# Slack launched Slack Code for AI agents. Is it the same as Maito? And do you need both?

Source: https://maito.app/blog/maito-vs-slack-code
Date: 2026-10-14
Author: Dmitry Dubovetzky
Facts checked: 2026-10-20

Maito vs Slack Code: Slack Code gives a coding agent you already pay for a shared channel in Slack. Maito is the coding agent and AI teammate your whole company shares. Features, security, setup, and price compared, and when to use both.

## Which is better, Maito or Slack Code?

**Maito is the better pick if anyone in the company should be able to ask for code changes and business work from one AI teammate. Slack Code is the better pick if your engineers already pay for a supported coding agent and only want it working in a Slack channel.**

|                                                | Best pick  |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ---------- |
| Support or product asks for a fix in Slack     | Maito      |
| Business work and code from the same teammate  | Maito      |
| Recurring work and company memory built in     | Maito      |
| An engineer's existing agent, now in a channel | Slack Code |
| No new subscription on top of Slack            | Slack Code |
| A live diff and preview tab inside Slack       | Slack Code |

Slack Code is a temporary Slack channel where a coding agent you install works on one task with your team. Maito is the coding agent your whole company shares, and an AI teammate for business work too. As of October 2026, Slack Code is included in every Slack plan and you pay for the agent separately; Maito is $149 per workspace per month with unlimited people.

This guide is for a company whose engineers live in Slack and whose support and sales teams keep asking them for fixes. We rechecked Slack's help center and the agents' pricing in October 2026.

## What is Slack Code?

**Slack Code is a temporary Slack channel where a supported AI coding agent and your team build one thing together.**

You mention a supported agent in a channel and ask for a code channel. The agent opens one, names it, and works there, with tabs for the diff, a canvas, an HTML view, and files. Anyone in the channel can redirect or stop the agent, approve its output, or open a pull request from a quick action. [Slack's help center](https://slack.com/help/articles/54310833022355-Build-with-AI-as-a-team-using-Slack-Code).

Where Slack Code is strong:

- It costs nothing extra on any Slack plan
- It gives an agent your engineers already use a shared, visible place to work
- Diffs and previews sit in tabs next to the conversation

## So Slack Code is an AI agent?

**No. Slack Code is the room; the agent comes from the Slack Marketplace, and twelve are supported as of October 2026.**

The supported agents include Claude, Devin, GitHub Copilot, Factory, Lovable, Replit, Vercel, CodeRabbit, and Mistral Vibe. Some need their own paid account. [Supported agents](https://slack.com/help/articles/54310833022355-Build-with-AI-as-a-team-using-Slack-Code).

Slack Code doesn't choose or replace the agent. What the work looks like, what it remembers, and what it costs all come from the agent you install.

## And what is Maito?

**Maito is the coding agent your whole company shares, and an AI teammate for business work, in Slack, by email, and in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex, Grok, and Muse.**

Support, product, or sales ask for a fix in a Slack thread; engineers review the pull request it opens. Each coding task gets its own sandbox and branch and runs your checks, so several can run at once. The same teammate also does research, reports, and follow-ups in your connected tools. You give it a name, a role, and instructions. [AI teammate](/product/ai-teammate).

## How do Maito and Slack Code compare at a glance?

**Maito and Slack Code both put AI coding work in Slack. Maito is the agent itself, with business work, memory, and Loops, for $149 a month. Slack Code is a free channel for an agent you bring and pay for.**

|                   | Maito                                                        | Slack Code                                                |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| What it is        | A shared AI teammate and coding agent                        | A channel where an installed agent works                  |
| Where you use it  | Slack, email, Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex, Grok, and Muse | Slack                                                     |
| Who can ask       | Anyone in an invited channel; members by email               | Anyone in the code channel                                |
| Working together  | Yes: Any thread, for as long as the work lasts                  | Yes: One code channel per task                               |
| Business tasks    | Yes: Research, reports, follow-ups, connected tools             | Partly: Whatever the tagged coding agent can do                 |
| Code changes      | Yes: Sandbox, checks, QA, pull request                          | Yes: Diffs, previews, and pull requests from the agent       |
| Company knowledge | Yes: Learns facts and saves skills                              | No: Task history only; memory lives in the agent            |
| Recurring work    | Yes: Schedule, Slack, email, or a webhook from any system       | No: Comes from the agent's own product                      |
| Security          | Encrypted credentials, audit logs, your AI provider          | Yes: Slack's SOC 2 and ISO certifications; agent's own terms |
| Setup             | Minutes; one workspace connection                            | Install an agent; some need each person's account         |
| Price             | $149 per workspace, unlimited people                         | Included in Slack; agents billed separately               |

Sources: Maito [FAQ](/faq) and [pricing](/pricing). Slack Code [help center](https://slack.com/help/articles/54310833022355-Build-with-AI-as-a-team-using-Slack-Code), [Slack compliance](https://slack.com/trust/compliance), [Devin memory](https://docs.devin.ai/product-guides/memory).

## Who on the team can work with Maito and Slack Code?

**Everyone in a Slack Code channel can direct the agent, but the channel lives for one task. Maito works in any channel, DM, or email thread, and the conversation keeps going after the pull request merges.**

Code channels drop out of the sidebar after seven days without activity, and archived ones accept no new prompts. Private code channels are limited to the people in the original conversation. [Slack's help center](https://slack.com/help/articles/54310833022355-Build-with-AI-as-a-team-using-Slack-Code).

With Maito, a support lead asks in #support, an engineer reviews from Cursor, and a product manager follows up by email a week later, all in the same thread. [Team collaboration](/product/team-collaboration).

**Winner: Maito.** The work isn't tied to a channel that closes, and people outside engineering can ask from wherever they already are.

## What do Maito and Slack Code do with a business task?

**Maito does business tasks with your tools and what it already knows about your company. Slack Code hands them to the coding agent you tag, which works with only the access its own product has.**

_Illustrative conversation:_

> **Dana:** @Maito summarize the accounts that churned this week and draft a check-in email for each.
>
> **Maito:** Five accounts churned. Three mentioned the missing SSO setting in their last support conversation.
> Drafts are in the thread. Want me to send this summary every Monday?

You can tag a coding agent for a marketing plan, but it was built and priced for code, and the channel closes when the task does.

**Winner: Maito.** Business work is half of what it does, with the company's tools and memory behind it.

## And what do Maito and Slack Code do when a customer reports a bug?

**A coding agent in Slack Code writes the fix while engineers watch. Maito handles the whole bug, from the customer's report to the reply.**

_Illustrative conversation:_

> **Anna:** @Maito a customer says their CSV export stops at 10,000 rows. Ticket #4821.
>
> **Maito:** Reproduced. Here's a video of the export stopping at 10,000 rows, with the server log that shows why.
> I opened PR #482 with the fix and a test, and ran QA on exports of 5,000, 10,000, and 50,000 rows. All pass.
> A draft reply for the customer, with the video, is below.

In Slack Code, an engineer usually starts the code channel, reviews the diff, and opens the pull request. Maito reproduces the bug, records a video, pulls evidence from your logs, writes the fix and tests, runs QA, opens the pull request, and drafts the customer reply. Support follows it all in the original thread. [Support teams](/use-cases/support).

**Winner: Maito.** The person who heard about the bug can start the fix and close the loop with the customer.

## Doesn't Slack Code remember the work too?

**No. A Slack Code channel keeps the record of one task, and anything remembered between tasks lives in the agent you installed. Maito remembers your company across all its work.**

With Devin as the agent, memory splits into each person's own notes and shared skills. [Devin memory](https://docs.devin.ai/product-guides/memory).

Maito learns facts from shared work, such as a pricing rule or how a feature behaves, and uses them in later conversations. Good results become skills anyone on the team can reuse, and private conversations stay private. [Company knowledge](/product/company-knowledge), [Skills](/product/skills).

**Winner: Maito.** Knowledge stays with the company instead of with one agent vendor.

## Can Slack Code run work every week?

**Not by itself. Slack Code starts when someone tags an agent, and scheduled jobs come from that agent's own product. Maito runs work on a schedule, from a Slack message or an email, or from a webhook any system can send.**

Devin, for example, runs scheduled and event-triggered automations from its own app, billed against its own usage. [Devin automations](https://docs.devin.ai/product-guides/automations).

Maito Loops cover the morning check of new production errors, a webhook from your error tracker that starts an investigation, or the weekly summary of customer feedback. Anyone on the team can pause or change them. [Maito FAQ](/faq).

**Winner: Maito.** Recurring work is built in, not borrowed from the agent.

## Is Slack Code or Maito more secure?

**As of October 2026, Slack is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified, and code channels follow the same rules as regular channels. The agent you install brings its own data terms. Maito encrypts credentials, keeps an audit log of what the agent did, and sends model requests to your own AI provider account.**

Slack's certifications cover the channel, not the agent working in it, so check each agent's own terms. [Slack compliance](https://slack.com/trust/compliance), [Slack's help center](https://slack.com/help/articles/54310833022355-Build-with-AI-as-a-team-using-Slack-Code).

In Maito, every coding task runs in a separate sandbox on your workspace's cloud computer. Admins can filter and export the agent's action log and choose how long it is kept. [Maito FAQ](/faq).

**Winner: Slack Code** for the channel itself, which inherits Slack's certifications. The agent behind it needs its own review.

## How long do Maito and Slack Code take to set up?

**Slack Code is ready once an admin installs a supported agent, though some agents need a paid account and each person's link. Maito takes minutes: create a workspace, connect your AI provider and Slack, and connect a repository.**

With Devin, each person links their Devin account and the agent needs access to your repositories. [Slack's help center](https://slack.com/help/articles/54310833022355-Build-with-AI-as-a-team-using-Slack-Code), [Devin billing](https://docs.devin.ai/admin/billing/self-serve).

In Maito, nobody links a personal account to ask for something in an invited channel. [Maito FAQ](/faq).

**Winner: Slack Code** if the agent is already installed and paid for. Otherwise, Maito gets everyone asking sooner.

## What do Maito and Slack Code cost?

**As of October 2026, Maito is $149 a month for the workspace and every person in it, plus your AI provider's usage. Slack Code is included in every Slack plan, and the agent costs whatever its vendor charges.**

|               | Maito                                      | Slack Code with Devin                      |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ |
| Billing unit  | Workspace, unlimited people                | Slack plan, plus the agent's seats         |
| Monthly price | $149                                       | $0 for Slack Code; Devin Teams from $80    |
| Agent seats   | None                                       | $40 per full seat, free flex seats         |
| Included      | $20 cloud credits for sandboxes and search | A daily and weekly quota per full seat     |
| Model usage   | Billed by your AI provider                 | On-demand credits from the agent vendor    |
| Trying it     | No: No free plan                             | Yes: Included in Slack; Devin has a free plan |

[Devin billing](https://docs.devin.ai/admin/billing/self-serve), [Maito pricing](/pricing).

## What would ten people pay for a month of Maito or Slack Code?

**As of October 2026, Slack Code adds nothing to your Slack bill. The agent behind it has its own price: with Devin, $80 a month for two full seats plus usage. Maito is $149 for everyone, with model usage on your provider account.**

**Maito: $149 per month + provider usage**

- One workspace, unlimited people
- $20 in included credits for coding sandboxes and web search
- Your AI provider bills its usage separately

**Slack Code: Included in Slack**

- Available on every Slack plan
- Some agents need their own paid account
- Agents priced per person cost more as your team grows

For a ten-person team where two engineers code all day and eight people ask now and then, that's $80 a month in Devin seats plus the flex usage. Maito's price doesn't change with who asks. [Devin billing](https://docs.devin.ai/admin/billing/self-serve).

## When is Slack Code enough?

**Slack Code is enough when your engineers already pay for a supported coding agent, only want it inside Slack, and nobody outside engineering asks for code changes.**

It adds no subscription and changes nothing about the agent: the same access, memory, and quotas it has today, in a channel the team can see.

## Can we use Maito and Slack Code together?

**Yes. Engineers can keep their coding agent in Slack Code while Maito works with the whole company.**

Maito doesn't run inside code channels today, because they only accept agents from Slack's supported list. Maito works in your regular channels, threads, DMs, and email, which is where support and product already ask.

## What carries over when a team adds Maito next to Slack Code?

**Nothing has to move. Slack Code's channels and pull requests stay where they are, and Maito joins the channels you invite it to.**

Repository instructions files and past pull requests are already in your repository, so Maito reads them when it starts a coding task. Anything the Slack Code agent learned lives in that agent's own memory; describe the important rules to Maito once and it saves them as company knowledge after you confirm.

## So should you choose Maito or Slack Code?

**Choose Maito for the coding agent and AI teammate your whole company shares. Choose Slack Code if you only want a coding agent you already pay for inside Slack.**

**Choose Maito if:**

- Anyone in the company should be able to ask for code changes
- You want business work from the same teammate
- It should remember your company and reuse what works
- You have work that comes back every day or week
- You want one workspace price with unlimited people

**Choose Slack Code if:**

- Your engineers already pay for a supported coding agent
- You only want that agent inside Slack
- You don't want another subscription

The best test is one real task from your team. Give it to Maito and to the coding agent you'd use in Slack Code, then compare the result and how often you had to step in.

## Maito vs Slack Code: frequently asked questions

### Is Slack Code free?

Yes. As of October 2026, Slack Code is included in every Slack plan and is rolling out gradually. The coding agent you install can need its own paid account. [Slack's help center](https://slack.com/help/articles/54310833022355-Build-with-AI-as-a-team-using-Slack-Code).

### Which agents work in Slack Code?

Twelve as of October 2026: Claude, CodeRabbit, Datadog, Devin, Factory, GitHub Copilot, Lovable, Mistral Vibe, NanoClaw, Replit, Rhythms, and Vercel. [Slack's help center](https://slack.com/help/articles/54310833022355-Build-with-AI-as-a-team-using-Slack-Code).

### Can Maito work inside a Slack Code channel?

Not today. Code channels only accept agents from Slack's supported list. Maito works in regular Slack channels, threads, and DMs, by email, and in AI assistants. [Maito FAQ](/faq).

### What happens to a code channel when the work is done?

You close or archive it. Channels without activity for seven days leave the sidebar, and archived channels stay searchable but take no new prompts. [Slack's help center](https://slack.com/help/articles/54310833022355-Build-with-AI-as-a-team-using-Slack-Code).

### Can people outside engineering ask Maito for code changes?

Yes. Anyone in an invited Slack channel can ask, and workspace members can also email the agent's address. Engineers review the pull request before anything merges. [Team collaboration](/product/team-collaboration).