Discord is the default pick for most home and community users, while Slack is the default pick for most work teams, and Microsoft Teams is the default pick for teams that already use Microsoft 365. Four of the eight apps in this guide cost $0 for core chat, and the entry work plans run from $4.00 to $14.16 per user a month on annual billing. Slack charges only for members who were active in the last 28 days, so a quiet seat can earn a credit, which is a billing detail that changes the real cost for a team with part-time members.
Pick by who you chat with and where the chat has to live. A home user needs a free desktop app and large groups. A work team needs searchable history, admin controls, and a clear per-user price. A team that already uses Microsoft or Google tools should start with the chat app inside that suite. The eight apps below cover those three uses, and each one has a real desktop app for Windows or Mac, plus a free tier.
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Best chat software for pc: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discord | Community and gaming chat | $2.99 per month | Yes | Visit |
| 2 | Slack | Work team channels | $7.25 per user/month | Yes | Visit |
| 3 | Microsoft Teams | Microsoft 365 workplaces | $4.00 per user/month | Yes | Visit |
| 4 | Telegram | Large groups and channels | $4.99 per month | Yes | Visit |
| 5 | Everyday personal chat | $0 | Yes | Visit | |
| 6 | Signal | Private one-to-one chat | $0 | Yes | Visit |
| 7 | Zoom Workplace | Chat plus video meetings | $14.16 per user/month | Yes | Visit |
| 8 | Google Chat | Google Workspace teams | $7.00 per user/month | Yes | Visit |
The 8 best best chat software for pcs, in detail
Discord
Best for: Community and gaming chat
Discord is free for text, voice, and video chat, and its desktop app for Windows and Mac is the main way most people use it on a PC. The free tier already covers text, voice, video, and screen sharing, which suits a gaming group, a study group, or a club that wants separate channels. The subscription side is where buyers need care.
- Nitro Basic costs $2.99 a month and adds custom emoji anywhere, 50 MB uploads, and custom app icons.
- Full Nitro costs $9.99 a month and adds custom profiles, 1 GB uploads, HD video streaming, and 2 Server Boosts, but both tiers attach to one account.
- Choose Discord if your group is social and you want voice channels that stay open.
- Choose a work tool instead if you need admin controls and searchable work history.
Pros
- Free core chat with servers, voice channels, and screen sharing
- Nitro Basic adds custom emoji anywhere and 50 MB uploads
Cons
- Nitro is a personal subscription that does not upgrade a whole server
- Nitro Basic includes no Server Boosts, and full Nitro includes only 2 Boosts
Slack
Best for: Work team channels
Slack organises work into channels, direct messages, and threads, and its desktop app is built for a team that chats all day. The free plan costs $0 and gives 90 days of message history, up to 10 apps, one-to-one Huddles, and one-to-one Slack Connect messages. Pro costs $7.25 per user a month on annual billing, or $8.75 on monthly billing, and it adds unlimited history, unlimited apps, group Huddles, and group external messages.
- Slack charges only for members who were active in the last 28 days, so a quiet seat can earn a credit, and a team with part-time members can pay less
- Business+ costs $15 per user a month on annual billing.
- Choose Slack if your team lives in channels and needs search across months of work.
- Choose a free personal app instead if you only chat with friends.
Pros
- Unlimited message history and unlimited app integrations on Pro
- Fair Billing Policy charges only for active members
Cons
- Free plan keeps message history for only 90 days and allows only 10 app integrations
Microsoft Teams
Best for: Microsoft 365 workplaces
Microsoft Teams Essentials costs $4.00 per user a month on annual billing, the lowest entry work price here. It covers chat, calls, and video meetings, with meetings up to 30 hours and up to 300 participants, plus recordings with transcripts, English live captions, and 10 GB of cloud storage per user. It is limited to 1 to 300 employees.
- Teams also comes inside Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $7.00 per user a month on annual billing, which adds web and mobile Office apps, custom busine
- Essentials alone has no Exchange email and no desktop Office apps.
- Choose Teams Essentials if your team needs chat and long meetings at a low per-user price.
- Choose Business Basic if you also need business email and Office apps.
Pros
- Essentials includes chat, meetings for up to 300 people, and 10 GB of cloud storage per user
- works with Microsoft 365 apps
Cons
- Essentials includes only 10 GB of cloud storage per user and no desktop Office apps or Exchange email
Telegram
Best for: Large groups and channels
Telegram is free for core messaging, and its desktop app works on Windows, Mac, and Linux, which suits large groups and public channels. The free tier includes unlimited cloud storage, large groups and channels, voice and video calls, and support for multiple devices. Premium adds doubled limits, 4 GB file uploads, faster downloads, voice-to-text conversion, and real-time chat translation.
- Premium costs $4.99 a month in the US App Store, or $35.99 a year, which works out to about $3.00 a month on the yearly plan.
- Telegram states that subscribing through PremiumBot gives a lower price, because that route is not subject to fees from Apple or Google.
- Choose Telegram if you run a large group or channel and you want big file sharing.
- Choose Signal instead if privacy and a small private circle matter more than channels.
Pros
- Free tier includes unlimited cloud storage, large groups and channels, and voice and video calls
- Premium raises file uploads to 4 GB
Cons
- Free file uploads are capped at 2 GB, and the Premium price differs by store, with a lower price through the PremiumBot route
Best for: Everyday personal chat
WhatsApp costs $0 for personal use, and its desktop app needs Windows 10 or newer, while the Mac app needs macOS 12.1 or newer. The desktop app gives calling, screen sharing, and desktop notifications. You link it to the WhatsApp account on your phone, and it mirrors your chats on the PC.
- The limit is scope, not price.
- WhatsApp is built around one phone account, so it has no shared team inbox, no channel structure like Slack, and no admin controls for a work team.
- Choose WhatsApp if your contacts already use it and you want free personal chat on a PC.
- Choose Slack or Teams instead if you need work channels and admin control.
Pros
- Free desktop app for Windows and Mac with calling, screen sharing, and desktop notifications
- no subscription for personal use
Cons
- Desktop app must link to a phone account, and there is no multi-user team inbox for shared customer chat
Signal
Best for: Private one-to-one chat
Signal costs $0 for messaging and calls between Signal users, and its desktop app is a free download from signal.org. Signal is run by the Signal Technology Foundation, a nonprofit that funds the app through donations, and messages and calls use end-to-end encryption by default. That makes Signal the clearest pick for private one-to-one chat.
- The desktop setup is the main limit to plan around.
- Signal Desktop cannot register an account on its own, so you install the phone app first, then link the desktop app to it.
- Your account is also tied to a phone number.
- Choose Signal if privacy is your first test and your circle is small.
Pros
- Free desktop app for Windows, Mac, and Linux with end-to-end encryption by default
- no ads and no subscription for core chat
Cons
- Desktop app cannot register an account on its own and must link to the phone app, and chat is tied to a phone number
Zoom Workplace
Best for: Chat plus video meetings
Zoom Workplace is a chat and meeting app in one, and Team Chat is included on every plan, including the free Basic plan. Basic costs $0 and gives instant messaging, direct and group chat, and meetings for 100 people, but group meetings end at 40 minutes. Pro costs $14.16 per user a month on annual billing, or $16.99 on monthly billing, and it lifts meetings to 30 hours for 100 people and adds 10 GB of cloud storage per user.
- Pro is sold for 1 to 99 licenses, while Business costs $18.33 per user a month on annual billing and raises the meeting cap to 300 people, with single
- That makes Zoom the most expensive entry work plan in this guide.
- Choose Zoom if meetings are half of your work and you want chat in the same app.
- Choose Slack or Teams instead if your team mainly chats in text.
Pros
- Pro includes Team Chat, 30-hour meetings for 100 people, and 10 GB of cloud storage per user
- Basic plan is free
Cons
- Basic plan ends group meetings at 40 minutes and limits AI summaries to 3 hosted meetings a month
Google Chat
Best for: Google Workspace teams
Google Chat is free with a personal Google account, and it is the work chat app inside Google Workspace, which suits a team that already uses Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Meet. Business Starter costs $7.00 per user a month on a one-year commitment, or $8.40 on flexible billing, and it adds a custom business email address, 30 GB pooled storage per user, and the Gemini assistant in Gmail. Business Starter, Standard, and Plus can each be bought for a maximum of 300 users, and Starter gives only 30 GB pooled storage per user, while Standard gives 2 TB per user.
- Meet on Starter supports 100 participants.
- Choose Google Chat if your team already lives in Google tools.
- Choose Microsoft Teams instead if your team lives in Microsoft tools.
Pros
- Free for personal Google accounts and included in Workspace
- Business Starter adds custom business email and 30 GB pooled storage per user
Cons
- Business Starter is capped at 300 users and gives only 30 GB pooled storage per user, so larger teams need a higher plan
How we chose
We picked apps with a real desktop app for Windows or Mac, a free tier, and a published price or a $0 price for core chat. We did not test any tool hands-on. Prices and plan limits in this article come from official vendor pricing pages and docs opened on 2026-11-12, and the Sources list gives the exact page used for each item. We kept the per-user prices on annual billing so the work plans can be compared on the same basis.
Which app fits your use
| Use | First pick | Price to plan around |
|---|---|---|
| Home or community chat | Discord | $0 free, $2.99 a month for Nitro Basic |
| Work team channels | Slack | $7.25 per user a month on annual billing |
| Microsoft 365 workplace | Microsoft Teams | $4.00 per user a month on annual billing |
| Large groups and channels | Telegram | $0 free, $4.99 a month for Premium |
| Everyday personal chat | $0 | |
| Private one-to-one chat | Signal | $0 |
| Chat plus video meetings | Zoom Workplace | $14.16 per user a month on annual billing |
| Google Workspace team | Google Chat | $7.00 per user a month on annual billing |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best chat software for PC for most people?
Discord is the best choice for most home users, because core chat, voice channels, and screen sharing cost $0. Slack is the best choice for most work teams, because channels, search, and admin controls fit daily work. Microsoft Teams is the best choice if your team already uses Microsoft 365.
How much does chat software for PC cost?
Four apps here cost $0 for core chat: Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal. Entry work plans cost $4.00 per user a month for Microsoft Teams Essentials, $7.00 for Google Chat on Business Starter, $7.25 for Slack Pro, and $14.16 for Zoom Pro, all on annual billing. Discord Nitro Basic costs $2.99 a month, and Telegram Premium costs $4.99 a month.
Which is best for a large group or community?
Discord is best for a community that wants voice channels and separate topic channels, with free core chat and Nitro Basic at $2.99 a month for extra perks. Telegram is best for a large group or public channel that needs big file sharing, with free uploads capped at 2 GB and Premium uploads at 4 GB. WhatsApp suits a small personal group, but it has no channel structure for a large community.
Which chat app is best for privacy?
Signal is best for privacy, because messages and calls use end-to-end encryption by default, the app is run by a nonprofit, and core chat costs $0 with no ads. The desktop app must link to the phone app, and your account is tied to a phone number. Telegram also has private chats, but its large groups and channels are built for reach, not for private one-to-one chat.
Do I need a phone to use chat software on a PC?
Yes, for WhatsApp and Signal, because both desktop apps must link to a phone account, and Signal Desktop cannot register an account on its own. Discord, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, Zoom, and Google Chat can be used with an account that you create on a PC, although Telegram may still ask for a phone number when you first create an account. Check the link step before you install.
Can I use Google Chat for free on a PC?
Yes, Google Chat is free with a personal Google account, and you can use it in a browser or in the Gmail app on a PC. Work use needs Google Workspace, and Business Starter costs $7.00 per user a month on a one-year commitment, with custom business email and 30 GB pooled storage per user. The business plans are capped at 300 users, so a larger team needs an Enterprise plan.
Sources
- https://discord.com/
- https://discord.com/nitro
- https://slack.com/
- https://slack.com/pricing
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/compare-microsoft-teams-business-options?activetab=pivot:primaryr1
- https://telegram.org/
- https://telegram.org/faq_premium/
- https://www.whatsapp.com/download
- https://signal.org/download/
- https://zoom.us/
- https://zoom.us/pricing/
- https://workspace.google.com/pricing.html?source=gafb-alpha_%5Bbasename%5D_6803865-globalnav-en
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.