10 Best Apps For Remote Team Collaboration In 2024

In this article, you’ll learn about the best apps you can use for working with your team remotely. Whether everyone is far apart or some of you are in the office and some are not, it’s important to have good tools to keep everyone on the same page. We’ve picked the top 10 apps for 2023 that help teams communicate, schedule tasks, and more. Our goal is to help you find the right app that fits your team’s needs.

Key Takeaways

• Holistic collaboration: It’s not just about messaging or video conferencing—a truly effective collaboration tool will offer a comprehensive suite of features that meet all your needs.
• Budget-friendly options: No matter the size of your company or budget, there is a range of applications available, some with robust free options, to make effective collaboration easier.
• Specialized tools for shift-based teams: Traditional collaboration tools may not be enough for teams that operate on a shift-based model. Specialized scheduling and time-tracking features are key in these scenarios.
• Free trials and flexibility: Many platforms offer free trials or a free option with limited features, so you can test out their features and evaluate their suitability before committing.

Working remotely has many advantages, like no daily commute and more productivity. However, it can also be a little lonely, and some companies find that their remote employees don’t form connections the way they would in the office. We’ve identified ten remote collaboration tools you can implement that encourage worker collaboration and morale in remote teams.

Table of Contents

• Feature comparison: apps for remote teams
• When I Work
• Slack
• Google Meet
• ClickUp
• Asana
• Figma
• Flock
• Miro
• Notion
• Bitrix24

Best remote collaboration tools in 2023

Feature comparison: apps for remote teams

Remote team app	Price	Key features	Free trial	Integrations	Mobile accessibility	Customer support
When I Work	• Free 14-day trial • Essentials – $1.50/user/mo • Pro – $3/user/mo • Premium – $5/user/mo	• Employee scheduling • Time tracking • Team messaging • Timesheets • Task Lists • Auto Scheduling	Yes	16	Yes	Yes
Slack	• Limited free version • Pro – $7.25/user/mo • Business+ – $12.50/user/mo	• Group and individual messaging features • Video calling • Availability settings • Audio clips • Encrypted data	Yes	2600+	Yes	Yes
Google Meet	• Free planStarter – $6/user/mo • Standard – $12/user/mo • Workspace Plus – $18/user/mo	• Video meetings • Links for internal and external users • CaptionsAbility to record meetings • Breakout rooms for large groups	Yes	Possible with third-party tools like Zapier	Yes	Yes
ClickUp	• Free plan • Unlimited – $5/user/mo • Business – $12/user/mo • Business Plus – $19/user/mo	• Importing previous work from other tools • Browser or app access • Streamlined workflows • Chat and commenting features • Collaborative docs • Extensive integrations	Yes	1,000+	Yes	Yes
Asana	• Basic Plan – free • Premium Plan – $10.99/user/mo • Business Plan – $24.99/user/mo	• Schedule tasks with due dates • Automate workflows • View open projects in list view or in a timeline • Real-time reporting	Yes	100+	Yes	Yes
Figma	• Starter – free • Professional – $12/editor/mo • Organization – $45/editor/mo • Enterprise – $75/editor/mo	• Pen tools to incorporate vector networks • Libraries of past designs • Ability to develop plugins and widgets	Yes	31	Yes	Yes
Flock	• Starter – free • Pro – $4.50/user/mo	• Video conferencing with screen sharing • One-to-one and group chats • File sharing • Task lists with due dates	Yes	54	Yes	Yes
Miro	• Free plan • Starter – $8/user/mo • Business – $16/user/mo • Enterprise – Contact for pricing	• Wireframes for design projects • Customer journey maps • Ability to diagram difficult tasks	Yes	100+	Yes	Yes
Notion	• Free plan • Plus – $8/user/mo • Business – $15/user/mo	• Wiki guides for your organization • Table and calendar views for tasks • Meeting notes/agendas • Template features	Yes	59	Yes	Yes
Bitrix24	• Free plan • Basic – $49/mo • Standard – $99/mo • Professional – $199/mo	• Direct messaging • Video calls • Website builder integrated with Google Analytics • Invoicing and customer relationship management • Automated PTO and employee time tracking	Yes	400+	Yes	Yes

Let’s dive in and take a look at the top apps to encourage remote team collaboration.

1. When I Work 

When I Work is a comprehensive scheduling tool that allows managers to create a daily, weekly, or monthly employee schedule with the click of a few buttons. Rather than spending hours manually preparing your employee schedule, you can complete the task in just a few minutes. 

When I Work contains features that allow you to onboard new employees in just a few minutes and approve PTO requests quickly. Workers can use the mobile app to clock in for their shifts or start a chat with their colleagues. All shift calendars are shareable with the team, so everyone knows their scheduled working hours. 

Key features 

• Quick employee scheduling
• Time tracking capability
• Embedded team messaging features
• Timesheets for easy payroll calculation
• Save up to 15 hours weekly in scheduling time

Pricing 

When I Work offers three plans: Essentials, Pro, and Premium. The Essentials plan costs $1.50 per user and includes essential scheduling tools, task lists, overtime visibility, and shift notifications. You can upgrade the Essentials plan to have time and attendance features for $3.00 per user. 

The Pro plan starts at $3.00 per user and includes advanced scheduling rules that can make the employee scheduling process even faster, like labor sharing and role permissions.

The Premium plan starts at $5.00 per user and includes everything in the Essentials and Pro plans, along with integrated scheduling features like single sign on, API access, and webhooks. You can try When I Work for free with a 14-day trial.

2. Slack

Slack is an all-in-one communication tool that provides all the conversation features you need. With Slack, you can set up group channels for separate teams or departments as well as inclusive channels for major company announcements and virtual team-building games.

Slack provides one-on-one direct messaging tools and features for video calls, referred to as huddles. Users can customize their messages with emojis and GIFs, making collaboration with colleagues fun.

Key features 

• Group and individual messaging
• Video calling capabilities
• Availability setting
• Audio clips for accessible communication
• End-to-end data encryption

Pricing

Slack offers a free solution with its basic features, including 1:1 audio and video conversations. The Pro version starts at $7.25 monthly, allowing for group meetings and screen sharing for up to 50 people. Business+ provides advanced security features and starts at $12.50 per month. 

3. Google Meet

Google Meet is a secure video meeting tool that allows anyone to schedule a meeting and invite participants. Only people who receive the link can join the call, ensuring high security.

Advanced plans for Google Meet include additional features, such as longer group video calls and noise elimination. Scheduled meetings appear in the user’s calendar, which they can share with their colleagues. 

Key features 

• Video meetings
• Share meeting links with users inside and outside your organization
• Use captions during meetings
• Record meetings for future reference
• Use breakout rooms for a large conference 

Pricing

Google Meet is free for all companies. The free plan includes one-hour meetings and up to 15GB of storage in Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail. Organizations can upgrade to the premium plan for $9.99 monthly, which allows video calls up to 24 hours in length, background noise cancellation, and video recording.

4. ClickUp

ClickUp is a project management tool that allows employers to schedule critical tasks and assign them to workers with a due date. Employees can update the status as they complete their tasks. 

ClickUp includes thousands of automation tools that make scheduling simple and easy. It also fully integrates with popular remote work tools, including Slack, Zoom, and Google Drive. 

Key features 

• Import work from other tools such as Jira, Excel, and Asana
• Access on any device
• Assign tasks with due dates and time tracking
• Create streamlined workflows among employees
• Integrate with other tools, like Microsoft Teams and Outlook

Pricing

ClickUp offers a free solution that is best for personal use. Small teams benefit from their unlimited plan, which starts at $5 monthly. Business Plus includes team sharing, priority support, and custom role creation for $19 monthly.

5. Asana

Asana is a project management tool that allows companies to create projects and assign tasks to the appropriate employee. Employers can set a due date for each job, ensuring workers are fully aware of their responsibilities. 

Asana includes various display options that make it easy to follow projects from beginning to completion, including a list view and timeline. Administrators receive real-time reports that show progress made for each project.

Key features 

• Streamline workflows 
• Schedule tasks and due dates
• Display open projects in a timeline or list
• Automate specific workflows for easy scheduling
• Real-time reports on project completion

Pricing

Asana’s Basic Plan is free and allows collaboration on projects for teams of up to 15 people. The Premium Plan includes unlimited dashboards and a workflow builder for $10.99 monthly. Upgrading to the Business Plan is best for companies with multiple departments with different initiatives; it costs $24.99 monthly.

6. Figma

Figma is a collaborative design platform that’s best for UI, UX, or graphic design companies. It allows workers to brainstorm new creative ideas for their customers in one single system. 

Users can create diagrams and whiteboards for their creative sessions. Once design begins, they can move the project from an idea to completion through live collaboration.  

Key features 

• Modern pen tools incorporate Vector Networks
• Advanced font features 
• Resize text and buttons automatically
• Keep libraries of past designs for creative inspiration
• Develop plugins or widgets to assist in the design process

Pricing

Figma offers four plans: Starter, Professional, Organization, and Enterprise. The Starter plan is free and includes up to three users. Professional costs $12 monthly and includes sharing and team libraries.

7. Flock

Flock is a comprehensive communication and project management tool that aims to combine features similar to Slack and ClickUp in one platform. With Flock, employers can create channels for the entire organization, individual groups, and departments. 

Flock includes video conferencing, allowing employees to get on a call to discuss important tasks and initiatives. You’ll also find it easy to schedule tasks and projects, ensuring everyone is in the loop on progress. 

Key features 

• Direct one-on-one and group chats
• Video calls, including screen sharing
• Share important files with team members
• Robust search feature to find prior chats and files
• Create tasks lists and establish due dates

Pricing

Flock’s Starter package is free and supports teams of up to 20 individuals. Upgrading to Pro suits teams of 100 people or less and includes unlimited messages, channels, and group video calls. The Pro plan is $4.50 per user monthly.

8. Miro

Miro is an effective tool for employees who regularly collaborate on projects, such as UX and design or marketing teams. It’s ideal for creating flowcharts, brainstorming, and creating product roadmaps.

With Miro, you can track essential tasks and diagram your work. It fully integrates with numerous other platforms. 

Key features 

• Create low-fi wireframes for design projects
• Develop customer journey maps 
• Diagram complex tasks 
• ISO-27001 security
• Over 100 integrations

Pricing

A free plan is available for unlimited users. Upgrading to the Starter, Business, or Enterprise plan provides additional functionality beginning at $8 monthly.

9. Notion

Notion provides an all-in-one workspace for teams to collaborate in. Organizations can store general knowledge in Wikis accessible to all employees.

Notion makes creating meeting notes and agendas easy, ensuring you cover all relevant topics during discussions. Users can manage projects and signal their completion.

Key features 

• Create company-wide Wiki guides
• Track projects from beginning to end
• View tasks in a table or calendar
• Prepare meeting notes and agendas
• Downloadable templates

Pricing

Notion offers a free solution for groups of ten people. Plus plans are $8 per user monthly, and Business plans are $15 per user monthly.

10. Bitrix24

Bitrix24 is a workspace that combines numerous tools in one platform. You can use Bitrix24 for communication and video calls. It also acts as a CRM and HR tool, allowing you to manage clients and employees in one interface. Bitrix24 includes a free website builder with numerous templates.

Key features 

• Direct messages and video calls
• Website builder with Google Analytics integration
• Manage customer relationships, including invoicing
• Track employee time and automate PTO requests
• Maintain oversight of projects

Pricing

Bitrix24 offers a free plan for fundamental features like individual chats and video calls. Upgrading to the Basic Plan is $49 monthly for five users, while the Standard Plan is $99 monthly for up to 50 users.

The significance of specialized scheduling and communication tools for shift-based teams 

There are many remote work collaboration tools available. Use this guide as a starting point for identifying potential solutions for your organization. Remember to factor in your company’s needs and budget when deciding.

If you’re looking for a shift-based employee scheduling, time tracking, and team messaging solution, When I Work is trusted by over 200,000 workplaces for their scheduling needs. Start your free 14-day trial of When I Work today!

Remote collaboration tools: FAQs

What are remote collaboration tools?

Remote collaboration tools are software applications or platforms that enable individuals and teams to work together, communicate, and collaborate on projects and tasks, regardless of their physical location. 

Why are remote collaboration tools important?

Remote collaboration tools are essential for remote teams because they help overcome the challenges of distance while facilitating effective communication and collaboration. 

These tools improve productivity, foster teamwork, and enhance the overall efficiency of remote work.

Can remote collaboration tools be used on mobile devices?

Yes, most remote collaboration tools offer mobile applications that can be downloaded and used on smartphones and tablets. These mobile apps provide a convenient way for team members to access and interact with the collaboration platform while on the go. 

Mobile support allows for real-time communication, task management, and document access from anywhere, making it easier than ever to work remotely.

How can remote collaboration tools enhance team collaboration and morale?

Remote collaboration tools enhance team collaboration and morale by fostering communication, creating a sense of connection, and facilitating teamwork.