Comparison
A Slack alternative for communities (not for your company)
Slack was built for teams at work, and many communities borrowed it. If your community needs a lighter way for members to join, a feed people can catch up on, and a public page, a duno network may suit it better.
Written October 2026. Products change — check each one's own site for current details.
What Slack is
Slack is a workplace messaging tool with channels, threads, huddles and a large set of integrations. Many professional communities run on Slack workspaces because members already use it at work. Plans and history limits are designed around companies, so check Slack's current plans for what fits a community.
What duno does differently
Catch up in a feed
Members who check in once a week can scroll a feed of posts with comments instead of dozens of channels.
Built-in join requests
People ask to join from the network page and answer your question. You approve them in one click.
A public face
A public network has a page with your About, rules and posts that search engines can index.
Careers built in
Member profiles, a jobs board and community Q&A live on the same account.
Slack and duno side by side
| Feature | Slack | duno |
|---|---|---|
| Designed for | Teams at work | Communities and groups |
| Main format | Real-time channels and threads | Feed of posts with comments |
| Integrations | Very extensive | None |
| Joining | Invitations to a workspace | Request with a question, open, or invite links |
| Public page for the community | No | Yes, for public networks |
| Member profiles | Work profile in the workspace | Public or members-only duno profile with skills and experience |
| Jobs board | Not built in | Built in, free to post |
A general description, not a full feature list. "Generally" means it depends on settings, plans or tools you add.
When Slack is the better choice
- It's your internal company team: Slack is designed for work, with integrations and admin tools companies need.
- Your community runs on fast real-time conversations and huddles.
- Your members already have Slack open all day for work.
When duno fits better
- Members join once and drift away because there are too many channels to follow.
- You want new members to find you and request to join without a manual invite.
- You want profiles, job posts and questions to be visible beyond a workspace.
Trying duno alongside Slack
- Create the networkPick a name and address at duno.com/net/your-name, choose public, private or hidden, and write your rules and a welcome message.
- Share the invite linkPost an invite link where your members already are. You can limit how many times it works and when it expires.
- Run both for a whilePin the important posts on duno and see where your members prefer to talk. Nothing stops you from using both.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import my Slack workspace?
No. Create your network, post the invite link in Slack and give members time to move.
Does duno have threads?
Every post has its own comments, which works much like a thread.
Is it good for professional communities?
Yes. Members have profiles with experience and skills, and you can share jobs from duno's jobs board.
Is there a free plan?
duno networks are free, with no paid plans.
Is duno free?
Yes. Creating an account, creating networks, inviting members, posting jobs and asking questions are free. There are no paid plans and no ads in the feed.
Who runs a network on duno?
The person who creates it. Owners appoint admins and moderators, approve or decline join requests, remove or ban members and can transfer ownership. duno's own moderators only step in for content that breaks duno's terms.
Is this comparison neutral?
We wrote it as fairly as we could and list the cases where the other product is the better choice. Products change often, so check each one's own site for current features.