If you are looking for the best free business tools to collaborate, share, and communicate online at work then this list is right up your alley. Here are some of the best free team collaboration tools that you can implement in no time.
Select a service from our list of the best free team collaboration tools, and start building your online community today.
Flock
With Flock, team members can exchange messages, share files, host video conferences, manage to-dos, and set up calendar events all from one easy-to-use app. Flock integrates with popular business tools such as Google Calendar, Google Drive, Asana, MailChimp, and Twitter, making it easier for team members to stay on top of things without juggling a dozen different apps.
Flock’s free plan gives your team:
- Unlimited team members and one-to-one messages
- 10 public channels for group conversations
- Unlimited 1:1 video calls
- 5GB storage for file sharing and 10K message history for quick search
- Built-in productivity apps such as shared notes, polls, and reminders
- Unlimited integrations for third-party services, such as Asana, Jira, or Google Drive
Microsoft Teams
Initially an exclusive for businesses with Office 365 subscriptions, Microsoft Teams has since launched a free plan for small businesses. We love its innovative features such as inline translation for messages and the ability to record meetings with automatic transcriptions. Also a plus, its deep integrations with OneDrive and Office 365 services.
Image: Microsoft
Microsoft Team’s free plan
- Up to 300 users
- Unlimited messages, channels, and search
- Unlimited audio and video meetings with up to 250 participants
- 10GB of team file storage + 2GB per user
- 140+ apps and service integrations
For advanced collaboration features such as meeting recordings and automatic transcriptions, you’ll need to pony up for an Office 365 subscription. Office 365 Business Essentials costs $5 a user per month and the full-featured Office 365 Business Premium will set you back $12.50 a user per month.
Discord
Discord bills itself as an all-in-one voice and text chat for gamers, and it’s clear why. In addition to the usual private and group DMs, Discord offers a new way of collaborating in real-time: Voice channels. Think of them as always-on radio channels to talk to your team. Loved by gamers, voice channels can also be an easier, less stressful way to collaborate remotely on shared documents. More importantly, Discord offers unlimited voice, video, and text chat—all for free!
Image: Hacker Noon
Discord’s free plan
- Unlimited users, messages, text and voice channels, and file sharing (individual file size < 8MB)
- Unlimited video conferences with up to 10 participants + screen sharing
- A cool Text-to-Speech function that reads out what you type!
Discord Nitro Classic lets you upload a GIF avatar, use custom emojis everywhere, and ups that pesky file size limit to 50MB – for $4.99 per user per month.
Rocket.Chat
If on-premise software is a must, look no further than Rocket.Chat’s open-source team collaboration app. Easily deployed to on-premise or cloud servers, Rocket.Chat is free with zero restrictions on core functionality. It’s your server! Just one caveat: If there’s trouble, you’re probably on your own – the free plan doesn’t come with any web, email, or phone support, so be prepared to hunt through pages of technical documentation for any fixes.
Image: GitHub
Rocket.Chat’s free plan
- Unlimited users, messages, channels, video calls, and file sharing
- It’s open-source, customizable, and you own all your data (again, it’s your server)!
- Inline message translations
Rocket.Chat offers cloud-based deployment plans with 24/7 email support at $2 a user per month.
Slack
A collaboration tool which needs no introduction
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REASONS TO BUY
+Excellent interface+Impressive free version
REASONS TO AVOID
-Some might want more depth in security
Slack is without doubt a mighty collaboration tool, with millions of users around the globe. It’s an incredibly smart platform, and you can get it on mobile and desktop devices. It allows for the sending of direct messages (DMs) and files to a single person or a group of employees, and there’s the ability to organise conversations into different channels (perhaps for specific projects, one for technical support, general chat, and so forth).
The app also supports video calling. You can use the feature to talk to your colleagues about projects and work in-depth, without having to type everything into a DM. While this isn’t a replacement for cloud storage services, you are able to drag, drop and share files with your colleagues directly within Slack. It’s also compatible with services such as Google Drive, Dropbox and Box.
To round things off, Slack even has a free version, although unsurprisingly it has limitations (in terms of the number of messages stored, overall storage space and so forth).
Trello
An app for organising all your projects
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REASONS TO BUY
+Clean, easy-to-use interface+Free version
REASONS TO AVOID
-Not many comms features
If you have ever looked into project management software and online collaboration tools, then no doubt you’ve come across Trello. Available on the web and with mobile apps, it lets you easily organize projects and work on them with colleagues.
The platform allows you to work with boards or lists, which can be organised by teams and different tasks. And within these, you can set up to-do lists and delegate amongst colleagues. There’s also the option to assign comments to cards – a quick way to give feedback to others.
Furthermore, Trello boasts a number of integrations with apps such as Evernote, GitHub, Google Drive and Slack. You can download the app for free, but there are premium options available which give access to more features.
The Premium pricing tier unlocks a number of additional administrative features for better organization. There’s also an Enterprise edition which is priced according to the number of users required, and provides some additional organizational management features.
Ryver
An easy-to-use collaboration platform
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REASONS TO BUY
+Easy-to-use interface+Comprehensive platform
REASONS TO AVOID
-Rivals have more features
Ryver is similar to Slack, aiming to give your organisation a highly effective means of communication, and an easy way to talk over tasks, ensuring that deadlines are met.
What makes Ryver a compelling option is the fact that you can create as many teams as you want within the app, and easily categorise them to boot. As is the case with Slack, you can use the platform to set up chats with groups and individuals.
There are some interesting filters, too. You can control who sees the things you say and post in the app, and obviously enough, join the teams that are most relevant to you. All company posts are located within a Facebook-style newsfeed, and you can mark posts to come back to them later on.
There’s also a host of native clients across mobile and desktop, including Mac and Linux. There’s also a premium version for enterprise which offers workflow automation, Single Sign-On (SSO), and advanced team management.
Creatopy
Creatopy is the efficient and intuitive visual production platform delivering a well-crafted experience for communicators. The brand-new platform allows individuals and teams to easily create engaging advertising visuals for multi-channel creative mediums.
Featuring advanced automation capabilities, along with an ever-growing library of templates and visual elements, Creatopy gives communicators the needed tools to spark their creative journey and keep visual content organized and always on-brand.
Plus, with Creatopy, you get an online workspace in which you can create and store unlimited designs and animations. You can also share notes and projects, give feedback, and pass around links, not files.
Pros
- Cloud-based collaboration for all stakeholders
- Accessible, intuitive interface with a drag and drop editor
- Design presets, templates, and original illustrations, available at no resale
- No coding or design skills required
- Designs can be exported as HTML5, GIF, AMP HTML files
Cons
- Requires a stable internet connection
- They don’t have a mobile app yet
HeyOrca
Finally, a collaborative social media management tool designed for agencies.
HeyOrca’s social media calendar allows you to effortlessly schedule and collaborate on social media posts, manage content approvals, and report on your results… all in one place.
It’s a visual platform built for social media managers that need to collaborate and communicate digitally on content – whether it’s with a client or internal team. Here’s how Alicia from Conversion Interactive Agency describes her experience:
I love that our content creation and client approvals all happen in one simple, easy-to-use platform. It really opened the door for more direct collaboration with our clients and empowered our team to build stronger relationships with them. HeyOrca’s support team is unmatched – any questions or suggestions are addressed lightning fast and they’re always friendly and great about following up.
HeyOrca enabled us to make the switch from spreadsheets — a clunky, outdated process, to a completely seamless workflow that enabled our team to work smarter and more efficiently.
Pros
- Rated 4.8/5 stars on G2
- Free 14-day trial
- Very low learning curve
- Unique pricing model – every calendar comes with unlimited users, social posts, media storage, support, and up to 10 connected social accounts
- Calendar format allows you to easily manage scheduled posts & plan future content
- Visual editor shows you exactly how posts will appear on social media while you create
- Easily share scheduled posts with clients or managers for approval or feedback
- Instantly pull social media reports & share them with clients or management
Cons
- No optimal posting times (Coming soon)
- No paid post promotions (Coming soon)
Conclusion
You know the challenges of team collaboration: getting on the same page, missing meeting deadlines, and never finishing on time. Not to mention all the time wasted fixing mistakes, resending files, and trying to track down information. As a leader of your business’s projects and initiatives, trying to get people motivated and organized enough to execute your vision can be overwhelming.