Spike for Teams launches as a new chat-focused email provider

Most people have two main apps they use every day at work: email (powered by Google Workspace or Microsoft 365) and a team chat tool (usually Slack or Microsoft Teams). What if they were combined into a single interface? That is what Spike for Teams aims to accomplish: eliminate the need for keeping these essential services separate. With its launch, the Spike Email app gets a major upgrade with a new Spike for Teams service aimed to unify your internal and external communication.

At its core, Spike is a really fantastic email app that feels more like iMessage than it does a traditional email app. It automatically cuts out a lot of the clutter around email (signatures, introductions, etc.) and presents your messages as chat bubbles. It also layers on additional features like note sharing, audio calls, GIF integration, video chat, priority inbox, and group chat (where topics around a particular discussion can stay organized). It works great with iCloud, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and really any IMAP-based email service.

After years of providing a great email app, the team at Spike asked the question: What if we took what we know about building a great email app and built a great internal team chat service as well (with an option to host external email)?

Dvir Ben Aroya, CEO of Spike, stated, Spike has been recognized as the world’s leading conversational email app on the market with more than 1 million active users globally. Now, we’re taking our vision of modern and unified communication and collaboration to the next level by launching an integrated email and messaging service for businesses.”

He continued, “Spike for Teams enables support teams to deliver rapid, precise responses using customizable message templates. It allows agencies to deliver top-tier service to their clients through various channels—email, chat, voice, and video. Startups can keep everyone on the same page using private groups and public channels. As the only communication and collaboration platform built on the technology that powers email, Spike for Teams has a unique edge over platforms that often require everyone to be on the same platform for effective communication.

Today, Spike for Teams is now available to solve that need. It’s a fully hosted business chat service that is natively designed for the streamlined experience that the Spike app brings. With it, you can chat internally like you work with Slack or Microsoft Teams, and also have the option to send traditional-looking emails to folks outside your company if you want to use it for email as well.

One of the most interesting features of Spike for Teams is the new Channels section where company leaders can create companywide channels to which everyone is automatically added. These can be things like Company Announcements, Marketing Chat, Product Ideas, etc. Anyone in the company can post, read, and respond. Spike’s Group functions also make its way into Spike for Teams as a way to have a more streamlined discussion among a smaller team. All of the features from the Spike app also work natively with Spike for Teams including priority inbox (automatically moves social media alerts, coupons, etc to a separate inbox), magic message (AI writing assistant), and more.

If you just want to use Spike for Teams as an internal chat tool, you use use a XX.spike.team domain where you do something like mycompany.spike.team for free, but you also have the option to bring your domain name over to Spike so you can use it as your email platform as well. Pricing for Spike for Teams is free for up to 5 team members and paid plans start at $6/month when billed annually. Spike is available on iOS, Android, Mac, PC, and web browsers with free and paid plans.

9to5Mac’s Take

Spike is taking a really interesting approach to team chat. Right now, most organizations rely on Slack or Microsoft Teams. Both services work well, but there’s still a learning curve for the services. Spike’s approach to team chat says: Ok, iMessage is a good model. Let’s build an internal team chat service using an interface that people already know and understand. It’s taking the best of iMessage, Telegram, WhatsApp, etc., and bringing it to a business environment. If your team decides that they really like it for internal communication, it can easily become your email provider and interface as well so internal and external communication becomes unified. From what I can tell, it’s really aimed at a company using [email protected] or a basic web hosting email as well as iMessage or WhatsApp for daily communication internally.

It’s also great to see some new competitors in the business email hosting market. It has felt like Google and Microsoft have dominated the market for a decade+, and as new competitors crop up, innovation will drive benefits for everyone. Spike’s email app is a fantastic solution for someone who really prefers the interface of a chat app. It’s fast, encourages uncluttered responses, and gives you a single interface for everything around your work.

Email is still the hub of everything business-wise (customer messages, Jira alerts, Trello tickets, Google Docs alerts, internal messages, etc.), and Spike gives you a modern interface for everything related to email. With Spike for Teams, you can replace your email hosting, team chat service, and video chat service for a single price per user (free for teams smaller than five users).