Slack FAQ

if only some people pay for slack and others use free accounts, how does that work for the features on a given channel?

Can you have paid and free users on the same channel?

• Slack is less of accounts, and more of Billable Active Users on a Workspace.  So the license needed is dictated by the Workspace.  If you have a paid Workspace, then any user that is interacting in a channel within that workspace would need to have a license for that.  If they are on a Free Workspace, nothing is needed.  There is an option to invite a User in as a Guest using Slack Connect, if they are only going to collaborate for a short time period.  See this link for details: -- https://slack.com/resources/slack-for-admins/guests-vs-channels-in-slack-connect

If we want to have channels that combine Berkeley Lab staff and non-Lab staff, can we have the users on free accounts, joining channels with staff?

• I'm not exactly sure of this one, but first off the same rules apply with needing a license for any workspace you join that is on a Paid plan.  If an outside user is on a Paid Plan at their own lab, they can Collaborate in any channel you invite them into.  Licenses are also tied to a workspace, not a lifetime to an individual user.  So if there was a high water mark of 300 users at once, even though there were 500 total people available, you can provision and deprovision accounts as you see fit.  Their historical data will still remain available in the channel.  
  
  
  

Let me know if that answers everything, or if you need some additional details.

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