52 Best online collaboration tools for 2024

Introduction

Working from anywhere is the new normal! Today’s workforce is all about flexibility, with a massive 83% of employees wanting to work remotely or have a hybrid work model. This shift means teams need strong online collaboration tools to stay connected and work together.

Whether your whole team works remotely or you have a mix of office and home folks, using online collaboration tools can make everyone way more productive! These tools help your team stay on the same page, even without a physical workspace.

There are a ton of options to choose from! Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. This article will be your guide to the best online collaboration tools. We’ll break down the best options, highlighting their key features, pros and cons, pricing, and even user ratings.

Let’s explore the tools that will unlock success for your team, no matter where they work from!

Best collaboration tools & software for business

Project management tools

1. ProofHub

ProofHub is an online collaboration tool designed to simplify teamwork. It provides a centralized workspace where team members can collaborate on projects effortlessly. With ProofHub, every project, team member, client, stakeholder, and related communication is brought together, eliminating the need for multiple apps.

Team members can share ideas, feedback, progress, and issues in real-time, ensuring effective collaboration and reducing delays.

For managers, ProofHub offers the ability to create collaborative workspaces tailored to teams or projects. They can organize tasks, delegate work efficiently, track progress, and communicate with the team in real-time, regardless of location.

ProofHub key features

• Proofing: Review assets, provide feedback, and approve them in real-time. Use markup tools to annotate files and comment on specific regions.

• Discussions: Keep conversations related to a topic organized for later reference. Share files, updates, or information related to a particular topic.

• Instant chat: Internal communication with built-in instant chat for one-on-one or group conversations.

• File sharing: Cloud storage for uploading files from your system or other third-party services like Google Drive and Dropbox. Collaborate on files with team members using ProofHub.

• In-task comments: Mention team members working on a task and attach files related to it.

Pros

• Extensive set of features, including time tracking and reporting, without any extra cost.
• Flat pricing model with no per-user fee; add new users anytime without any need to upgrade plans
• Forms for collaborating with clients.
• Custom roles with access controls for external stakeholders or contributors.

Cons

• Invoicing is available only through integration
• Not suitable for solopreneurs.

ProofHub pricing

ProofHub offers a 14-day free trial, two flat pricing plans to choose from

• Essential: $45/month for unlimited users (billed annually)
• Ultimate Control: $89/month for unlimited users and all features (billed annually) 

User ratings

• Capetera: 4.5
• G2: 4.5

2. Filestage

Filestage is a collaboration tool that simplifies the content collaboration and review process for teams. It provides an easy way for internal and external stakeholders to leave feedback on videos, images, PDFs, and more. The platform generates to-do lists based on comments to ensure no feedback is missed.

With Filestage, you can review and approve in real-time, external partners and clients can comment without registering, and version control makes projects easy to manage and easy to see as to which stakeholders have approved a file.

Filestage key features

• Easy Review: Simplifies feedback gathering and reviewers don’t need to sign up.
• Comments: Reviewers can directly comment on files, making the process less time-consuming.
• Consistency: Provides a central place for reviewing files and sharing feedback, promoting consistency.
• Creative Management: Aids in creative management and quick collaboration for teams.
• Time Saver: Simplifies creative reviews and approvals, saving time previously spent on email threads.

Pros

• Great collaboration solution for internal and external projects.
• Neat and simple user interface.
• Excellent customer support.

Cons

• No mobile app version is available.
• Complex dashboard layout.

Filestage pricing

Filestage offers a free version available for freelancers.

Paid plans:

• Basic: $49/month for unlimited users and up to 10 projects (billed annually).
• Professional: $249/month for unlimited users and up to 25 projects (billed annually).
• Enterprise: Custom pricing available; contact sales representatives.

User ratings

• Capetera: 4.7
• G2: 4.6

3. GanttPRO

GanttPRO is a project collaboration tool designed with a core emphasis on Gantt charts, providing teams with extensive collaboration possibilities in a familiar environment of project management.

The platform offers customizable task management capabilities with real-time descriptions, comments, attachments, and notifications, facilitating streamlined collaboration. Additionally, efficient resource management allows for the reallocation of resources with a short learning curve for easy adoption.

GanttPRO’s key features

• Task management:  Create dependencies and an ideal Work Breakdown structure to ensure smooth functionality.
• Gantt chart: Interactive online Gantt chart maker for planning and controlling multiple projects simultaneously.
• Project scheduling: Make schedules with drag-and-drop simplicity.
• Resource planning: Add resources to your Gantt charts and connect them to specific tasks online.
• Time tracking: Log the actual time spent on tasks, and milestones, and add comments.

Pros

• Ensures data security and file fidelity is observed at all times.  
• Numerous templates allow for instant tasks and scheduled assignments. 
• Well-designed, easy to learn, and use.

Cons

• Limited integrations.
• No billing or invoicing.

GanttPro pricing

GanttPRO offers an initial free trial for 14 days. After that, users can select from the following paid plans based on their requirements. 

• Basic: $7.99/user/month (billed annually)
• Pro: $12.99/user/month (billed annually)
• Business: $19.99/user/month (billed annually)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing. 

User ratings

• Capterra rating : 4.8/5
• G2 rating:  4.8/5

4. Nuclino

Nuclino is a unified online collaboration tool that brings together teams’ knowledge, documents, and projects in one place, offering a simple and intuitive knowledge base management platform.

You can create documents for every topic or project and organize them visually into a nested list, a Kanban board, or a mind map-style graph.

Versatile yet clutter-free, Nuclino offers a user-friendly interface that has everything you need and nothing you don’t.

Nuclino’s key features

• Sidekick AI: A generative AI app for creating summaries and drafts.
• Search Bar: Quickly find anything in your knowledge base with filtering options.
• Multiple Views: Organize documents and projects visually into a nested list, Kanban board, or mind map-style graph.
• Integrations: Seamlessly integrates with Slack, Google Drive, Figma, Lucidchart, and other tools to keep work in sync.

Pros

• Real-time collaboration.
• Users can add text, images, videos, files, tasks, embeds, code blocks, and more.
• Minimalistic design with simple, intuitive, and lightweight user-interface.
• Easily undo unwanted or accidental changes by restoring versions.

Cons

• Limited functionality for managing documentation.
• Not suitable for large organizations.

Nulcino’s pricing

Nuclino offers a free plan with 2 GB storage and limited features. To access more advanced features, users can upgrade to one of the following plans

• Standard: $ 5 per user per month (billed annually)
• Premium: $10 per user per month (billed annually)

User ratings

• Capetera: 4.8
• G2: 4.7

5. Basecamp

Basecamp, with its decent toolkit, is one of the simplest and most user-friendly team collaboration tools. Apart from its project management capabilities, the platform comes with built-in features that promote collaboration within the teams. 

A very thick silver lining is also there, which allows external clients to contribute to the tasks without altering the internal management in any possible way.

Basecamp’s key features

• Message board: Centralizes project conversations for easy collaboration.
• Client access: Provides a unified platform for clients and team members to share files, communicate, and collaborate.
• Hill charts: Offers detailed insights into task progress within Basecamp.
• Campfires: Facilitates convenient group chats for updates and project collaboration.
• Doors: Connect with external tools while using Basecamp.

Pros

• Flat-fee pricing, add as many users as you want to.
• Centralized document storage space. 
• Easy to customize and control user access. 

Cons

• Lack of some essential project management features.
• Adding subtasks to the main task is difficult.

Basecamp’s pricing

Basecamp offers two pricing plans tailored to different team sizes, each with a 30-day free trial:

• Basecamp: $15 per user per month on annual billing
• Basecamp Pro Unlimited: $299 per month on annual billing

User ratings

• Capterra : 4.3/5
• G2 :  4.1/5

6. Asana

Asana, being the old player, has made itself quite a name in the arena of project management. The tool promises a great collaboration framework for teams.

Asana is a pick of many industry leaders due to its multiple view offerings that allow them to stay on top of every team member’s work and task progress.

Also, it cuts down the email fog to streamline the task flow by getting the teams on the same page and bringing transparency across.

Asana key features 

• Timeline and boards: Visualize task progress with a clear overview of project milestones 
• Shared workspace: Collaborate on projects in a shared workspace area. 
• Calendar: View task due dates and deadlines in a calendar format.
• Projects: Gain a complete overview of tasks within projects.
• Recurring tasks automation: Automate the creation and scheduling of recurring tasks. 

Pros

• Multiple third-party integrations are available. 
• Facilitates communication and collaboration.
• Interactive and user-friendly interface.

Cons

• Lacks in-detail insights reporting.
• Assigning tasks to multiple team members is not possible

Asana’s pricing

Asana offers a free plan with basic features and a 15-user limit. Besides, it offers the following three options to choose from. 

• Premium – $13.49/user/month (billed monthly)
• Business – $30.49/user/month (billed monthly)
• Enterprise – Custom pricing

User ratings

• Capterra rating : 4.5/5
• G2 rating:  4.3/5

Communication & Collaboration Tools 💬

7. Slack

Slack is one of the well-known communication tools used by the new-age workforce for collaboration. It puts everything you need for work in one place, like messages, files, and apps.

Whether you’re part of a big company or just organizing a small group, Slack brings all your stuff together so you can easily manage it. 

With the powerful mobile and desktop application, millions of people are using Slack to bring their teams together and drive their business’s growth forward.

Slack key features

• Channels: Dedicated spaces for project or topic-related conversations.
• Slack Connect: Communication channels for collaborators or clients outside the organization.
• Messaging: Effective communication with gifs, emojis, and images.
• Huddles: Real-time collaboration through audio and video.
• Workflow Builder: Automated workflows for streamlining processes.

Pros

• Extensive integration with other business applications, including ProofHub
• Easy user adoption due to user-interface similarity with other apps 
• Pinning important messages saves time from scrolling and finding important information. 

Cons

• Can be addictive like social media apps. 
• Offers limited storage space. 

Slack pricing

Slack offers a free plan with basic functions and limited storage. For more advanced functionality, users can choose from one of the following plans.

• Slack Pro Plan: $7.25/user/month.
• Slack Business+ Plan: $12.50/user/month
• Slack Enterprise grid Plan: Contact sales

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.7/5
• G2: 4.5/5

8. Troop Messenger

Troop Messenger simplifies team collaboration, facilitating seamless communication and project coordination while ensuring data protection through features like end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication.

With streamlined messaging and file-sharing capabilities, teams can exchange information efficiently, saving costs and time. The user-friendly interface makes navigation seamless, even for novice users, with features that are self-explanatory.

Troop Messenger’s key features

• Task management: Create and assign tasks, track progress, and set deadlines.
• Burnout: Unsend messages you’ve accidentally sent.
• Flagging: Flag important messages for easy reference.
• Code snippet: Share code snippets with your team.
• Airtime Groups: Create groups for voice-only communication.

Pros

• Facilitates real-time communication.
• Remote screen sharing.
• Role-based access controls.

Cons

• Limited integrations.
• Steep learning curve.

Troop Messenger’s pricing

Troop messenger offers a three-tier pricing structure: 

• Premium: $ 30/user/year or $2.5/user/month
• Enterprise: $ 60/user/year or $ 5/user/month
• Superior: $ 108/user/year or $ 9/user/month

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.8/5
• G2: 4.6/5

9. Chanty

Chanty is an online collaboration platform that improves team communication and fosters healthy relationships among team members. It offers transparent and accessible communication through text, audio, and video calls, including screen sharing capabilities.

By featuring instant messages with plenty of storage space, an unlimited searchable history, and handy file sharing you can enjoy seamless communication with your teams. 

Chanty key features

• Chanty integrations: transform a simple team messenger into a powerful business tool.
• Response prediction: The artificial intelligence powering Chanty team messenger uses machine learning to estimate responses.
• Super fast: desktop and mobile apps with a clean and intuitive interface.
• Threaded conversation: Organize conversations related to a particular context in one place. 
• Multi-format communication: Chanty lets you communicate with your team via audio and video calls that will be available in the public beta.

Pros

• Public and private conversations
• A wide range of collaboration tools to help you collaborate with your team. 
• Workflow management. 

Cons

• Free version with limitations.
• The app gets slow at times.

Chanty pricing

Chanty offers a straightforward pricing model:

Free Plan: This plan is suitable for teams with up to 5 users and provides access to the basic features of Chanty for free. 

Business Plan:$3 per user per month when billed annually and $4 per user per month when billed monthly. 

User ratings

• Capetera: 4.7/5
• G2: 4.5/5

10. Flock

Flock is one of the great team collaboration tools that increases team productivity by reducing emails. It offers a seamless and easy way of communication within teams (either in groups or individually).

You can connect with your team on messages and video calls, manage projects with to-dos, group discussions, polls, and reminders, and integrate your favourite apps.

In comparison to other team chat apps, Flock is fairly easy to set up and use. Additionally, it is relatively budget-friendly. 

Flock key features

• Shared To-Dos and reminders: Assign and track tasks within channels or privately, and set reminders for important deadlines.
• Notes and note sharing: Create shared notes for team projects and easily collaborate on content.
• Retained information:  You can migrate a Slack account to Flock without losing a history of conversations just because you want to use a different tool.
• Personal Chat tab: Create a private space for notes, saving important messages, and accessing personal reminders.
• Mailcast: Share emails directly within Flock channels for easier team discussion and action.

Pros

• Supports lots of integrations.
• Full-featured messaging.
• Audio-Video conferencing.

Cons

• Less file format support in file-sharing mode.
• No private or voice note option on this platform.

Flock Pricing

Flock offers a free plan ideal for small teams or individual users:

• Pro plan: Starts at $6/user/month billed monthly, or $4.50/user/month billed annually. 
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing available.

User ratings

• Capetera: 4.5
• G2: 4.4

11. Nextiva

Nextiva offers a small business Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution is perfect for businesses looking to collaborate with customers effortlessly through unlimited calls. They can even port their existing phone number over to Nextiva.

This online collaboration platform offers full business phone service capabilities with advanced features such as local phone numbers, call pop, automated greetings, voicemail-to-email, SMS text messaging, mobile apps, HD hold music, and more. 

Nextiva key features

• Audio/Video Conferencing: Communicate with your team via video or audio calls.

• Unlimited Texting: Send and receive unlimited messages using your business phone number.

• Call Forwarding and Auto Attendant: Easily direct calls with auto attendant and call forwarding features.

• Unified Communications: Merge voice, video, chat, and fax into a single platform for seamless communication.

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Organize customer interactions with tools like contact management, lead scoring, and deal tracking.

Pros

• Highly customizable auto-attendant.
• Stable call quality and service. 
• Proactive customer support. 

Cons

• Expensive pricing. 
• Confusing interface.

Nextiva’s pricing

• Essential Plan: $18.95/user/month (billed annually)

• Professional Plan: $22.95/user/month (billed annually)

• Enterprise Plan: $32.95/user/month (billed annually)

Note: Discounts are available for annual payments, and add-on features such as CRM and analytics tools may incur additional costs. Actual prices may vary depending on team sizes and negotiations.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.4
• G2: 4.5

12. Fleep

Fleep is a messenger built for work collaboration. It keeps away the countless threads of email and meetings and makes chatting with team members easy and simple.

You can even create tasks and ask for updates from the team members. With features like direct and group chats, email integration, and guest access, it simplifies daily operations.

Fleep is suitable for various team sizes and types, from small startups to large enterprises. It’s particularly well-suited for teams that value simplicity, organization, and efficient communication.

Fleep’s key features

• Task Management: Lightweight task management for ultimate project collaboration.

• Pinboard: Pin important messages to the side of each conversation.

• File Sharing and Central Storage: Collaborate easily on documents with centralized storage.

• Audio Video Calling and Screen Sharing: Discuss matters via calls and share screens.

• Set Reminders: Utilize IFTTT integration to set reminders.

Pros

• Streamlines task management 
• Easy to set up and organize conversations
• Open-source communication and seamless file sharing

Cons

• Voice call quality takes a dip sometimes
• Some problems with cross-device compatibility

Pricing

Fleep offers two paid plans for individuals and teams:

Business: €5/user/month (billed annually)Enterprise: Custom pricing

13. Google chat

Formerly known as Google Hangouts, Google Chat is a collaboration tool offering both 1:1 and group conversations for businesses.

It facilitates direct and group chats, integrates seamlessly with other Google Workspace apps, and provides threaded conversations for organizations. Google Chat streamlines workflow, enhances productivity and is suitable for teams of all sizes seeking a straightforward solution for effective teamwork and communication.

With Google chat, you can create channels to quickly chat and share files with team members anytime and from anywhere.

Google chat’s key features

• In-line topic threading: Easily organize conversations by topics within the chat interface.
• Search across multiple spaces: Efficiently search for information across different chat rooms or channels.
• Organized structure: Navigate and explore content within the organizational structure seamlessly.
• File sharing: Share documents, images, and other files directly within the chat interface.
• Task assignment: Assign tasks to team members and track progress within the chat environment.

Pros

• Simple and free communication tool.
• Seamless integration with Google and third-party apps.
• Offers instant messaging, voice calling, and video calling.

Cons

• Character limitation. 
• Limited functionality makes it extremely basic.

Pricing

Google Chat is free to use. Advanced features like Spaces and increased storage require a Google Workspace subscription:

• Business Starter: $6/user/month (billed annually)
• Business Standard: $12/user/month (billed annually)
• Business Plus: $18/user/month (billed annually)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing with additional features and support.

User rating:

• Capterra: 4.5/5
• G2: 4.6/5

Design Tools

14. Mockplus

Mockplus is the one-stop product design online collaboration platform that allows product teams to create website or mobile app projects online smoothly from wireframing to design handoff.

It brings together designers, developers, and all the stakeholders, to collaborate on prototyping, testing, iteration, and scaling— all from one convenient location. 

The platform also facilitates developers and designers to import designs and assets by plugins from Adobe XD, Sketch, Figma, and Ps.

Mockplus’ key features

• Real-time co-editing: Work together with your team on designs at the same time, instantly seeing each other’s changes.
• Version control: Keep track of different versions of designs and go back to previous ones when necessary.
• Seamless feedback: Leave comments and notes directly on prototypes to communicate effectively.
• Team management: Invite team members, assign roles, and set permissions for better teamwork
• Design handoff: Easily hand over designs to developers with clear specifications and assets

Pros

• Easy to use and low learning curve 
• Huge library of elements (200) and icons(3,000) for many different devices 
• Create interactive prototypes with drag-and-drop functionality 
• Online collaboration streamlines the design process
• You can markup your designs with comments and notes 

Cons

• Lack of support documentation
• No support for gesture-based interaction

Pricing

Apart from the free plan with 10 users limit, Mockplus offers two paid plans to choose from

• Ultimate: 14.94/user/month (billed annually)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing 

User rating

• Capterra:4.4
• G2:4.5

15. Canva

Canva is a simple graphic design tool to make work collaboratively on creative assets, like images, videos, PDFs, etc. You can make unique designs in just a few minutes and share them with your team.

The credibility and ease of use of this feature-rich online collaboration platform are the same as any simple design tool. Also, collaborating with teams is much easier with Canva. Designers can share their designs with anyone and other team members can leave their comments. 

Canva key features 

• Easy sharing & permissions: Instantly share designs via links and control access for viewing, commenting, or editing.
• Real-time collaboration: Collaborate simultaneously on designs, view edits in real-time, leave comments, and tag team members for input.
• Version control: View past versions of designs, track changes, and ensure work is never lost.
• Branded templates: Create and share branded templates for consistent design across projects.
• Design feedback tool: Gather feedback directly within Canva from clients or team members, streamlining the review process.

Pros

• Even a non-designer can learn to design using Canva. 
• Very simple to use and user-friendly. 
• Offers a wide range of inbuilt social media templates.

Cons

• You cannot create unique elements. 
• It can take a lot of time to learn its array of features.

Canva Pricing

Canva offers a free version for casual use with limited features 

Canva paid plans

Pro: $119.99/year or $12.99/month. Premium content, high-res downloads, branding tools, social media scheduling.

Teams: $119.90/year or $12.99/month per user. All of Pro + team collaboration, brand management, approval workflows.

Enterprise: Custom plan for large organizations with advanced features and security.

User ratings

• Capterra:4.7/5
• G2: 4.7/5

16. Adobe XD

Adobe XD is an in-one UX/UI solution for designing websites, mobile apps, and more. Designed for both Mac and Windows, it is a part of the Adobe creative cloud. 

This team collaboration tool allows designers to switch from static layouts to interactive prototypes in a single click and make required adjustments in real-time.  

Designers can connect it with their favorite tools like Dropbox, Avocode, and others to collaborate with team members on design projects.

Adobe XD key features

• Document management: Manage documents and track the ones you’ve shared across desktop, mobile, and web
• Document editing: Change text and formatting, edit lists, and add, rotate, and resize images 
• Privacy features: Apply PDF passwords and permissions
• Forms: Fill forms faster with automatic tool selection track status, send reminders, cancel requests, replace signers

Pros

• Huge template library
• Easy cropping and resizing.
• Integrated stock library. 

Cons

• Downloads are not movable from computer to computer. 
• Extremely competitive entry price.

Pricing

Here’s a concise breakdown of Adobe XD pricing plans:

• Free: Starter plan with limited features, suitable for hobbyists.
• Individual: $9.99/month, includes all Adobe XD features, ideal for freelancers or small teams.
• Teams: $22.99/month per user, offers collaboration tools, best suited for design teams.
• All apps: $52.99/month per user, provides access to the full Adobe suite, including XD, perfect for professionals needing multiple tools.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.5
• G2: 4.3

17. InVision freehand

InVision freehand is a very useful collaboration tool designed to bring teams together for brainstorming, planning, and executing various projects, not just limited to user-interface design. It aims to bridge the gap between traditional freehand sketching and digital design, allowing collaborative work on a virtual canvas. 

With InVision, you can collaborate on designing projects from a single dashboard and seamlessly navigate the entire process from one convenient location. The clients can provide instant feedback in the form of comments.

The tool allows users to collaborate, upload wireframes, and designs, gather feedback seamlessly, and test much more effectively and efficiently. 

InVision freehand key features

• Collaboration canvas: Real-time digital whiteboard for sketching and brainstorming together.
• Ready-to-Use templates: Quick-start templates for wireframes and mood boards.
• Organized workspaces: Dedicated sections for different project stages.
• Interactive visual elements: Pre-made shapes and notes for enhanced communication.
• Flexible collaboration: Open to team members and external stakeholders for real-time or delayed feedback discussions.

Pros

• Code-free design prototyping UI tools
• Intuitively designed and easy to use for people of all technical levels
• Streamlines the back-and-forth process of sending PDFs or screenshots of mockups.

Cons

• Expensive for larger teams. 
• Lacks some prototyping capabilities in comparison to other available software.

Pricing

Here’s a summary of InVision Freehand pricing:

• Free: Suitable for small teams, includes basic features such as 3 Freehands, collaboration, and limited shapes. 
• Pro: Starts at $4 per user per month when billed annually.  Advanced tools like custom shapes and file uploads, $4 per user per month.
• Enterprise: Tailored for large organizations, with pricing available upon request.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.4/5
• G2: 4.4/5

18. Sketch

Sketch is a Mac app for UX design deliverables. The platform is a complete tool in itself for web design businesses – small, large, solo professionals, or scaling up. 

It takes the pain out of working with repeated design elements so that designers can design once and use it anywhere. You can find some nested symbols in Sketch to create flexible design elements with ease.

With more than being a complete design platform, Sketch allows users to collaborate on designs by analyzing and providing feedback in any browser. 

Sketch key features

• Plugin ecosystem: Extensive library of plugins for specific tasks and tool integrations.
• Real-time collaboration: Simultaneous editing for streamlined teamwork.
• Mac OS & Web Apps: Native Mac app for powerful tools, plus a web app for cross-platform collaboration.
• Libraries: Share reusable design elements for consistency and efficiency.
• Version History: Track changes and revert to previous versions for collaborative design iterations.

Pros

• Easy to use, high fidelity
• Massive user-created plugins to enhance Sketch in almost every way possible
• Seamless integration with other design software

Cons

• Inflexible styles can make redesigning and rebranding an awful, lengthy experience. 
• Only runs on MacOS.

Pricing

Sketch offers the following pricing options to choose from: 

Monthly: $12/user/month – includes all features, collaboration, and shared Workspaces.

Yearly: $120/user/year (equivalent to $10/month) – includes all features, plus 2 free months.

Yearly License (for solo designers, Mac only): One-time purchase: $120 – includes all features for one year, no updates after.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.6
• G2: 4.5

Time Tracking Tools ⏱⏳

19. Toggl

Toggl is one of the best online collaboration tools for managers, team members, and stakeholders to have a clear overview of the team’s workloads and availability.

With its no-hassle time tracking software, you can better take control of your time, boost productivity, centralize work information, share timelines, and even increase revenue with Toggl. 

It integrates with tens of different project management tools and makes the project manager’s life a lot easier.

Toggl key feature

• Web integration: Log time from any web tool with a browser extension.
• Billing overview: Quickly view billable time and team progress.
• Automated reminders: Automatically notify team members about missed hours and schedule reports to your inbox.
• Offline and mobile tracking: Track time offline and on mobile devices.
• Seamless integration: Integrate with your favorite productivity tools seamlessly.

Pros

• Available on all platforms, a wide range of features. 
• Generous free tire of service and integration with other apps. 
• Visually appealing reports. 

Cons

• A limited number of tags. 
• No client invoicing or payroll features.

Toggl pricing

Toggl offers a free plan for 5 users

• Starter – $9 per user per month (billed annually)
• Premium – $ 18 per user per month (billed annually)

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.7/5
• G2: 4.6/5

20. TimeCamp

TimeCamp, also known as an automatic time tracker, is an online time-tracking collaboration tool. The platform is equipped with quite a considerable amount of features to track time. 

Great for both freelancers and teams, the platform allows users to create tasks and subtasks and assign hours to them. It also has a timesheet integration to track and bill time spent on projects.  

Teams all over the world can easily track time without the headache of timesheets.

TimeCamp key features 

• Shared Workspace: Collaborate on projects with real-time access to tasks, progress tracking, and updates.
• Task Assignment: Assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and monitor progress.
• Board View: Visualize workflow with Kanban boards, prioritize tasks, and manage work efficiently.
• Comments and Discussions: Discuss tasks, ask questions, and provide feedback within the platform.
• Real-time Chat: Instant communication through in-app chat for quick discussions and problem-solving.

Pros

• Several integrations with popular business software. 
• Invoicing tools streamline tracking billable hours.
• You can self-correct any distracting habits and use your time more productively.

Cons

• Unorganized project interface.
• The mobile app could be better.

TimeCamp pricing

Apart from a free forever version, Timecamp offers three paid plans to choose from.

• Starter:  $2.99/user/month when billed annually,  $3.99 when billed monthly 
• Premium:  $4.99/user/month, $6.99 when billed monthly 
• Ultimate: $ 7.99/user/month, $10.99 when billed monthly

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.7/5
• G2:4.7/5

21. Timely

Timely is an automated time tracking tool and one of the best team collaboration tools that is of great value for individuals in project development. 

With its AI-powered time-tracking software, you can not only track time, but teams, projects, and plans all together in one place. Timely is beautifully designed to lay out your scheduled activity next to your actual activity.

Timely key features

• Time Tracking: Core functionality enabling collaborators to monitor task and project time.
• Project Dashboard: Centralized control center displaying project status and vital information.
• Integration: Seamlessly integrates with team tools for efficient data flow and productivity.
• Memory Tracking: Provides insights into time utilization for maximizing efficiency.
• Reporting: Offers detailed insights on individual/team performance, project progress, and resource allocation.

Pros

• Ideal for different types of businesses. 
• Easy to review calendar. 
• Easy access from any device. 

Cons

• May takes some time to wrap your head around the layout.
• Expensive premium tier version.

Timely pricing

With a 14-day free trial on every plan, Timely offers three price plans to choose from:

• Starter: $9/user/month when billed annually, $11/user/ month when billed monthly
• Premium: $16/user/month when billed annually; $20/user/month when billed monthly
• Unlimited: $22/user/month when billed annually; $28/user/month when billed monthly

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.7
• G2: 4.8

22. ClickTime

ClickTime is one of those time-tracking tools that are particularly great for project-driven teams like programmers, engineers, developers, and professionals working in other sections of the IT department. 

With timesheets in ClickTime, you can increase project visibility, reduce costs, and stay on top of every project. You can even customize your timesheets as per your needs – as not every business works on the same operations.

Moreover, timesheets also help you reveal new insights, and understand patterns and employee performance – all from a simple sheet!

ClickTime key features

• Time Tracking: Monitor employee work hours, manage expenses, and handle time-off requests efficiently.
• Project Budgeting and Resource Allocation: Plan project budgets and allocate resources wisely to avoid overloading your team.
• Internal Notes and Comments: Add and discuss project details, tasks, and timesheets with internal notes and comments.
• Customizable Permissions: Control access levels based on job roles and responsibilities for data security and smooth workflow.
• Team Chat: Some ClickTime plans offer a built-in chat feature for quick communication within the tool.

Pros

• Extensive time reports are easy to understand. 
• Time tracking syncs to timesheets, providing real-time updates. 
• Simplicity and ease of use. 

Cons

• Can be difficult to manage multiple clients. 
• Not visually appealing.

ClickTime pricing

ClickTime offers four pricing tiers based on the number of users:

• Starter:  Starts at $10 per user per month. (billed annually)
• Team: Starts at $13 per user per month. (billed annually) 
• Premier: Starts at $24 per user per month. (billed annually)
• Enterprise Plan:  Pricing available upon connecting with the sales team.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.6
• G2: 4.6

23. RescueTime

RescueTime helps is time tracking and collaboration software that helps your team members prioritize tasks and enhance productivity by tracking their activities and providing insights to stay focused.

The smart coaching of RescueTime creates insights by measuring your focus and creating a day-end summary report to help you stay on track. The platform even blocks the sites that hinder your productivity and ability to focus.

It is a personal analytics service that shows you how you spend your time and provides tools to help you be more productive.

RescueTime key features

• Detailed activity tracking: Gives you detailed reports and data based on your activity
• Distraction free focus sessions: Lets you block distracting websites for a certain period of time
• Daily reviews: Log highlights about what you accomplished during the day
• Productivity pulse: a score from 0 to 100 that indicates the level of productive activity within your recorded time
• Cross-platform availability: Runs securely in the background on your computer and mobile devices

Pros

• Array of activity-tracking capabilities. 
• Users can block distracting websites. 
• Goal-setting properties and task-tracking attributes. 

Cons

• Mobile apps need work.
• Lack of scheduling.

RescueTime pricing

RescueTime offers two pricing options:

• Free plan: Basic time tracking, good for beginners.
• Premium plan: Costs $12/month, or $6.50/month (when billed annually), includes advanced features like custom labeling, music integration, and detailed reports.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.6
• G2: 4.1

24. Harvest

Harvest is a web-based time-tracking online collaboration tool that harnesses the power of time-tracking and goes way beyond to foster online collaboration in the most effective manner. 

It also supports a resource planning tool that helps you schedule future projects and assign team members based on capacity. Also, with Harvest in operations, apart from time tracking, you can even generate and issue invoices by tracking expenses for every client. 

It is a robust and easy-to-use time-tracking application that easily integrates with iOS, Android, and even Apple Watch. 

Harvest key features

• Harvest makes it easy to track time and expenses
• Submit timesheets, track billable, and non-billable hours and send invoices
• Intuitive visual reports to keep projects on track

Pros

• Simple and flexible time tracking app. 
• The mobile app makes work convenient. 
• Seamless invoice payments. 
• Billable time tracking. 

Cons

• Lack of sales tax integration. 
• Missing batch-assign functionality.

Harvest pricing

Harvest offers a free plan for individual users with 1 seat and two projects. Teams can opt for the following plan:

Harvest Pro: Unlimited seats, unlimited projects. Starts at $10.80/seat/month (Billed Annually) & $12/seat/month (Billed Monthly).

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.6/5
• G2: 4.2 /5

File Sharing Tools 📂

25. Dropbox

Dropbox is a simple and powerful way to revolutionize the standards of collaboration. This file-sharing and storing tool keeps your team in sync like the hands of the clock. 

Keeping up with the business lifestyle when on the go asks for a centralized platform for files. And Dropbox comes to your rescue here. Also, its business version allows more space (1 terabyte, or enough to store 250 movies) and more features, and higher sharing limits. 

You can even sync your Dropbox content to ProofHub for managing tasks and projects. Send files and folders and keep your work safe in Dropbox.

Dropbox key features

• Dropbox Paper: A dedicated collaborative workspace for creating documents, notes, and to-do lists together.
• Dropbox Capture: Capture screenshots, screen recordings, and GIFs to share feedback or document processes.
• File locking & admin controls: Manage team access, track activity, and enforce security policies for Business plans.
• Real-time co-editing: Work on documents simultaneously with others, seeing changes instantly as they’re made.
• Smart suggestions: The Dropbox desktop app suggests relevant files and actions based on your activity and previous work.

Pros

• Use it anywhere, on any device
• Basic features are effortless to use

Cons

• Limited storage for free users
• Costly pricing

Dropbox pricing

Dropbox offers four levels of pricing with increasing storage and user capacity.

• Plus:  $11.99/month (Monthly Billing) or $9.99/month (Annual Billing) Suitable for a single user. Storage capped at 2TB
• Essentials: $22/month (Monthly Billing) or $18/month (Annual Billing) with 3 TB storage
• Business: $24/user/month (Monthly Billing) or $20/user/month (Annual Billing) or 3 or more users. Starts at 9 TB for the team
• Business Plus: $32/user/month (Monthly Billing) or $26/user/month (Annual Billing). Accessible to more than 3 users. Starts at 15 TB for the team.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.6
• G2: 4.4

26. Internxt

Internxt is a cloud storage service with a primary focus on privacy and security of data. It offers a collaborative and secure storage space. 

Internxt is all about keeping your sensitive data safe from exploitation.   It offers privacy with zero-knowledge encryption, meaning they can’t even access your data. 

The data is stored on several fast servers across the EU, providing insurance against any disasters. Plus, you can get to your files from any of your devices whenever you need them.

Internxt key features

• Advanced sharing: Control who accesses folders, decide their permissions and manage access easily.
• Secure links: Share files with external parties using secure links with expiration dates and access limits.
• Team management: Delegate file control, enforce 2FA, and monitor team activity efficiently.
• Cross-platform accessibility: Access and collaborate on files seamlessly across desktops, mobiles, and tablets.

Pros

• Loaded with security features, including military-grade encryption.
• Value for money plans
• Open source and transparent

Cons

• Lacks file versioning
• Delayed response time from support

Internxt pricing

Apart from a free forever plan, Internxt offers two payment options to choose from based on the required storage space. 

Individual plans (Monthly & Annual):

• 200GB: €1.54monthly / €14.25 annually 
• 2048GB: €3.09 monthly / €34.09 annually 
• 5120GB: €16.19 monthly / €61.99 annually 
• 10240GB: €19.29 monthly / €92.99 annually

Lifetime plans (One-time payment):

• 2048GB: €499.00
• 5120GB: €999.00
• 10240GB: €1499.00

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.3 out of 5 stars
• G2: 3.7 out of 5 stars

27. Microsoft OneDrive

OneDrive is a document collaboration tool with which your team can not only store photos, documents, videos, and more but sync and access your files anytime, anywhere. 

A Microsoft product, OneDrive, allows you and your colleagues to easily collaborate on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote from your desktop, mobile device, and the web. (Only when you are a user of Microsoft 365)

With OneDrive, you can work seamlessly with tools you use every day to create, communicate and collaborate effectively with your system.

Microsoft OneDrive key features

• Seamless Sharing: Share files with individuals or groups, controlling permissions for viewing, editing, and downloading.
• Activity Feed: Track changes to shared files, including edits and timestamps, promoting transparency and accountability.
• Version History: Easily revert to previous file versions when collaborating with multiple users, ensuring data integrity.
• Comments and Mentions: Leave comments within documents, mention specific users for feedback, and collaborate efficiently across devices.
• Integration with Microsoft Teams: Collaborate on files within Teams channels, accessing OneDrive files directly from conversations.

Pros

• Ease of access. 
• 256-bit AES encryption.
• Intuitive file sharing. 

Cons

• Privacy blindspots.
• Data vulnerability.

Microsoft OneDrive pricing

While you don’t get standalone OneDrive plans anymore, subscribing to Microsoft 365 lets you access OneDrive along with various other productivity tools.

• Free Plan: Limited storage (5GB) and basic sharing features, suitable for small-scale or casual use.
• Microsoft 365 Personal: $6.99/month for 1TB storage per user, real-time co-authoring, and version history.
• Microsoft 365 Family: $9.99/month for 1TB storage per user for up to 6 users, shared collaboration features.
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $5/user/month for 1TB storage per user, web versions of Office apps, and basic security features.
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $12/user/month for 1TB storage per user, full desktop Office apps, advanced collaboration, and security features.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.5/5
• G2: 4.3/5

28. WeTransfer

WeTransfer outshines itself by allowing you to not only benefit from sharing your content, videos, images, and more but makes team collaboration simple and smooth too. 

With WeTransfer keep your things simple, transfer your files from A to B using a web browser service, and get instant feedback on it without requiring any other platform. 

You can also personalize the way you share your files, and take your story to amazing places with captivating ideas.

WeTransfer key features 

• Large file transfers: Send files up to 2GB for free or up to 200GB with a Pro account.
• Customization: Make your transfers unique by adding custom backgrounds and URLs.
• Password protection: Keep your files safe and private by adding a password (requires a paid plan).
• Transfer tracking: Know who downloaded your files and when they did it.
• Collaboration tools: Work together on projects in real-time with remote collaboration (requires a paid plan).

Pros

• Simple drag-and-drop functionality
• Share large files for free
• Integrations with apps like Slack, Sketch, and Thunderbird
• Quick and simple file sharing

Cons

• No encryption option for free users
• Password protection for paid users only

WeTransfer Pricing

WeTransfer offers following plans to choose from:

• Free Plan: Enjoy WeTransfer’s basic features at no cost, perfect for occasional file transfers of up to 2GB. 

• Pro Plan: $10 per month per person (billed yearly) or $12 per month per person (billed monthly). 

• Premium Plan: $19 per month per person (billed yearly) or $23 per month per person (billed monthly).

User rating

• Capterra: 4.6
• G2: 4.8 

29. Hightail

The Hightail, being the online file collaboration tool, serves two primary purposes: online file sharing and creative collaborative features. It helps teams manage projects from start to finish

With this online collaboration software, teams can easily collaborate on files, share images, send large files, videos, and PDFs, and protect data shared with clients and other team members. As the clients are in the loop, they can provide feedback on files anytime and all the changes can be tracked easily. 

The collaborative platform aims to eliminate sharing files through emails, where most of the miscommunications can occur.

Hightail key features

• Dedicated spaces: Organize files, feedback, tasks, and approvals for specific projects.
• Secure file sharing: Share large files securely with team members and clients without requiring account creation.
• Collaborative annotation: Provide specific feedback directly on files with visual markings and text comments.
• Team organization: Control access levels, assign tasks, and track progress within projects.
• Seamless integrations: Connect with tools like Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox, and Google Drive for seamless collaboration.

Pros

• A wide range of security features for sharing files
• Provides confirmation of document delivery
• Simple file-syncing

Cons

• Functionality fragmented across multiple apps
• Limited collaboration
• Doesn’t show file size when uploading

Hightail pricing

Hightail offers following pricing plans:

• LITE:  Free version with up to 2GB of storage.
• PRO: Plan starts at $12 per month when billed annually
• TEAMS: Plan starts at $24 / user / month when billed annually.
• BUSINESS: Business plan starts at $36 per user per month billed annually. 

Highlight user ratings

• Capterra: 4.4
• G2: 4.2

30. Box

Box is a file-sharing service that facilitates creating, editing, reviewing, and sharing documents in real-time from anywhere. Focused on security and encryption, Box ensures the protection of crucial information stored on the Cloud, making it accessible from any device.

Box key features

• Box Canvas: Brainstorm and plan visually, like a giant digital whiteboard.
• Box Drive: Access your Box files directly from your computer, like a portable Box folder.
• Box Relay: Automate repetitive tasks with your files, like a robot doing paperwork.
• Box Sign: Sign documents electronically, no need for printing or faxing.
• Box Hubs: Create “favorites” folders for specific teams or projects, like organized sections for everyone.

Pros

• Great for secure storage of files of any size. 
• Excellent customer service. 
• Granular permissions. 

Cons

• Can be slow when sharing large files. 
• Steep learning curve.

Box pricing

For businesses, Box offers four plans to choose from. 

• Business: $20 per user per month, minimum of 3 users, $15 per user per month with annual billing.
• Business Plus: $33 per user per month, minimum of 3 users, $25 per user per month with annual billing.
• Enterprise: $47 per user per month, minimum of 3 users, $35 per user per month with annual billing.
• Enterprise Plus: Custom pricing available based on demand.

It is important to note that, for individual users or a small team with lower storage and transfer needs, the box offers different plans based on varying storage capacity.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.4
• G2: 4.2

31. SugarSync

SugarSync is a cloud file-sharing, file sync, and online backup service that is simple, powerful, and easy to use. It makes it easy to access all your folders across any of your devices, making it easy to get things done while giving you the peace of mind that your important files are always protected.

SugarSync key features

• Multifolder syncing:Enables you to backup your existing folder structure
• Online backup: Access folders instantly from other PCs or mobile devices
• Guest access: Secure and quick file sharing with anyone without any need to create a sugar sync account. 
• Easy restoration: Recover and restore entire folders, including all subfolders and files within them, to a previous point in time

Pros

• Synchronizes any folders on your computer. 
• Continuous file updating. 
• File explorer and Finder integration. 

Cons

• Expensive
• No simultaneous co-editing capabilities.
• Video Conferencing Tools 

SugarSync pricing

SugarSync Business Plan offers 1TB of storage for 3 users at $55 per month or $550 per year. You can add more users for an additional fee. This plan includes admin control, live phone support, and remote wipe features.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.1/5
• G2: 3.9/5

Video Conferencing Tools 🎥

32. Skype

Skype is a renowned online collaboration tool offering instant messaging and calling features for seamless communication.

It allows audio and video calls between multiple devices like one on the laptop and the other on the phone. You can even bring your teams together through group video calls and give great presentations online with the help of screen sharing. 

You can make free or low-cost calls locally or internationally and avail yourself of premium features at Skype for Business.

Skype key features

• Video calling and screen sharing: Conduct presentations, work on documents together, and explain ideas visually in real-time.
• Whiteboard: Use the collaborative digital whiteboard to brainstorm, sketch ideas, and visually plan projects.
• Live call translations: Break down language barriers and enable seamless communication with international team members.
• Cloud storage (Skype Premium): Store and share project files, notes, and resources in a central location accessible to everyone.
• Instant messaging and chat history: Facilitate quick discussions, brainstorming, and keeping track of decisions and notes.

Pros

• Record and share your screen, save the meeting, and record voice calls. 
• Intuitive navigation and everything is labeled. 

Cons

• It is memory intensive in web browsers as well as Android applications. 
• Raised prices of international calls.

Skype pricing

Skype offers different subscription options based on the country. 

• United States Subscription: $2.99 per month, offers unlimited minutes to US-based mobiles and landlines, 15 cents per minute for other calls.
• North America Subscription: $6.99 per month, provides unlimited minutes within the plan, 35 cents per minute for calls outside the plan, covering 8 countries and regions.
• India Subscription: $7.99 per month, includes 800 minutes, $1 per minute for calls beyond the allocated minutes.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.2
• G2: 4.3

33. Zoom

Zoom, a leading enterprise video communication software, offers reliable cloud-based video and audio conferencing for modern collaboration needs.

With almost the same functionality as Skype, this online collaboration tool allows teams to come together on a single platform to communicate and collaborate with its advanced features.

This video conferencing tool enables you to attend a meeting from your desktop, mobile device, or conference room including screen sharing too.

Zoom key features

• High-definition sound and visual Quality: Ensures clear audio and video during meetings with advanced features like voice detection.
• Cross-platform compatibility: Accessible on various platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and conference room systems.
• Large meeting capacity: Host up to 100 interactive video participants with the ability to engage with an unlimited audience in live virtual events.
• Screen sharing and group collaboration: Enables seamless collaboration through screen sharing and group interactions.

Pros

• Ability to host large audiences. 
• Stream meetings/webinars on Facebook.
• You can hold unlimited 40-minute long meetings for no charge. 

Cons

• Too many subscriptions and add-ons.
• Lack of control over comments. 

Pricing

Zoom offers a free plan to host a meeting with 100 people for 40 minutes. 

• Zoom One: Starts at $12.49 per user, per month. 
• Zoom Meetings Pro: $14.99 per month for one host. Features meetings with up to 100 participants with no time limit. 
• Zoom Business: Starts at $18.33 per user, per month. Host meetings with up to 300 participants. 
• Zoom Business Plus: Starts at $22.49 per user, per month. 

Zoom Events and Webinars: Require a Zoom One license with additional pricing based on features and session type.

34. GoToMeeting

GoToMeeting is an online collaboration software designed for businesses, offering seamless video conferencing solutions without overwhelming its users. 

With the option to share screens while meeting, GoToMeeting also allows users to message, record, and schedule meetings, with just a simple single click. The tool is great to collaborate with teams – both in-house and remotely.

GoToMeeting also comes with dozens of useful tools, and easy-to-use Web-conferencing solutions, to get you started immediately.

GoToMeeting key features

• Screen sharing and web audio calling: Collaborate effectively with screen sharing, web audio, drawing tools, and the ability to record meetings.
• Remote team collaboration: Facilitates meetings for remote teams, eliminating the need for physical presence.
• HD-quality video: Conduct webinars and host conferences with high-definition video quality.
• Essential IT support features: Ensures essential IT support features to keep everyone connected securely.

Pros

• Essential IT support features keep everyone connected
• Secure video conferencing
• Record meetings as it happens 

Cons

• Unstable call-in process. 
• Premium features can be expensive for some users.

GoTo Meetings Pricing

GoTo Meetings offer three paid plans to choose from

Professional plan: $12/month/organizer (up to 150 people with dial-in).

Business plan: $16/month/organizer (up to 250 people with unlimited cloud recording and transcription).

Enterprise plan: Contact sales for pricing details

Optional add-ons cost extra

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.4
• G2: 4.2

35. WebEx

WebEx, a full-featured communications software solution, is for businesses that rely heavily on meetings. It offers the creation of a highly secured team workspace where communication is in the cloud.  

You can build an engaging meeting atmosphere for your team no matter wherever in the geographical location.  Along with this, you can even host events and webinars for audiences of any size. 

With WebEx, you can streamline your business and help solve real human problems without wasting even a second.

WebEx Key features

• HD video conferences with collaboration and file-sharing capabilities
• WebEx mobile app for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry
• Get your own personalized meeting room

Pros

• Simple user interface.
• High-definition audio and visual quality.
• Stream live meetings on social media channels. 

Cons

• Allows only maximum attendees up to 3000. 
• Recorded meetings can take up a lot of storage space in your device.

WebEx pricing

Besides a free version with unlimited 1:1 meetings, WebEx offers three paid plans to choose from:

WebEx Call: $183.60 per year or $15.30 per month per license.

WebEx Suite (Meet + Call): $270 per year or $22.50 per month per license.

WebEx Enterprise:   Contact sales

User rating

• Capterra: 4.4/5
• G2: 4.3/5

36. ClickMeeting

ClickMeeting is a browser-based web conferencing tool that comes along with dynamic features like webinar room customization, paid webinar hosting, a backup recovery system, and more.

It is mainly used to make webinars more effective and online meetings more collaborative. You can connect seamlessly and get started in no time with others regardless of location and operating system.

Overall, ClickMeeting is a perfect tool that fosters effective communication and collaboration.

ClickMeeting key features

• Audience engagement: Easily engage your audience and encourage interaction during webinars and online meetings.
• High-Quality live seminars: Conduct high-quality live seminars for effective communication and collaboration.
• Detailed analytics: View and export detailed information to derive useful predictions and trends from your webinars.
• Screen sharing and video sharing: Share screens and videos with other attendees to enhance collaboration.
• Hassle-free setup: Getting started with ClickMeeting is quick and easy, requiring minimal setup time.

Pros

• Simultaneous chat translation.
• Screen sharing capabilities. 
• Automated webinars.

Cons

• Lack of phone support hotline. 
• Maximum 10-hour storage capacity.

ClickMeeting pricing

With a 30 days free trial, Clickmeeting offers three distinct plans to choose from: 

• Live Plan: $26/month billed annually or $32/month billed monthly for live meetings.
• Automated Plan: $42/month billed annually or $48/month billed monthly for automated features.
• Custom Plan: Tailored for companies needing scalable solutions.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.4/5
• G2: 4.1/5

Documentation Tools 📑

37. Google Docs

Google Docs is a widely popular documentation tool known for its ease of use and collaboration features, making it a trusted platform for creating, editing, and sharing various types of documents.

With this platform, you can publish documents of all kinds. And once you have set the offline mode on your Google Docs, you will not even need an internet connection to edit or use the docs.

Google Docs key features

• Online document formatting:  Easily create and edit documents online with a range of formatting options including Google Fonts, images, tables, and more.
• Compatibility and export options: Import Word documents and export documents in Word and PDF formats for seamless sharing and compatibility.
• Real-time collaboration: Collaborate and co-edit documents with team members remotely, allowing multiple users to work on the same document simultaneously.
• Offline mode: Set up offline mode to work on documents without an internet connection, ensuring productivity even in low-connectivity environments.

Pros

• Work with others concurrently.
• Changes made go live instantly.
• The document owner retains control of the file. 

Cons

• Limited features
• Laggy co-editing 

Google Docs pricing

Google Docs itself is actually free for individual use. You can create, edit, and share documents, sheets, and slides completely free of charge.

However, for businesses and organizations, Google Docs comes as a part of Google Workspace.

There are three main plans

• Business Starter: $6 per user per month (billed annually) or $7.20 per user per month (billed monthly)
• Business Standard: $12 per user per month (billed annually) or $14.40 per user per month (billed monthly). 
• Business Plus: $18 per user per month (billed annually) or $21.60 per user per month (billed monthly).

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.7/5
• G2: 4.7/5

38. Microsoft Office Online

Microsoft Office Online is set of several collaboration tools essential business purposes, i.e., Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Onenote all in one place. It is a go-to tool for editing purposes. 

You get all the basic documentation and editing tools in the free version that are sure to suit your needs just fine. Save documents, and presentations, convert PDF documents to Word, communicate and collaborate, and get great work done securely.

However, all the features are not available for free but the tool is quite within the budget.

Microsoft Office online key features:

• Get the latest office apps both desktop apps – both the desktop and online versions
• Makes the work you do available to you from anywhere
• Available on desktop, tablet, and phone

Pros

• It is similar to the desktop versions of Microsoft Office applications.
• Completely free. 
• Can be accessed from any device. 

Cons

• Missing some key features. 
• Don’t work when you don’t have an Internet connection.

Microsoft Office online pricing

You can access basic versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote completely free as long as you have a Microsoft account. No subscription is required.

However for advanced formatting features you may need to upgrade to one of the Microsoft 365 Plans

• Microsoft 365 Personal: $69.99/year or $6.99/month.
• Microsoft 365 Family: $99.99/year or $9.99/month (shareable with up to 5 other users).

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.7/5
• G2: 4.6/5

39. Bit.ai

Bit.ai is a smart document collaboration tool for teams to create interactive documents, manage digital content, track document insights, and further collaborate on them to get work done.

Despite lacking a robust mobile application, the platform outshines other tools with in-built engagement tracking capability apart from managing documents.

In this documentation software, team members can invite colleagues accordingly depending on who they need to collaborate with. 

Bit.ai key features:

• Multiple productivity tools: Create team notes, meetings, meeting agendas, proposals, and much more
• Customizanle templates: Select from a variety of templates and themes 
• Web clipper: Add any web link into a blank line in Bit and hit enter
• Content integration: Add links to any PDF, PPT, or spreadsheet on the cloud from Google Drive, Box, and OneDrive
• Notification: Receive real-time alerts when someone opens your smart document

Pros

• Integrates with more than 100 applications. 
• Lifetime free version. 
• Multiple support channels.

Cons

• Limited formatting.
• Limited phone support.
• No free trial.

Bit.ai pricing

Bit.ai offers a free plan for up to 5 members and 50 documents at no cost. For advanced features, users can upgrade to following plans

• Pro Plan: $12 per member per month (monthly billing) or $8 per member per month (annual billing) for enhanced features.
• Business Plan: $20 per member per month (monthly billing) or $15 per member per month (annual billing) for advanced business solutions.

User ratings

• Capterra: 5.0/5
• G2: 4.0/5

Note-Taking Tools

40. Evernote

The Evernote tool is a collaboration tool for businesses that make it possible to keep and share your ideas with the team and sync them to any of your devices. 

By adding texts, images, audio, PDFs, scans, and documents, you can make your notes as interactive as possible and bring them together to collaborate with ease and simplicity. 

You can even capture, organize and share notes from anywhere and to anyone on the team. The teams can also give their best ideas and knowledge in seconds and keep everything in one place.

Evernote key features:

• Capture and prioritize ideas, projects, and to-do lists
• Plan, keep records, and manage projects from any device–even offline
• Type notes, add attachments, clip web pages, or record memos
• Use notebooks, tags, or our powerful search to find everything you need quickly

Pros

• Multi-device note sync.
• Top-tier organizational system.
• Powerful advanced search.

Cons

• Not for brief tasks or short notes. 
• Limitations of the free plan.

Evernote pricing

Evernote offers a free plan with basic functionality at no cost. For more advanced features, users need to upgrade to one of the following plans

• Personal: $10.83 per month or $129.99 per year, for individual users.
• Professional: $14.17 per month or $169.99 per year, for enhanced personal productivity features.
• Teams: $20.83 per user per month or $249.99 per year, for collaborative workspaces with advanced team features.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.6/5
• G2: 4.6/5

41. Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is a free note-taking application available across multiple platforms, including Android, macOS, iOS, Windows, and the web.

Apart from noting down your thoughts and ideas in OneNote, you can even draw your vision and clip from the web to give wings to your imagination. Unless you want any high-class features from the app, rest assured, Microsoft OneNote is sure to serve your basic needs.

You can create notes with ease, highlight the sections, add colors or shapes, and even ink annotations to collaborate on them.

Microsoft OneNote key features: 

• Multi-platform accessibility: Accessible on Android, macOS, iOS, Windows, and the web.
• Drawing capabilities: Allows users to draw sketches and ideas using their fingertips.
• Handwriting recognition: Converts handwritten notes to typed text.
• Offline functionality: Works without an internet connection.

Pros

• Totally free till you don’t exceed 5GB. 
• Widely available. 
• Interactive user interface. 

Cons

• Pen writing is not smooth. 
• Advanced formatting options are not available.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.6
• G2: 4.2

Customer support tools 💁

42. Acquire

Acquire is a versatile customer communication platform suitable for businesses, agencies, and startups of all sizes, whether operating hybrid or remote. It offers a range of customer engagement options, including live chat, chatbot, co-browsing, voice calls, and video chat, to deliver efficient support to customers.

With Acquire, you can even share PII (personally identifiable information) in an encrypted manner to ensure the complete safety of your data.

Acquire key features

• Customization: Tailor the platform to suit your business needs by selecting and using the apps that fit your requirements.
• Chat routing and history: Track chat history for better information management and route chats by tagging team members for complex queries.
• Tracking: Monitor various performance factors such as chat time periods, total number of chats, and demographics.
• Automated responses: Send proactive messages to customers based on their location, behavior, and other factors.
• Video chat: Seamlessly switch to video chat for enhanced customer service experience directly within the chat window.

Pros

• Acquire offers multiple support channels to support teams. 
• You can deploy intelligent chatbots to be at the frontline.
• Offers live chat, voice calls, and video chat. 

Cons

• Can be expensive for some teams and businesses.
• Video quality sometimes can get pixelated.

Acquire pricing

Acquire offers two straightforward pricing plans

• Self Service Plan: $500 per month billed annually, plus $25 per agent/month.
• Integrated Solution Plan: $2000 per month billed annually, plus $45 per agent/month.

User ratings

• Capterra: 5.0
• G2: 4.9

43. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a robust tool designed to bring teams together, resolve complex issues efficiently, and deliver exceptional customer support. It offers powerful collaboration features, allowing team members to discuss and solve tickets in one place. 

Additionally, there’s a customizable team dashboard that you can use to monitor all the customer support activities of your team.

Freshdesk key features

• Simplified ticketing: Easily manage and organize customer tickets to prevent issues from falling through the cracks.
• Collaboration features: Share ticket ownership and collaborate with team members to provide seamless customer support.
• Automation: Leverage automation to streamline repetitive tasks and enhance productivity.
• Reporting: Advanced reporting and tracking system for making data-driven decisions in the future.
• Security: Top-notch security measures and SSL encryption ensure the safety of all data.

Pros

• Modern and user-friendly design.
• Ease of usage. 
• Rich on features customer service platform. 

Cons

• Hard to configure.
• Limited automation and rules.
• Basic dashboard with limited features.

Freshdesk pricing

Basic support for small teams, accommodating up to 10 agents at no cost.

Growth Plan: Starts at $15 per agent per month billed annually or $18 monthly.

Pro Plan: Begins at $49 per agent per month billed annually or $59 monthly.

Enterprise Plan: Starting at $79 per agent per month billed annually or $95 monthly.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.5
• G2: 4.4

44. Intercom

Intercom is a versatile collaboration software designed to enhance sales, marketing results, and customer support. It features advanced automation technology, including resolution bots, to efficiently address common customer issues.

Also, the team inbox feature within Intercom makes it possible for your support team to continue conversations with customers that are actually taking place on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Intercom key features

• Real-time Chat: Engage and communicate with customers in real-time or follow up on conversations later.
• Chatbots: Automate customer interactions with powerful sales and support chatbots to lighten the workload of team members.
• App Integrations: Seamlessly integrates with over 250 apps and allows custom integrations.
• Desktop and Mobile Interface: Provides both desktop and mobile apps for a seamless user experience across devices.

Pros

• Easy to set up and install.
• Diverse knowledge base continually grows.
• Software easily integrates with your website or system.

Cons

• Slow, unresponsive customer support. 
• Quite expensive for smaller businesses.

Intercom pricing

Intercom offers three paid plans to choose from:

• Essential: Basic plan at $39 per seat/month for essential features.
• Advanced: Intermediate plan at $99 per seat/month for more advanced features.
• Expert: Premium plan at $139 per seat/month for expert-level features and support.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.5/5
• G2: 4.5/5

Organizational tools

45. MindMeister

MindMeister makes its spot in the list of online collaboration tools as it allows teams to plan projects, manage meetings and sketch out business plans.

With this intuitive user interface, you can choose from plenty of templates that it has to organize work easily. And it also allows the user to share their mind maps with anyone they want in real-time or make it public.

It allows teams to be more innovative by providing an environment for brainstorming as well as planning. 

MindMeister key features 

• Creative brainstorming: Ideal for solo or team brainstorming sessions to capture, develop, and share ideas visually.
• Project planning: Use mind maps to outline project plans, develop business strategies, and organize events.
• Mobile app: Access, edit, and present mind maps on the go with the Android and iOS mobile app.
• Export options: Export mind maps in PNG, PDF, or Word formats for easy sharing and distribution.

Pros

• Easy to create mind maps.
• Easy to republish elsewhere.
• Export mind maps in PNG, PDF, or Word formats

Cons

• Difficult to use on phones because of the size of the text. 
• Can’t create free-flowing maps.

MindMeister pricing

Beside its free version, MindMeister offers three paid plans to choose from:

• Personal plan: Starts at $4.50 per user/month when billed every 6 months, or $3.50 per user/month when billed yearly.
• Pro plan: Starts at $6.50 per user/month when billed every 6 months, or $5.50 per user/month when billed yearly.
• Business plan: Starts at $10.50 per user/month when billed every 6 months, or $8.50 per user/month when billed yearly.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.6/5
• G2: 4.3/5

46. Organimi

Organimi is a comprehensive organizational chart tool designed to streamline the creation and management of workplace structures. It offers features to simplify the process of mapping out organizational hierarchies, allowing users to choose from templates or start from scratch. 

It integrates with Active Directory, GSuite, and any other system that provides an Excel file or CSV to allow for a seamless import of extensive contact lists. 

Organimi key features

• Customization options: Extensive color and customization options to format and brand organizational charts according to specific needs.
• Printing and sharing: Easily print and share organizational charts within the organization to keep everyone updated on the structure.
• Drag & Drop functionality: Intuitive drag-and-drop functionality for effortless chart creation and editing.
• SmartChartTM legend: Includes a SmartChartTM legend for additional customization and branding strategies.

Pros

• Visualize animations and transitions.
• Great user interface. 
• Charts are easily updated and we can embed live charts on our internal staff website.

Cons

• Some hiccups when it comes to changing the style of the org chart.
• A strong internet connection is a requirement.

Organimi pricing

Organimi offers a 14-day trial allowing exploration of features before commitment. After that users can upgrade to one of the following plans:

• Basic Plan: $10/month billed annually or $18/month billed monthly, catering to teams of up to 150 users.
• Premium Plan:  $20/month billed annually or $35/month billed monthly, accommodating teams of up to 150 users with scalable pricing.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.3/5
• G2: 4.4/5

Social Media tools

47. Planable

Planable is a social media collaboration platform helping marketing teams work faster and better, together by allowing them to create content and publish it in no minutes. 

With real-time collaboration features and four types of approval workflows, you can preview your posts for all platforms and collaborate just right next to the posts. 

Planable offers marketers a better way to create, plan, review, and schedule content for the most popular social media networks. Built with teams in mind, Planable is a good product for teams of any size. 

Planable key features

• Multiple viewing options: Offers list, feed, grid, and calendar views for flexible content planning.
• Contextual collaboration: Collaboration occurs in context, right next to the posts, via comments and replies.
• Approval workflows: Four types of approval workflows: none, optional, required, and multi-level.
• Social media integrations: Integrates with popular social media channels like TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more.
• Separate workspaces: Provides separate workspaces to organize content and team members efficiently.

Pros

• Set custom dates and use the calendar to upload the posts.
• Create posts and share them on all social media platforms from a single platform.
• Phone app works quite well.

Cons

• Lack of analytics
• Hard to customize when posting bulk content.

Planable pricing

Beside a free version offering single user workspace, Planable offers three paid plans to choose from: 

• Basic Plan: $11/user/month annually or $13/user/month monthly, unlimited posts, 4 pages/workspace, 2 types of approval, Feed & Calendar views, up to 20 tweets/month.
• Pro Plan: $22/user/month annually or $26/user/month monthly, 10 pages/workspace, 3 types of approval, Grid view, Save as an Ad feature, up to 50 tweets/month.
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing, contact sales team for details.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.6/5
• G2: 4.6/5

48. SocialBee

Why waste time managing social media accounts when SocialBee can do all the work for you? Yes, that’s right. This AI-powered platform manages social media posts with ease.  

Whether you are busy working all day around or a small business owner having budget constraints, or a freelancer, consider SocialBee your very own social media manager who will for sure save your day.  

Creating posts with SocialBee’s Canva, Unsplash, GIPHY, and more integration saves you a lot of time. 

SocialBee key features

• Post-scheduling for seamless publishing of content. 
• Social media analytics to analyze your social media account growth. 
• AI-powered and Canva-integrated content creation. 
• Multiple integrations with industry-leading platforms. 
• Team collaboration to achieve social media goals.

Pros

• Advanced editing features to create creative content. 
• Easy organization and content scheduling for multiple accounts and clients.
• Keep track of hashtags to save you time. 
• Content if scheduled keeps on posting on its own.
• Exceptional customer service. 

Cons

• Great loading speed. 
• Might get difficult to get your head around content posting on certain social media platforms, like Instagram.

SocialBee pricing

SocialBee offers a 14 day free trial. After that, users can choose one of the following paid plans:

• Bootstrap: Ideal for solopreneurs and new businesses; starts at $24.20/month, connects 5 profiles, includes 1 user/workspace.
• Accelerate: Best for small businesses; starts at $40.80/month, connects 10 profiles, includes 1 user/workspace.
• Pro: Best for social media managers, teams, and agencies; starts at $82.50/month, connects 25 profiles, includes 3 users/workspace.
• Pro50: Best for small agencies starting out; starts at $149.20/month, connects 50 profiles, includes 5 users/workspace.
• Pro100: Best for medium agencies; starts at $274.20/month, connects 100 profiles, includes 5 users/workspace.
• Pro150: Best for large agencies; starts at $374.20/month, connects 150 profiles, includes 5 users/workspace.

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.6
• G2: 4.8

49. HeyOrca

HeyOrca is a collaborative social media platform designed to streamline content planning, publishing, and reporting for agencies and teams of all sizes. It prioritizes both in-house and external collaborations on social media content. 

From planning and publishing content to getting in-detail reporting on social media results, the platform makes the client approval process seamless. And that too in a single platform. 

HeyOrca key features

• Content calendar: Easily create, publish, and schedule various types of content on Instagram directly from the platform.
• Competitor reports: Compare content performance with competitors to gain insights and improve strategies.
• Visual dashboard reporting: Get detailed overviews of social media performance through visually appealing dashboards.
• Bulk actions: Take bulk actions to edit content efficiently and effectively.
• Event strips: Visualize upcoming events, campaigns, and more with Event Strips for better planning.

Pros

• Planning and organizing social media posts is super easy. 
• Comprehensive overview of social media performance provides great insights. 
• User-friendly interface.

Cons

• Sometimes content publishing isn’t pulled over the first time.  
• No bulk upload feature.

HeyOrca pricing

• Basic Plan: Starting at $59/month (or $50.15/month annually), unlimited users, collaborative scheduler.
• Standard Plan: Starting at $99/month (or $84.15/month annually), collaborative scheduler, visually appealing reports, suitable for unlimited users.
• Pro Plan: Starting at $149/month (or $126.65/month annually), unlimited scheduling, advanced reports, social inbox, ideal for unlimited users

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.7
• G2: 4.5

Software development tools

50. GitHub

GitHub is a platform designed for developers to collaborate efficiently, solve problems together, and learn from each other while storing and sharing code. It makes it easy for developers to work together on projects. They can create public or private repositories (repos), which are like folders containing the project’s code and other files. 

Developers can then fork a repo, create their own copy, make changes, and submit pull requests to have their changes merged into the main repository.

GitHub key features

• Role management: Set roles and expectations easily without starting from scratch.
• Built-in review tools: Tools for code review make the process easier and faster.
• Moderation tools: Features like issue and pull request locking help teams stay focused on code.
• Documentation: Create well-maintained docs with high levels of care.

Pros

• The tool supports Markdown for issue tracking, user comments, wikis, etc. 
• Lets you convert one or several files into a working Git repository. 
• Great for remote collaboration. 

Cons

• Element of a security risk since it’s cloud-based. 
• Pricing plans can be expensive for some users.

GitHub pricing

GitHub offers a free plan ideal for individuals and small teams. However, for advanced functionality teams can choose from following two plans:

• Team Plan: Starting at $3.67 per user/month for the first 12 months annually, or $4 per user/month with monthly billing.
• Enterprise Plan: Starting at $19.25 per user/month for the first 12 months annually

User ratings

• Capterra:4.7
• G2: 4.8

51. GitLab

GitLab is DevSecOps tool by Git for software developers to collaborate on the codebase. It goes beyond simple version control, offering a feature-rich suite for communication, planning, feedback, and knowledge sharing. Since GitLab’s core is open source, organizations can customize GitLab to fit their specific needs and workflows. This makes it a versatile platform that can adapt to diverse development environments. Also, it integrates several features, allowing smooth transitions between development, testing, and deployment.

Additionally, an exposure to a large community of developers helps in the learning and development of the team members. 

GitLab key features

• Code sharing: Share reusable code snippets within projects to enhance collaboration and knowledge exchange.
• Targeted feedback: Provide comments directly within the codebase for detailed feedback on specific sections.
• Collaborative review: Engage in threaded discussions on proposed changes within merge requests to foster comprehensive feedback and agreement.
• Comprehensive tracking: Log and monitor bugs, feature requests, and tasks with designated assignments and threaded discussions.
• Independent development: Work on separate branches without disrupting others, merging changes seamlessly when ready.

Pros

• Open source software
• Large user base and community
• Unified platform with several feature sets

Cons

• Steep learning curve for beginners 
• Potential security concerns

GitLab Pricing

There are three main pricing tiers for GitLab.  The Free tier is available for up to five users and includes 5GB of storage, 10GB of monthly transfer, and 400 compute minutes. The paid tiers are as following:

Premium: Starts at $29 per user per month and includes 50GB of storage, 100GB of monthly transfer, and 10,000 compute minutes. 

Ultimate: Custom pricing available

It is important to note that several add-ons and extended storage costs extra. 

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.6
• G2: 4.5

52. Beanstalk

Beanstalk is software that helps teams work together on coding projects. It makes writing, reviewing, editing, and deploying code across different environments easier. With Beanstalk, team members can collaborate and give feedback on code changes before they’re merged into the main code. 

Also, Beanstalk provides tools for creating, managing, and merging branches, allowing developers to work on different features or bug fixes independently without affecting the main codebase. 

Overall, Beanstalk offers a comprehensive set of features and integrations, making it suitable for teams looking to enhance their development workflow and code quality.

Beanstalk key features

• Activity feeds: Track your team’s code updates, including who did what and when, with email alerts.
• Blame tool: Identify who modified a specific line of code, along with the time and reason.
• Release notes: Stay updated on server deployments with notifications and deployment details.
• Compare View: Easily compare different code versions to see changes, contributors, and related issues before merging.
• Inline comments: Share and discuss design changes directly on mockups and images.

Pros

• Integrates with popular tools and services like GitHub, Slack, and Figma.
• Easy deployment
• Cost-effectiveness

Cons

• Limited flexibility or customization.
• Limited debugging tools

Beanstalk pricing

Based on the size capacity, Beanstalk offers five different plans to choose from

Bronze plan: $15/month, suitable for freelancers

Silver plan: $25/month, expands on Bronze and suitable for growing startup

Gold plan: $50/month, geared towards businesses and small teams

Platinum plan: $100/month, designed for larger teams and businesses, 

Diamond plan: $200/month, meets enterprise-level needs. 

User ratings

• Capterra: 4.7
• G2: 4.1

What are online collaboration tools?

Team collaboration tools are not just made for remote location workers but are also valuable tools for any business that wants to be more efficient and effective in its actions.

These sophisticated online collaboration tools enable real-time communication by empowering teams to optimize resources, execute projects, promote transparency, and achieve unparalleled collaboration through document sharing, multiple task views, and provide real-time updates regardless of team members’ geographical locations.

Why do you need online collaboration tools?

Imagine managing teams from one part of the globe and your designers, writers or developers or marketing team sitting on the other side of the globe. 

How do you collaborate with your remote workers frequently and conveniently? How do you manage to get everyone on the same page and ensure that they get the latest updates on projects? 

Well, it surely can be challenging for not only the remote business workers but also in-house teams to keep pace with the upcoming tasks. 

But, all thanks to the best collaboration tools, managing small and big businesses, streamlining the project workflow, and keeping an eye on task progress becomes super easy in a virtual interface with everyone being on the same page.

What exclusive features to expect from online collaboration tools?

There are several digital collaboration tools available online in the market today and each tool differs from the others in terms of features, usage, functionality, etc. However, there are some essential features that any top-rated team collaboration tool should offer to its end users. 

1. Instant messaging

Communication is the backbone of any business. Swift communication ensures the timely exchange of information between users from the same or different departments within the organization. Collaboration software with an inbuilt instant chat feature is of great use for those who want to exchange quick information (directly or in groups) along with sending GIFs, documents, files, and images.

2. Centralized discussion

Wasting time on meetings is the one thing collaboration tools for businesses should be able to bring an end to. When you get a centralized platform to share every bit of information in a single space, keeping every team member, management, and even stakeholders in the loop isn’t an uphill battle. Also, a desired level of privacy secures crucial information from getting the attention of every eye.

3. Intuitive interface 

Any good online collaboration tool should have a neat layout and an intuitive interface so users can effortlessly navigate through it. Why should you settle for complex, difficult-to-use collaboration software that less-tech-savvy users might find overwhelming? So, choosing a platform that your team feels comfortable using is worth every dollar you invest in it.

4. Real-time updates

To complete and deliver projects on time, it’s important for every team member to stay updated on all recent developments within the project. Don’t you agree? Well, that’s why real-time updates are an important feature that should be in a collaboration platform. With users receiving real-time notifications on the web app, mobile app, and email, keeping everyone in the loop and taking timely necessary action become convenient.

5. Online proofing

With remote work becoming a new normal, an online proofing feature comes to your rescue. For instance, with creative and design teams working from varied geographical locations, the online proofing feature helps them to quickly collaborate on files and documents for review, annotation, and approval. Collaborating on designs and other creative assets is as easy as sharing a link. This feature eliminates the need to use back-and-forth email chains, saving you a lot of valuable work time.

6. Bird-eye view

An online collaboration tool with Calendar and Gantt view can give you a quick overview of tasks and their stage and progress in no time. Whereas a Calendar view allows you to see tasks, events, and milestones all in one place.

Gantt, on the other hand, benefits you in locating and eliminating bottlenecks by analyzing dependencies and adjusting accordingly.

So, visual collaboration is also a thing.

7. Smart task management

Task management with collaboration tools for businesses is more than merely the creation, allocation, and tracking of tasks, but is smart task management that brings clarity to job roles and responsibilities. By mentioning team members ( with @mention) you can even bring team members to the same page, draw their attention, connect with them, and loop them in to provide a clear understanding of what they are expected to work on, with whom, and when.

8. File sharing

A collaboration tool with a centralized location allows users to not only store and organize but share and even collaborate on all their digital files and documents without relying on long email threads. Be it MS Word, Google Docs, PDF, or other design elements, accessing and sharing files, documents, and designs, you want to edit, publish, or forward to other collaborators for reviewing and approval fosters smooth collaboration. (Without you juggling between multiple apps) 

What are the benefits of collaboration tools for businesses and teams?

Businesses across all industries are deriving a wide range of benefits from team collaboration tools. That’s the reason The global team collaboration software market size was valued at USD 21.69 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5% from 2022 to 2030.

Here are some benefits that are too good to ignore. 

Cross-functional collaboration – As the name suggests, you would think it to be obvious for a collaboration tool to foster greater collaboration. But the platform upscales the expectations by promoting and facilitating increased engagement between the multiple departments by narrowing down the distance in-between.

Improved team productivity – Timely communication, improved coordination, and greater transparency on tasks result in skyrocketed productivity. As teams are empowered with organized conversations and shared information together in one place. And that’s all because of an online collaboration tool in operations.

Enhanced project management – An effective online collaboration tool can greatly and positively impact the entire project lifecycle. A platform that allows you to manage multiple projects simultaneously, monitor project progress and performance, centralize document management, and most importantly collaborate on project-related documents is a step to take in the future. 

Improved time utilization – 89% of workers admit to wasting time every day at work. An online collaboration tool with an inbuilt time-tracking tool helps project teams keep track of time spent performing different tasks manually or using automatic timers. Also, what better could you ask if it can allow you to set time estimates and start/due dates for tasks too? Agree?

Improved employee engagement – Engaged employees are a win-win situation for any company. Period! And collaboration tools do the same by encouraging transparency within the teams, promoting teamwork by reducing isolation between them (especially remote teams), and enabling them to work together and collaborate effectively. 

Improved work organization – Unorganized work is a productivity killer. That’s why an online collaboration tool streamlines your work process by centralizing scattered information and eliminating duplicated ones. With every single detail available on the table, the chances of miscommunication are reduced to zero. 

Streamlined workflow of agile teams – Collaboration tools for businesses streamline the workflow of agile teams based on agile methodologies. By allowing teams to schedule daily stand-ups, sprint planning, share updates, and get instant feedback and real-time report, these tools enable businesses to deliver high-quality work.

Our criteria for the selection of the best collaboration tools?

Now that you know the importance of collaboration tools and some common-use tools, let us give you a quick overview of how did we reach this particular selection of online collaboration tools.  

1. Features

My idea behind the selection and analysis of online collaboration tools is to get you the ones that provide you with excellent service and multiple features for team collaboration. As we know the multiple features embedded in an all-in-one platform can improve work efficiency and productivity to a much higher extent on the whole. 

2. Ease of use

Moving ahead, you all would agree that nobody wants a complex structure to work. Right? That’s why we made sure that the tools we recommend you deliver services that do not take a lot of time to get used to and keep an eye out for an intuitive interface and simple navigation.

3. Technology in action

We are thriving in the era of technology. So, obviously, we had to find the tools that serve modern technological needs. Cloud-based technology is so far the better out there in comparison to others as it allows you to save every piece of information online which you can access from anywhere.

4. Integrations

Integrations are key to convenient work. That’s why integration is the other main aspect that became the evaluation step of my selection process. So, my list contains the tools that seamlessly integrate with important tools and are also compatible with various devices.

5. User review 

Of course, how could have we avoided going through the review sites and user feedback before compiling the list of tools? That’s why we gauged product performance by going through real-life experiences and insights from people. Trust me, you will find the details here which won’t be mentioned in any product description page. 

6. Pricing

We all have budget constraints and ensuring our expenses align with our budget constraints is crucial. That’s a smart thing to do. Trust me! And that’s why my list of tools entails products of different price ranges. Because price analysis in my perspective sometimes gets you to bag significant discounts.

So, pick one that brings out the best in your teams. As these tools are sure to level up your communication game.

Conclusion 

In this digital age, collaboration is the name of the game. As physical office spaces and virtual workstations battle for supremacy, it’s important for businesses to keep their employees aligned on business goals. 

Using a feature-rich online collaboration tool is of great use for both in-office and remote teams. Using the tool, you can keep all your team members, stakeholders, and clients on the same page while encouraging organization, collaboration, and transparency within the organization. 

However, being a user of ProofHub, it’s obvious that we would pitch for ProofHub. Not just because it’s my favorite but because it offers the best value for money in terms of the number of features offered, ease of usage, pricing, and overall user experience. – No bias at all.

You can try it for yourself.

But lastly, we would still say that the last call is yours. And we know you will make the right decision.

FAQs: