The Best 7 Free and Open Source Collaboration Software

"Great Ideas Emerge When Different Minds Work Together." Every modern business today is aware of the significance of Teamwork. Teamwork is the foundation of a successful organization as it has the potential to foster a systematic way of collaborating. Collaborative tasks within an organization uplift and enhance the skills of the team members and help organizations improve productivity and efficiency within their workflows. Lack of collaboration leads to miscommunication, conflicts, and project completion delays, negatively impacting the overall business.  

For that matter, it has become necessary for companies to encourage effective collaboration among their team members. But, there are certain challenges that businesses face while doing so, as given below in the following image -

So, how can you overcome the above-mentioned team collaboration challenges?

There is only one key that can help overcome these challenges, and that is implementing the best collaboration software within the organization. Before we delve into the list of free and open-source collaboration software, let's have a basic understanding of what collaboration software is, its benefits, and the features to look for to select the best one that suits your business preferences.

What Is Collaboration Software?

Collaboration software, also known as collaborative software, helps team members share files and information and communicate with each other regardless of their physical location. It also helps them seamlessly work on a project or a task jointly in real time. That means two users from different locations can make parallel edits to the same file simultaneously. This can create an extremely convenient collaborative work environment, allowing users to coordinate among themselves and accomplish their goals.  

Collaboration software can suffice for an organization's group work needs, whether it is about completing a project within a specific time frame, scheduling a meeting, or sharing knowledge among different users. Collaboration software helps teams with three basic functionalities. You can check the points below for the same -

The use of collaborative tools can have a positive impact on organizations and employees. Collaboration software empowers employees to communicate seamlessly and accomplish their tasks without any glitches. The outcome of this collaborative work environment is highly engaged and happy employees, ultimately resulting in increased productivity of the overall organization.  


Almost all types of businesses can benefit from collaboration software, including the ones mentioned above. Moreover, with the increase in BYOD(Bring Your Own Device) and work-from-home culture, it has become important for organizations to deploy the right collaboration tools. Collaboration tools allow employees to work together efficiently regardless of their geographical location or the devices they are using. 

According to the digital collaboration survey by Deloitte, professionals who have access to practical digital collaboration tools are likely to be 17% more satisfied with their workplace culture. Satisfied employees lead to better productivity and increased profitability of the business organization. To be precise, the following are some benefits that justify the increased use and popularity of collaborative software these days.

All the above benefits of collaboration software are directly related to the organization's increased productivity and revenue generation. Thus, it becomes significant to select the best collaboration tool that can help the team members make the most out of it and contribute to the organization's progress.

As far as selecting the best collaboration software is concerned, there are many options available that are not built equally. Knowing what to look for in your collaboration software begins with outlining your business requirements and considering the features accordingly. Below-mentioned are some of the key features of collaboration software that you need to make sure that the one you pick includes -

Key Features Of A Collaboration Software

Project Management

The collaboration software should allow you to manage the projects and monitor whether all the tasks are completed within the deadlines to ensure the organization's growth.

Instant Messaging

Nowadays, teams, whether working under one roof or remotely, need an instant messaging system to communicate about the crucial aspects of ongoing projects.

Video Conferencing

Whether conducting online meetings, providing training, or sharing information, video conferencing can help employees stay connected from anywhere.

Synchronous Document Management

Synchronizing document management helps employees access real-time information without losing any important data.

Creating & Sharing Content

Many collaboration solutions allow creating blogs, infographics, etc., and sharing internally and externally for communication and marketing purposes.

Informative Calendar

The shared calendar allows scheduling meetings after viewing the attendees' availability. It also enables sending notifications and reminders to the attendees about scheduled meetings.

Online Whiteboard

The team members can share information on the whiteboard through drawings, graphics, and even text, and then erase it after the purpose is solved.

Interactive Dashboard

The dashboard helps the collaborators stay updated with the information about their work activity, decisions, projects, tasks, approvals, etc., from a centralized location.

Powerful Search

Whether you need to find the latest update on a particular project or refer to a previous conversation with a teammate, the powerful search features can help.

Centralized Repository

An easily accessible centralized repository of information can include documents, tutorials, how-to-do videos, and images that help employees accomplish their projects successfully.

After reviewing these key features, you might be able to determine which collaborative software would suit your business needs. To help you with the selection, we have listed the best 7 free and open-source collaboration software.

The Best 7 Free and Open Source Collaboration Software

#1 Kolab (Free and Open Source)

Kolab is a free and open-source collaboration software with powerful scheduling, sharing, and resource management tools, enabling people to work together effectively. It is a highly scalable and secure collaboration software that allows sending emails, maintaining calendars, managing tasks, sending and receiving notes, tagging, and many more activities that help teams collaborate efficiently. It can work with multiple devices and operating systems and be translated into your local language.


(kolab.org)

Key Features

  • Allows you to share and save files from any part of the globe
  • Can collect, organize, and share contact information easily
  • Enables you to handle your emails quickly and efficiently
  • Allows for maintaining and scheduling a calendar
  • Maintains task information for a smooth workflow
  • Helps in organizing ideas in a centralized repository system
  • Includes high-end security features to keep your data safe

If you have already used Kolab, please feel free to share your reviews here.

#2 OpenProject (Free and Open Source)

OpenProject is an open-source and free project management software that allows a team to collaborate, from project initiation to closure. It lets you plan, collaborate, communicate, and document your projects efficiently. You can share timelines and collectively prepare and visualize your project plan with the entire team, resulting in transparency during the whole workflow management process. Task management and team collaboration are extremely easy; they enable you to get important things done first and achieve desired productivity within the organization. As its open-source community edition is 100% free, it can be an affordable option for startups and small-sized enterprises.


(openproject.org)

Key Features

  • Allows planning projects and scheduling tasks
  • Enables planning, visualizing, and communicating your product roadmap
  • Helps the team to track their work and stay productive
  • Allows you to use agile methodologies like Scrum for managing projects
  • Enables teams to track bugs and work together to solve them
  • Allows tracking time spent on each task
  • Generates accurate reports providing insights into project performance
  • Allows creating and managing project wikis, helping teams to access knowledge at their fingertips

If you have already used OpenProject, please feel free to share your reviews here.

#3 OpenPass (Free and Open Source)

OpenPass is a free and open-source collaboration suite that helps teams to stay connected and work together with ease. It allows secure file sharing, video conferencing, scheduling and maintaining calendars, and many more facilities that enable faster, efficient, and smarter team collaboration. It is the best open-source alternative to Microsoft 365 and Google Suite. If you plan to create an innovative digital work environment, deploying OpenPass would be the right decision. As its on-premises license is free, you can host it on your server and have full control over your data's security.


(open-paas.org)

Key Features

  • Includes an AI-based email client that is trained to understand the context of your emails and communicate quickly
  • Having end-to-end encryption security features, you can share files easily and confidently.
  • Allows discussing, sharing, and delegating tasks using a single platform
  • Enables you to conduct video conferences easily
  • Includes a full suite of office apps, allowing you to save and share documents on a real-time basis
  • Allows creating and sharing calendars, ensuring meetings are done on the specified date and time

If you have already used OpenPass, please feel free to share your reviews here.

#4 Group Office (Free and Open Source)

Group Office is a free and open-source collaboration software that allows sharing projects, calendars, files, and emails with teammates and clients. The basic community version of this software is free, but you can go for advanced modules by paying a price that starts from around $470. It is extremely easy to use and fully customizable software with versatile features that allow teams to collaborate and work efficiently.


(group-office.com)

Key Features

  • Allows sending and receiving emails
  • Enables you to create and share a calendar
  • Allows creating and sharing files
  • Includes an address book allowing you to save contacts
  • Enables you to monitor and manage tasks
  • Facilitates time tracking for every project
  • Allows creating and sending newsletters
  • Can sync data with mobile devices
  • Allows document editing and searching

If you have already used Group Office, please feel free to share your reviews here.

#5 Collabtive (Free and Open Source)

Collabtive is free and open-source web-based project management software written in PHP and JavaScript. It also provides a demo version so users can check its features before downloading and using it. Collabtive allows you to manage projects, monitor the time each team member spends on those projects, manage files, delegate tasks, and do everything required for teams to collaborate and work together in a highly efficient manner.


(collabtive.o-dyn.de)

Key Features

  • Allows you to manage unlimited projects, tasks, and milestones
  • No limitation on the number of users
  • Enables role-based permission management
  • Includes instant messaging facility
  • Allows you to manage files
  • Ability to track the time of each user
  • Can generate reports including activity logs in PDF format
  • Allows syncing calendars using iCal task export
  • Can send email notifications
  • Includes powerful search features

If you have already used Collabtive, please feel free to share your reviews here.

#6 Cyn.in (Free and Open Source)

Cyn.in is a free and open source collaborative software that helps teams communicate faster and share knowledge through different forms of digital content. It is a highly secure platform that combines the capabilities of collaboration tools like wikis, file sharing repositories, blogs, discussion boards, and other communication tools into one secure enterprise environment. Business organizations and institutions of any size or type can use it.


(cynapse.com/cyn-in)

Key Features

  • Allows creating and sharing documents
  • Includes file repositories
  • Can create and share event calendars
  • Includes discussion boards
  • Allows publishing audio, video, and images for knowledge sharing
  • Enables assigning customized workflows
  • Includes a dashboard with a visual representation of the data
  • Allows viewing the activities of each team member
  • Includes role-based security features
  • Allows smart search and filtering of the data
  • Enables you to customize the interface according to your brand identity

If you have already used cyn.in,  Please feel free to share your reviews here.

#7 eXo Platform (Open Source but Not Free)

eXo Platform is an open-source collaborative tool that offers a free demo. It is not free collaboration software. It is an excellent digital workplace platform that can engage your employees and help them collaborate highly effectively. It enables team members to share knowledge and drive innovation, leading to increased productivity. Precisely, it can enhance the experience of your employees and strengthen your workforce.


(exoplatform.com)

Key Features

  • Includes modern internal communication tools that allow employees to share information on a real-time basis
  • Allows creating and sharing documents
  • Enables delegating & managing tasks, and tracking time spent on each task
  • Allows creating and sharing calendars
  • Enables viewing activity streams of each team member
  • Allows customizing & managing workflows running within the organization
  • Includes knowledge base repositories, helping team members to access important information easily
  • Allows sending and receiving notifications informing the team members about the latest updates
  • Can be accessed from mobile devices, allowing team members to work from anywhere and even while traveling
  • Enables you to recognize the work of all the team members and even reward them

If you have already used eXo Platform, please feel free to share your reviews here.

So, these were the best 7 free and open-source collaboration software that you can consider deploying and customizing without a huge investment. To make your selection easier, you can also review the chart below, which allows you to compare these collaborative solutions' features at a glance.

The Best 7 Free and Open Source Collaboration Software Comparison Chart

Although these free and open source collaboration software are the best available collaboration software in the market, if you are still looking for an advanced solution and your budget is not limited, we would recommend that you to go through the details of one of the most popular ones in this category - Samepage, as given below -

Samepage - (Cloud-Based Software Having Free Version)

Samepage is one of the most popular collaborative platforms, allowing you to run meetings, manage projects, and coordinate events. Managing employees working from a remote location is no longer difficult with the help of Samepage. It helps team members to participate in brainstorming sessions for better problem-solving. You can share knowledge in text, images, videos, diagrams, spreadsheets, and communicate easily internally to ensure the project is going in the right direction. Everyone working on the project is on the same page. It can cost you from $7.50/month to $9/month, depending on your required features. Although it also includes a free version with limited features, it can be a perfect option for small businesses. All its packages come with a 30-day free trial period to try using it before purchasing its subscription.

(samepage.io)

Key Features

  • Allows managing and tracking projects, including monitoring and coordinating plans
  • Includes a real-time chatting facility
  • Enables you to delegate tasks and keep track of them to ensure deadlines are met
  • Allows you to view the activities of your team members and post comments informing them about any changes in the tasks
  • It enables you to create and share files and view changes in those files in real time.
  • Allows drawing and sharing diagrams for a better understanding of the projects
  • Works as a social intranet within the organization that enables managers, supervisors, and team members to share documents and collaborate
  • Enables you to conduct video conferences, making virtual meetings possible

If you have already used Samepage, please feel free to share your reviews here.

The Key Takeaways

Regardless of your business size or type, if you have a company with multiple team members working in it, you require collaborative software. A collaborative tool would help in reducing your stress and, at the same time, improve the productivity of your organization, making your employees extremely effective and engaging. Finally, the below-mentioned checklist can help you make the proper selection and offer a better work environment for people who can do great work together.

  • Is your collaborative tool user-friendly?
  • Does the collaboration tool encourage the methods of internal communication you are already using?
  • Does the collaboration tool help in quick knowledge sharing?
  • Have you checked the deployment and training expenses for the free and open-source collaboration software you have selected?
  • Does the collaboration software vendor offer quick support services?
  • Does the collaboration tool solve your existing coordination problems within your organization?
  • Can the collaboration tool integrate with the existing systems you are using in your organization?
  • Does the collaboration software include high-end security features that can protect your confidential information?

In addition to the collaborative solutions mentioned in this article, we recommend you review some freemium and paid options in this category, such as Backlog, Troop Messenger, MyChat, RationalPlan, Cisco Webex, and many more mentioned in this complete list of collaboration software.

If you are looking for the latest tools and applications for other business areas, browse all software categories. 

If you have used any collaboration software mentioned in this article, please leave valuable feedback here.