The best team collaboration tools in 2026

Until we're all assimilated into a hive mind à la Pluribus, collaboration will have to be done the old-fashioned way: talking to other humans and trying not to trip over each other in the process. And while none of us is as smart (or, apparently, as eerily cheerful) as all of us, coordinating all those brains in a digital workspace can get messy fast without the right tools.

The right collaboration software makes it easier to bring people, projects, and conversations into one shared space without forcing everyone to work the same way. Whether your team thrives on real-time brainstorming or prefers async check-ins, the best tools support how you already work—just more smoothly.

Here are the best collaboration tools to help your team stay aligned, productive, and (mercifully) unassimilated.

The best collaboration software

• Slack for team chat

• Zoom for video conferencing and screen sharing

• Zapier for orchestrating team workflows

• Loom for screen recording

• Pitch for building presentations

• Miro for online whiteboarding

• Figma for wireframing and design

• MindMeister for mind mapping

• Clockwise for scheduling meetings

• Asana for project management

• Notion for a shared workspace

• Fireflies for AI meeting insights

• Google Drive for cloud storage

• 1Password for password management

How to choose the best team collaboration tools

Collaboration tech stacks are like fingerprints—each company has a unique one. So how do you tailor a collection that works for you and your team? There are four key considerations. 

• Does it fit into your budget? Your team's budget impacts which—and how many—team collaboration tools you can use. The lower your budget, the more you may want to opt for multi-purpose apps instead of niche options. 

• Does it help with team-specific tasks? While there are some tasks that every team does, like sending messages to each other and collaborating on projects, you might have department-specific tasks, which will require more focused solutions.

• Can it handle your team size and work volume? Team size and work volume can affect the pricing of your collaboration tools as well as the features you have access to. 

• Does it integrate with your other tools? Unless you find a unicorn company that handles all of your collaboration (you won't), you'll need to work across apps. As your workload increases, integrations between tools will be essential, whether natively or through Zapier.

The best team collaboration software at a glance

The best team collaboration software for team chat

Slack

Slack pros:

• User-friendly design with flexible channels and threads

• Powerful search and extensive integrations

• Free tier available

Slack cons:

• Expensive and not part of an existing software bundle

You can't have collaboration without communication, and team chat apps are, at this point, an almost necessary addition for remote and in-office workers. They offer a more informal space where your team can bond, share quick project updates, or ask questions. 

Slack is a popular choice when it comes to business chat platforms, and for good reason. It ticks all the boxes on your team chat wishlist—for example, you can create team- or project-specific channels, organize conversations into threads, quote Slack messages to provide more context, and add your own custom emoji (you know, the important stuff). 

Slack also offers click-and-drag file sharing, video and audio calls, and a robust search feature. For an additional fee, you can also add Slack AI, which helps you do things like quickly search for and distill information and summarize lengthy conversations and threads. But all of these features come at a price. If you're on a budget, you might want to consider alternatives. 

Want more out of your team chat app? With Zapier's Slack integration, Slack becomes more than just a place to chat—it becomes part of a broader system of orchestrated workflows. For example, when a new deal is logged in your CRM, you can instantly alert your Sales team in Slack, create follow-up tasks in your project management software, and record key details in a spreadsheet for reporting. Learn more about how to automate Slack.

Slack pricing: Free plan available; from $7.25/user/month (billed annually) for the Pro plan, which includes unlimited message history and huddles, as well as Slack Connect to work with external collaborators. Add Slack AI for $10/user/month. 

Read more: The best team chat apps for business

The best team collaboration software for video conferencing and screen sharing

Zoom

Zoom pros:

• Includes collaboration features and allows for video recording

• Makes it simple to add people outside your organization

Zoom cons:

• Not part of a software bundle, which can get expensive in large organizations

Some work needs to be done face-to-face, or at least screen-to-screen. For both of those options, Zoom is a favorite. 

It's safe to assume that everyone has already installed the software and configured it to work, so when you share a link to a Zoom meeting, you can feel confident that everyone will be able to join. You can record any call as a full-length video, share your screen, and use text chat during the call. Zoom also provides real-time transcriptions and closed captioning. On top of all this, Zoom is extremely reliable. It'll typically keep your video going even through a weak internet connection, just at a reduced quality level. 

Beyond its video features, you can share and annotate files, or enable co-annotation for an even more collaborative experience. Zoom's whiteboard feature supports diagramming, image sharing, and sticky notes for versatile input. And if that's not enough, there's the Zoom AI Companion: it's essentially an AI meeting assistant that can do everything from answering questions (even if they're not related to the meeting) to generating meeting summaries. All in all, it's a nearly perfect team video app. 

And because Zoom integrates with Zapier, you can orchestrate workflows that turn conversations into action. For example, you can automatically generate AI-powered meeting summaries, create and assign follow-up tasks in your project management tool, and share updates with stakeholders in Slack. Learn more about how to automate Zoom.

Zoom pricing: Free for up to 100 participants for 40-minute meetings; from $13.33/month/user (billed annually) for the Pro plan, which includes more AI Companion features, 30-hour meetings, and 10 GB of cloud storage.

Read more: The best video conferencing software for teams, The best Zoom alternatives, and the best screen sharing software.

The best team collaboration software for orchestrating team workflows

Zapier

Zapier pros:

• Connects thousands of apps into end-to-end team workflows

• Built-in AI for drafting, summarizing, and decision support

• Includes forms, tables, AI agents, and chatbots in one platform

Zapier cons:

• Not a replacement for deep, category-specific tools

Most collaboration tools help teams communicate or manage work in one place. Zapier helps teams orchestrate how work moves between places. Instead of asking people to manually pass updates from tool to tool, Zapier automates the handoffs, so collaboration actually turns into progress.

With Zapier, you can connect the apps your team already uses—like Slack, Google Docs, project management tools, CRMs, and databases—into workflows that run automatically in the background. For example, when a new request comes in, Zapier can route it to the right channel, create tasks, update records, and notify stakeholders without anyone needing to chase updates.

Zapier also includes built-in tools that make orchestration easier. You can collect inputs with Zapier Forms, store and manage shared data in Zapier Tables, and create lightweight internal tools or dashboards to keep teams aligned. Zapier Canvas lets you visualize workflows end to end, making it easier for teams to understand how work flows across systems instead of just within them.

AI is also woven throughout the platform, with AI agents, chatbots, and built-in AI steps that can help teams summarize information, generate responses, and move faster without adding complexity. And if you don't want to start from scratch, Zapier's template library makes it easy to hit the ground running with common workflows like project intake, async standups, or lead capture.

Simple Project Plan Template

Keep your project on track and your team informed—all from one Table.

Try it

Daily Stand Up Template

Create an async daily standup, collect responses, and keep your team connected in Slack.

Try it

Unified lead capture

Easily channel leads from multiple sources into your CRM.

Try it

Zapier pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $19.99/month for multi-step Zaps, unlimited Premium apps, and webhooks.

The best team collaboration software for screen recording

Loom

Loom pros:

• Super easy to use and works across devices

• Generous free plan

Loom cons:

• The mobile apps aren't perfect

If asynchronous collaboration is more your thing, a screen recording app might be the way to go. These tools allow you to demonstrate complex topics while helpfully narrating (or reflexively humming) to provide an added layer of engagement. 

Loom is the best option for most people. This powerful platform allows you to record just your screen, your screen with a webcam video, or just the webcam video alone. You can do basic editing directly in your browser, and then share the link with others. Loom's free option allows you to store and share up to 25 videos up to five minutes each. 

Loom also offers AI features (available with Business + AI or Enterprise plans), including automatic transcription and auto-generated titles, summaries, and chapters. There's even an option to remove filler words and silence. 

Loom pricing: Free for 25 videos of up to five minutes each; from $15/month (billed annually) for the Business plan, which includes unlimited videos, AI features, and video import.

Read more: The best screen recording software

The best team collaboration software for building presentations

Pitch

Pitch pros:

• Google levels of collaboration

• Excellent generative AI feature

• Assign slides to specific team members

Pitch cons:

• User interface is a little different than you're used to

If your focus is more on team-built or team-delivered presentations, the latest presentation apps make it easy to format slides and create professional-looking slideshows. 

Pitch is the most collaboration-friendly option. It includes all the beautifully designed templates, customizability, and ease of use you expect from a top-notch presentation tool. But the app really shines when you add your team.

You can assign entire presentations or individual slides to team members, set and update the status of your deck, and leave comments and notes throughout. Save custom templates to make future builds that much faster. And invite external collaborators to work with you on individual decks. 

Pitch also offers one of the most impressive generative AI features compared to other AI presentation makers. The AI-generated written content and overall design is top notch—just don't rely on it to pull in relevant images (for now). 

Pitch pricing: Free plan includes unlimited presentations, custom templates, and AI features; from $25/month (billed monthly) for the Pro plan, which includes 2 seats, 30-day version history, and unbranded file exports. 

Read more: The best presentation software

The best team collaboration software for online whiteboarding

Miro

Miro pros: 

• Miro Talktrack offers board recording for asynchronous collaboration

• Robust library of templates 

Miro cons: 

• Better suited for personal projects or smaller teams 

Not even the most effective conferencing platform can prevent conversations from stalling—or from being interrupted when someone can't turn off their cat avatar. For a more focused collaboration, you might want to cut the chit-chat and limit your work to just a whiteboard.

Miro is a powerful whiteboard app that allows for open-ended and creative jam sessions. It provides you with a long list of templates to guide your project, or you can start from a blank slate if you prefer. Add shapes, text, and sticky notes using the intuitive drag-and-drop interface. 

You can also share screens and present your whiteboards in real-time. Or, if you're collaborating asynchronously, use Talktracks to record board walkthroughs to give your team more context. Stay updated as you go with Miro's management feature, which tracks changes, assigns tasks, and supports your conversations with team members. And, of course, it's got AI features to help you do things like generate diagrams and images from a prompt, automatically create sticky notes, and bounce ideas off an AI chatbot.

You can orchestrate even more sophisticated whiteboarding workflows by connecting Miro with Zapier. For example, when you save a brainstorming thread in Slack, AI can identify the main points and then start a new session in Miro, with cards for each idea. Learn more about how to automate Miro.

Miro pricing: Free for 3 editable boards, 5 Talktracks, and 10 AI credits/team/month; from $8/user/month (billed annually) for the Starter plan, which includes unlimited boards, Talktracks, and 25 AI credits/user/month.

Read more: The best online whiteboards and the best flowchart software and diagram tools

The best team collaboration software for wireframing and design

Figma

Figma pros

• Generous free plan

• Built-in whiteboarding and brainstorming with FigJam

• Real-time collaboration across design and non-design teams

• Large community with free UI kits, components, and icon sets

Figma cons

• Advanced features can take time to learn

Figma is the go-to tool for wireframing and product design, and a big reason for that is how well it supports collaboration. Unlike older, desktop-based design tools, Figma is web-based by default, which makes it easy for teams to work together in real time. Designers, product managers, developers, and even non-designers can all access the same files without worrying about version control or handoff headaches.

Many teams start in FigJam, Figma's built-in whiteboard tool, to brainstorm ideas, map user flows, or create early wireframes together. Once the direction is clear, those ideas can move seamlessly into Figma for more detailed design work. Figma includes pre-sized frames for common devices—desktop, tablet, and mobile—so teams can jump straight into designing without hunting down screen dimensions.

While wireframes are often intentionally simple, Figma scales easily from low-fidelity concepts to fully polished interfaces. More advanced features like grids, constraints, and responsive layouts make it possible to design production-ready UIs, while plugins and community resources help teams move faster by reusing existing components, icons, and imagery.

Multiple teammates can co-design in the same file at the same time, and every plan includes commenting tools that let collaborators leave feedback, tag teammates, reply in threads, and resolve comments when decisions are made. Paid plans add features like audio chat and written annotations, which are especially helpful during live design reviews and developer handoffs.

For larger teams, Figma's team libraries act as a shared source of truth. Designers can reuse approved components, color styles, and typography across files—and when a master component is updated, those changes automatically roll out everywhere it's used to keep designs consistent and up to date.

With Zapier's Figma integration, teams can connect design work to the rest of their workflow. When designs change or new versions are published, Zapier can update project tickets, notify stakeholders with AI-generated summaries, and keep everyone aligned from early wireframes through final release. Explore popular ways to automate Figma to turn collaboration into action.

Figma pricing: Free unlimited drafts and UI kits and templates; from $16/seat/month (billed annually) for the Professional plan, which comes with unlimited files and team-wide design libraries. (Additional collaborator seats start at $3/month billed annually.)

Read more: The best wireframe tools

The best team collaboration software for mind mapping

MindMeister

MindMeister pros: 

• Extensive customization options 

• Integrates with MeisterTask if you want more of an all-in-one tool

MindMeister cons: 

• Extra features make it a little less intuitive 

Another way to boost your online collaboration is via a mind map. While video conferences and whiteboards are great for supporting free-form discussions, a good mind map provides you with a ready-made template that will inspire your next brainstorm while allowing you to see how each idea fits together (hence a "map").

If that sounds useful to you, MindMeister is a great choice for collaborating on a mind map. More connected than a sketch pad and more collab-friendly than PowerPoint, MindMeister allows you to build and connect ideas, leave comments for your team, and work together to brainstorm and present your big ideas. 

Then, because MindMeister is integrated with MeisterTask (a project management app), you can turn your brainstorming session into an actionable project, assigning individual items on a mind map to teammates. You can also use Zapier to connect MeisterTask with the rest of your tech stack so you can orchestrate workflows that span tools and teams. For example, automatically add ideas to your team's product roadmap in Notion, share an AI-generated summary in Slack, and log follow-up tasks in your project management platform to keep deadlines on track.

MindMeister pricing: Free plan available, which includes up to 3 mind maps and unlimited collaborators; from $6.50/month (billed annually) for the Personal plan, which includes unlimited mind maps, 7-day version history, and PDF exports.

Read more: The best mind mapping software and the best brainstorming tools

The best team collaboration software for scheduling meetings 

Clockwise  

Clockwise pros:

• AI auto-reschedule feature optimizes focus time

• Suggests the best time slots for others to book with you 

Clockwise cons:

• Can't be used with personal Google accounts, only Workspace

If you have a lot of team meetings, coordinating meetings that work with everyone's schedules is a chore in and of itself. A meeting scheduling app can help. 

Clockwise uses AI to help you protect deep work blocks, automate internal scheduling, and dynamically reschedule meetings to optimize your day. In a way, it's more of a schedule manager than just an AI meeting scheduler—but its meeting scheduling functionality is ideal for team collaboration. 

You can create traditional booking links to share with your team and external guests so they can book a meeting with you. Or you can prompt Prism (the AI scheduling assistant) to do things like "Schedule @[name] for a 30-minute meeting next week," and it'll create a meeting that fits both your schedules—no manual calendar syncing or back-and-forth coordination required. 

Clockwise pricing: Free plan includes smart scheduling and basic scheduling customization; from $6.75/user/month (billed annually) for the Teams plan, which includes team productivity tools and more advanced features. 

Read more: The best meeting scheduler apps and the best AI scheduling assistants

The best team collaboration software for project management

Asana

Asana pros: 

• Flexible with project management methodologies between projects and users 

• Great, focused My Tasks view 

Asana cons: 

• Limited project views on a free plan 

Like a reliable bungee cord in a three-legged race, the right project management software can keep you and your team together to get your project over the finish line successfully.

Asana is a feature-rich project management app that helps teams organize projects across departments. When you create a new project within a team, you have the option to make it public to all team members—which saves you time manually inviting the right people each time. You'll add, rearrange, and complete tasks the same way you would in a to-do list app.

The messaging function allows your team to collaborate, including a chat field, without leaving the app. Asana's reporting features give you a bird's-eye view of each project's status and any overdue or at-risk action items to follow up on. You can also set goals and sub-goals—which automatically track your progress based on your chosen criteria—to help guide your team toward success.

On any paid plan, you'll also get access to Asana AI—it's a suite of AI project management features to help streamline your workflows. For example, you can use Ask AI to pose simple prompts like "How many tasks in the project are currently in progress?" or "Show me all the tasks that are dependent on [insert milestone here]." 

For even more flexibility, Zapier's Asana integration lets you orchestrate sophisticated, AI-powered workflows that connect project information across your entire tech stack. Instead of manually passing updates between tools, you can build dynamic processes—like having AI analyze new Asana tasks for urgency, automatically route high-priority items to Slack with context, and generate follow-up emails in Gmail. Discover other popular ways to automate Asana.

Asana pricing: Free for up to 2 users, unlimited projects and tasks, 3 project views, and basic features; from $10.99/user/month (billed annually) for the Starter plan, which includes more views, unlimited users, custom project templates, and Asana AI. 

Read more:

• The best Asana alternatives

• The best free project management software

• The best project management software for small businesses

• The best enterprise project management software

• The best AI project management tools

• The best Kanban tools

The best team collaboration software for a shared workspace

Notion

Notion pros:

• Best-in-class collaboration and team note-taking features

• Packs in lots of features, like task management, databases, and pretty much anything else you care to think of 

Notion cons:

• Offline functionality isn't the best 

If alternative approaches to collaborative project management work better for you, check out Notion. A database platform that's so much more than a database, you might think of Notion as project management plus—the "plus" in this equation meaning a whole slew of customizable functionality.

Notion's intuitive, clean interface allows you to build boards, generate lists, manage calendars, stock galleries, and lay out timelines—everything you need for seamless workflow management. If you're on Notion's Business or Enterprise plan, you can use Notion AI to summarize and pull action items from meeting notes, transcriptions, and anything else you like. 

Notion's document sharing, comment, and note-taking features provide you with all the collaboration you'll ever need for a successful, team-friendly project. At the same time, you're able to build searchable databases, both inline and full page, to track and manage all your key data. 

Notion also integrates with Zapier, allowing you to turn shared workspaces into the foundation of powerful, AI-orchestrated workflows. For example, when teammates add meeting notes or project updates in Notion, you can have AI generate action items, assign tasks in project management tools like Asana or Trello, and share tailored summaries in Slack. Learn more about how to automate Notion.

Notion pricing: Free plan includes unlimited blocks and a 7-day page history; from $10/user/month (billed annually) for the Plus plan, which includes unlimited file uploads and a 30-day page history.

Read more: The best Notion alternatives, the best note-taking apps, and the best AI notes apps

The best team collaboration software for AI meeting insights

Fireflies

Fireflies pros:

• Has generative AI features (AskFred)

• Can automatically send meeting recaps 

Fireflies cons:

• Some screens are too cluttered

A note-taking app is great, but when you're actively engaged in a meeting or brainstorming session, it's easy to forget to take notes in the first place. That's where AI meeting assistants come in. 

Fireflies transcribes meeting audio, offers a list of topics tracked, and isolates information such as metrics, tasks, and questions, making it easy to filter them later. It also offers a list of everyone who spoke, including a word-per-minute statistic and percentage talked in relation to others. 

Need to share critical information with your team? You can create soundbites, clipping important parts of meetings into shareable moments. People can come by the meeting page to leave their comments and reactions, so it's easy to see how everyone's keeping up. And if you have an internal knowledge base, you can embed meetings or soundbites, helping you keep a thorough single source of truth.

When you need this information in your other apps, Fireflies offers a range of native integrations with giants like HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, and Dropbox. If your favorite app isn't listed, you can use Zapier's Fireflies integration to connect it to thousands of other apps. This way, you can build end-to-end workflows across the rest of your tech stack. For example, after a meeting transcript is captured in Fireflies, you can use AI to extract key action items, automatically create tasks in your project management app, and update any related opportunities in your CRM. Learn more about how to automate Fireflies.

Fireflies pricing: Free plan includes unlimited transcriptions and limited AI summaries; from $10/user/month (billed annually) for the Pro plan, which includes unlimited AI summaries and smart search filters.

Read more: The best AI meeting assistants and the best transcription software

The best team collaboration software for cloud storage

Google Drive

Google Drive pros:

• Deep integration with Google Workspace apps

• Built into Android devices but can access files on any device

Google Drive cons:

• Can be pricey in comparison to other apps

For a more file-centric approach to collaboration, you can't go wrong with the titan of cloud storage: Google Drive. Google Drive allows you to share and manage your all-important project files. And for those times when your Wi-Fi router suddenly conks out, it even gives you the power to work offline by mirroring your files to your local machine and updating your changes when you jump back online. 

What's more, Google Drive works with a ton of third-party apps to support seamless, customized workflows. For more flexibility, use Zapier's Google Drive integration. This way, you can connect it with thousands of other apps and orchestrate powerful, multi-step processes that go far beyond file storage. For example, a new file in Drive can trigger intelligent automations—using AI to analyze its content, enrich it with data from other apps, and send a summary to the right teams in Slack. Learn more about how to automate Google Drive.

Google Drive pricing: Free for up to 15 GB; from $2.99/month for Google One, which includes 200 GB of storage shared across Photos, Drive, and Gmail; from $7/user/month (billed annually) for the Google Workspace Business Starter plan, which includes 30 GB of storage/user.  

Read more: The best cloud storage apps and the best document management software

The best team collaboration software for password management

1Password

1Password pros:

• Easy to use across any device

• Very transparent about its security

1Password cons:

• No free option

Of course, none of these options will help your team's collaboration if someone gets locked out of an app due to a lost or forgotten password. To make sure things run smoothly, and to keep your stakeholders connected without having to resort to a list on a wrinkled Post-it, I recommend investing in a secure and stable password manager.

1Password is the best and most secure choice for an easy-to-use tool that keeps track not only of your passwords, but also your credit card details, addresses, and up to 1 GB of other vital information that you can't risk losing. Manage both your personal and professional data with separate vaults, and take advantage of 1Password's notifications to stay on top of hacks, weak or duplicate passwords, as well as ones that could be strengthened via two-factor authentication. 

1Password pricing: $36/year for a Personal account; $60/year for Families with up to 5 accounts. 

Read more: The best password managers

Other team collaboration tools

Any or all of these tools can help your team get—and stay—on the same page when it comes to collaboration. For even more support keeping things together, you can take advantage of these other categories of collaboration software.

• If you want to leverage AI across specific departments, there's no shortage of options. Here are Zapier's picks for the best AI productivity tools, many of which will help you work better together.

• If your work involves marketing or sales—or marketing and sales—then you'll want to take advantage of CRM software, including these free CRM tools and CRMs for small businesses.   

• AI chatbots can act as that teammate who knows everything (not in the annoying, eye-rolling way) and can do almost everything, including conducting research, drafting articles, analyzing data, and generating images. Here are the best AI chatbots to try out. 

Connect your collaboration platforms

Collaborative tools for business can make singular tasks, like scheduling meetings or sharing documents, easier. But the more tools you use, the more you may find yourself switching between tabs to complete your work. Connecting your collaborative apps and setting up automations for repetitive tasks ensures no data falls through the cracks—and lets you use your time on more human activities.

Here are a few ideas for how to connect your tech stack and automate your collaboration.

Related reading: 

• What is brainwriting? The 6-3-5 technique, explained

• Common problems caused by collaboration (and how to fix them)

• Google Chat vs. Slack: Which is better?

• The best Slack alternatives

• How to practice assertive communication at work

• 30+ team building activities for work

This article was originally published in October 2018 by Jill Duffy and has also had contributions from Steph Knapp and Toby Peterson. The most recent update, with contributions from Nicole Replogle, was in February 2026.