Collaboration Tools

TrustRadius Top Rated for 2023

Top Rated Products

(1-5 of 17)

1
Bloomfire

Bloomfire provides knowledge engagement, aiming to deliver an experience that connects teams and individuals with the information they need to excel at their jobs. Their cloud-based knowledge engagement platform aims to give people one centralized, searchable place to engage with…

2
Quickbase

Quickbase helps users tackle any project, no matter how complex. Quickbase helps customers see, connect and control complex projects. Whether it’s raising a skyscraper or coordinating vaccine rollouts, the no-code software platform allows business users to custom fit solutions to…

3
Miro

Miro provides a visual workspace for innovation that enables distributed teams of any size to dream, design, and build the future together. Today, Miro counts more than 60 million users in 200,000 organizations who use Miro to improve product development collaboration, to speed up…

4
Slack

Slack is a group messaging or team collaboration app that aims to simplify communication for businesses. Features include open discussions, private groups, and direct messaging, as well as deep contextual search and message archiving, and file sharing. Slack integrates with a number…

5
Mattermost

Mattermost from the company of the same name in Palo Alto is a messaging, collaboration and communication platform providing high security and compliance for the businesses that need it.

All Products

(101-125 of 921)

101
Sococo

Sococo is a remote collaboration tool with integrations with third-party applications such as Google Docs, Atlassian JIRA, and Box.

102
Bluescape

Bluescape is a cloud-based, software as a service company based in Silicon Valley, CA, that provides a digital whiteboard of the same name.

103
Abstract

Abstract, from the company of the same name headquartered in San Francisco, offers a collaboration tool for developers and others, featuring a version controlled master file set and approval workflow.

Explore recently added products

104
Ideagen Huddle

Huddle is Ideagen’s tool supporting teams' work by enabling them to store, share and work on content.

105
Creately

Creately aims to provide powerful diagramming features at a very affordable price. The product boasts an intuitive interface so users can quickly and easily come up with professional diagrams. Users can draw flowcharts, organizational charts, wire-frames, SWOT diagrams, Venn diagrams,…

106
Zoho Mail

Zoho offers their business email suite, which includes Calendar, Tasks, Notes, and Contacts bundled with an inbox.

107
Mikogo

Mikogo is a free screen sharing solution with built-in VoIP for online meetings, web presentations, web conferencing and sales demos.

108
IBM B2B Cloud Services

IBM B2B Cloud Services provide capabilities for streamlining on-boarding of trading partners. It also allows shared business process to be handled more effectively due to better visibility and control.

109
Creativity 365

Creativity 365 is a comprehensive, cross-device contention creation tool set designed for both business and creative professionals. The suite aims to help individuals and teams collaborate and improve their productivity and efficiency. The set includes five apps along with 1TB Kdan…

110
GitKraken

GitKraken's commit graph helps visualize branch structure and commit history. It helps verify recent Git actions on the repo, and also shows who made what code changes and when, so it’s easier to track down when a bug was introduced and revert back to a previous version. GitKraken…

111
Liferay Digital Experience Platform (DXP)

Liferay Digital Experience Platform is an enterprise-grade platform that enables companies to create and connect personalized digital experiences across web, mobile, social, in store and other touchpoints. It provides the technical foundation (deep integration, security and modularity)…

112
Nuclino

Nuclino is a unified workspace where teams can organize knowledge, manage projects, and share ideas, all in one place. Progress can be tracked in a Kanban board, work structured in a hierarchical list, or data organized in a visual graph — Nuclino adapts to a team's unique workflow.…

113
Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor

The Lightning Conductor is a content aggregation tool for Microsoft SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams. Users can build rich, modern content reports based upon SharePoint lists, SharePoint Search, Microsoft Graph or Microsoft 365 Groups. Content can be aggregated from lists and…

114
ContactOffice

ContactOffice is a private label cloud collaboration suite including messaging, collaboration and mobility technologies. It is a suite of web applications (Mail, Docs, Calendar, Contacts) that are accessible anytime, anywhere and from any device.

115
Deltek WorkBook

Now from Deltek (acquired 2017), WorkBook is a project management solution. Designed for advertising and communications agencies with 30+ employees, the vendor says WorkBook is the perfect solution for multiple locations and collaboration through integrated conversations. Additionally…

116
Allo

Allo is a remote workspace made for asynchronous communication and remote teams. With interactive and visual spaces, teams are able to collaborate around, strategy, design, proposals, initiatives, and processes. This is done with Allo's interactive spaces.Allo includes:Creating…

117
CommUnity by Personify

Small World Labs Community is a hosted collaboration and social networking platform with easy drag & drop modification capabilities. Small World Labs offers implementation and community engagement services, plus an open API for integration with other systems. Small World Labs has…

118
Atlassian Stride (discontinued)

Atlassian has discontinued Stride. Users are being migrated to Slack.

119
Livestorm

French company Livestorm offers their webinar platform which integrates with many other enterprise applications via Zapier and features polling, session recording and sharing, and webinar data collection and tracking.

120
Pitch

Pitch is a platform for presentations, supporting teams from initial creation through to delivery and analysis. Whether starting from an AI prompt to create a draft, or choosing from over 100 designer-crafted templates, Pitch includes tools to help teams to get started quickly. Editing…

121
HotGloo

HotGloo is an online wireframing and prototyping tool. This solution has been designed for all those engaged in the concept, design and development of web or app projects: project managers, information architects, usability experts, freelancers, concept people, digital agencies, web…

122
Nifty

Nifty consolidates projects, work, and communications in one place. Nifty simplifies and automates the tracking of project milestones, communications with teammates and clients, collaborative document creation, and more in a centralized workspace! Nifty enables organizational oversight…

123
Onehub

Onehub is a secure file storage and sharing service built for businesses of any size. Users can maintain existing folder and file structure with secure online document sharing and collaboration, and remain hyper-organized while able to access files from anywhere. Bank-level encryption…

124
Quire

Quire is a visual collaboration platform that enables task and project management. It allows users to visualize their workflows and improves real-time collaboration.

125
Spike

Spike, from the company of the same name in Herzelia, bring communication -- emails, chats, calls, team collaborations, tasks, voice notes -- to one place. presented as a productivity and messaging app, but easier, from an inbox.

Collaboration Tools TrustMap

TrustMaps are two-dimensional charts that compare products based on trScore and research frequency by prospective buyers. Products must have 10 or more ratings to appear on this TrustMap.

Learn More About Collaboration Tools

What are Collaboration Tools?

Online collaboration software makes working together on professional projects easier and faster. It reduces bottlenecks in feedback and approval processes and allows for real-time communication. The three core areas of functionality for collaboration tools are:

  • Communication
  • Project & task management
  • File sharing & management

Some products stress one feature set over another. These take a best-of-breed approach, and work well if they offer integrations. For example, Slack is an online team collaboration app focused on messaging and file sharing. It also includes audio and video conferencing capabilities. For everything else, it integrates with other software tools.

Because they each have slightly different specialties, many of the tools above are not perfectly comparable. Depending on your business needs, you may want to invest in a few different types of collaboration tools. For example, many teams use a messaging application like Slack for casual communication and also use web conferencing software to host online meetings.

Online collaboration tools are closely related to a number of other types of software, including:

All of these platforms include collaboration features, though most are limited to a specific channel or type of interaction.

Sometimes collaboration tools can replace these more traditional solutions, but it is more common to integrate collaboration tools with existing communication and workflow structure. Often collaboration tools bring interactions that would otherwise be handled by separate platforms into a convenient central location.

Collaboration Tools Features & Capabilities

Communication

Some collaboration tools have communication capabilities at their core. Examples of online communication tools that specialize in this are include:

Other collaboration features are available but may have a limited scope. Communication features across collaboration tools include:

  • Options for integrated messaging. Live chat, comments within a file and private/group messages are all common
  • Privacy and access settings
  • Conference calling
  • Video chats with screen sharing
  • Project-based conversations

Project & Task Management

Another class of online collaboration tools have underlying project and task management capabilities at their core. These tools may not be as advanced as traditional project management platforms. However, they can be incredibly useful for online team collaboration and communication.

Examples of collaboration tools noted for significant project & task management features include:

Some products walk the line of collaboration and project management. For example, Wrike has many robust project management features, but it’s designed like a social network to make engaging with team members easy.

Access to advanced project management capabilities is usually more important for larger or interdepartmental teams. Collaboration features related to project & task management can include:

  • Workflow automation
  • Tracking location and changes to a file
  • Brainstorming tools/pinboards
  • Task lists and assignments. These are complete with due dates, sub-tasks and file attachment
  • Scheduling, calendar integration, reminders and alerts
  • Gantt charts

File Sharing & Management

Other online collaboration tools focus on document storage, sharing, and management. Examples of these products include:

They also offer significant opportunities for collaboration. Collaboration features central to file sharing include:

  • Security
  • Support for different file types
  • Comments and notes attached to files
  • Track changes and versioning
  • Editing permissions and access control
  • Shared folders

Online Collaboration Tools

Locally hosted collaboration solutions (like Redbooth Private Cloud) are less common than online SaaS collaboration tools. Online solutions are more abundant and often more convenient for end-users. They work particularly well for remote teams and employees who need to collaborate on common tasks.

They come in many forms, from mobile apps to browser extensions.

Some tools are industry and use case-specific. For example, Mural.ly and ConceptBoard are tools for graphic designers. On the other hand, Microsoft Yammer is more like a social network for corporate enterprises, regardless of department or industry. Other use cases for collaboration software include:

  • Creating an internal knowledge base for employees with a product like Confluence
  • Creating flow charts or mapping out ideas visually with a product like MindMeister
  • Creating group to-do lists with a product like Trello

Adoption

Adoption is key to success with collaboration software. It is only effective if everyone on the team is on board with the software.

It is important to choose a collaboration tool that is easy to use. The tool should also fit your team’s culture and goals. There are dozens of collaboration products on the market -- and it’s ever-growing!

To help you find a good fit, consider these questions:

  • What types of projects will you collaborate on?
  • What are the steps of a typical project?
  • How does your team handle communication and workflow?
  • Where do you store project files?
  • How many people will be collaborating? How many departments?
  • Will project managers or team members be collaborating? Both?
  • What other platforms and apps does your team use? How does the tool handle integration?
  • How formal or informal will collaboration be? Will all discussions be related to work on specific projects, or will some be social?
  • Will all conversations be archived?

Collaboration Tools Comparison

To help you more easily compare different types of collaboration tools, consider these 3 key factors:

  1. What’s the main purpose this tool will serve? For example, are you looking for an easy to use team instant messaging app? Or do you need a web conferencing tool that will be easy for employees and clients to use? Or maybe you’re looking for a new company intranet, or file and document sharing solution. Figuring out what business need(s) the tool will serve will help you identify which set of collaboration tools to evaluate.
  2. Ease of use, which helps determine how widely adopted the software will be, is highly important. If you invest in a collaboration tool that has a steep learning curve, it’s less likely to be adopted by the rest of your team. Look for tools that have high ‘usability’ ratings on the product scorecard tab on TrustRadius to help narrow down the list of products you’re considering.
  3. What does your budget for collaboration and communication software look like? This will likely depend on whether you are self-employed, a contract worker, an SMB, or an enterprise business. Many collaboration tools in this category have either free versions or free trials for your team to test out. However, if your business needs a very budget-friendly solution, look for tools that have a ‘forever free’ option.

Start a comparison between collaboration tools.

Pricing Information

Collaboration software is usually priced by user on a monthly subscription.

Most vendors offer a free tier for up to a certain number of users. The free tiers usually have a more limited set of features and capabilities. There are many basic free online collaboration options, including GoVisually, Trello, Podio and Google Drive for example.

For paid plans, pure collaboration tools focused on notes, tasks, and chat start around $8/mo. per user. For collaboration tools that include cloud storage, pricing starts at around $10/mo. per user, and goes up from there based on storage size.

Related Categories

Frequently Asked Questions

What are collaboration tools?

Collaboration tools help teams communicate, manage projects and tasks, and share and store files more efficiently. Not all online collaboration tools have the same set of capabilities, specific tools may specialize in one of the three areas above. Common use cases for collaboration software include:

  • Online meetings
  • Team messaging
  • Project & task management
  • File storage
  • Collaborative content creation

What are some examples of different types of collaboration tools?

Examples of collaboration tools that focus on enabling business communication include: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, Fuze, Lifesize Video Conferencing, and Skype. Collaboration Tools that emphasize project & task management include: Trello, Airtable, Asana, Basecamp, Wrike, and Monday. Products that offer file storage and management features include: Google Drive, Dropbox Business, MS SharePoint, and Confluence.

What are the best collaboration tools?

The Top Rated collaboration tools in 2019 include:


Learn more about these products and other online collaboration tools here.

What are some free online collaboration tools?

Many collaboration software products have a free version available, though typically with more limited space or functionality. Popular free tools for small teams or SMBs include:


How much does collaboration software cost?

Along with free versions of the software, many collaboration tools range from $5 - $40 per user per month. Enterprise tier plans may cost more, depending on how many user licenses your business needs. Collaboration tools that provide cloud storage space may also increase based on the amount of space required.