Comparison

Deckbell vs Slack (and Linear + Slack)

Many software teams talk in Slack and plan in Linear, then glue the two together with an integration. Deckbell is one workspace for both: the same channels, threads and huddles, with the issue board and coding agents next to them, for less than the pair costs.

Start for free How to switch

Updated October 2026, using each vendor's public list prices and documentation.

The short version

Slack and Linear are both excellent at what they do. The cost is the seam between them: the decision happens in a Slack thread, the work lives in a Linear issue, and someone has to copy one into the other. You also get two bills, two admin panels, two permission models and two searches.

Deckbell puts the board and the channel side by side. Every board has its own channel, a new issue posts a card there, the card's thread is the issue's comments, and any message can become an issue. Huddles with video and screen sharing start from any channel, thread or issue. Coding agents pick up issues and open pull requests, and they never take a seat.

What you give up: Slack Connect with other companies, guest accounts, Slack's app directory and Workflow Builder, Linear's initiatives and integrations, and native apps for both. If those are central to how you work, keep the pair.

Who it's for

Switch to Deckbell if…

You pay for both Slack and a tracker such as Linear, and most of your Slack traffic is about the work in it.
Decisions get lost between a Slack thread and the issue it was about.
You want huddles that are about something: start one from a thread or an issue, and everyone sees what it's about.
You want coding agents that take an issue and open a pull request, without buying another seat or licence.
You'd rather have one bill, one admin panel and one place to offboard people, with chat history hosted in the EU.

Stay with Slack if…

You talk with customers, agencies or partners in shared channels (Slack Connect), or need guest accounts.
Your workflows depend on Slack apps, bots or Workflow Builder.
The whole company is on Slack, not just the product team, and moving everyone isn't worth it.
You need native desktop and mobile apps. Deckbell runs in the browser, including on phones.
You only need chat. Slack Pro is $8.75 per user per month ($7.25 billed annually), a little less than Deckbell Pro.

Feature by feature

What each product does out of the box, as of October 2026. Where Slack does more, we say so.

Features of Deckbell, Slack, Linear + Slack
Feature	Deckbell	Slack	Linear + Slack
Chat
Channels and direct messages	Yes.	Yes.	Yes.
Threads, @-mentions, file sharing and voice messages	Yes.	Yes.	Yes.
Group calls with video and screen sharing	Yes. Huddles; 1:1 voice on Free, groups from Pro	Yes. Huddles; group huddles on paid plans	Yes. Slack huddles
Chat history on the free plan	90 days	90 days	90 days
Guest accounts or channels shared with other companies	No.	Yes. Guests and Slack Connect on paid plans	Yes. Slack Connect and guests
Tracking the work
Issues with keys (WEB-142), priorities, estimates and labels	Yes.	No. Slack Lists for light tracking	Yes. In Linear
Kanban board and list views	Yes.	No. Slack Lists	Yes. In Linear
Sprints (cycles) with story points	Yes. Pro and up	No.	Yes. Linear cycles
Sub-tasks and blocked-by / blocking relations	Yes.	No.	Yes. In Linear
Roadmaps, timelines or Gantt charts	No.	No.	Yes. Linear initiatives and project timelines
Work and chat together
Each board has a linked channel; issue comments and thread replies are the same thing	Yes.	No.	No. Two products, joined by an integration
Turn a message into an issue	Yes.	No. Through a tracker's Slack app	Yes. Through the Linear app for Slack
Issue keys in chat become links, and issues list where they were discussed	Yes.	No. Link previews through a tracker's Slack app	No. Link previews through the integration
One search across issues, messages and pull requests	Yes.	No. Messages and files	No. Two separate searches
AI
AI coding agents that take an issue and open a pull request	Yes. Coder, Reviewer and Security roles	No. Slack AI summarises and searches; it doesn’t write code	Yes. Linear Agent and third-party coding agents
AI usage included in the seat price	Yes. $5 (Pro), $15 (Business) or $25 (Enterprise) per seat a month, or your own key	Yes. Summaries on Pro; Slackbot agent and AI search on Business+	No. Linear coding sessions use prepaid AI credits
Platform and security
Other integrations and an app marketplace	No. GitHub only today	Yes. Thousands of apps	Yes.
No-code workflow automation	No.	Yes. Workflow Builder	Yes.
Public API and webhooks	No. Not yet	Yes.	Yes.
Native desktop and mobile apps	No. Web app that works on phones	Yes.	Yes.
SAML single sign-on	Yes. Enterprise	Yes. Business+	Yes. Slack Business+ and Linear Enterprise
Audit log	Yes. Business and up	Yes. Enterprise+	Yes. Slack Enterprise+ and Linear Enterprise
EU data hosting	Yes. Every workspace, in Germany	Yes. Data residency on Business+ and up	Yes. Needs Slack Business+; Linear has an EU region

Price per seat

All three charge per active user. Here are the published list prices, with Linear and Slack added together for teams that pay for both.

Prices in US dollars per user per month, as of October 2026
Tier	Deckbell	Slack	Linear + Slack
Free	Free$0Up to 5 members, 2 projects, 250 issues	Free$090 days of history, 1:1 huddles	Free + Free$0
Entry paid plan	Pro$10 / month$8 / month billed annually	Pro$8.75 / month$7.25 / month billed annually	Basic + Pro$20.75 / month$17.25 / month billed annually
Business plan	Business$18 / month$15 / month billed annually	Business+$18 / month$15 / month billed annually	Business + Business+$36 / month$31 / month billed annually
Enterprise	Enterprise$30 / month$24 / month billed annuallyFrom 10 seats	Enterprise+CustomSales-led	Enterprise + Enterprise+Custom

What a 10-person team pays in a year

On annual billing where it's sold, before tax.

Entry paid plan

Deckbell Pro: $960
Slack Pro: $870
Linear + Slack (Basic + Pro): $2,070

Business plan

Deckbell Business: $1,800
Slack Business+: $1,800
Linear + Slack (Business + Business+): $3,720

Slack shows prices in your local currency and offers new teams a discount on the first months of monthly billing; these are Slack's standard US dollar prices. Deckbell's paid plans also include AI credits for agents every month.

Public list prices in US dollars per user per month, from each vendor's pricing page in October 2026. Combined columns add up the two products' matching plans. Prices exclude tax, change often, and can differ by region, team size or promotion, so check the vendor's page before you decide. Sources: Slack pricing, Linear pricing, Deckbell pricing.

How to switch from Slack

Step 1
Create a workspace and invite people
Sign up free and invite your team by email, or set up SAML single sign-on on Enterprise so people sign in with your identity provider. Connect GitHub for agents and pull requests.
Step 2
Import your Slack export
A Slack Workspace Owner or Admin exports the workspace (Workspace settings → Import/Export data). Upload it in Deckbell under Settings → Import and tick the conversations to bring over. Messages keep their dates, authors, threads and reactions, and people are matched by email.
Step 3
Import your issues
Connect Linear, Jira or ClickUp with an API key or token, or upload a CSV from any tracker. Each board gets its own channel, and issue keys like WEB-142 in any message link to the issue.
Step 4
Pick a move day
Announce the date, move over, and keep Slack and your tracker read-only for a sprint so nothing is lost. Then cancel both.

Moving from more than one tool? See every importer and a migration plan.

FAQ

Deckbell vs Slack (and Linear + Slack): questions

Something we didn't cover? Write to support@deckbell.com and a human replies.

Can Deckbell really replace both Slack and Linear?

For a software team, yes. Deckbell has team chat with channels, DMs, threads, file sharing and huddles with video and screen sharing, and an issue tracker with boards, sprints, sub-tasks, relations and saved views. It doesn't have Slack Connect, guest accounts, Slack's app directory or Workflow Builder, or Linear's initiatives, so check those against how you work.

How much does a team save?

Linear Basic plus Slack Pro comes to $17.25 per user per month on annual billing ($20.75 monthly). Deckbell Pro is $8 on annual billing ($10 monthly), with AI credits for agents included. For a 10-person team on annual billing that is about $1,110 a year less. Prices as of October 2026.

Does Deckbell have huddles like Slack?

Yes. Start a huddle in any channel or DM: audio by default, with video and screen sharing. In a DM it rings the other person. You can also start a huddle from a thread or an issue, and it's named after it. Huddles aren't recorded. Group huddles are on Pro and up; Free has 1:1 voice huddles.

Do we lose our Slack message history?

No. Import your Slack export and the channels you choose arrive with their messages, threads and dates. Private channels and DMs come across when they are in your export, which depends on your Slack plan. Deckbell keeps full chat history on Pro and up; Free shows the last 90 days, like Slack Free.

Does Deckbell have Slack Connect or guest accounts?

No. A Deckbell workspace is for your own team, with Owner, Admin and Member roles. If you chat with other companies in shared channels, keep Slack for that.

Where is chat data stored?

In the EU. Deckbell runs in Germany for every workspace, on every plan. Huddle audio and video pass through Cloudflare's network in real time and are never recorded.

Try Deckbell with your team.

Free for up to 5 members, no credit card. Import from Slack when you're ready.

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