Do I Need a Paid Slack Account to Use LaunchPass?

You do not need a paid Slack account to use LaunchPass. The free Slack plan works fine for most communities.

When you create a Slack workspace, it starts free. That free workspace connects to LaunchPass without any problems. You can charge members to join your community even when you use free Slack.

LaunchPass handles all the payment features. Slack just provides the chat space where your community talks.

LaunchPass adds payment features to your Slack workspace. Here's what LaunchPass handles:

Slack provides the actual chat workspace. Your members talk there. They share messages and files. They join different channels.

The free Slack plan gives you everything you need for this basic chat function.

Free Slack works great for most paid communities. You should use free Slack if:

Small to Medium Communities: Your group has fewer than 1,000 members. Free Slack handles this size easily.

Basic Features Needed: Your members just need text chat, file sharing, and simple channels. Free Slack includes all of these.

Starting Out: You're launching your first paid community. Free Slack lets you test your idea without extra costs.

Simple Structure: You don't need complex permission settings or advanced organization tools.

Most LaunchPass users run their communities on free Slack workspaces. This keeps costs low while you grow your community.

Slack's free plan includes these features:

For a paid community chat space, these features work fine. Your members can talk, share files, and connect with each other.

The message history limit (90 days) rarely causes problems. Most community discussions happen in real time. Members don't usually need to search old messages from months ago.

Some communities benefit from Slack's paid plans. Consider paying for Slack if:

Very Large Community: You plan to grow beyond 5,000 members and need better organization tools.

Advanced Security: Your community shares sensitive information that needs extra protection features.

Extended History: Your community creates valuable content that members need to search months later.

Many Integrations: You want to connect more than 10 outside tools to your Slack workspace.

Guest Access: You need to give temporary access to people outside your community.

But most communities don't need these features. The free plan works perfectly.

Think of it this way:

Slack = The building where your community meets

LaunchPass = The front door that collects payment and gives keys

You can have a free building (Slack). You just need a good payment door (LaunchPass).

When someone wants to join:

Slack never sees the payment. LaunchPass never hosts the chat. They each do their own job.

LaunchPass has its own pricing:

Free Tier: Create a free community. Cannot charge members for access.

Premium Plan: Costs $29 per month. Lets you charge members subscription fees. Includes 14-day free trial.

Transaction Fee: LaunchPass takes 3.5% of each payment you receive.

These LaunchPass costs stay the same whether you use free or paid Slack.

Using free Slack with paid LaunchPass is the most common setup. You only pay $29/month to LaunchPass. Slack costs nothing.

Different chat platforms have different size limits:

Discord: Supports up to 1 million members

Telegram: Supports up to 200,000 members

Slack: Best for communities up to several thousand members

If you plan to grow very large (over 10,000 members), Discord might work better. But for most communities, Slack's capacity works fine.

Free Slack doesn't have a member limit. The paid plans don't let you have more members. They just add extra features.

The setup process is simple:

This takes about 5 minutes total.

Your Slack account being free doesn't change any of these steps. The process works exactly the same.

Free Slack has some limits. Here's why they don't affect paid communities:

90-Day Message History: Community chats focus on current discussions. Old messages aren't usually needed.

10 Integration Limit: LaunchPass only counts as one integration. You have room for nine more tools.

5GB File Storage: Most communities share links rather than large files. 5GB lasts a long time.

No Guest Access: Your paying members get full access. You don't need guest accounts.

These limits sound important. In practice, they rarely cause problems for paid communities.

Your members won't know if you use free or paid Slack. They see:

Slack looks and works the same for members regardless of your plan.

The paid features (like longer history or more integrations) mostly affect you as the owner. Members rarely notice them.

Here's how free Slack with LaunchPass compares to other setups:

Free Slack + LaunchPass Premium: $29/month total. Best for most new communities.

Paid Slack + LaunchPass Premium: $87+ per month (Slack Pro + LaunchPass). Only needed for very large or complex communities.

Discord + LaunchPass Premium: $29/month total. Better for gaming or very large communities.

Telegram + LaunchPass Premium: $29/month total. Better for global or mobile-first communities.

For business and professional communities, free Slack with LaunchPass gives the best value.

Will upgrading Slack later break my community?

No. You can upgrade Slack anytime. Your LaunchPass connection keeps working. Your members stay in the workspace.

Do I need to tell LaunchPass if I upgrade Slack?

No. LaunchPass doesn't care which Slack plan you use. The connection works the same way.

Can I start with free Slack and change later?

Yes. Many communities start free and upgrade only if they need specific paid features.

Will my members get a better experience with paid Slack?

Not usually. Most members won't notice a difference. The chat works the same.

Does LaunchPass Premium require paid Slack?

No. These are completely separate. You can have LaunchPass Premium with free Slack.

Many successful paid communities run on free Slack:

These communities make thousands of dollars per month. They still use free Slack because it meets their needs.

You don't need paid Slack to run a profitable community.

Consider upgrading Slack only if:

Even then, check if the features justify the cost. Most communities keep using free Slack successfully.

LaunchPass offers free setup help regardless of your Slack plan:

This support works the same whether you use free or paid Slack.

If you have questions about which Slack plan to use, email [email protected]. The support team helps you choose what works best for your community.

Here's the simple truth: Start with free Slack.

Free Slack costs nothing. It works perfectly with LaunchPass. Most communities never need to upgrade.

If you later need paid Slack features, you can upgrade anytime. But don't pay for features you might not need.

Focus your budget on LaunchPass Premium ($29/month). That's where you get the payment features that let you earn money from your community.

Keep Slack free unless you have a specific reason to pay for it.

Ready to start your paid community?

The whole process takes less than 10 minutes.

Need help? Email [email protected] anytime. The LaunchPass team walks you through setup for free.

Your free Slack account works perfectly. Focus on building your community, not paying for features you don't need.