Comparison

Slack vs VIA Connect

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Slack

This app streamlines business communication by bringing together coworkers, customers, and contractors in a secure, unified workspace. It offers AI-powered search and summarization, automation tools, and integrations with over 2,600 apps to reduce busywork and improve collaboration.

Highlights
  • Unified workspace for teams and external partners
  • AI-powered search and conversation summarization
  • Video conferencing with screen sharing
  • Voice notes for clear communication
  • Organized channels for projects and topics
  • Integrations with over 2,600 apps
  • Automation of routine tasks
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Companies in every industry around the world grow their business in Slack because it gets busywork off their plates and wasteful meetings off their calendars. Slack brings everyone from coworkers, customers, and contractors into one secure place, so you don’t have to chase approvals or wait around on emails. Slack even has AI that can search to find the information you need instantly and summarize conversations to catch you up with a click. Better yet, Slack makes it easy for anyone on your team to automate the small stuff, giving everyone more time to focus on the big picture. AKA, growing your business. COLLABORATE QUICKER. Work alongside teammates and external partners securely in Slack. • Connect with everyone: Invite vendors, customers, and contractors to work with you and your coworkers — all in one place. • Video chat face-to-face, from anywhere: Meet with teammates instantly through video conferencing, and discuss work live with screen sharing. • Crystal-clear communication: Use voice notes when text alone doesn’t cut it, ensuring complicated messages are better understood. • Stay organized: Keep project, customer, and product conversations in dedicated channels and documents. ACCESS YOUR KNOWLEDGE. Slack is where you can find every file, message, and decision. • Find anything, instantly: Our intelligent, AI-powered search understands context and saves you from digging around to find the answers you need to do your job.** • Collaborate on deliverables: Co-create marketing plans, product specs, and more in shared documents that live right next to your team’s conversations. • Streamline project execution: Track tasks, owners, and priorities with project management tools and lists that connect seamlessly to the rest of your work.* • Create consistent processes: Make sure every new project is set up to succeed with Slack-generated or custom-created* templates. • Capture meeting notes automatically: Let AI transcribe and summarize meeting notes for you in Slack, so you can focus on the conversation.** PERFECT EVERY PROCESS. Let Slack automations do your busywork for you. • Centralize your work: Connect to 2,600+ apps and focus just on Slack, including Google Drive, Dropbox, Asana, Zapier, Figma, Zendesk, and more. • Manage routine tasks: Approve PTO requests, manage your calendar, or update file permissions — all in one place (talk about convenient). • Stay on top of your to-dos: Manage your to-do list from your notepad to where you’re getting the rest of your work done. • Bring the power of Agentforce to your team: Access AI agents to respond to HR tickets, set team reminders, resolve IT issues, and much more.*** *Requires an upgrade to Slack Pro, Business+, or Enterprise. **Requires Slack AI add-on ***Requires Agentforce license from Salesforce

About

VIA Connect

Features
Read full description

VIA™ is a compact, DIN rail mounted embedded computer that sits alongside a flow computer or RTU, meaning it can poll at high speed without being restricted by bandwidth or other network issues. Real-time data is passed up to the enterprise network securely, enabling authorised users across the company, and authorised third parties, to access this valuable data. VIA™ automatically transforms the capabilities of legacy RTUs and flow computers, endowing them with the latest communications technology, extending their local data storage and hardening them with the latest security and encryption techniques. This approach allows existing infrastructure to be upgraded to the latest technology cost-effectively, with minimum engineering and without having to disrupt complex and critical control systems. VIA™ allows measurement data to be used in many futuristic and exciting ways. It provides a reliable conduit into big data systems so vast amounts of data can be collected from the field for detailed analysis by enterprise based expert systems. This app allows you to configure and setup the VIA™ gateway

Screenshots

Slack4 screens
VIA Connect2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Slack at weekly against VIA Connect's every 3 weeks. Slack also leads on chart position (#19 vs unranked). VIA Connect's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Slack ships an update weekly, VIA Connect every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Slack versus VIA Connect: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSlackVIA Connect
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (54K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews55.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings54K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemium—
Best chart rank#19 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size352 MB10 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperSlack Technologies, Inc.Andrew Webb

Bugs and requests

Slack

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Messages failing to send or upload
  • Notifications not working as expected
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • Syncing issues between desktop and mobile
  • Compatibility problems with older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Customizable do not disturb schedules
  • Improved search and organization
  • Better integration with other productivity apps
  • More granular notification controls
  • Ability to edit/delete old messages

VIA Connect

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Slack

No in-app purchases

None

VIA Connect

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Slack free?
Slack is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is VIA Connect free?
VIA Connect is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Slack or VIA Connect have ads?
Neither Slack nor VIA Connect shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Slack or VIA Connect?
Slack ships an update weekly, and VIA Connect every 3 weeks. Most recently, Slack was updated on October 16, 2026 and VIA Connect on October 4, 2026.

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