Free Collaboration Software is a program that allows you to edit a text document in real time. The documents that you create with Free Collab can be saved in a format compatible to Microsoft Word.
Free Collaboration Software makes it possible for individuals and organizations to work together in less time, with more efficiency, at a fraction of the cost. Here are just a few examples of what your business could achieve using Free Collaboration Software:
Slack
If you’ve heard of team chat, you’ve probably heard of them. IM, channels, video calls, integrations and bots for hundreds of third-party tools; Slack has it all. But the free plan limits you to 10 service integrations, so choose wisely.
Image: Slack
Slack’s free plan
- Unlimited users, messages, and channels
- Unlimited one-to-one voice and video calls
- 5GB storage for file sharing and 10K message history
- Up to 10 apps or service integrations
For video conferencing (up to 15 participants) and guest accounts, you’ll need to upgrade to a Standard plan that costs $6.67 per user per month. There’s also a Plus plan that adds more features at $12.50 a user per month.
Twist
Made by the folks behind Todoist, Twist makes it easy to organize and keep track of discussions with threads. Their message board-like interface is easy to use, though using threads and the inbox (they work more like email threads, not Slack threads) takes some getting used to. The upside? Fewer notifications!
Twist’s free plan
- Unlimited users, guests, messages, channels, and threads
- Access to 1 month of conversations
- 5GB storage for file sharing
- 5 service integrations
Twist doesn’t bother with audio/video conferencing or screen sharing features, they have a Wherein integration instead. For $5 a user per month, Twist Unlimited offers unlimited conversation history, file storage, service integrations, and priority support.
Zoho Cliq
Zoho Cliq lets you view multiple conversations—each in its own column—so you don’t have to shuffle back and forth between a channel discussion and a private chat with a colleague. Also, host video conferences with up to 100 participants on the free plan.
Unsurprisingly, Cliq integrates smoothly with other Zoho apps, but there are also integrations for third-party services such as Asana, Wrike, and Zapier.
Image: Zoho
Cliq’s free plan
- Unlimited users, messages, and channels (up to 100 members in each)
- Video conferencing with up to 100 participants + screen sharing
- 100GB storage for file sharing and 10K message history
- 10 third-party app integrations
For $3 a user per month, Cliq Unlimited offers unlimited message search, ups file storage, and lets you connect up to 100 third-party integrations. It also unlocks the PrimeTime Assembly feature, so you can stream live video to as many as 10,000 participants.
Asana
Organisation to the max
TODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Project tracking+Handy integrations
REASONS TO AVOID
-Other apps have better comms features
Asana has been around since 2008, making it a veteran in the collaboration arena, and companies such as Intel, Uber, Pinterest and TED all use it as their core method of communication.
It’s been designed as an easy way for companies to track the work of employees and to get the best possible results. Using the platform, you can create to-do lists for ongoing projects, set reminders for upcoming deadlines and send requests to colleagues. Team members can also assign comments to posts within the app.
You can organize all your projects in a list or board format, and there’s a search function so you can locate past work quickly. In short, Asana is a very effective way to stay super-organized and facilitate conversations when it comes to updates on how work is progressing.
Podio
A mobile-friendly collaboration tool
TODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Easy-to-use interface+Quality mobile apps+Wide range of integrations
Podio describes itself as a flexible and customizable online platform for work and communication among teams. In other words, it gives you a way to organize large stacks of work and to delegate tasks between employees.
Just like many of the other business collaboration apps out there, Podio provides you with the tools to share files, view the status of ongoing projects and get feedback on the things you’re currently working on. These functionalities are combined into an easy-to-use interface.
Podio is also equipped with quality mobile apps for when you’re out and about, and need to use your smartphone or tablet, and it has an impressive amount of integration with third-party services and apps including Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote and Zendesk.
Flock
A communication-focused Slack alternative
TODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Easy to use interface+Neat productivity tools+Free to use
Flock is another application very similar to Slack but is arguably a little less daunting to use and offers more comprehensive communication tools.
Flock supports channels for different teams as well as 1:1 or group conversations. Users can search through messages, files and links and Flock will find it no matter who sent it and where.
There are audio and video calls and screen sharing as well as productivity tools such as polls, note sharing and reminders, while users can assign tasks to certain members of the group.
There’s also integrations with third party applications like Google Drive and Twitter, with notifications appearing directly in channels.
Flock has a free tier, but searches are limited to 10,000 messages, there is a 5GB storage limit and only five third party integrations are permitted. A Pro plan adds unlimited search, 10GB of storage per user, and admin controls, while the Enterprise plan ads 20GB of storage per user, more admin controls and dedicated support.
Samepage
Companies looking for the most complete free team collaboration tool — or those that have more communications needs than most — should strongly consider Samepage.
In addition to free audio and video calls with screen sharing features, Samepage’s native task management software features allow team leaders to schedule and track the progress of multiple projects simultaneously.
It also boasts excellent integration with tools like Salesforce, Slack, Google Drive, and even social media integration via Facebook and Twitter.
With a free plan this comprehensive, the vast majority of companies likely will not need to pay for a SamePage plan, though there are paid options available.
Samepage’s free plan includes:
- Unlimited chat and message search history
- Unlimited number of users and guests
- Screen Sharing
- File sharing and editing
- Group audio and video calls
- Group texting
- Up to 2 GB of storage
- Unlimited pages and folders
- Surveys
- Calendar
- Ability to create/assign tasks
Best For: Samepage is best for small teams that need a free team collaboration solution with such robust features that they may be able to avoid ever needing to upgrade to a free plan, and teams with a near-constant need for collaboration.
Airtable
Airtable is an online platform that lets users build, customize, and share their own databases.
It’s best known for its spreadsheet (Grid) view. Though each entry may look like a simple line on an Excel spreadsheet, these lines are incredibly interactive. Users can create tasks, use a drag-and-drop tool to reorder tasks, upload relevant data, set deadlines, outline main points of contact, share notes, and upload photos/documents to each line.
Relevant grids/tables can be collected into an Airtable Base. For example, a customer satisfaction Base could be made up of grids like existing support tickets, current issues, support agent conversation history, or individual clients.
If the Grid view isn’t preferable, easily shift between multiple views at any time, including Kanban, Gantt, Gallery, and Form views.
Airtable also offers extensive automation capabilities, lets users share and pull data from other grids, and share grids between teams.
The Airtable free plan includes unlimited bases with up to 1,200 records per base, and 2GB of storage per space.
Additional free plan features include:
- 100 automated runs/month
- 2-week run history
- Over 50 pre-built Airtable apps
- 1 manual table sync/base
- iOS and Android mobile apps
- Field types including checkboxes, dropdowns, attachments, and more
Best For: Airtable is best for teams that need highly customizable apps for data organizing, sharing, and task management. Teams with at least some coding experience or access to developers/IT departments will get the most out of Airtable.
nTask
nTask is a task management and online meeting software designed to simplify project management, time tracking, budgeting and resource allocation and team communication.
Task management features provide estimated project budgets by letting users customize billing methods according to fixed and hourly costs, cost per task, and the cost of resources and materials.
Users can also set task deadlines, sub-tasks, and dependencies, create to-do lists, and estimate the amount of time each task will take. Multiple users can be assigned to a single task, assignees receive real-time notifications for comments and task updates, and real-time document sharing and collaborating is also available. Tasks can be categorized and tagged, given priority levels, and users can update task status.
Note that users need to connect to a Zoom account to access video conferencing.
The nTask free plan includes:
- 100 MB storage
- Gantt charts
- Set recurring tasks
Task import and export to .csv files - Calendar, list, Kanban, or grid views
- Task milestones
- 5 members per team
- Unlimited tasks and workspaces
- Issue tracking
- Timesheets
- Meetings
Best For: nTask is best for It’s also an ideal solution for teams that need a better way to track timesheets, estimate project timelines, and design/manage budgets.
Conclusion
Collaboration software allows you to communicate and coordinate with your workgroup in real time, share files and information in a safe and secure environment and much more. Open source collaboration tools such as G o o g l e Wave and G o o g l e Docs offer many of the same basic collaborative features as Web apps such as Basecamp, but you can also use these programs for countless other business applications without paying a dime.