Free online collaboration software is a web application that allows for easy file sharing in teams or groups in both public and private projects. Free online collaboration software enables multiple people in different locations to work on the same project at the same time using a variety of methods, inc. messaging, chat, instant messaging, email, document insertion, discussion boards, group calendars, group email accounts, shared folders/discs/folders, forums.
Free online collaboration fits any budget. Teamwork holds meeting notes, calendars, documents, tasks, project schedules, sign out sheets, online survey forms and more. Free web based instant messaging means you can talk with others or use an audio conference call for face-to-face communication. Your meeting information is searchable by tags so you always find what you need.
Asana
Asana is one of the best-known team communication tools, especially since it was created by one of the founders of Facebook. Its intuitive interface provides a bird’s eye view of upcoming tasks and projects, real-time progress and status updates, important files, and specific teams.
It offers multiple task views, including to-do list view, calendar views, and file views. Users can sort tasks according to priority, assigned date, due date, and more. Asana also allows users to update task descriptions, create subtasks, set task dependencies, assign task verticals, and update task progress.
Note that only one person can be assigned to one task, but multiple users can be added as collaborators. Users can create task notes, upload files, and tag other team members.
As with Wrike, in order to make video calls, use a messenger feature, or share a screen with others in real-time, users need to integrate tools with those capabilities into Asana. Asana integrates well with numerous video conferencing programs like GoToMeeting, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. It also integrates with other popular communication tools like Slack, Office 365, G Suite, Adobe Creative Cloud and PDF files, and Dropbox.
Features of Asana’s free version include:
- A maximum of 15 users
- Task list and board views
- Task creation and assignment
- Calendar feature
- Scheduling features
- Project templates
- User inboxes
- Team creation
- Star/pin certain tasks
- Basic task/user reports
- In-app comments and user tagging
- Android and Mac mobile and desktop versions
Asana’s paid plans offer additional features like project timelines, Asana Forms, report generation, workload analysis, automation, and more.
Best For: Asana is best for primarily remote teams that have multiple users working on one project and therefore need to be able to create subtasks, comment on tasks, and if needed, adjust deadlines. It’s also especially popular among educators and students as a way to track homework assignments, project preparation, small group presentations, and more. Content marketers use Asana to assign tasks, review content, schedule postings, and more.
Flock
Flock is a team messaging and cross-collaboration platform with a free version providing one-to-one video calls, chat communication channels, and task management capabilities.
Note that, though its interface is similar to Slack’s, Flock’s free version allows for public chat message channels only.
One of the best features of Flock is that it displays all of the new messages a user has been tagged in when they return to Flock after stepping away. This eliminates the need for users to dig through old messages to find important information.
Recently, Flock has also added the Voice Notes feature, where mobile users can send recorded audio messages to each other.
Task management capabilities include to-do lists with user tagging and task assignment, shared to-dos with automatic notifications, reminder setting, due dates, and task prioritization.
Though Flock’s free plan does include a video calling feature, users are limited to one-on-one conversations for a maximum of 20 minutes. Additionally, screen sharing is only available with a paid Flock plan, and it makes it difficult for users to find a screen sharing app that integrates with for free.
That being said, Flock still integrates with Jira, GitHub, ToDoist, Asana, Trello, and Zapier among others. It also allows you to build your own custom apps and integrate them with your Flock dashboard.
Flock’s free plan also includes:
- Up to 10 public channels
- Custom poling
- Channel muting
- Add tasks to integrated calendars
- 1 auto-join channel
- Announcement channel
- Unlimited third-party integrations
- File sharing and 5 GB of storage
- Note-taking app
- Chat pinning
- Unlimited 1-1 voice and video calls
- Team Admin
- Unlimited group messages
- Up to 10,000 searchable messages
Best For: Flock is best for SMBs that use many third-party communication and collaboration platforms, as well as businesses that need to integrate task management capabilities within their chat messaging platform. It’s also a good fit for mobile-first users.
Trello
If your team is more visually-focused, then Trello may be the right fit.
Trello offers a few unique features, including its “Trello cards,” where users can attach files, write to-do lists, assign tasks/subtasks, update task progress, and add comments. Trello users can then pin their cards to a sharable overall project board. Users can then be added to team boards to view, edit, update and share files on each card.
Cards can contain task assignments, task updates, due dates, attachments, and even conversations. Think of each card as its own project ecosystem. Additionally, Trello offers an enormous library of board templates for project management, remote work, marketing, classrooms, and more.
The app’s “Command Run” feature is especially handy, allowing users to automate tasks like setting due dates, outlining schedules, and adding team members to cards.
Though Trello does not have native video conferencing or screen sharing tools, it integrates with Google Hangouts, Zoom, and Zoom alternatives. It also integrates with Slack, Yammer, Flock, Glip, Asana, and other communication tools.
Trello calls integrations “Power-Ups,” and the free plan allows for one power-up per board.
Trello’s free plan includes:
- Unlimited lists, cards, personal boards
- Timeline and calendar views
- Maximum of 10 team boards
- Basic automation
- 50 monthly command runs
- Two-factor authentication
- Apple and Android mobile app access
Best For: Trello is best for small teams with a high number of basic daily tasks they need to automate, as well as teams that want to organize tasks visually but that don’t plan to use many third-party integrations.
Ryver
An easy-to-use collaboration platform
TODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
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.
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.
Conclusion
Free online collaboration is being used in so many way in so many situations! Whether for communicating, brainstorming, or simply sharing ideas, it’s hard to go wrong when this powerful tool is available. This free resource can save you time and money and provides a platform for helping get your business idea off the ground.