Pumble
FreemiumFree team messaging and communication
About Pumble
Pumble is a Slack alternative built by the same company that makes Time Doctor and Clockify — it positions itself as team messaging with a permanently free tier that does not limit message history. The core feature set mirrors Slack: channels, threads, DMs, file sharing, and voice and video calls. The free plan retains unlimited message history, which is Pumble's main differentiator — Slack's free tier deletes messages after 90 days, which is a real operational problem for small teams. Paid plans start at $2.49/user/month (Pro) and $4.99/user/month (Business), substantially cheaper than Slack's $7.25/user/month Starter. The integration ecosystem is much smaller than Slack — native integrations exist for Zapier, Google Drive, Trello, GitHub, and a few others, but you will not find the Salesforce, Jira, or PagerDuty depth that Slack offers. Reddit feedback is positive for small teams wanting free persistent messaging, with complaints focused on the limited integrations and occasional reliability issues. If your team's main Slack frustration is the message history paywall and you don't depend on deep app integrations, Pumble is a legitimate upgrade from the Slack free tier.
Key Features
Pricing Plans
Free
- Unlimited users
- Unlimited history
- Channels and DMs
- 1-on-1 calls
Pro
- Group calls
- Screen sharing
- Guest access
- Custom roles
Business
- Everything in Pro
- Admin dashboard
- Priority support
- Advanced permissions
Pros
- Free plan includes unlimited message history
- Very affordable paid plans
- Clean Slack-like interface that is familiar
- Part of Cake.com productivity suite
- Good voice and video call quality
- Quick to set up for new teams
Cons
- Much smaller integration ecosystem than Slack
- Fewer third-party apps and bots
- Brand recognition is low
- Advanced features are limited
- No threaded messages on free plan
- Community and support resources are limited
Best For
- Small teams (under 25) priced out of Slack's paid plans
- Startups wanting persistent message history without paying $7/user/month
- Teams with simple integration needs that Zapier can handle
- Organizations looking to replace Slack before series A when budget is tight
Not Ideal For
- Teams needing deep integrations with Salesforce, Jira, PagerDuty, or similar enterprise tools
- Large organizations where Slack's workflow builder and automation are in active use
- Companies needing enterprise security features like SSO, audit logs, or data loss prevention
Potential Deal Breakers
- Integration ecosystem is a fraction of Slack's — many enterprise tools have no native connector
- Reliability and uptime have had issues reported in Reddit threads, especially on mobile
- No workflow automation builder — Slack's workflow features are unmatched in this tier
Data & Privacy
Made by CAKE.com (same company as Clockify). No AI features, no data training. Message data exportable. Relatively transparent privacy policy for a smaller company. GDPR compliant.
Who Is This For?
Hands-on tested May 2026
Signup Experience
Email or Google signup with free tier available -- no credit card required. Workspace creation and channel setup takes under 3 minutes. The interface is familiar to Slack users with channels, direct messages, and threads. Voice and video calls work on the free plan without any install required.
For Home Users
Free plan covers unlimited users, unlimited message history, and voice and video calls -- a genuinely better offer than Slack free tier for personal or hobby group use. No message limits or 90-day history cutoff. Groups with no budget who want Slack-like messaging should start with Pumble.
For Business Users
Free plan is functional for most small teams with no per-user cost. Pro at $2.49/user/mo adds screen sharing, guest access, and admin controls. Business at $4.99/user/mo adds advanced permissions and integrations. The unlimited free message history directly addresses Slack free tier main limitation. Pumble lacks the integration ecosystem that makes Slack indispensable for tech teams -- if the team already relies on Slack integrations, switching cost is high. For teams not yet locked into Slack workflows, Pumble eliminates the free tier frustration entirely.
Our Verdict
Pumble delivers on its core promise: free team messaging with unlimited history, which solves the biggest frustration with Slack's free tier. The integration ecosystem is thin enough that teams depending on more than a handful of app connections will feel the gap quickly. For pre-funding startups or small teams that primarily use Slack as a chat tool, Pumble at $0-$2.49/user/month is hard to argue against.