NotAway vs NoAway: Two Different Products, One Letter Apart

The short answer: the choice comes down to one question — does your computer stay on? NoAway is a local app that stops your machine going idle, so it needs that machine running. NotAway holds your Slack presence from the cloud, so it doesn’t. Everything else follows from that.

We publish this one with an obvious conflict of interest: NotAway is our product. So the comparison below sticks to what NoAway states publicly, and we’ve been explicit about the cases where they are the better buy — because for a lot of people, they are.

They Solve the Problem at Different Layers

NoAway works at the operating-system layer. It runs in your menu bar or system tray, starts with your computer, and keeps the machine from going idle so that presence-based apps carry on showing you as available. Because it operates below any individual app, the same install covers Teams and Zoom alongside Slack.

NotAway works at the Slack layer. It holds the workspace connection from a server, which is why your laptop’s state stops mattering — the Slack green dot is maintained whether your machine is asleep, shut, or switched off. The trade-off is the mirror image: it only does Slack.

When NoAway Is the Better Buy

Buy theirs if your computer is on anyway. If you work at one desk, on one machine that stays powered through the day, a local app does the job and the economics aren’t close: a one-time €4.99 against $3.99 every month. Over two years that is roughly €5 versus about $96. We are not going to pretend that gap doesn’t exist.

Their coverage is also broader. If what you want is Teams and Zoom held active as well as Slack, one system-level tool beats a Slack-specific service. And a one-time purchase with lifetime updates is simply a different relationship than a subscription — some people want nothing recurring, which is a completely reasonable position.

When the Cloud Approach Wins

The local approach inherits your computer’s availability. Close the laptop and presence ends. That is fine if you never close it, and it is the whole problem if you do — commuting, moving between offices, or working from a machine you shut at six but want reachable until seven.

Scheduling is the other split. A local idle-preventer runs while it runs; holding presence only during your working hours means remembering to toggle it. NotAway takes days, hours and a timezone, so you appear active in your window and genuinely away outside it. If you have ever wondered how to keep Slack active during work hours without looking permanently online at midnight, that is the difference.

Multiple workspaces is the third. Freelancers and contractors sitting in several Slacks need each connection maintained and monitored separately — NotAway covers up to seven and emails you when one needs its credentials refreshed. A system-level tool has no concept of an individual workspace failing, so a broken connection is silent. For more on how the underlying behaviour works, see our guide to Slack away status.

Choosing

One question settles it. Is your computer on and unlocked during the hours you need to look available? If yes, NoAway is cheaper and covers more apps — buy it. If no, no local tool can help, because they all depend on the machine you just closed. NotAway starts with a 7-day free trial at $3.99/month, and you can check the Slack availability documentation to see how presence is defined in the first place.