Do these need a bot account?

Not necessarily. The Telegram server drives a real user account via Telethon/MTProto, and the Slack server can run without installing a workspace bot — in stealth mode with browser session tokens, or in OAuth mode with a user or bot token.

Which can create groups or channels?

The Telegram server can create groups and channels, join or leave, and subscribe to public channels. The Slack server focuses on joining/leaving and reading or posting in existing channels.

Telegram vs Slack

Both of these maintained community MCP servers let an agent operate a messaging platform without an official first-party server, but they target very different networks and use very different mechanisms. The Telegram server (chigwell) drives a real Telegram user account through the Telethon MTProto library, giving the agent the same reach a person has in the app: it exposes well over a hundred tools across chats and groups — listing and inspecting chats, creating groups and channels, joining or leaving, subscribing to public channels, managing contacts, and sending or modifying messages and media. The Slack server (korotovsky) is notable for working without installing a workspace bot: in stealth mode it uses browser session tokens, and in OAuth mode a user or bot token, then reads conversation history and threads, searches messages, posts messages, adds reactions, and lists channels. So the choice tracks the network you use and the account model — a personal Telegram account via MTProto versus a no-bot Slack workspace. Here is how they compare for an agent.

How they compare

Dimension	Telegram	Slack
Network	Telegram — public channels, private groups, and direct chats on a personal account.	Slack — team workspaces with channels, threads, and direct messages.
Account model	Acts as a real Telegram user via Telethon/MTProto, so it has a person's full reach in the app.	Runs without installing a bot: stealth mode uses browser session tokens, OAuth mode uses a user or bot token.
Tool breadth	Very broad — well over a hundred tools spanning chats, groups, channels, contacts, and message/media operations.	Focused on the team-chat loop: history, replies, search, posting, reactions, and channel listing.
Group/channel management	Strong — create groups and channels, join or leave, subscribe to public channels, and manage members and contacts.	Join and leave conversations and list channels; centered on reading and posting rather than creating channels.
Best-fit task	Automating a personal Telegram presence across many chats, groups, and channels.	Wiring an agent into a Slack workspace's history, search, and posting without a bot install.

Verdict

Choose by the platform your conversations live on and the account model you can use. The Telegram server is the pick when you want an agent with a real user's reach across Telegram — many chats, groups, and public channels, with broad message and media control and group/channel creation — accepting that it drives a personal account via MTProto. The Slack server is the choice for team workspaces, and its standout is running without a bot install: read history and threads, search, post, and react using session or OAuth tokens. Both are capable community servers, so the decision is really Telegram-personal-account versus Slack-team-workspace, plus the no-bot convenience the Slack server offers. Match the server to where your messaging happens.

FAQ

Do these need a bot account?: Not necessarily. The Telegram server drives a real user account via Telethon/MTProto, and the Slack server can run without installing a workspace bot — in stealth mode with browser session tokens, or in OAuth mode with a user or bot token.
Which can create groups or channels?: The Telegram server can create groups and channels, join or leave, and subscribe to public channels. The Slack server focuses on joining/leaving and reading or posting in existing channels.