Categories   >   Collaboration Software
Last Reviewed: November 26th, 2024

Best Collaboration Software Of 2024

What is Collaboration Software?

Collaboration Software represents a suite of tools designed to unify team communication and facilitate more efficient, seamless cooperation. Essentially, these platforms are devised to address the challenges of scattered communication, redundant processes, and misaligned team efforts. Core benefits include centralized communication, streamlined workflows, and improved project management. Emerging features comprise AI-driven analytics, integrated video conferencing, and cross-platform accessibility. Virtually all professional sectors stand to benefit, however, industries with geographically dispersed teams or those juggling multiple concurrent projects, such as IT, marketing, or event management, may find these tools particularly advantageous. Notable limitations include potential privacy concerns and adoption difficulties among less tech-savvy team members. To summarize, Collaboration Software's value proposition is its ability to bring teams together, no matter the physical distance, and streamline workflows, driving productivity, efficiency, and, ultimately, business success.

What Are The Key Benefits of Collaboration Software?

  • Centralizes team communication
  • Streamlines operational processes
  • Improves project management
  • Facilitates remote teamwork
  • Fosters innovative brainstorming
  • Save time on coordination
  • Allows real-time updates
  • Supports decision-making process
  • Enhances document sharing capabilities
  • Promotes team engagement
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Overall

Based on the latest available data collected by SelectHub for 115 solutions, we determined the following solutions are the best Collaboration Software overall:

Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams
Start Price
$4
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
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Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
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Why We Picked Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a chat-based platform that offers online meetings, document sharing, screen recording and chat and allows businesses to communicate effectively.

According to users who have tried this product, their alerts and notifications lack consistency. Slow speed and performance is another con witnessed by users. Most users appreciate user-friendliness. Screen sharing is another worthy function. In short, businesses scouting for a communication tool that is easy to learn can give it a try.

Pros & Cons

  • User-Friendly: The interface is easy to use and there is not much training required to navigate through the system, according to 84% of users.
  • Chat: According to 70% of users who reviewed this pro, the chat functionality is simple, it’s possible to view all chats simultaneously and the history remains forever.
  • Screen Sharing: About 79% of users who mentioned this pro said screen sharing functionality is quick to set up and works without lags.
  • File Sharing: Regarding this feature, approximately 75% of users said that it’s easy to share files during calls and various document sharing options are available.
  • Alerts/Notifications: Lack of reminders for meetings and inconsistent notifications, according to 70% of users who mentioned this aspect.
  • Speed And Performance: According to 69% of users who reviewed this con, the start time and overall speed is slow, there are sudden crashes, and the computer performance suffers.

Key Features

  • Secure Virtual Meetings: Send an invite to video chat with anyone, at any time simply by sending a link to an active email address, member or not. Collaborate in real time with up to 250 people in a single meeting space. 
  • Screen Recording: Record meetings in the cloud and share them with members later. 
  • Messenger: Send chats before, after and during meetings directly to one person or create group chats to keep multiple people in the loop. Send gifs, emojis and stickers to personalize messages. 
  • File Sharing: Access, share, edit, and co-author files and folders in real time securely from SharePoint, OneDrive and computers. Decide who has access to which files by granting permissions to specific groups, channels or individuals. 
  • Interactive Webinars: Connect with customers by hosting live events and webinars. Simply create a new marketing event, fill out details of the meeting and select attendees who will receive a link to the event. Use customer journey features to track attendees, utilizing the available information and continue to track customer interactions. 
  • Custom Backgrounds: Eliminate the need to hide background distractions by choosing from a myriad of screens to project while on a video call. 
Asana
Asana
Start Price
$10.99
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
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Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
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Why We Picked Asana

Asana is a work management platform designed to help users organize and streamline operations with a user-friendly, customizable interface, automation and AI. Key features include the ability to create custom fields, deadlines, and subtasks, utilize various project views like Kanban boards and timelines, and leverage AI for summarizing tasks and drafting workflows. During my test of the software, I liked how easy it was to create a task by email and create project and task summaries using their AI tool.

Customization was also a win. I built a task template for my Content Creation project with custom fields, relative due dates, assignees and a bulleted checklist. However, head’s up, adding task templates to existing tasks requires creating a new task with the template and merging it. Hands down, workflow management was one of my favorite parts of testing Asana. Adding in new sections (without having to go to the list view) and creating custom rules for transitions with a little help from their version of prompts was a breeze.

Collaboration is another plus, with in-card comments and mentions, an inbox, group and individual messaging in platform and guest accounts with custom permissions for external users.

On the downside, if you don’t have access to a free trial of the paid version (like I did), the free version may not be as effective. You won’t be able to access AI features, certain project views and resource management. The setup also isn’t exactly intuitive, and you may need training plus multiple visits to the help center to conceptualize your project and pick the right template.

Overall, Asana is a fantastic all-in-one project management solution for users looking for a flexible tool with AI assistance and don’t mind springing for one of the paid plans.

Pros & Cons

  • User Friendly: Reviewers appreciated that the system is easy to use and intuitive with a clean UI, even if you’re new to projects.
  • Overall Functionality: Workflows and automation, task management and collaboration are everything you’d look for in a project management system, according to users.
  • Customization: Users liked the customization options for unique team needs, projects and workflows.
  • >Cost: Users mentioned Asana’s paid plans were too expensive for smaller businesses making it difficult to upgrade from the limited free version.
  • Set-Up: Getting started can be overwhelming with so many customizations and task options. Users said you may need extra time to implement it effectively.
  • Advanced Features: Reviewers noted some features like AI, advanced project views, resource management and multiple task assignees require expensive plan upgrades.

Key Features

  • Task Management: Create tasks with custom fields, deadlines, tags, subtasks, dependencies and descriptions during setup, adding tasks to the section you want when you create your first project or forwarding an email to [email protected]. Save time by converting your custom tasks into a template you can apply to new tasks and using AI to summarize tasks and draft subtasks. Switch between list, board, timeline, calendar and Gantt views to optimize visualization and drag-and-drop tasks between sections.
  • Project Planning and Scheduling: Kick your projects off with a plethora of templates ranging from product rollouts to hiring pipelines, or import your project from a spreadsheet. Convert tasks into milestones on the card and add details about why it’s a milestone. Add tasks to multiple projects and organize strategic initiatives by creating a portfolio where you can track the updates of all your projects.
  • Resource Management: Keep track of what’s on everyone’s plate by switching to the workload view. Drag and drop tasks to manage timelines and assignees and assign custom values like hours or points to tasks to accurately factor in employee effort.
  • Sprint Management: Hit the ground running by applying the sprint template to a new project. Add custom fields, use the timeline tab to map out sprint tasks and deadlines and set start and finish dates in the project view.
  • Collaboration Features: Add updates, questions and notes into the description. Comment on cards with mentions, files, lists, code blocks and even AI assists. Send messages directly to individuals or teams using the inbox. Keep your clients in the loop by creating guest accounts and sharing specific tasks and projects with them.
  • Reports and Insights: Tap into a bird’s eye view of your project by clicking on the dashboard tab where you can monitor overdue, complete and incomplete tasks and burnup charts and create custom charts with their AI tool. Visit the reporting tab to view trends, progress, resourcing and work health.
  • Custom Automations and Workflows: Build a workflow that’s a perfect fit for your project in the workflow tab by adding sections for each step in the process with custom transitions and rules when tasks are moved. Add custom automations and rules from scratch, use the options provided as a starting point or get a helping hand from the AI studio. Check out the automations we built in depth below.
Jira
Jira
Start Price
$10
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
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Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
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Why We Picked Jira

Jira is an agile-based project management platform that caters to a vast range of industries thanks to its all-in-one functionality, customization and flexibility. It allows users to fully customize workflows, issue types, fields and automations.

After watching a few tutorials, I personally found it quite simple to create my own projects using the templates and modifying it to meet my needs. Although some of the automation actions and issues have some programming language involved, it’s not a huge roadblock and I created and tested multiple automations successfully.

Task (or issue) management was on point, with multiple views, custom workflows, task assignment, in-card collaboration and time tracking and custom fields. It offered comprehensive (but not overly advanced) reports and a helpful summary dashboard.

Sprints were intuitive and easy to execute, and I especially appreciated the drag-and-drop feature for planning. Some users mentioned a learning curve, and I would agree, as I relied on videos to guide me through some parts of the setup lest this test take weeks not days.

Overall, Jira is a match made in heaven for agile enthusiasts and users who want a flexible, customizable project management platform and don’t mind getting into the weeds with learning courses and tutorials.

Pros & Cons

  • Functionality: Users appreciated the ability to customize workflows, issue types and fields and the flexibility to navigate complex projects and problem-solve.
  • Collaborative: The system helps users collaborate with other teams, projects, and stakeholders and efficiently bridges gaps between remote teams, noted reviewers.
  • Integrations: Reviewers liked the extensive integrations with most third-party modules like Slack, Bitbucket and more to complete workflows and processes.

What Users Like

  • Customization: “We were able to tailor the workflow to fit our specific needs, which greatly enhanced our efficiency. For instance, we created custom issue types that aligned with our unique project phases, making it easier for team members to understand their tasks at a glance.” - Balázs Keszthelyi, Founder and CEO at TechnoLynx
  • Project Visualization: “[Jira’s robust roadmapping and dependency tracking capabilities are] invaluable for coordinating multiple product launches. Also, the premium version's Advanced Roadmaps feature lets us visualize our entire product pipeline so that's from sourcing to launch, but you've got to invest time in learning the system, and I think for smaller operations, it might be overkill.” - Dennis Sanders, Founder and CEO of Burning Daily
  • Task Management: “Jira has given us the structure to break down our complex workflows into clear, manageable steps, which was exactly what we needed as we expanded our customer base. With Jira, we can create specific 'boards' for each client’s SEO campaign, where every task is detailed and assigned to the right team member. Each board has phases, like keyword research, content writing, and on-page optimization, with clear deadlines. Having this setup has helped us catch any bottlenecks early. If the content team takes longer to deliver, for instance, we can adjust the timeline for the next steps right away instead of rushing it.” - Mushfiq Sarker, CEO of LaGrande Marketing
  • Lags: Reviewers noted that the system sometimes lags and takes time to load, especially for multiple projects and large data sets.
  • Learning Curve: Its UX can feel complex, and it takes time to set up, customize and use to its full ability. An internal Jira expert may be required, according to some users.
  • Administration: Users mentioned that the system is difficult to administer, and its back-end is hard to manage.

What Users Dislike

  • Slow Loading Time: “Its interface moves like molasses.” - Dennis Sanders, Founder and CEO of Burning Daily
  • Learning Curve: “We had some initial challenges with team members who were not familiar with the platform, which required additional training sessions to ensure everyone was on the same page. However, once they became accustomed to the interface, the benefits outweighed the initial hurdles.” - Balázs Keszthelyi, Founder and CEO at TechnoLynx

Key Features

  • Agile Boards: Manage your tasks, or issues using Scrum and Kanban boards with custom statuses, fields and transitions. Create new issues using the button below each status. You can view projects using a list, board or timeline view.
  • Reports and Insights: Get insights into where your team is at throughout every stage of the project by generating custom reports like the average age report, created vs. resolved issues report and sprint report. Manage workloads with the time tracking report, user workload report and version workload report. Use the summary view to monitor activity, status overview, priority breakdown and related projects.
  • Collaboration Features: Communicate with team members and assignees directly on the issue card with comments and mentions. Attach files, view card activity and add descriptions for additional instructions. Integrate with Outlook, Slack and other communication tools.
  • Custom Automations: Build custom automation rules by setting a trigger with the option to add an action, a condition or a branch. Get a helping hand by searching for triggers related to what you want to automate and selecting recommended actions and conditions.
  • Sprint Management: Use the Scrum option to run sprints. Fill in project details like name, duration and scope and add tasks and drag and drop them to your sprint using the backlog. Complete your sprints and auto-add pending tasks to the backlog or to a new sprint and run a sprint report for insights.
  • Task Management: Manage tasks by creating customizable issue cards under each status or by importing issues from CSV files. Add assignees, due dates, time tracking, comments, descriptions, teams, labels, status and priority to issues. Move tasks from status to status using transitions and workflow automation.
  • Customizable Workflows: Create custom workflows for your tasks and subtasks by going to project settings and clicking on issue types. Set statuses based on the type of task you’re completing or from the project template you select. Automate actions by setting rules for transitions from one status to another.
monday.com
monday.com
Start Price
$9
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
Small Medium Large
Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
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Why We Picked monday.com

monday.com is a cloud-based project management platform that caters to a wide range of industries thanks to its customization, user-friendly interface and templates. It allows users to build boards from templates or from scratch and view projects through multiple views like list, calendar, Ganntt and Kanban. During our test, we enjoyed using the platform's pre-built templates and drag-and-drop feature to set up projects and reorganize tasks.

Its task management features are stellar. We liked how easy it is to custom groups for tasks, assign them to specific team members, and leverage various communication tools like comments, mentions and board discussions. The updates feature means everyone is on the same page and the view option boosts accountability. On the automation front, we successfully used the built-in automation engine, which comes with both pre-made templates and no-code customization options, to build a custom automation for status changes with little to no difficulty.

On the flip side, monday.com may have a slight learning curve for users who aren’t familiar with project management tools. Additionally, some advanced features, such as custom notifications and time tracking, require upgrading to a higher pricing tier, which could become expensive for larger teams.

All in all, we thought monday’s intuitive interface, customization options and no-code automations make it a great option for users without a ton of technical expertise and a flexible budget.

Pros & Cons

  • Task Management: Users appreciated how easy it is to monitor tasks with customized views, an activity feed and task updates.
  • Collaboration: Instant messaging, integrations, board discussions and easy scheduling and planning were a plus for reviewers.
  • User-Friendly: Reviewers said it was simple to set up and use for less tech-savvy users, and liked the attractive, colorful interface with helpful templates.

What Users Like

  • Project Tracking: "The ability to customize columns and task dependencies lets us create a clear, tailored workflow." - Jeffery Zhou, CEO and Founder of Fig Loans
  • Interface: "The timeline and calendar views were particularly useful when we had multiple projects running alongside each other, helping everyone stay aligned without a lot of back-and-forth." - Rob Stevenson, Founder of BackupVault
  • Notifications: “The automation features were especially useful in notifying different people responsible at different steps of the journey while maintaining transparency and accountability with the rest of the team and building a frictionless and trust-based culture.” - Alok Jain, CEO of Reveal
  • Cost: Reviewers noted that advanced features like customized notifications or time tracking required a plan upgrade which could become expensive.
  • Learning Curve: It takes time to get used to the navigation and features according to users.
  • Mobile App: Some users said the mobile app doesn’t have all the features available.

What Users Dislike

  • Complexity: “[monday.com] lacked some flexibility in handling complex, multi-step tasks that needed a lot of customization, which sometimes left us manually tracking those details elsewhere.” - Rob Stevenson, Founder of BackupVault
  • Time-Based Automations: “Creating an automation to notify a user three days after a certain date, for example, was more complex than it needed to be. We had to set up custom date columns to drive these instead of just being able to calculate it as a part of automation.” - Alok Jain, CEO of Reveal

Key Features

  • Custom Dashboard: Build your own custom dashboard using built-in widgets and third-party integrations. Get a bird’s eye view of your boards and teams along with individual team member and board views. Monitor workload, timelines, feed activity and custom charts, like in-progress tasks, from a central location.
  • Multiple Views: Toggle between different views to track your projects using Gantt charts, Kanban boards, calendar views, project reports and custom filters like task owner, status and timeline.
  • Task Management: Create tasks under custom groups like To-Do, In-Progress, On-Hold, and Complete and add personalized fields, assignees, due dates, labels, statuses and priorities. Mention assignees, add comments, files, links and tables directly in the tasks using the Updates tab. Drag and drop tasks and groups to reorganize things.
  • Automations: Streamline workflows with no-code automations using templates or building custom automations from scratch using conditions and actions. Apply automations to specific boards and save your custom automations as a template to use on other boards.
  • Templates: Create boards suited to your project needs by accessing the template center and choosing from a range of templates, including marketing, project management, sales and CRM, design, software development, and HR.
  • Workflow Management: Organize your processes by creating custom workflows. Search for the trigger you’re looking for and add it as a starting block. Build on those blocks by choosing from several options: action, if or else or delay. Select the board where you want the action to happen, add conditions and edit blocks. View active workflows and pause or edit workflows as processes change.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet
Start Price
$9
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
Small Medium Large
Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
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Why We Picked Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a cloud-based work management platform that helps users streamline and organize processes with a spreadsheet-esque interface, flexible templates, multiple views and team collaboration. Apart from the grid view, you can visualize projects using a Gantt chart, Kanban board, calendar view, card view or timeline view. No-code automations are another note-worthy feature, where you can build from templates or scratch.

It streamlines project creation with templates suited to different industries and end goals, so you have a jumping-off point instead of going in blind. Team collaboration is another area where Smartsheet shines, with comments, conversations and file and sheet sharing (even with people outside your organization). It also offers a customizable dashboard view, although I did find some of the chart widgets a little tricky to work, without training.

Highlights for me were definitely the familiarity of spreadsheet formatting (but with more views and automations), robust collaboration capabilities and guided explainers throughout the setup. However, user reviews noted limited filters and integrations, lags and expensive add-ons as downsides.

Overall, Smartsheet is a great option for teams familiar with spreadsheets but are on the lookout for more visualization and collaboration, along with the budget to spend on advanced features.

Pros & Cons

  • Automation: Reviewers appreciated the no-code automation and said that it helps to eliminate productivity killers and saves time.
  • Collaboration: Users liked the sharing option with level-based permissions that allow collaboration with non-users and help coworkers and external stakeholders stay up-to-date on projects and processes.
  • Ease of Use: A user-friendly interface and templates make it easy to set up, customize and access multiple views, according to reviewers.

What Users Like

  • Customization: “We can customize it to fit various projects, whether we’re tracking client cases, managing document revisions, or planning team tasks. For instance, I created a project tracker for a major client contract negotiation. The ability to set deadlines, assign tasks, and update statuses in real time has streamlined our communication and kept everyone on the same page.” - Russ Johnson, Founder of Linx Legal
  • Collaboration: “We had this one job in a high-rise condo that put Smartsheet to the test. The sliding door system was an older model with custom-sized panels that aren’t easy to source, and it needed specific adjustments due to the unique structure of the frame. Typically, coordinating the right parts, tools, and technician experience for something like this would require several phone calls and a lot of back-and-forth. With Smartsheet, we were able to set up the job details to track not only the special parts needed but also assign a technician who was experienced with that model. When the parts came in, the technician was notified directly through Smartsheet, so he knew the moment everything was ready. It saved us from potential delays and kept the customer fully updated on when the work could be done.” - Gal Cohen, Business Development Leader and Field Area Manager JDM Sliding Doors
  • System Integration: Limited integrations and complex configurations were an issue for reviewers.
  • Premium Add-Ons: Reviewers noted that advanced features come with a price tag that can be prohibitive for some businesses.
  • Slow Loading Time: Users reported it takes time to display screens export formats occasionally.

What Users Dislike

  • Integration: “Despite its many benefits, integrating Smartsheet with other systems posed some challenges. Initially, we experienced issues with data syncing between Smartsheet and our CRM software, leading to discrepancies in our financial reporting. Recognizing this, I allocated specific time for thorough testing before our full implementation, allowing us to identify and resolve any integration issues early on.” - Austin Rulfs, Founder of Zanda Wealth Mortgage Brokers
  • Learning Curve: “While Smartsheet is powerful, it can feel a bit overwhelming at first. I found that investing time in training sessions helped bridge that gap, making it easier for everyone to adapt and use the tool effectively.” - Russ Johnson, Founder of Linx Legal

Key Features

  • Dashboards and Reports: Customize your dashboard by adding widgets like reports, project-specific charts, shortcuts, images and text. Consolidate data from multiple sheets into a summary view using system reports. Track sheet changes using bi-directional functionality. Send reports via collaborative tools and change statuses to recur.
  • Multiple Views: View your tasks using the grid view, akin to a spreadsheet, a Gantt view as an add-on to your grid view, a Kanban board where you can drag and drop tasks and group them by assignee or status, a timeline view, a card view with customizable lanes and a calendar view that displays your tasks across its duration or by start dates only.
  • Task Management: Add your tasks and subtasks into each cell and use the indent and outdent buttons to divide tasks into groups that can be minimized to provide a project overview. Create or modify custom fields with your own text, dropdown lists and symbols to show status, assignees, priority, dates and latest comment. Attach files and proofs, write comments and mention users and set reminders for tasks.
  • Automations and Workflows: Save time with custom processes and workflows you can build by modifying templates for reminders and alerts, document generation, row changes, sheet changes and updates, and approval requests. Build your own workflow automations from scratch by choosing your trigger, setting conditions and adding actions. Manage automations by deactivating, deleting, duplicating or unsubscribing.
  • Templates: Use pre-built templates ranging from event management to HR workflows and marketing to streamline project creation. View complexity, task management and process before you apply a template. Build and save your own templates by customizing pre-built templates or creating them from scratch.
  • Integrations: Drive productivity with integrations like Office 365, Dropbox, DocuSign and Google Workspace and use iCal or Google Calendar to track project statuses.
  • Team Collaboration: Communicate with team members by commenting and mentioning users in individual tasks, adding files for additional information and chatting via the conversations tool where everyone with access to the sheet can see your comments. Integrate with Slack or Microsoft Teams to receive updates about your sheet and send messages to channels.
Microsoft Project
Microsoft Project
Start Price
$10
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
Small Medium Large
Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
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Why We Picked Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project remains a robust project management software, praised for its intuitive interface and comprehensive feature set. Users appreciate its Gantt charts, resource management capabilities, and integration with other Microsoft products. However, some find its advanced features overwhelming and its reporting capabilities limited compared to specialized project management tools.

Project differentiates itself with its ease of use and integration with the Microsoft ecosystem. Its intuitive interface makes it accessible to users of all skill levels, while its integration with tools like Microsoft Teams and SharePoint streamlines collaboration. These strengths make it an excellent choice for teams heavily reliant on Microsoft products.

Microsoft Project is best suited for small to medium-sized businesses and teams that prioritize ease of use and Microsoft integration. Its intuitive interface and comprehensive feature set make it a valuable tool for managing projects effectively, while its integration with other Microsoft products enhances collaboration and productivity.

Pros & Cons

  • User Friendly: The platform’s functionalities are intuitive and easy to use, as noted by approximately 80% of users who mention the system’s usability.
  • Project Scheduling: Approximately 81% of the users find its project scheduling capabilities helpful.
  • Feature-Rich: Approximately 81% of the users who mentioned features said the system provides everything required for proper project handling. It can handle complex projects, create Gantt charts, project timelines and reports.
  • Customization: Nearly 61% of users who mentioned customization said its customization options were helpful. It integrates with ClearQuest seamlessly and 67% of users find its integrations helpful.
  • Support: Support is responsive, knowledgeable and helpful, as reported by 100% of reviewers who mention support.
  • Templates: Approximately 80% of users who mentioned templates find them to be helpful as they display data in an organized manner.
  • Learning Curve: Nearly 96% of the users that mentioned accessibility think that the software has a steep learning curve.
  • Efficiency: About 72% of users that mentioned efficiency said the software improved their process optimization.
  • Collaboration: Close to 83% of the users who mention collaboration said that Project does not facilitate collaborative processes well.
  • Cost: Approximately 94% of the users who mention cost think that its price is prohibitive and that the software is very expensive for the features it offers.

Key Features

  • Resource Management: Set up teams for success by requesting resources. Heat maps help identify overworked or underused resources. Lets managers project usage, monitor progress and address issues using analytics.  
  • Portfolio Optimization: Models different scenarios using tools like analysis scatter charts. Weigh project proposals against strategic business drivers with organizational cost and resource constraints in mind. 
  • Reports: Offers a number of reports that include a dashboard, progress and cost that provide insight into project metrics. Individual reports include burndowns, project overviews, critical tasks, cash flow, earned value, late tasks and more. Create a customized report from four template types: blank, chart, table and comparison.  
  • BI Capability: Connect with business intelligence apps like Power BI Pro to gain visibility across portfolios. Supports data aggregation to gain comprehensive insights. 
  • Proposal Evaluation: Gather project ideas, use standardized processes to evaluate them and funnel project charters and business cases to management for review and approval.
OpenAir
OpenAir
Start Price
$399
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
Small Medium Large
Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
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Why We Picked OpenAir

OpenAir, a project management software solution, has received positive feedback from users for its ability to streamline project management processes. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface, flexibility, and comprehensive features that enhance efficiency and organization. The software's task management, resource management, collaboration tools, and reporting capabilities have significantly improved project outcomes for many businesses.

Compared to similar products, OpenAir stands out due to its ease of use and adaptability to various project types and sizes. Users have highlighted its intuitive design, which allows for quick adoption and minimal training time. Additionally, OpenAir's flexibility enables businesses to customize workflows, dashboards, and reports to align with their specific needs. This adaptability is crucial for organizations with diverse project requirements and evolving processes.

OpenAir is well-suited for businesses of all sizes seeking to enhance their project management practices. Its scalability and comprehensive features make it an ideal choice for small teams, large enterprises, and everything in between. The software's ability to centralize project information, facilitate collaboration, and provide real-time insights empowers teams to make informed decisions, optimize resource allocation, and deliver projects on time and within budget.

Pros & Cons

  • User Friendly: The system is easy to use and intuitive, as noted by approximately 86% of users who mention the system’s usability.
  • Time Tracking and Expense Reports: Approximately 90% of the users reviewed think this feature increases their productivity and effectiveness.
  • Customization: Nearly 75% of the users reviewed find this feature to be quite robust.
  • Reporting: About 57% of the users reviewed find its reporting capabilities to be helpful and informative.
  • Support: Nearly 67% of the users reviewed think the support offered by OpenAir is helpful.
  • Cost: Nearly 100% of users who mentioned cost reported that OpenAir’s offerings were too expensive for smaller businesses or prohibitive.
  • Implementation: The physical implementation process misses the mark, and can be difficult according to 70% of reviewers who mention implementation.
  • Intuitive Interface: Nearly 65% of the users reviewed think that the interface is not intuitive and that administrative tools are limited.
  • Bugs: Approximately 100% of users that mentioned bugs or slowdowns think that the system is clunky and disrupts work.
  • Integration: Nearly 60% of the users who mention integration think that integration between OpenAir and NetSuite is not seamless. Also, Microsoft Projects importing is not smooth.

Key Features

  • Time Tracking: Customizes timesheet approvals by client and project, supports multi-level and project-based approvals and lets users track leave and vacation time. View who is in or out of the office to schedule meetings and appointments. Add notes and descriptions to each input, and sort time by billable and non-billable hours.  
  • Project Management: Users can view the complete status of a project to keep tasks on-track and reduce the potential for errors or incomplete deliverables. Develop “what if” project planning scenarios to adjust margins, billing rates, pricing and staffing. Also supports Gantt charts, project status summaries and exceptions reports.  
  • Reporting/Dashboard: Dashboards reflect KPIs on initial login. Present profit margins, resource utilization and projected vs. actual budgets as graphs to make development of actionable insights faster and easier. Build reports using drag-and-drop tools. 
  • Resource Management: View labor resource allocation and deploy staff members to different projects based on experience, skills, availability and more. using the resource management tool. Deploy labor resources from across the globe, attribute work back to the correct project teams and bill labor resources in the appropriate currency.  
  • Expense Tracking: Integrates with workflows like project accounting and invoicing to expedite the expense management cycle, including expense submission, approval and reporting. Expenses are tied directly to projects, eliminating confusion regarding where an expense came from and who should be billed.  
  • Invoicing: Supports multi-currency and multi-taxation requirements such as PST, VAT and GST. Manages finances from the time a bid is prepared to the time an internal charge-back is issued. Project profitability is tracked on a case-by-case basis due to the complexity of measuring ROI for diverse projects. Revenue recognition is conducted separately from project billing. 
Trello
Trello
Start Price
$5
Per User, Monthly
Company Size
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Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
Platform
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Why We Picked Trello

Trello includes robust workflow management and organizational capabilities for users to efficiently manage a project lifecycle. Its intuitive UI and clean dashboards simplify task delegation and monitoring, along with streamlining workflows. Its collaborative tools foster team communication and information sharing, while flexible integration capabilities help complete workflows. However, it lacks enterprise-grade project management abilities and is not suitable to handle large projects that require bulk movements. Additionally, the system provides limited features in its basic plan, and its mobile application lacks several functionalities offered by the desktop version.

Pros & Cons

  • Functionality: Trello offers robust organizational tools that simplify task delegation and streamline workflows, as reported by nearly 88% of the users who mention the product’s functionality.
  • Easy to Use: The system is intuitive, user friendly and doesn’t require a steep learning curve to understand its features, as noted by approximately 82% of users who referred to its usability.
  • Collaborative: Approximately 79% of users who talked about collaboration noted that project collaborations are a breeze with Trello as it shares information with team members and clients in an organized manner while adding specific members to project cards.
  • Customizable: The system is highly customizable with numerous display choices and features to adapt to users’ requirements, as reported by nearly 74% of reviewers who referred to customization.
  • Scalability: Nearly 75% of reviewers who mention scalability note that it is cumbersome to scale the system to a company’s growing needs and cannot manage complex projects.
  • Cost: Trello offers limited functional and storage capabilities in its basic version, and advanced version requires per-user licensing, making it expensive for large teams, reported nearly 83% of users who mentioned cost.
  • Mobile Application: The system doesn’t perform well on mobile platforms, and its mobile application cannot perform all the functions of the desktop version, as reported by nearly 71% of users who mentioned mobile accessibility.
  • Installation: Trello is challenging to install and can overwhelm new users with its host of features, as reported by nearly 69% of users who talked about product set-up.

Key Features

  • Boards: Create multiple boards for different projects, workflows or other needs. Keep all related information organized in a single location. 
  • Cards: Build processes, follow progress and manage all aspects of a project. Foster collaboration and organization within teams. 
  • Task Management: Represent tasks on each card and move them through the workflow. Set up and manage task dependencies by creating checklists and linking associated cards to one another. 
  • Templates: Create real-world boards from the inspiration section for teams. Use pre-built or custom templates to create boards, lists or cards. 
  • Power-Ups: Integrate it with apps like Slack, Zapier, Google Drive, MailChimp, Salesforce, Dropbox, SurveyMonkey and Zendesk to complete workflows. Choose from over 130 modules for file management, reporting, automation and developer tools.
  • Mobile Apps: Access it through iOS and Android devices, including smartphones, iPads, smart watches and Kindle fire tablets. 
Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects
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$4
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Why We Picked Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects offers comprehensive solutions for its customers to tackle multiple business needs with ease. Users have full control of their projects as they can manage every stage of project progress, allocate resources, manage tasks, record timesheets and automate workflow processes for standardization. It offers an extensive knowledge base and fosters team collaboration for efficient project completion. However, its UI is clunky and difficult to use, it requires a steep learning curve to make optimal use of its full capabilities, comes with limited features in its basic version and offers sluggish customer support.

Pros & Cons

  • Functionality: Zoho Projects offers robust tools to manage multiple business needs, including project management, resource allocation, efficient collaboration and timesheets, as reported by approximately 90% of the users who mention the product’s functionality.
  • Flexible: The system is highly flexible and can be configured for different purposes like marketing and other business requirements, noted nearly 85% of customers who talked about its flexibility.
  • Integrations: Approximately 75% of the reviewers who mentioned integrations observed that the solution offers multiple APIs and seamless integration with other Zoho suite products and popular external modules for project planning and implementation.
  • Centralized Communication: The system centralizes all project communication between teams, which makes it easy to search and fix issues, noted nearly 72% of the users who talked about its communication capabilities.
  • Not Intuitive: The system is not user-friendly with a clunky and unintuitive UI compared to its competitors, reported 88% of reviewers who mentioned the system’s usability.
  • Cost: Nearly 92% of the users who mentioned cost remarked that Zoho Projects is expensive for small teams looking for more features on a limited budget, doesn’t offer options to customize functionality and its package price is a costly investment for bigger teams with more users.
  • Data and Reporting: Data generated by the system is difficult to comprehend, and it doesn’t allow report customization using different fields and visuals, observed by about 86% of customers who mentioned reporting.
  • Support: Customer support is slow and doesn’t offer enough support documentation or tutorial videos to exploit the system’s capabilities fully, noted 80% of reviewers who talked about support.

Key Features

  • Task Management: Control important task details, add important information such as priority or duration with tasks and subtasks. Link tasks to create dependencies. Highlight each project phase with milestones. Organize tasks using drag-and-drop Kanban boards and custom layouts. 
  • Social Project Management: Communicate and collaborate for effective project management. Create public or private chat rooms, pages for team knowledge base and forums to engage in discussion. Centralize project updates with feeds. Create new posts while adding comments to existing posts. 
  • Charts and Reports: View project details and metrics using a variety of charts. Get a high-level view of project tasks and dependencies through Gantt charts while resource utilization charts break down each team member’s workload by day. Gain insights into project performance across a wide range of KPIs with over 50 out-of-the-box reports and dashboards. 
  • Time Tracking: Let employees log their hours on a timesheet automatically or manually while allowing managers to view reports based on personnel, time or project. Transform a timesheet to an invoice with a few simple steps. Compare the expected task duration with the actual time spent on a task. Track each member’s availability, issues and milestones using calendar views. 
  • Issue Tracking: Report issues with all the relevant details and assign them for attention. Importing issues in bulk keeps them all in one place, and you can then export them as an XLS or CSV file. Track all issues according to criteria using filtered views. View committed changes with all changeset details included. 

COMPARE THE BEST Collaboration Software

Select up to 2 Products from the list below to compare

 
Product
Score
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SelectHub’s Analyst Rating is based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Collaboration Software, user reviews, and our own crowd-sourced data from our free software selection platform. Scores are periodically updated via ongoing selection projects and user activity within our platform.
Start Price
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Microsoft Teams
$4
Per User, Monthly
Yes
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Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
Microsoft Teams
Asana
$10.99
Per User, Monthly
Yes
Small Medium Large
Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
Asana
Jira
$10
Per User, Monthly
Yes
Small Medium Large
Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
Jira
monday.com
$9
Per User, Monthly
Yes
Small Medium Large
Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
monday.com
Smartsheet
$9
Per User, Monthly
Yes
Small Medium Large
Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
Smartsheet
Microsoft Project
$10
Per User, Monthly
Yes
Small Medium Large
Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
Microsoft Project
OpenAir
$399
Per User, Monthly
No
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Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
OpenAir
Trello
$5
Per User, Monthly
Yes
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Cloud On-Premise
Mac Windows Linux Chromebook Android
Trello
Zoho Projects
$4
Per User, Monthly
Yes
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Cloud On-Premise
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Zoho Projects
Mavenlink
$45
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Yes
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Mavenlink

All Collaboration Software (115 found)

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Microsoft Teams

by Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a leading unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) provider for businesses of all sizes. It provides voice, video conferencing, chat, instant messaging and file sharing options for enterprise collaboration. In addition to three-way PSTN calls, it enables auto-attendant, call parking, call transfer, do-not-disturb, e911 calling and simultaneous ringing. With direct call routing for existing carriers through SIP trunking, it eliminates the need to change phone service providers. It provides default on-hold music that can be customized through the powershell, as well as custom message setup for calls and voicemail. It also offers live screen sharing through chat for instant context.Powered by Microsoft 365, its admin console enables account provisioning, assigning phone numbers, number porting, and reporting and analytics. With seamless escalation from group chat to video call, it enables in-call attendee management, screen sharing and chats. Available for all major browsers and Apple devices, it supports the current Android version and its previous three versions at any given time.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
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Asana

by Asana
Asana
Asana is a cloud-based project management platform designed to help teams of all sizes manage and organize projects with customization, automation, AI and collaboration. Users can build custom workflows, templates and tasks, and visualize projects in multiple ways, including list, timeline, calendar, Kanban and Gantt views.You can also build and trigger automation rules when tasks are moved or status or priority is changed. Stay aligned with goals, locate risks and hit project deadlines with reports and collaboration tools. Connect with other solutions using its open API and native integration with dozens of apps.Our Research Process for AsanaTaking software at face value for a product page review is so passe. Luckily, with a little help from my company’s email address, I got a free trial of Asana’s Advanced plan for 30 days.I set up a dummy project for content creation, complete with the stages and automations we currently use, so I’d have a more apples-to-apples comparison of a real-world project.Additionally, I tested some “standout” features our researchers suggested and investigated the pros and cons users mentioned on review sites.To learn the ropes, I visited the help center, watched demo videos and scoured Reddit for shortcuts. This webpage is the result of a week of dedicating all my working hours to living and breathing Asana.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
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$10 - $100
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Jira

by Atlassian
Jira
Jira is an all-in-one solution suite that helps organizations manage projects with agile methodologies, customization and collaboration. It helps teams track, plan and release projects and supports Kanban, Scrum or hybrid workflows. Managers can plan and prioritize their team’s assignments in a fully-visible environment that tracks performance as progress is made.It’s supported by over 3,000 modules that can be customized to enhance user experience. It’s accessible via internet-connected mobile devices and helps manage projects on-the-go. It integrates with tools like Azure, GitHub and Bamboo while remaining scalable for operations of any size.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
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monday.com

by monday.com
monday.com
monday.com is a list-based cloud project management solution designed to streamline processes with automation, customization and collaboration. It allows users to build boards using templates or from scratch and customize fields, automations, colors and workflows. Users can view progress using custom dashboards or multiple views including Kanban boards, Gantt charts and calendars.Collaboration tools include board discussions, updates and comments with mentions. It supports a mobile app and multiple integrations.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: excellent
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Smartsheet

by Smartsheet
Smartsheet
Smartsheet is an enterprise-level SaaS management application that helps teams streamline processes through collaboration, project planning and task management. Users can set up tasks using a grid view, similar to a spreadsheet with automations, formulas, comments and mentions. It provides templates for projects and automations that can be modified and saved as a template to save time. Project views include a Kanban board, Gantt chart, timeline, calendar view, card view and a custom dashboard.Its file and sheet sharing capabilities, comment feature and conversations remove team and data silos and give stakeholders insight into project details. A user-friendly interface helps managers and team members boost adoption rates, maintain consistency and increase efficiency.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
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Microsoft Project

by Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft Project
Microsoft Project is a robust project management software designed to assist professionals in planning, managing, and tracking projects effectively. It is particularly suitable for organizations that require detailed project planning, resource allocation, and progress monitoring. The software offers comprehensive features such as Gantt charts, task dependencies, resource leveling, and budget management. Key benefits include improved project visibility, enhanced collaboration, streamlined task management, and efficient resource allocation. Its user-friendly interface and customizable templates make it accessible to users of all skill levels. Compared to similar products, Microsoft Project stands out with its advanced features, integration with other Microsoft applications, and extensive support resources. Pricing varies depending on the specific version and licensing options. Microsoft Project offers flexible pricing plans, including subscription-based models and perpetual licenses, to cater to different business needs.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
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$10 or less
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OpenAir

by NetSuite, Inc.
OpenAir
OpenAir by NetSuite, Inc. is a comprehensive software solution designed to streamline project management tasks. It is particularly well-suited for businesses looking for an all-in-one platform to manage projects, resources, and expenses efficiently. One of the key benefits of OpenAir is its ability to enhance project delivery through improved planning and resource allocation, making it a valuable tool for organizations aiming to optimize their project management processes. The software boasts popular features such as time tracking, expense management, and invoicing, which collectively contribute to its robust project management capabilities. When compared to similar products, users often highlight OpenAir's seamless integration with other business systems and its scalability as significant advantages. Pricing considerations for OpenAir typically involve a subscription model, where costs are based on the number of users and the specific features required, allowing for flexibility to suit various business sizes and needs.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: good
Cost Breakdown
$100 - $500
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Trello

by Trello
Trello
Trello is a cloud-based visual collaboration solution that can be used by organizations of any size to plan tasks and projects. It helps users define projects, requirements and workflows to ensure they are completed in a planned and sequential manner. It organizes projects into boards and provides a peek into ongoing projects and tasks. It helps administrators delegate tasks, set deadlines and define workflows while supporting a range of project types. Specific team use cases include marketing, engineering, product management, support, design and sales. It is also useful for remote teams and startups.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
Cost Breakdown
$10 or less
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Zoho Projects

by Zoho Corporation
Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects is a cloud-based solution that lets teams effectively plan and execute projects of any size and duration. It handles tasks, enhances collaboration, provides business intelligence for reporting and supports time tracking and issue management. Businesses can extend it using numerous integrations and customizations to align it with their requirements. It is usable by teams of smaller than five people up to teams with thousands of users. Zoho provides robust data security and is compliant with the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework. It also supports 17 different languages.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
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$10 or less
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Mavenlink

by Mavenlink
Mavenlink
Mavenlink merged with Kimble PSA in 2021 to become the Kantata Professional Services Cloud. For more information, visit our Kantata review.It enables services businesses to manage and execute projects at each stage of the lifecycle. By uniting project and resource management, team collaboration, accounting, and business intelligence, it enables organizations to streamline planning and delivery. Includes the option to purchase expert services that cater to companies in the professional services space. When choosing the primary package, businesses work with a team comprised of a manager, a business consultant, a BI consultant, a technical consultant and a training expert.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
Cost Breakdown
$10 - $100
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Clarizen

by Clarizen
Clarizen
Clarizen (now known as Planview AdaptiveWork) is a project management and professional services software that manages projects and simple updates with up-to-the-minute status using smartphones anytime, anywhere. It automatically shares project-related information with key stakeholders and updates any changes made across teams. It includes proprietary analytics and management tools for live insights about departments, projects and businesses. It manages individual and team projects with collaborative tools for project managers, and coaching for groups.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
Cost Breakdown
$10 - $100
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TeamWave

by TeamWave
TeamWave
TeamWave is a cloud-based integrated solution that helps its users with essential business processes like collaboration, contact management, marketing automation, sales and time tracking. Its robust functions include numerous modules for companies to effectively deliver projects, meet sales targets and support their customers. It offers businesses visibility into sales deals at different stages, sales pipelines and date filtering capabilities. Users can forecast sales with a timeline view that arranges ongoing deals alongside closed deals. Some of its other inclusions help prepare tasks, manage priorities and add comments, notes and attachments to tasks. Its time tracking module monitors time spent on projects, non-billable and billable hours. It also offers email integrations with MailChimp, Gmail and Microsoft.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: excellent
Cost Breakdown
$10 - $100
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Bitrix24

by Bitrix
Bitrix24
Bitrix24 facilitates the execution of the customer journey. It supplies organizations with tools for marketing, sales and customer service activities such as lead generation, marketing automation, campaign management and call center support.It comes with a free edition for companies with less advanced needs or a smaller budget. Deployment is available in the cloud and on-premise. It’s suitable for smaller businesses as well as enterprises with up to 50,000 employees.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
Cost Breakdown
$10 - $100
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Wrike

by Wrike, Inc.
Wrike
Wrike is a cloud-based software that helps users manage distributed projects and promotes team collaboration. With this program, teams can align priorities and speed up execution to boost business results.With a strong focus on equipping teams to succeed, this vendor provides a robust suite of features that cater to marketing, creative, product development, business operations and professional services teams. It’s equipped with enterprise-level security and is designed to scale at a team and organizational level.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
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$10 or less
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Pivotal Tracker

by Pivotal Labs, Inc.
Pivotal Tracker
Pivotal Tracker is a cloud-hosted project planning solution that facilitates real-time communication and collaboration within cross-functional agile teams. Businesses can keep a tab on progress throughout a project’s lifecycle. It helps teams delegate and prioritize tasks, list actionable components and set deadlines. Project status, conversations and workflows are stored at a central location for easy accessibility and defining priorities. It computes the time required to complete a project or smaller tasks based on previous data. Managers can use this data to estimate delivery time for every project subject to workforce availability and other conditions. It offers an iteration module that helps prioritize project tasks and divide them into manageable subtasks. Project status, everyday tasks and resource availability are displayed on a shared calendar.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
Cost Breakdown
$10 or less
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Basecamp

by Basecamp
Basecamp
Basecamp is a cloud-based solution for team collaboration and management. It allows users to create to-dos, assign them to one or more people, add shared and searchable file attachments and more. It makes it easier to stay organized when there are multiple concurrent projects, each with its own team and needs. Streamline project communication by keeping specific teams together, with all project-related files in one location. It gives each project its own separate space, avoiding clutter and other confusion between projects.It is suitable for all sizes of teams like SMBs to groups in large companies. Subscriptions are scalable, with levels for different storage amounts and number of users. It also offers a free tier and application for iPad/iPhone and Android.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
Cost Breakdown
$10 - $100
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Project Insight

by Project Insight
Project Insight
Project Insight is an enterprise web-based solution that serves as a centralized hub to delegate tasks, monitor productivity and collaborate at every stage of the project cycle. Users can formalize the process for internal project requests or submit project proposals to clients with customized forms.It emphasizes project prioritization, collaboration, resource allocation and management, reporting and scheduling to help managers with better decision making. It serves project-based industries like market research, networking hardware company, healthcare organization, heavy industry and more. It also provides a free edition with modules that can be added at an extra cost.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
Cost Breakdown
$10 or less
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Hive

by Hive
Hive
Hive is a cloud-based service that allows teams to schedule, execute, communicate, and track projects while predicting activities that may affect work. Access files, share and collaborate with team members with its thousands of external integrations. It sends out notifications in real time that alert users to team productivity. All project views reflect updates to ensure that all team members are always on the same page.It caters to teams of all sizes in industries like marketing, operations, education and more. It is available for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. It also provides a 14-day free trial without collecting credit card information, and pricing plans are measured per user, per month.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: excellent
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$10 or less
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Teamwork

by Teamwork.com
Teamwork
Teamwork is a visual solution that helps businesses plan, manage, collaborate and accomplish projects of any size. It allows teams to view the full scope of a single project or a portfolio of projects while monitoring individual project components. Capabilities range from Gantt charts and task management to team collaboration and dashboards. It is suitable for the needs of professional services, marketing, support and product teams. Data replication in real time provides continuous backups. It also comes equipped with robust security. Organizations can set complex passwords, and some plans support two-factor authentication and single sign-on (SSO).
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
Cost Breakdown
$10 or less
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Avaza

by Avaza
Avaza
Avaza is a cloud-based resource management and collaboration solution that helps businesses accomplish their projects and tasks efficiently. It integrates resource and expense management, task tracking, online payments and time and expense management. Users can collaborate on projects with clients online and drag and drop files and tasks when required. Teams can initiate discussions, exchange emails and access crucial project updates and notifications from activity feeds. It monitors time and expense for every project and online payments via invoices. Detailed reports on metrics like financial transactions, status estimates, customer expenses and more provide insights to make crucial business decisions.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: excellent
Cost Breakdown
$10 - $100
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Buyer's Guide

The Best Collaboration Software Is All About Improving Teamwork To Boost Profits 

By Pragya Singh, Technical Writer and Market Analyst at SelectHub

Collaboration Software BG Intro

Workplace collaboration is the new norm. It’s a concept where employees or teams get together to efficiently complete work faster. Collaboration software tools or full-fledged project management software get things done while boosting team collaboration.

Teams face unique challenges while working together depending on the structure, size and geographical distribution. Collaboration tools address these challenges while fostering communication. This guide will acquaint you with collaboration software’s unique capabilities and benefits.

Executive Summary

  • Top collaboration software tools improve team collaboration and communication while simplifying resource sharing.
  • These programs share and manage projects, tasks and updates in real time.
  • Team collaboration apps provide easy access to information and assets to complete tasks on time.
  • When choosing an application, you need to compare individual product offerings.
  • Vendor evaluation comprises asking questions to understand the program’s functionalities.
  • Software adoption will involve a learning curve; you must prepare your team accordingly.
What This Guide Covers:

What Is Collaboration Software?

Collaboration software is a suite of applications that brings together people to share information and ideas. It supports interaction between participants while maximizing teamwork effectiveness, including remote work.

It offers a central platform for employees to share data, files, images, knowledge materials and documents to complete projects while solving specific business problems.

Online collaboration tools foster team interaction on the cloud, sparking meaningful brainstorming sessions to boost organizational growth. They address common challenges like miscommunication, chaotic workflows and disparate information, simplifying decision-making.

Collaboration Software Categories

These systems reduce approval and feedback bottlenecks while improving real-time communication. They offer clarity on project goals and objectives, bring transparency and solve problems within approved workflows. In short, collaboration software:

  • Solves complex problems while generating innovative ideas.
  • Simplifies working together on professional projects.
  • Manages daily tasks, documents and information while offering ease of access.
  • Fosters real-time communication, manages projects and tasks and streamlines document and file-sharing.
  • Assigns tasks, tracks progress and customizes notifications for on-time implementation.
  • Improves team productivity and efficiency.

Deployment Methods

Collaboration apps that integrate with organizational workflows are in demand due to growing project management complexities. Businesses usually go for standalone or integrated deployment strategies.

Standalone

The standalone deployment strategy works for businesses that want to complement their unified communications portfolio with modern applications like Slack. Here, companies have the flexibility to choose modules that meet their collaboration requirements.

However, it becomes difficult to manage multiple applications in the long run.

Integrated

Companies prioritizing team collaboration opt for an integrated model. They deploy a single solution like Microsoft Teams that integrates with existing unified communications.

This strategy unifies team collaboration while offering centralized deployment and information exchange control. However, an enterprise-wide deployment method may lack some capabilities like wikis, blogs and social media analytics.

Primary Benefits

Benefits of Collaboration Software

Implementing collaboration software streamlines file sharing and management. The following are some primary benefits:

Boost Employee Productivity

Scattered information and the inability to find the right data at the right time adversely impact employee productivity. Crucial data often gets lost in multiple inboxes and fragmented communication environments.

Collaboration software streamlines organizational data by breaking down information silos. It unifies all information in a centralized location while reducing lost hours and improving ROI.

Improve Customer Relationships

Team collaboration tools build closer and more profitable relationships with clients and customers. Account managers can swiftly respond to client update requests by tracking employee work progress.

Managers can monitor work progress across geographical locations while keeping remote employees accountable. Clients have easy access to project updates and requisite data.

Additionally, you can access future tasks and work schedules to give clients fair ideas about project milestones and deadlines.

Simplify Project Tracking

Online collaboration tools track project progress from initiation to completion. You can track how many changes your team made to a file and how it looked before those modifications.

Project managers can use centralized platforms to communicate and find the necessary information in real time without relying on back-and-forth email exchanges.

Manage Tasks

These applications assign and organize tasks over the web while allowing teams to access the latest updates using a device. Employees get regular updates about work progress from anywhere while communicating hassle-free with colleagues.

Collaboration software improves communication while minimizing errors by offering messaging channels. Employees can send messages that reach everyone while finding old messages to enhance client interactions.

Enhance Consistency and Compliance

Collaboration solutions reduce online document sharing and maintaining risks by condensing everything in a convenient location. Businesses can set safeguards to monitor centralized environments while producing manuals that guide employees to stay productive.

They simplify activity tracking to generate thorough and help businesses adhere to local norms by tracking recent laws.

Go Paperless

Modern workplaces are beyond paper-based processes and systems. The contemporary approach is to manage information and files through web-based solutions that simplify finding relevant data.

It’s impossible to collaborate efficiently with geographically distributed teams using traditional approaches. Going paperless also supports environmental causes while making your workplace smart and proactive.

Implementation Goals

Here are some implementation goals to keep in mind before you begin looking for software.

Goal 1

Fast Track Activities

Software evaluates files without setting up meetings or making phone calls. You can upload files into the system while alerting reviewers to make necessary adjustments.

Managers can customize workflows while providing employees with the capabilities they need for project advancements.

Goal 2

Conduct Web Meetings and Conferences

With remote work a reality in the post-pandemic era, you no longer have to pay for employees to attend team meetings. Modern solutions facilitate web-based voice and video conferences.

You can conduct daily or weekly stand-ups, review meets and brainstorming sessions by sharing your screen.

These systems also help you schedule training and learning sessions virtually.

Goal 3

Boost Team Efficiency

These systems avoid duplicate work while tracking task deadlines. They send periodic reminders to keep employees in the loop.

They store all project data in a secure central location to avoid data and time loss. Employees have easy access to all relevant information to meet deadlines without hassles.

Goal 4

Unite Employees

Collaboration software brings together employees in an increasingly dispersed work environment. With teams distributed across geographical locations, people don’t have to be present in a physical workplace to complete tasks.

Online collaboration tools facilitate communication and collaboration within teams that hardly meet face-to-face without privacy or productivity concerns.

Organizations can offer employees the flexibility to contribute to high-performing teams from any location without compromising on outcomes.

Goal 5

Hire Global Talent

Collaboration apps make working from anywhere possible, so you don’t have to pay for employee relocation or travel expenses.

You can hire qualified people from any location without worrying about work productivity and information access. Employees can access the central database while contributing effectively to project progress.

Goal 6

Improve Corporate Alignment

Employees can lose sight of the company’s mission and values amid the daily grind. Collaboration apps send regular updates on internal changes, company progress and industry news.

Employees can use this information while performing everyday tasks and stay aligned to the corporate goals.

Key Features & Functionality

Below are some crucial features to look for in your chosen solution.

Document Management

Collaboration apps manage documents on the cloud. This feature is fundamental. Employees can draft or edit documents collectively while sharing personal files on social media feeds.

They reduce toggling between multiple applications by centralizing document storage. This module simplifies information search while reducing time wastage.
Social Networking

Modern solutions categorize internal communications into channels by topic. Employees can focus on what matters to provide feedback, send approvals and request revisions while sifting through irrelevant discussions.

Built-in messaging stores project-related discussions in one place, saving you the hassle of retrieving information through multiple emails and other forms of communication.
Search Engine

Finding siloed data is challenging for problem-solving and effective project management. These systems offer a wiki search to access documents or conversations instantly.
Task Management

The best collaboration software expedites projects by managing crucial tasks and providing resolutions. It monitors project progress to keep goals on track.

Managers can break down projects into smaller tasks or to-do checklists. They can also create subtasks to prevent crucial details from slipping through the cracks.
Interface

Sophisticated systems are easy-to-use on all devices. They enhance task flow visualization while offering details into project workflows.

You can customize the user experience by personalizing dashboards and accompanying datasets.
Notifications

These platforms alert managers and employees on project modifications, deadlines and overdue tasks. You can personalize notifications while tracking essential tasks.
Authentication and Security

Top online collaboration tools offer robust security capabilities and encryptions to avoid data breaches. They provide flexible permissions to control data access at every level.

Some systems include multi-factor authentications and security protocols to prevent password thefts and secure confidential business data.

Advanced Features & Functionality

While most applications offer core functionalities, you will get some advanced capabilities depending on the platform you choose.

API and Integrations

Sophisticated programs offer flexibility to integrate with popular PPM, resource management, workflow, ERP, CRM, payroll and accounting applications.

Many platforms offer advanced integration modules through open APIs and back-end development processes.
Mobility

Collaboration tools offer mobile-friendly design to function on all devices. Employees have the flexibility to work from multiple devices simultaneously and at any location.

Mobile compatibility provides data access on-the-go while ensuring unhindered work progress.

Upcoming Trends

Organizations that promote collaborative work environments gain a competitive advantage in the changing business landscape. New age employees opt for companies encouraging workplace collaboration to learn and grow. Below are some workplace collaboration trends to watch.

Collaboration Software Trends

Non-parallel Collaboration

For teams distributed across geographical locations, syncing meetings and parallel collaboration is a mammoth task. Navigating different time zones becomes a struggle for employees while contributing to ongoing projects.

Modern businesses tackle such challenges by posting videos or interactive whiteboards where team members can share their thoughts on their own time. Once the process is complete, employees get notifications about the updates.

Such ideation processes conclude with meetings to discuss final decisions while incorporating everyone’s comments and reactions. Non-parallel collaboration processes focus on making decisions around ideas exchanged on whiteboards or videos.

You can also equip your meeting rooms with modern solutions like 360-degree video cameras, intelligent scheduling and virtual assistants. Using IoT, you can connect these devices to the rest of your systems and relay information faster.

Corporate Social Networking

Using social media for corporate networking is in vogue. While LinkedIn changed how individuals and companies interact with each other at a professional level, apps like Workplace by Meta are driving up corporate engagements.

Employees can share work-related information such as posting status updates, setting up group or individual chats and sharing documents and photos. Implementing these apps for internal communications turns collaboration into an enjoyable social media activity with peers.

Online Communication

Businesses prefer cloud-hosted communication solutions with growing demand for operational agility and workplace flexibility. These applications simplify uploading and retrieving files while sending real-time updates.

They centralize all internal communications between remote, in-house and on-field employees through mobile and desktop devices. Online collaboration systems are also popular among organizations with distributed teams due to increased flexibility and accessibility.

Workplace Technology Usage Changes

As per a Gartner survey, approximately 80% of employees used collaboration tools in 2021, compared to 55% in 2019, a 44% increase since the COVID-19 outbreak. The use of storage/sharing and real-time messaging apps also increased significantly.

The report notes that collaboration tools became essential to ensure workplace productivity as organizations had to switch to work-from-home models due to the pandemic-enforced restrictions.

“As many organizations shift to a long-term hybrid workforce model, cloud-based, personal and team productivity technologies, along with collaboration tools, will form the core of a series of new work hubs that meet the requirements of various remote and hybrid workers,” says Christopher Trueman, principal research analyst at Gartner.

AI and Machine Learning

Adopting AI and machine learning for collaboration is on the rise. Organizations use voice assistants for specific job functions, predictive notification filtering systems and CoBots that can collaborate with people to improve operations.

These technologies automate repetitive tasks while enhancing productive hours by identifying collaboration opportunities and streamlining appointment scheduling. They also shift the team’s focus from managing back-office tasks to brainstorming.

However, these technologies leverage data and can expose you to cyberattacks. So you need to arm your company infrastructure with foolproof IT security systems.

AR and VR Adoption

Modern technologies like augmented and virtual reality reinforce organizational collaboration strategies. They facilitate immersive web collaborations while creating virtual spaces to visualize ideas.

You can use applications like 3D imagining for greater accuracy in robotics projects. However, you should select hardware that’s not too bulky, isn’t prone to technical glitches and enhances your experience.

Software Comparison

Selecting a product that aligns with your corporate strategy can be overwhelming. SelectHub’s exhaustive project management software matrix offers a handy comparison of top products in the market to assist your decision-making.

Cost & Pricing Considerations

Since collaboration software overlaps with multiple other systems like community platforms, cloud storage, online office suites, web conferencing, and VoIP, its implementation will depend on the strategy you want to adopt.

Some companies invest in a few independent applications, depending on business needs, while others opt for a single solution that offers best-of-breed capabilities while integrating with existing modules.

Your collaboration tool’s final cost will depend on the model you choose. Most applications in the market are available on monthly subscription plans, where pricing depends on the number of users and can cost over $16.

Enterprise plans and premium products will cost higher and can include additional capabilities like advanced user management tools, integrations and customizations, unlimited storage space and priority support plans.

Most Popular Collaboration Software

The global unified communications and collaboration market size, which was $47.26 billion in 2021, will grow to $113.81 billion in 2028, at a CAGR of 13.4%. Increased remote work and the growing adoption of cloud services drive this growth.

Choosing an application from a rapidly expanding and vast market can be overwhelming. SelectHub analysts regularly curate a list of the most popular market products to simplify your software search.

ClickUp

ClickUp is an end-to-end cloud-based workforce management platform that offers customizable workflows, task settings, goals, documents and an inbox. Custom statuses, multiple views, assigned comments and Gantt chart capabilities track and manage projects efficiently.

Its built-in dashboards visualize and organize project data automatically while generating reports to track Agile team metrics.

ClickUp

ClickUp’s dashboards manage Agile workflows while reporting on crucial business metrics.

Wrike

Wrike is a cloud-hosted platform that tracks tasks, plans projects and monitors deadlines while collaborating with stakeholders. It offers capabilities like Gantt charts, task management, a real-time newsfeed and integration with popular third-party modules.

It offers advanced functionalities for marketing, software development and professional teams. It streamlines resource planning, anticipates demand, and optimizes team workload.

Wrike

Wrike generates accurate timesheets by tracking time spent on each task.

Teamwork

Teamwork is a Kanban-based work management system that offers advanced reporting with a drag-and-drop interface. It manages projects, teams, tasks, clients and resources from one place while tracking time and budgets.

It offers top-down views of initiatives, including project planning, milestones, time tracking and budgeting. Its real-time collaboration modules keep clients, stakeholders, employees and project planners on the same page.

Teamwork

Teamwork simplifies collaboration by tracking key metrics, centralizing work and streamlining team communication.

Monday.com

Monday.com is an online task management solution that offers a visually appealing and flexible interface. You can design projects using templates while customizing boards and views. Its collaboration modules provide visibility into all projects and automate repetitive tasks.

It centralizes all processes, tasks and files while updating documents in real time. Its robust security features keep organizational data and communications secure.

Monday.com

Monday.com offers HR templates to manage recruitment, workload and time.

Jira

Jira is a comprehensive work management solution for Agile teams that streamlines workflows and monitors task activity. Organizations can sketch project roadmaps to see the big picture and communicate plans with clients and stakeholders while keeping employees on the same page.

Businesses can create, track and manage tasks across the portfolio of initiatives while integrating with popular third-party applications.

Jira

Jira’s roadmaps help visualize the big picture while communicating plans with stakeholders.

 

 

Questions To Ask Yourself

Collaboration Software Key Questions To Ask

Selecting the right collaboration software is a long-term business decision, which involves asking the following questions internally:

  • How does my team collaborate currently?
  • What kinds of projects do we take up?
  • How many people work on each project?
  • Do I need a single application?
  • What is my budget?

Questions To Ask Vendors

Use the following questions to have honest discussions with vendors:

About the Software

  • Should I opt for an integrated or a standalone model?
  • Will it integrate with my current applications?
  • Does it offer customizations?
  • Will it support my future collaboration needs?
  • Is it mobile-friendly?

About the Vendor

  • What support and training packages do you offer? Do you offer priority support?
  • What are your pricing plans?
  • Can I save integration data in my preferred system?
  • How frequently do you update your security architecture?

In Conclusion

Businesses must move beyond cohesive communication strategies to survive the competition. With the recent rise in remote work, organizations need to invest in collaboration software that promotes real-time teamwork while streamlining workflows and resource sharing.

Team collaboration tools help you execute projects faster, optimize resources, bring transparency and promote better teamwork. Use this guide as a starting point in your software selection endeavor.

Additional Resources

About The Contributors

The following expert team members are responsible for creating, reviewing, and fact checking the accuracy of this content.

Kriti
By Kriti Sahay
Technical Content Writer
Kriti Sahay is a Technical Content Writer at SelectHub, writing content for Help Desk and Call Center Software. Kriti is based out of New Delhi, India. When she's not handling Buyer's Guides and other informational articles, she can be found experimenting in her kitchen, street shopping, or painting!
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Joan
Technical Research By Joan Akash
Senior Analyst
Joan Akash, a Senior Research Analyst at SelectHub, holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management with a specialization in Marketing. Her expertise as a researcher and reviewer spans diverse software categories, including Project Management, Customer Relationship Management, Live Chat, and Help Desk. Beyond her professional pursuits, Joan is spiritually driven, with a passion for teaching children and a penchant for reading biblical blogs and crafting poetry.
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Manan
Technical Review By Manan Roy
Principal Analyst
Manan is a native of Tezpur, Assam (India), who currently lives in Kolkata, West Bengal (India). At SelectHub, he works on categories like CRM, HR, PPM, BI, and EHR. He has a Bachelor of Technology in CSE from The Gandhi Institute of Engineering and Technology, a Master of Technology from The Institute of Engineering and Management IT, and an MBA in Finance from St. Xavier's College. He's published two research papers, one in a conference and the other in a journal, during his Master of Technology.
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Dianna
Edited By Dianna Dragonetti
Content Editor
As an editor, Dianna Dragonetti leads a team of five writers in writing about a variety of software, with an emphasis on how these tools empower businesses. Categories include accounting, learning management systems, content management systems, supply chain management, and electronic data interchange.
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