CM Chat vs Slack
An honest comparison, with Slack’s strengths included.
Slack is a great product with a huge ecosystem. CM Chat is smaller and built around privacy controls. Here is where each one is stronger, so you can choose with your eyes open.
CM Chat
Privacy controls built in
Slack
A very large ecosystem
The short version
Where each one is stronger.
We would rather you pick the right tool than the louder one.
Where CM Chat is stronger
- A separate space for every workspace. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and every workspace is kept apart from every other.
- Passkeys. Sign in with a passkey that only works on your real workspace address, so it cannot be phished. Owners can require passkeys for admins.
- A built-in admin activity log. Every workspace gets a detailed log of who did what and when.
- You choose the countries. Owners decide which countries people can sign in from.
- Invite-only workspaces. Nobody creates an account without an invitation.
- Easy to leave Slack. The Slack webhook format works as it is, so tools move by changing a URL, and your channel history can be imported.
Where Slack is stronger
- The app directory. Slack lists over 2,600 apps in its marketplace. CM Chat has no app directory, only webhooks, bots and tokens.
- Huddles and clips. Slack has huddles (group huddles on paid plans) and clips. CM Chat does not have voice or video yet. It is on the way.
- Canvas and Slack AI. Slack has shared documents (canvas) and AI summaries and recaps. CM Chat has neither today.
- Enterprise features. Slack offers extra encryption controls for large enterprise customers. CM Chat does not have an enterprise tier today.
- Maturity. Slack has years of polish, a huge user base and plenty of people who already know how to use it.
Side by side
The details, as of October 2026.
Slack facts come from Slack’s own pages (listed below). Where we could not confirm something, we left it out.
CM Chat is clearly stronger the other product is clearly stronger
| Topic | CM Chat | Slack |
|---|---|---|
| Third-party apps | No app directory. Slack-compatible webhooks, bot tokens and outgoing webhooks you can verify. | Marketplace with over 2,600 apps. |
| Voice and video | Huddles are on the way. | Huddles; one-to-one only on the Free plan, group huddles on paid plans. Clips as well. |
| Message history | Kept forever by default. The owner can set a window from 30 days to ten years. | The Free plan shows 90 days of message history; paid plans list unlimited history. |
| Admin activity log | Built into every workspace: a detailed log of admin activity. | Admin activity logs are listed as included on the Enterprise+ plan. |
| Encryption | Encrypted in transit and at rest, with every workspace kept separate. Not end-to-end encrypted. Full details on request. | Extra encryption controls are offered to Enterprise customers. |
| Documents and AI | Not today. | Canvas for docs; Slack AI for summaries, recaps and huddle notes. |
| Leaving or joining | Imports a Slack export: channels, messages, threads and reactions. Direct messages and files are not imported. | The standard export is what the CM Chat import reads. |
| Price | Talk to us. | See Slack’s pricing page. |
Where these facts come from
Statements about Slack were checked on Slack's own pages in October 2026. Products change, so check their current pages before you decide.
Detailed security documentation is available on request: security@cmchat.app.
Switching
Bring your history. Keep your alerts.
The move is a short checklist. Here is exactly what the Slack import does and does not carry over.
What the Slack history import brings over
- Channels. Public and private channels each become a new CM Chat channel. Archived channels stay archived.
- Messages. Written with their original times, oldest first, with Slack formatting converted to CM Chat text.
- Threads. Replies land under the right message.
- Reactions and edits. Reactions from people who have an account here, and the “edited” mark.
- Authors. People are matched to existing accounts by email address. Anyone else appears by name only.
What the import leaves behind
- Direct messages and group DMs. They are not imported.
- Files. Files are not copied. The message shows a note that an attachment was not imported.
- Accounts. No accounts are created and no invitations or emails are sent. Invite your team first so more people match.
- Everything else. Joins and leaves, pins, topic changes and custom emoji images are left behind.
- Large exports. The upload limit is 64 MB, so a very large export needs a shorter date range.
A workspace owner runs the import from the admin console, reads a preview and confirms before anything is written. Nothing in Slack is changed.
Import the history
Owners upload the export, read the preview, and confirm. People are matched by email address; anyone else appears by name only.
Repoint the webhooks
In each tool that posts to Slack, replace the webhook address with the CM Chat one.
Invite your team
Send invitations. People sign in with an emailed code or a passkey.
Learn more on the features page.
Questions
Common questions from Slack teams.
Can I move my Slack history to CM Chat?
Yes, with limits. A workspace owner uploads the standard Slack export, previews it, and confirms. Public and private channels, messages with their original times, threads and reactions from people with an account come across. Direct messages and files are not imported, and no accounts are created. The full list is on this page.
Will my alerts and tools that post to Slack keep working?
Most of them. CM Chat accepts the Slack webhook format and the chat.postMessage call, so you usually only change the address. Tools that need Slack’s app directory, slash commands or interactive features will not move over.
Does CM Chat have huddles or video calls?
Not yet. Voice and video huddles are on the way.
Does CM Chat use end-to-end encryption?
No. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and the service processes messages so that search and administration work. If you need end-to-end encryption, CM Chat is not built for that today. Detailed security documentation is available on request: security@cmchat.app.
How much does CM Chat cost?
Talk to us. We set up each organization personally.
Ready to try a different tool?
Tell us about your team and what you use Slack for. We will tell you honestly whether CM Chat fits.