fortune 100, with daily users in over 150 countries. And the market keeps growing: Mordor Intelligence puts team collaboration tools at $23.75 billion in 2026, rising to $42.2 billion by 2031.
Key Features Contributing to Slack’s Success
Slack is the favorite of many teams for real-time chat. Here are the features that made it stand out, and that your own app will need to match or beat.
Intuitive Interface
When you visit your local library, you know where the bookshelves and reference desk are without asking. Slack works the same way: channels, direct messages and threads sit in clear places, so people find what they need without sifting through clutter.
Integrations
Slack serves as a central hub for work. It connects with tools such as Trello and Google Calendar, so updates and reminders arrive in the channels where teams already talk, and nobody has to jump between apps.
File Sharing and Collaboration
Teams share files, documents and images right in a channel, and third-party apps add features such as approvals or HR requests without leaving the conversation.
Mobile Access and Search
Slack’s mobile app keeps remote teams connected from anywhere, and its fast search lets people find any message or file in seconds. You will need both if you are building an app like Slack.
What Changed in Slack in 2025 and 2026
Slack keeps changing, and several recent changes explain why more businesses now want their own team chat app:
- New pricing: in June 2025 Slack reshaped its plans, adding AI features to paid plans, raising the Business+ price and launching a new Enterprise+ plan.
- AI agent: Slackbot became a personal AI agent for work in January 2026, as part of Salesforce’s Agentforce.
- Free-plan limits: free workspaces can view and search only the last 90 days of messages and files.
- API limits: Slack sharply cut API rate limits for commercial apps not listed in its Marketplace, which makes building products on top of Slack harder.
Slack’s Competitors in 2026
- Microsoft Teams: after an EU competition case, Microsoft now sells Microsoft 365 suites with and without Teams, so businesses can choose other chat tools more easily.
- Google Chat: built into Google Workspace, with Gemini AI features.
- Discord: popular for communities rather than workplaces, and now tightening age checks.
- Mattermost: a self-hosted option, whose free Entry edition now comes with usage limits.
Each of these charges per user and limits what you can change. A custom team chat app gives you your own features, your own data and no per-seat fees.
What a First Release of an App Like Slack Needs
- Workspaces, channels, threads and direct messages
- Real-time messaging with typing and online indicators
- Push notifications on iOS and Android
- File sharing and fast full-text search
- Voice and video calls
- Admin tools: roles, invites and removing users
- Integrations through bots and webhooks
Features such as shared channels with other companies, guest accounts and AI summaries can follow in later releases.
Tech Stack for Building an App Like Slack
Slack itself runs on a mix of technologies built up over many years, including Hack, Meta’s version of PHP. A new team chat app does not need to copy that. A modern build usually looks like this:
- Frontend: React for the web app, with a responsive interface for desktop and mobile browsers.
- Mobile: Flutter or React Native for iOS and Android from one codebase, or Swift and Kotlin for fully native apps.
- Backend: Node.js or Go for real-time messaging over WebSockets, with an API for bots and integrations.
- Database: PostgreSQL for users, channels and messages, with Redis for presence and caching, and a search engine for full-text search.
- Calls: WebRTC for voice and video, with TURN servers for reliable connections.
- Cloud: AWS, Google Cloud or Azure, with managed databases and file storage.
Secure user authentication, including single sign-on for business customers, and database optimization keep the app fast as it grows.
Security and Compliance to Plan For
- Encryption in transit and at rest, and strong mobile app security.
- Single sign-on (SSO), user provisioning and admin roles for business customers.
- Message retention settings, audit logs and data export.
- GDPR compliance and a choice of data region for European customers.
- In-app account deletion, which the App Store and Google Play require.
Estimated Time and Cost of Building an App Like Slack
At Appkodes, a first release of a team chat app starts from $8,000, with a costed plan at a fixed price before work starts, and most first releases go live in about 30 days. Larger features, such as calls at scale or enterprise security, follow in later releases.
Plan for running costs too:
- Cloud hosting and databases, which grow with users and messages
- Servers for voice and video calls
- Search and file storage
- Push notifications, and maintenance for new iOS and Android versions
Build Your Team Chat App with Appkodes
Appkodes is a mobile app development company that designs and builds every app new for its client. We build chat apps around the way your teams or customers actually work.
- A first release starts from $8,000, with a costed plan at a fixed price.
- Most first releases go live in about 30 days.
- Web, iOS and Android apps, with your own branding and your own data.
- Support with updates, bug fixes and new features after launch.
Get in touch with us to talk about your project.
Common questions
How much does it cost to build an app like Slack?
With Appkodes, a first release of a team chat app starts from $8,000, with a costed plan at a fixed price. Calls at scale and enterprise security add scope.
How long does it take to build an app like Slack?
With Appkodes, most first releases go live in about 30 days, with channels, direct messages, notifications, files and search. More features follow in later releases.
What tech stack is best for a Slack-like app?
A common choice is React for web, Flutter or React Native for mobile, Node.js or Go with WebSockets for real-time messaging, PostgreSQL and Redis, and WebRTC for calls.
Why build your own team chat app instead of using Slack?
You avoid per-user fees, keep full control of your data and features, and are not limited by another company’s pricing, plan limits or API rules.
Arun Andiselvam
LinkedInI am a startup veteran who has built five brands. I sold the first, an SEO tool, for a six figure exit, and now lead Appkodes, building custom mobile and web apps for founders and businesses. I bootstrapped every one of them from day one.
