Use the chat that comes with the office suite you already pay for: Google Chat is part of every Google Workspace plan, including Business Base at ₹99 per user a month, and Microsoft Teams comes with Microsoft 365, so a second chat bill is usually waste. Slack is still the best chat tool on its own: Free is ₹0 but shows only 90 days of messages and deletes data after a year, and Pro lists at ₹545 per user a month, shown at ₹245.25 paid yearly on its current offer. Zoho Cliq has a free edition and fits a business already on Zoho. Discord is free for basic use and built for always-on voice and communities rather than staff. Many Indian small teams run on WhatsApp groups, which work until you need searchable history, channels per project and the power to remove someone who leaves. The rule: the suite's own chat first, Slack only when the team spends its whole day in it.
Part of Team communication on eChai Explore.
5 resources, 5 link-checked.
Google's page for Chat, the team messaging app that comes with every Google Workspace plan alongside Gmail, Meet and Drive.
From workspace.google.com by Google
Slack's own pricing page in rupees: the free plan keeps 90 days of message history; paid plans are priced per member, which adds up fast for a large community.
From slack.com by Slack
Zoho Cliq's plans for team chat, from a free edition to Standard, Professional and Enterprise, the last two for at least 10 users.
From zoho.com by Zoho
Zapier's tested comparison from May 2026: Slack for a chat-powered workplace, Microsoft Teams included with Microsoft 365, Google Chat for Workspace users, Discord for always-on voice and Element for self-hosting.
From zapier.com by Justin Pot, Zapier 12 min read
Gmail, Meet, Drive and Docs on your own domain, priced in rupees. The page lists Base at ₹99 per user a month for up to 20 users, Business Starter at ₹270 and Business Standard at ₹1,080, each with a 14-day free trial.
From workspace.google.com by Google
Google Workspace on eChai Explore
