Slack Lists vs Chaser: Which One Actually Helps You Manage Tasks in Slack? 

If you’re looking for task managers, there are plenty of options on the market. If you live in Slack, two tools worth knowing about are: Chaser & Slack Lists. You can always integrate Slack with your favorite task or project management software, but these integrations often feel like an afterthought, not something built to actually help you manage tasks from within Slack.

I used Asana for project management, and I still think it’s a great tool, but the integration with Slack had me spending more time confused than getting anything done.

To do true project management in Slack is asking too much. Basic features like dependencies & subtasks don’t exist. For true project management, get a project management tool like Asana, Trello or Monday.com.

Task management in Slack, however, is a different story. Slack rolled out Lists in 2024, and it does a decent job of replacing a simple to-do list, with some real limitations. The stronger option is a third-party tool called Chaser that doesn’t just integrate with Slack, it lives in Slack.

Neither option is free. Chaser offers a solid free trial and 50% off for nonprofits, but it is a paid tool. Slack Lists is available on all paid Slack plans. Nonprofits can get the Pro plan free for up to 250 users, which includes Lists, so if your organization already qualifies for that it comes at no extra cost.

The main difference between these two is that Lists is an extension of Slack, not built directly into your direct messages and channels. While using Lists, you pop open a different tab or an extra window, put your tasks down there, and then switch back to your channels to have the conversations. It’s a built-in tool, but it doesn’t feel well integrated. With Chaser you just type in a simple command and send your message to create the task.

My biggest gripe with Lists is that it feels like it’s part of Slack, until you start using it. Leave a comment on a task and it will not appear in your home tab, you have to go looking for it in the Activity tab. Want to see all your tasks across different Lists at once? That is not possible.

Enter Chaser. It’s a clever little tool that lets you keep track of tasks without losing context or having to switch back and forth. If someone sends you a message with a request in it, you can reply in the thread to create a task for yourself. Type /chaser @yourself and then type in the task. Need a due date, just type that in natural language. An example:

/chaser @Todd finish that blog post before Thursday

Hit enter and you’ve got your task. Want to see all tasks in a specific channel or conversation, type /chaser-report and you’ll get a popup that shows you what’s due and when, along with a link to their web dashboard. They also have reminders built in, when something is due, you’ll get a notification in Slack, the same way that colleague who keeps asking where that file is would message you.

Chaser isn’t a full fledged project management tool either, but for keeping track of the work you need to do without leaving Slack, it’s a tool you have to try.

View the full comparison table here.