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 now leverages Gemini AI to enhance your business meetings. You can easily join or start a video meeting directly from Gmail. Every meeting automatically includes dial-in details. Gemini provides automatic meeting summaries, saving you valuable time. 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.

Go To Meeting provides secure virtual meetings on any device, with automatic bandwidth adjustments for optimal audio and video Easy to use and easy to set up, Go To Meeting includes built-in drawing tools, automated transcriptions and meeting recordings to capture key details. It integrates with many of the apps people already use, such as Microsoft Office 365, Zendesk, Slack and Google Suite.

Microsoft Teams brings together calls, instant messaging and, video conferencing with collaboration tools, including co-authoring and real-time editing Team meetings can be recorded with transcripts and live captions. Microsoft 365 Copilot, available as an add-on, boosts productivity with automated tasks. 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 collaborative mind mapping tools that helps your team brainstorm and manage project. With MindMeister, you can not only revert to prior versions but also assign tasks and track progress. It integrates with tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack to streamline your workflow.

Miro is an online collaborative whiteboard platform that enables your teams to lead engaging workshops and meetings, design products, brainstorm ideas, and more. It offers AI-powered features such as instant summaries and diagram generation through a credit system. You can start with the free version and choose one of the paid plans as you need more editable boards and advanced features.

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. Slack AI, available as an add-on, helps teams quickly summarize conversations, find key information, and draft messages, improving collaboration efficiency. 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.