We reviewed the top 5 Slack apps for team building

I believe you would agree with us when we say that there is an abundance of Slack apps these days. This is no surprise; most remote and hybrid companies use Slack daily.

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This is why we reviewed 5 different team building Slack apps; you can spend less time searching and reading and more time doing meaningful team building. 

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If you're new to team building, also check out our blogs on:

• activities for current and future leaders
• the top free team building activities
• team building ideas dor startups

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Slack apps you should try for meaningful team building

1. Donut 

G2 rating: 4.7/5

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There is a possibility that you have heard of Donut before. With over 20,000 teams using Donut globally (and some very big names on that list), Donut’s remote team building software is hard to miss. Donut’s many features and innovative approach to team building help remote and hybrid teams strengthen relationships, improve collaboration, and just get to know each other. With Donut, you can:

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• Have virtual watercooler casual conversations, helping teams to get to know each other better on a personal level
• Celebrate birthdays, holidays, and (work)anniversaries with colleagues
• Schedule 1-on-1s and run mentorship programs, fostering learning and connectedness
• Automatically schedule discussion groups on the topics of equality, diversity, and inclusion, promoting collective growth and allyship

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Price: There is a free plan. Paid plans start at $49 a month.

Pros: The fact that everything is automized and is taken care of by the app itself is a huge pro. Donut takes care of team building and fostering relationships and has an onboarding component, making it easy for new joiners to get to know the team and the company much better. 

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Cons: The biggest con is a lack of the availability of mini-games. While Donut has some gamification components (lunch roulette, selfie contests, conversation starters, etc.), we would have loved to see some more games offered within the app.

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2. Trivia

G2 rating: 4.7/5

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If you are looking for some fun and games in your daily team building repertoire, then Trivia is an excellent option for you! Trivia allows you to play thousands of games right inside Slack, allowing you and your team to take a break from a busy day and enjoy spending time together. Trivia also offers virtual coffee and water cooler conversations and makes suggestions to prompt the conversations. Like Donut, you can easily schedule quizzes, games, virtual coffee, and water cooler connections. 

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Price: There is a free plan. Paid plans start from $4 per user per month. 

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Pros: We really like the gamification aspect of Trivia, the fact that you can play various games with different time lengths and create scoreboards based on results. Conversation prompts during virtual coffees, and 1on1s is a great feature.

Cons: Trivia does not officially offer onboarding features compared to other tools. However, that is not to say that the 1on1s and games cannot be used for new team members to get to know each other better. 

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3. Disco

G2 rating: 4.7/5

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Disco is a platform made for fostering remote teams and company culture. Disco assists team leaders and members foster recognition by giving and receiving kudos and further promoting company values. Disco also offers a ‘pulse survey,’ designed to measure culture in real-time and identify issues and recognize solutions. There is also an option to enable custom compliments and nominations between team members in line with your company values. 

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Price: n/a

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Pros: We absolutely love that Disco puts company culture and values right in the middle of team building. It assists team members in interacting with company values and culture in a fun and unique way. This is a great tool for high-performing teams who want to get started with team building.

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Cons: Not many cons to say about Disco. However, this might not be an app for you if you are looking for Slack apps for team building that focus on games.

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4. Hey Taco

G2 rating: 4.7/5

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Hey Taco is a Slack app for team building, focused on giving and receiving appreciation from your colleagues. You give and receive appreciation by sending out virtual tacos to each other (I mean, who doesn't like tacos?!). Hey Taco also has some fantastic levels of gamification; your team members can unlock gifts once they hit specific achievements and can even send out the gifts to other team members! This Slack app for team building also offers an option to check in with your team members by sending out a ‘pulse survey,’ allowing team leaders to learn how the team is feeling, if the morale is up or down and what are some of the areas your team needs the most support in.

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Price: $3 per person per month. There is also an option to try Hey Taco for free.

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Pros: One of the most significant components of a happy team is being able to appreciate each other and show this appreciation daily. Even a small recognition can increase mood, morale, and the feeling of importance and belonging amongst team members. The concept itself is a massive pro for us. 

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Cons: There is not much to not like with Hey Taco. However, Hey Taco might not be the right tool for you if you are looking at a more ‘fun’ way of team building through playing games.

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5. Ricotta

G2 rating: 4.8/5 (however, only 3 reviews are available)

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Ricotta is a similar tool to Trivia; with Ricotta, you can play quizzes and games with your team daily. It is a fun way of doing virtual team building, and we are here for it! You can schedule games, organize a quick water cooler and lunch break, get-togethers and get to know your team better through playing quizzes. With over 21 different activities, your team will always have something to play and laugh about. 

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P.S. Ricotta has a separate product offering OKR setting, and goal tracking features such as task boards and daily stand-ups. Perfect for remote and hybrid teams working asynchronously. 

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Price: Free trial for 14 days. After that, the paid plan starts from $24 per month. 

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Pro: We really like the diversity and amount of games and quizzes. You can also try the product for free with your team to see if this would be the right fit!

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Con: Ricotta does not offer pulse surveys, 1-on-1 scheduling, or onboarding features compared to other tools.

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Bonus Slack apps

Even though these apps didn't make it to our list, here are some more apps we have tried out in the past and really enjoyed! 

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6. Kona

G2 rating: 4.6/5

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One of our team leads discovered Kona a few months ago and enjoyed the app a lot! Kona is a Slack app for team building that primarily focuses on mental health and daily check-ins with the team. Each day the app asks you how you feel and adjusts your Slack status according to your response. By doing individual daily mental check-ins with the team members, Kona can assess the burnout levels for each team. 

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Price: Kona is forever going to be free. However, the paid plans start at $99 per month.

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Pros: This is a different approach to team building. When we used Kona, we loved that you could see how a colleague feels by looking at their Slack status, and the app helped us provide support when needed.

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Cons: Kona is quite simplistic in the way it is structured. Don’t get us wrong; this is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it would be nice to see some more features, which we are sure are on their way.

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7. Officevibe

G2 rating: 4.3/5

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While Officevibe was not specifically made for Slack, we believe it deserves a mention in this blog post. Our team has been using Officevibe for over a year to gain valuable insights into how the team is feeling and doing. With Officevibe, team leaders can send weekly pulse surveys to check how the team is doing, schedule 1-on-1s, and give and receive genuine feedback. The measurement is excellent, too; you can dig deep into different metrics and see how each team functions and metrics progress from month to month. 

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Cost: There is a free option for up to 10 people. After that, it costs $5 per team member.

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Pros: We love the new recognition feature. With this feature, you can send a recognition card to various team members alongside a self-written note. 

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Cons: It would be nice if metrics were more transparent, meaning that team members of each function could see the metrics and results of the surveys for themselves. 

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Using Slack to improve team building 

There are various ways of doing team building; many use virtual conference platforms such as Veertly, platforms for remote team building such as Gomada, or perhaps DIY team building activities for work. No matter how you build a team, team building is essential to keeping your team healthy and happy. If your company uses Slack already, using Slack apps for team building could be an excellent option for you and your team. It is easy to incorporate into your daily schedule and helps your teams do regular team building by automatically scheduling team activities.