Twist by Doist offers thread-based, asynchronous team messaging. See pricing, features, and how it compares to Slack.
Twist is a team communication app built by Doist, the company best known for the task management app Todoist. Unlike typical real-time chat tools, Twist organizes every conversation into threads, similar to email or a discussion board, so team members can reply on their own schedule instead of feeling pressure to respond instantly.
Doist was founded in 2007 by Amir Salihefendic and has operated as a fully remote, bootstrapped company since its earliest days, without taking outside venture funding. Twist launched on June 21, 2017, after roughly three years of internal development and use within Doist itself, built specifically to address the always-on fatigue Doist's own remote team experienced when trying to use real-time chat tools like Slack for asynchronous, globally distributed work.
Twist is positioned as an intentional alternative to Slack and Microsoft Teams for teams that want to reduce interruptions and support focused work. It removes typing indicators, read receipts, and persistent online-status pressure, and instead structures communication around topic-based channels and threads that can be searched and referenced later, functioning more like a shared knowledge base than a live chat stream.
Twist's core structure is built around channels and threads. Teams create channels for departments or projects, and within each channel, conversations are organized into individual threads, each with its own subject line, similar to an email thread or forum post, rather than one continuous, scrolling feed of messages.
The app deliberately omits real-time presence signals such as online-now indicators, typing notifications, and read receipts, aiming to remove the social pressure to respond immediately. It supports rich text formatting, file attachments, inline comments on threads, and integrations with tools like Todoist, Zapier, GitHub, and Google Drive.
Twist supports internal team members as well as guest accounts; single-channel guests are free on every plan, letting teams collaborate with external clients or contractors on a limited basis. Administrators can manage integrations, billing, and workspace settings centrally, and the paid Unlimited plan adds full searchable history across all channels and threads.
Twist offers a free plan and a single paid tier called Unlimited. The Free plan restricts access to messages and comments older than one month, includes up to five integrations, 5 GB of file storage, and standard support, with up to 500 internal member accounts and 500 external guest accounts.
The Unlimited plan costs $6 per user per month when billed annually (or a higher rate billed monthly), and removes the one-month history limit entirely, giving teams full searchable access to all past conversations. It also includes unlimited integrations, unlimited file storage, and priority support. Organizations with more than 200 employees are directed to contact Twist's team for custom pricing.
Twist is used for asynchronous, thread-based team communication, letting teams discuss projects and topics without the pressure of instant, real-time chat.
Twist is made by Doist, the company behind the task management app Todoist, founded in 2007 by Amir Salihefendic.
Twist launched publicly on June 21, 2017.
Yes, Twist has a free plan, though it limits visible message and comment history to the past month; the paid Unlimited plan removes that limit.
The Unlimited plan costs $6 per user per month billed annually, or a higher rate if billed monthly.
Twist organizes conversations into threads instead of a live scrolling feed and removes real-time signals like typing indicators and read receipts, favoring asynchronous over real-time communication.
Yes, Twist integrates natively with Todoist since both are built by Doist.
Yes, single-channel guests are always free on every Twist plan.