Slack is a leading collaboration platform widely used by teams to streamline communication and workflows. However, its security features vary significantly across its plans—Free, Standard, Plus, and Enterprise Grid. For businesses concerned about cybersecurity, especially in the context of Shadow IT, Shadow AI, and unmanaged subscriptions, understanding these differences is crucial. This guide provides a detailed comparison of Slack’s plans, focusing on security features like access control, compliance, data protection, and advanced threat mitigation, to help you choose the right tier for your organization.
Overview of Slack Plans
Slack offers a tiered pricing structure designed for teams of all sizes:
- Free Plan: Ideal for small teams or those testing Slack, supporting unlimited users but with significant limitations on features, storage, and security.
- Standard Plan (formerly Pro): Aimed at small to medium-sized teams, offering more integrations and basic administrative controls for $8.75 per user per month (annual billing).
- Plus Plan: Designed for growing businesses needing advanced identity management and compliance, priced at $15 per user per month (annual billing).
- Enterprise Grid: Built for large organizations with complex needs, offering the highest level of security, compliance, and scalability. Pricing is customized and typically starts at $15-$20 per user per month for large-scale deployments.
Security Features Comparison Across Slack Plans
Below is a detailed breakdown of Slack’s security features across its plans, focusing on user access, compliance, data protection, audit capabilities, and advanced security tools.
1. User Access and Identity Management
- Free Plan:
The Free plan offers basic user access with no advanced identity management features. You can invite unlimited users, but there’s no support for Single Sign-On (SSO) or two-factor authentication (2FA) enforcement at the admin level. This means you can’t mandate 2FA for all users, increasing the risk of unauthorized access, especially if employees use weak passwords or share accounts. Guest accounts are supported, but granular access controls are unavailable, making it harder to manage external collaborators securely. - Standard Plan:
Standard introduces mandatory 2FA enforcement, allowing admins to require 2FA for all users, a critical step in securing accounts. However, SSO is still not available, and there’s no integration with corporate identity providers like Okta or Azure AD. Guest access remains basic, with limited control over external users’ permissions. - Plus Plan:
Plus significantly enhances identity management with SAML-based SSO, enabling integration with identity providers like Okta, OneLogin, or Azure AD. This allows for centralized user authentication, reducing the risk of unauthorized access. Admins can also manage guest access more effectively, setting session durations for external users (e.g., contractors) to limit exposure. However, advanced identity features like user provisioning are limited unless paired with additional tools. - Enterprise Grid:
Enterprise Grid offers the most robust identity management features, including SSO, SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management) for automated user provisioning and deprovisioning, and integration with enterprise directories (e.g., Active Directory). Admins can enforce strict session policies, such as session timeouts and device restrictions, and use Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) to secure mobile access. This level of control is essential for large organizations combating Shadow IT risks, where untracked Slack instances might be used without oversight.
Takeaway: Free and Standard plans lack the advanced IAM features needed to secure large teams or prevent Shadow IT/AI risks. Plus offers SSO and better guest management, while Enterprise Grid provides enterprise-grade identity controls.
2. Data Protection and Retention
- Free Plan:
Data protection in the Free plan is minimal. You’re limited to 90 days of message and file history, with no ability to customize retention policies. Storage is capped at 5GB total for the workspace, which can lead to data management issues for active teams. There’s no support for Data Loss Prevention (DLP) or encryption key management, meaning sensitive data shared in Slack (e.g., customer info) is at risk, especially if employees use unapproved AI tools (Shadow AI) to process it. - Standard Plan:
Standard increases storage to 10GB per user and extends message history to the entire workspace lifetime. You can set custom retention policies for messages and files, allowing you to delete sensitive data after a set period (e.g., 30 days). However, DLP and encryption key management are still unavailable, leaving gaps in protecting against data leaks. - Plus Plan:
Plus further increases storage to 20GB per user and adds export capabilities for all message history, which can be useful for compliance but requires careful management to avoid unauthorized data exposure. Retention policies remain customizable, but DLP and advanced encryption features are still absent unless paired with third-party tools. - Enterprise Grid:
Enterprise Grid offers 1TB of storage per user and introduces Slack Enterprise Key Management (EKM). With EKM, admins can use their own encryption keys (e.g., via AWS KMS) to control access to data at rest, a critical feature for regulated industries. It also includes DLP capabilities, allowing you to detect and block sensitive data (e.g., credit card numbers) from being shared in channels. Data residency options let you choose where your data is stored (e.g., US, EU), ensuring compliance with regional regulations like GDPR.
Takeaway: Free and Standard plans lack DLP, encryption key management, and data residency options, making them risky for sensitive data. Plus improves retention and storage, but Enterprise Grid provides the robust data protection needed for compliance and security.
3. Audit Logs and Activity Monitoring
- Free Plan:
Audit logs are unavailable in the Free plan. You can’t track user actions like message exports, file uploads, or login attempts, making it impossible to monitor for security incidents or Shadow AI usage (e.g., employees using Slack to share data with unapproved AI tools). This lack of visibility is a significant vulnerability. - Standard Plan:
Standard introduces basic audit logs, allowing admins to view workspace activity such as user logins and channel creations. However, logs are limited in scope and don’t include detailed user-level insights or real-time alerts for suspicious activity. - Plus Plan:
Plus enhances audit logs with more detailed insights, including user-level activity tracking (e.g., who edited a message or shared a file). You can export these logs for compliance purposes, but there’s no native integration with SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) systems for real-time monitoring. - Enterprise Grid:
Enterprise Grid provides comprehensive audit logs with Slack Atlas, a feature that visualizes user connections and activities across the organization. It integrates with SIEM systems (e.g., Splunk, Sumo Logic) for real-time monitoring and alerting on suspicious behavior, such as unusual login patterns or data exports. This is critical for detecting Shadow IT or Shadow AI usage in large organizations.
Takeaway: Free plans offer no audit logging, leaving you blind to security incidents. Standard provides basic visibility, Plus enhances tracking, and Enterprise Grid offers the advanced monitoring needed for proactive threat detection.
4. Compliance and Regulatory Support
- Free Plan:
The Free plan meets basic privacy standards (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) but lacks compliance features like eDiscovery or data residency. There’s no support for HIPAA compliance, making it unsuitable for healthcare organizations. Compliance reporting is also unavailable, complicating audits. - Standard Plan:
Standard improves slightly with export tools for messages and files, which can assist with compliance requests. However, it still doesn’t support HIPAA or data residency, and advanced compliance features are missing. - Plus Plan:
Plus introduces compliance exports with a configurable scope (e.g., specific channels or users), which supports eDiscovery needs. It also adds support for HIPAA compliance with a Business Associate Agreement (BAA), making it suitable for healthcare organizations. However, data residency isn’t available. - Enterprise Grid:
Enterprise Grid offers full compliance support, including HIPAA, FINRA, and FedRAMP Moderate compliance. Data residency allows you to store data in specific regions (e.g., EU, APAC), aligning with global regulations. It also includes eDiscovery integrations with tools like Onna or Logikcull, simplifying legal holds and audits.
Takeaway: Free and Standard plans lack the compliance tools needed for regulated industries. Plus supports HIPAA and eDiscovery, but Enterprise Grid is the only plan with comprehensive compliance features, including data residency and FedRAMP.
5. Advanced Security and Threat Detection
- Free Plan:
Advanced security features like IP allowlisting, domain claiming, or threat detection are unavailable in the Free plan. This makes it particularly vulnerable to Shadow AI risks, such as employees using Slack to interact with unapproved AI tools that lack encryption or compliance. - Standard Plan:
Standard doesn’t significantly improve on advanced security. It lacks IP allowlisting and domain claiming, meaning you can’t restrict access to trusted networks or prevent unauthorized Slack instances (Shadow IT). - Plus Plan:
Plus introduces domain claiming, allowing admins to discover and manage all Slack workspaces associated with your company’s domain. This helps mitigate Shadow IT by ensuring all instances are under IT oversight. However, IP allowlisting and DLP are still unavailable. - Enterprise Grid:
Enterprise Grid includes IP allowlisting, restricting access to approved networks, and domain claiming for comprehensive Shadow IT control. It also offers DLP to prevent sensitive data leaks and integrates with SIEM systems for real-time threat detection. Slack Atlas provides visibility into cross-workspace interactions, helping identify Shadow AI usage patterns.
Takeaway: Free and Standard plans lack the advanced security features needed to combat modern threats. Plus offers some Shadow IT mitigation, but Enterprise Grid provides the most comprehensive threat detection and prevention capabilities.
Recommendations Based on Team Needs
- Small Teams (1-10 Users): The Free plan is viable for testing Slack, but its lack of 2FA enforcement, audit logs, and DLP makes it unsuitable for teams handling sensitive data. Upgrade to Standard for basic security improvements.
- Growing Teams (10-50 Users): Standard offers 2FA enforcement and basic audit logs, but you’ll likely need Plus for SSO, HIPAA compliance, and domain claiming as your team grows and security risks increase.
- Large Organizations (50+ Users): Plus or Enterprise Grid is essential. Plus provides SSO and eDiscovery for growing businesses, while Enterprise Grid is ideal for organizations with strict security and compliance needs, especially those addressing Shadow IT and Shadow AI risks.
Conclusion
Slack’s Free plan is a starting point for small teams but falls short on critical security features like SSO, DLP, audit logs, and compliance support—making it a risky choice for businesses prioritizing cybersecurity. Standard offers a basic layer of protection, but Plus and Enterprise Grid are necessary for robust security, especially against Shadow IT and Shadow AI risks. Upgrading to a paid plan unlocks advanced features unavailable in Free tiers, ensuring your organization stays secure, compliant, and efficient. Evaluate your team’s size, security requirements, and regulatory obligations to choose the right plan, and consider tools like RiskImmune AI to further enhance subscription management and security across your Slack ecosystem.
