Koaich vs. Slack
The team chat standard.
What Slack optimizes for
Slack's bet is breadth and convenience — features and integrations powered by vendor-side cleartext access to your content.
- ·Vendor-side cleartext storage powers search, AI, and integrations
- ·Premium pricing ($15+ per user/month on Pro; more on Business+/Enterprise)
- ·Enterprise compliance certifications (SOC 2, FedRAMP at Enterprise Grid) — policy-based protection, not architectural
Where Koaich is different
Slack has access to all your messages, files, channels, and integrations because their server holds the keys. Slack's compliance certifications are vendor-managed promises that they protect this access well. Koaich's privacy is a property of the data itself: even our engineers can't open your channels.
Pick Slack when
Your data isn't sensitive enough for vendor-side cleartext storage to matter, and you accept the privacy trade-off as the cost of doing business.
Pick Koaich when
For any conversation you would not want Slack's CEO to be able to read on a bad day, Koaich is structurally different.
Questions people ask about Slack and Koaich
Is Slack end-to-end encrypted?
No. Slack encrypts messages in transit (TLS) and at rest (server-side), but Slack holds the encryption keys. Slack's servers and authorized employees have technical access to message content, files, and channels. This is what powers Slack's server-side search, AI features, and integrations.
Can Slack read my messages?
Yes. Slack's architecture requires server-side access to message content to provide features like search, AI summaries, and integrations. Slack's privacy policy describes this access; it's mediated by internal policy, not prevented by cryptography.
What is an end-to-end encrypted alternative to Slack?
Koaich is an end-to-end encrypted workspace where messages, files, and documents are encrypted on the user's device with keys the vendor cannot derive. The trust model is closer to Signal than to Slack — the property is structural, not policy-based.
Does Slack train AI on my workspace data?
Slack AI (an add-on tier) uses workspace messages and files to ground its features within a customer's workspace. Defaults vary by plan; admins can opt out. The underlying point: the architecture allows training because Slack can read content.
Switching from Slack?
Get on the waitlist. Invites are going out in waves.