Free and low-cost online collaboration tools for your business

Canvanizer is a collaborative online tool that helps entrepreneurs identify key elements of their business plan such as their core value proposition, their target market, key resources and activities, and revenue streams. It is a bit like playing with virtual post-it notes to structure and share your ideas with teams. You can create your own canvas for free or upgrade to the premium version. The Links section outlines resources like books, related websites and other online tools to help you get started.

Coggle is an online collaborative tool that enables you to easily create and share mindmaps and flow charts. It works directly in your web browser, so there is nothing to download or install. Coggle lets you comment on branches and chat with collaborators without leaving your diagram workspace.

Evernote started as a note-taking app. The free plan offers some basic functionalities, but you will have to subscribe to one of their paid plans to take advantage of team collaboration features. All plans offer a free trial.

Feng Sky is the cloud-based version of Feng Office, an open-source collaboration platform that combines all the features necessary to manage projects, tasks, documents, communication, collaboration with co-workers, clients and vendors, and much more. Data can be stored in a Canadian data centre upon request. If you prefer, you can also host the solution on your own server or request the assistance of a system integrator. Feng Sky can be accessed via a web browser from any computer or mobile phone.

Google Meet fosters collaboration via instant messages, text messages, group chats, voice and video conferencing. You can easily join or start a video meeting directly from Gmail. Every meeting automatically includes its own dial-in details. It is particularly effective if you combine it with Google Docs to share and edit documents, and it works across computer platforms, as well as on Apple and Android phones and tablets.

GoToMeeting provides a secure virtual meeting platform on any device. Easy to use and easy to set up, GoToMeeting auto adjusts to bandwidth on the fly to maximize the audio and video quality. It integrates with many of the apps people already use, such as Microsoft Office 365, Zendesk, Slack, and Google Suite. Different pricing plans are available.

Microsoft Teams brings together calls, instant messaging, video conferencing, and collaboration tools to share and edit files in real time using familiar apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Available as a standalone application or as part of Microsoft 365, Teams makes it easy for all kinds of groups to communicate and collaborate.

Mindmeister is a mind mapping and online collaboration tool designed to facilitate collaboration. With MindMeister, you can not only revert to prior versions but also assign tasks and track progress. Gmail users can even turn their emails into tasks at the click of a button. There are also a number of apps that let you access and share mind maps easily via Google Chrome and Twitter.

Minutes Depot is a collaboration tool that focuses on the management and sharing of corporate minute books. Developed by a Canadian company based in Quebec City, Minutes Depot allows you to maintain minute books online and easily share them with all authorized users, such as shareholders and accounting personnel. As a result, it considerably streamlines the process of creating, tracking and electronically signing key documents such as meeting agendas and minutes.

Miro is an online collaborative whiteboard platform that enables hybrid and distributed teams to lead engaging workshops and meetings, design products, brainstorm ideas, and more. You can start with the free version and choose one of the paid plans as you need more editable boards and advanced features. Miro serves more than 25M users worldwide.

Panorama is an online solution designed to automate board governance processes and recommend best practices. Easy to use, it reduces the workload of board members by helping them prepare meetings, draft minutes and centralize all the necessary information to make better decisions. This Canadian company is based in Montreal, Quebec.

Redbooth is an all-in-one collaboration and communications platform that gives you real-time visibility into group projects. Shared virtual workspace makes it easy to organize everything in one place, from discussions to documents and files. Teams can communicate through HD video conferencing or business chat and even use their Apple TV app to run more efficient meetings in the board room. Integrations include Evernote, Microsoft Outlook, Box, Google Drive, Dropbox and Zendesk.

Slack lets you create searchable channels (chat rooms) to bring all your work communication (files, messaging, voice and video calls) into one central place. You can even work on projects with other companies. Now part of Salesforce, Slack integrates with over 2,200 apps. 

Stormboard helps remote teams share sticky notes and whiteboards. It is an easy-to-use online brainstorming and collaboration platform that lets you generate, organize and prioritize ideas and then create a plan to turn them into action. Developed by an Edmonton-based company, it uses smart templates based on best business processes and provides powerful reporting solutions. A free version is available for up to five users.