# BigBlueButton vs Slack

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Slack

| Attribute | BigBlueButton | Slack |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 56.9 (44% (low)) | 78.7 (51% (medium)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A self-hosted web conferencing system that enables virtual meetings, classes, and collaborative sessions with features like screen sharing and video capture. It is indexed under Collaboration Software.","source":"https://bigbluebutton.org","question":"What is BigBlueButton?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"BigBlueButton is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://bigbluebutton.org","question":"Is BigBlueButton free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to BigBlueButton. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://bigbluebutton.org","question":"What platforms does BigBlueButton support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. BigBlueButton can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://bigbluebutton.org","question":"Can BigBlueButton be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 8 integrations for BigBlueButton, including Sakai, Canvas, Moodle Cloud, Jenzabar, D2L, Schoology, YouTube and PeerTube. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://bigbluebutton.org","question":"What does BigBlueButton integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"BigBlueButton is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in Canada.","source":"https://bigbluebutton.org","question":"Where is BigBlueButton available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"A work operating system that combines messaging, workflow automation, and app integrations to enable team communication, process documentation, and knowledge sharing with enterprise security. It is indexed under Collaboration Software.","source":"https://slack.com","question":"What is Slack?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Slack offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at £5.75 per user per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://slack.com","question":"Is Slack free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Slack supports the web and iOS. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://slack.com","question":"What platforms does Slack support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Slack, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://slack.com","question":"Can Slack be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 15 integrations for Slack, including Salesforce, Atlassian, Lucid, Loom, Miro, Smartsheet, Mural and Zapier, plus 7 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://slack.com","question":"What does Slack integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Slack. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Slack not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://slack.com/security","question":"What security certifications does Slack have?","confidence":0.7}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A freely-available conferencing system designed for educational settings, offering tools for collaborative group learning such as breakout areas, interactive drawing surfaces, and screen sharing capabilities. | Slack is a cloud-based system that enables teams to communicate through channels, integrate with external tools, and automate workflows while maintaining enterprise-grade security and compliance controls. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"self","free_tier":true,"api_access":true,"whiteboard":true,"open_source":true,"browser_join":true,"breakout_rooms":true,"screen_sharing":true,"video_meetings":true,"app_marketplace":true,"recording_transcription":"recording"}` | `{"hosting":"cloud","sso_scim":true,"messaging":true,"api_access":true,"video_meetings":true,"app_marketplace":true,"deployment_model":"cloud_saas","compliance_controls":true,"guest_external_access":true,"recording_transcription":"recording_ai_notes","threaded_reply_conversations":true,"automated_workflow_bot_builders":true,"channel_based_topic_organization":true,"robust_message_search_and_history_indexing":true}` |
| integrations.count | 8 | 2,500 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Sakai"},{"name":"Canvas"},{"name":"Moodle Cloud"},{"name":"Jenzabar"},{"name":"D2L"},{"name":"Schoology"},{"name":"YouTube"},{"name":"PeerTube"}]` | `[{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"Atlassian"},{"name":"Lucid"},{"name":"Loom"},{"name":"Miro"},{"name":"Smartsheet"},{"name":"Mural"},{"name":"Zapier"},{"name":"Microsoft 365","native":true},{"name":"Jira","native":true,"category":"project_management"},{"name":"GitHub","native":true,"category":"engineering"},{"name":"Google Workspace","native":true,"category":"authentication","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Okta","native":true,"category":"authentication","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"ADFS","native":true,"category":"authentication","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Zendesk","native":true}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"ios":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free and open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://bigbluebutton.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T23:00:49.909Z"}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free forever","features":["90 days of message history","Up to 10 apps from Slack App Directory","1:1 audio and video meetings with screen sharing","1:1 external messages via Slack Connect","SAML-based single sign-on","SCIM user management","EMM integration support","Native data loss prevention","AI conversation summaries","Slackbot personal AI agent","AI workflow generation","AI search","AI daily recaps","AI file summaries"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"}],"description":"A simpler way to chat and collaborate","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"apps":"up to 10","message_history":"90 days"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"£7/user/month (£5.75/user/month billed annually)","features":["Unlimited message history","Unlimited app integrations","2,600+ apps in Slack App Directory"],"components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":7,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"},{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":5.75,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"}],"description":"Drive productivity in one place","contactSales":false}],"summary":"From £0 (free tier) to £7/user/month (Pro). Free tier available.","currency":"GBP","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://slack.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T14:23:07.180Z","startingPrice":{"amount":5.75,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.trust_center | - | https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/security-at-slack-how-slack-protects-your-data |

## Capabilities (Collaboration Software)

| Capability | BigBlueButton | Slack |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Modality** |  |  |
| Messaging | - | ✓ |
| Video meetings | ✓ | ✓ |
| Whiteboard | ✓ | - |
| **Meetings** |  |  |
| Screen sharing | ✓ | - |
| Recording / transcription | Recording | Recording + AI notes |
| **Security** |  |  |
| End-to-end encryption | - | - |
| SSO / SCIM | - | ✓ |
| **Access** |  |  |
| Guest / external access | - | ✓ |
| **Compliance** |  |  |
| Compliance controls | - | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Self-hosted only | Cloud only |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Max participants | - | - |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| App marketplace | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public API / bot framework | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Commercial** |  |  |
| Free tier | ✓ | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T08:16:09.303Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*