Best free online collaboration tool for teams

Collaborate as a team—without defaulting to meetings

Do project work and decision-making move at a snail’s pace? Now you can work side by side—in real time or async—to get more done as a team. Keep projects, tools, and files organized in multiplayer rooms that save all your work—and make collaboration better for everyone.

Want to move projects forward faster?

Switchboard unites all your teams, apps, and documents in one central space that saves your progress. Share files, manage tasks for more efficient workflows, and show up ready to move things forward—together or on your own schedule.

Top Features:

  • A huge canvas to organize all your apps, documents, and files in one place 
  • Interactive, multiplayer browsers that support all your favorite tools
  • Dedicated, persistent project rooms that save your files, apps, and work 
  • Live video for interactive work sessions
  • Chat, sticky notes, whiteboards, polls, and surveys to collaborate and leave feedback
  • AI to help with writing, brainstorming, and notes summaries 
  • Room recording so people can catch up async  

Finally, all the pieces of your project in one place

Switchboard lets you share more than just links—so you and your team can get more done.

"Switchboard has changed the way I work with teams and even do solo work. It's incredibly powerful, fast, and easy to use."

— Chris Ferrer,

Founder, SuChef

Teams use Switchboard to move work forward, fast

Teams will know how tricky it can be to:
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    Manage task and project management for cross-functional teams
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    Coordinate with other departments on project needs
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    Manage team workflows and documentation collaboratively

Switchboard solves these challenges by acting as a home base for cross-functional projects, tools, and information. Quickly get visibility on roles, tasks, and project status so you can keep everyone on track, find what you need, and keep moving—with or without a meeting.

Work in context, together or async

It’s easy to get lost in your tech stack. Switchboard lets you bring everything–and everyone–together in persistent rooms for projects, meetings, 1:1s, and more. This means you can stop searching and know exactly where to find everything. Just go to your room, filled with all your browser-based tools, files, and documents, and collaborate in real time. Or cancel the status updates and make progress on your own schedule.

It’s easy to get lost in a sea of notifications and struggle to concentrate. Switchboard lets you bring everything—and everyone—together in persistent rooms for projects, meetings, 1:1s, and more. Now you always have a home base for work without distractions, whether you’re jamming with your team in real time or working by yourself. 

Stay on track with always-open, persistent rooms

Persistent, host-free rooms save your work, so you can leave everything open and come back to it anytime. No more lengthy meeting prep and no more sharing materials before or after the call. Just set team member permissions so they can jump in and work together or get updates async.

Have fewer, more productive meetings

Traditional video conferencing tools rely on one-sided screen sharing, which makes it hard to keep people engaged. Switchboard makes everything multiplayer, so everyone can contribute. Add content in the moment–without sharing screens or taking turns–and get visibility on what everyone’s working on. Chat, polls, and voting also make for more engaging meetings—and faster decision-making.

Unite all your people, apps, and conversations in one place to eliminate silos, get aligned and enjoy better team communication. Go ahead: cancel more meetings and make sure the ones you do have count.

Use your favorite apps, without integrations

Asana, Linear, GitHub… all the best online collaboration tools work in Switchboard. Just open up what you need with a simple copy/paste and get to work. 

switchboard

Finally, all the pieces of your project in one place

Switchboard lets you share more than just links—so you and your team can get more done.

Wait, is it really free?

Get full access to all Switchboard premium features for 30 days when you sign up for free. After that, you can choose to sign up for Pro or Enterprise—or stay on a free plan with limited features. 

Frequently asked questions about free online collaboration tools

What is a collaboration tool?

A collaboration tool is software that keeps in-person, hybrid, or remote teams aligned through file sharing and workflow or task management functionalities. These tools improve teamwork by allowing you to communicate in real time or async through messaging, video calls, chat, sticky notes, etc. 

Many online collaboration tools also offer features to automate manual or repetitive tasks so humans can focus on more high-value work, and many have a mobile app so you can work on the go.

What tools can I use to collaborate online?

Tools you can use to collaborate online include communication tools like Slack or Loom for instant messaging and video. You can also use project management tools like Asana, Trello, and Google Workspace for task management and document collaboration. 

Interactive digital workspaces like Switchboard also let teams share ideas in real time and make progress async in persistent meeting rooms, so you can get more done even when you’re not together.

Which free tool can be used for online collaboration?

Switchboard is a free tool that can be used for online collaboration. Its intuitive digital workspace is perfect for highly collaborative teams that want to improve teamwork and productivity. 

Unlike traditional video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams or Zoom, Switchboard goes beyond one-way screen sharing by making everything multiplayer. This means you can open up everything from Kanban boards to Gantt charts to mind maps and get everyone contributing at the same time.  

Most online collaboration tools offer a free plan with limited collaboration features and functionality. This lets you try out the free version before deciding whether to upgrade to paid plans, which is great for small businesses on a budget.

What are the benefits of asynchronous work?

The benefits of asynchronous work include being able to collaborate from anywhere on a schedule that suits you. This offers the flexibility, autonomy, and remote work options many people want these days. 

The right collaboration platforms let you streamline async workflows and get visibility on roles and task or project status. This means you can cancel more meetings and get back more time for focus work. Also, if you do async communication right before and after meetings (updating people, sharing materials) then the real-time meetings you do have will be more productive.

How can asynchronous work improve collaboration?

Asynchronous work can improve collaboration by allowing team members to communicate through collaboration apps and channels like email or chat. This allows you to reduce the number of meetings you have, so you can get more work done. It also means people don’t have to be in the same place or online at the same time to make progress. Async work can also suit team members who prefer to have time to reflect before answering questions or making contributions. 

What can I use Switchboard for?

You can use Switchboard for more productive real-time or async collaboration with cross-functional team members. Just open up your favorite browser-based apps, documents, and files on the canvas and work together side by side or make progress async. 

Popular collaboration software like Google Drive, GitHub, Google Docs, Dropbox, GCal, spreadsheets, and digital whiteboards all work in Switchboard with no need for integrations. This means you can use it for sprint planning, design reviews, meetings, and more. 

Switchboard’s collaboration features include team chat, timers, polls, voting, meeting recording, and AI-generated sticky note summaries. These make the meetings you do have more productive and async work easier. Persistent, host-free rooms save all your work and team collaboration tools, which makes it easier to work and stay updated on your own schedule.