You’ve sent the first draft of an email marketing campaign to stakeholders. But it’s been two weeks, and you haven’t heard from them. No emails. No texts.
It’s like they went AWOL.
You’re not surprised, though. It’s been like that since you became a team lead.
If stakeholders aren’t ghosting you, there are endless back-and-forth emails with team members explaining why certain design assets were used.
The result?
Delayed deadlines and feeling frustrated and drained all the time.
No one should have to go through that. You should be able to work with your team in real-time, sharing comments, editing, or suggestions simultaneously and easily sharing documents.
Amazingly, all of these are possible with a document collaboration tool, and that’s what we’re going to talk about in this guide.
More specifically, we discuss:
- What document collaboration tools are
- Benefits of using them
- Top tools on the market today
So, let’s get started!
Table of contents
- What are document collaboration tools?
- 6 benefits of document collaboration software
- 10 document collaboration tools for effective day-to-day work
- Essential features in any document collaboration tool
What are document collaboration tools?
Let’s go back in time. Just before COVID-19 hit.
Brainstorming was done on glossy whiteboards. Your team members would assemble in a conference room with you by the board, writing down creative ideas for a client’s marketing campaign as your team dropped them.
Everyone would share their thoughts about each idea, crack jokes, take short breaks, and share more ideas
*Let’s not forget Karen, your intern who knew when to bring in coffee. ☕
Ahhh, memories.
After the brainstorming session, you and your team would work on refining the idea and create plans to implement them.
If you think about it, that was a system where team members and stakeholders could comment or provide feedback easily….aka a collaboration system.
But in this post-COVID era, remote work is a new reality. How can teams work on documents without hassle?
Enter the document collaboration tool!
It’s digital software that allows you and your teammates or clients to collaborate on a document in real-time.
That means multiple users can access a document simultaneously, edit it, and track changes.
There are still other benefits too. With traditional document management systems, you have to save multiple document versions as you update it.
With document collaboration software, on the other hand, you only need to save the document on the cloud, and every edit or update is stored automatically.
You know what?
There’s more!
6 benefits of document collaboration software
In a remote workplace, your team’s developer can’t just walk over to the web designer’s desk to clarify the design.
The likely option is to send an email with multiple screenshots attached or a message on Slack.
But, the process is tiresome and often leads to confusion as there’s no context about which part of the design the web dev is referring to.
When you incorporate document collaboration software into your workflow, you’ll be setting your team up for success.
Here are some benefits you’ll stand to gain:
Benefit #1: Greater productivity
Sharing or editing documents via email for reviews can be tedious. When you share something for review, the first thing you have to do is hope the recipient doesn’t lose your email among the flood of other emails in their inbox.
Then, you have to send reminder emails so the job is done in time for the deadline.
With document collaboration software that allows easy file sharing, editing, and collaboration, productivity increases as more people can work on a document simultaneously without conflicts.
Benefit #2: Remote work-friendly
Document collaboration software also ensures that team members don’t have to be in the same location to perform tasks or share their thoughts.
The software stores everything in the cloud so anyone from anywhere can access and collaborate on documents as long as they have internet access.
Benefit #3: Greater employee involvement
Do you want to promote an inclusive work culture where employees can share their thoughts on a task or provide feedback with ease?
Collaboration software can help you with that.
Employees can get more involved with different projects as they’ll have easy access to documents relating to the task.
Benefit #4: Better communication
The long email threads and CC lists can be a thing of the past if you’ve got collaboration software.
Your teammates can drop messages in real time for everyone to see and reply to.
This is a much easier way to share thoughts and reduce the number of virtual meetings you have.
Benefit #5: Time-saving
Gone are the days when you had to manually search for documents, scan them, update, and print them again.
🤕 It’s a frustrating cycle.
With a document collaboration tool, you can have all the documents related to the project in a centralized location. This’ll save you the time of switching back and forth between documents through different client emails.
You can also share documents with your team on the software in a few clicks. Talk about smooth team collaboration.
Benefit #6: Faster decision-making
Collaboration tools provide more contextual feedback than asynchronous tools, allowing stakeholders to make quick decisions.
In place of taking screenshots and sending emails that could get lost in the inbox, you can annotate specific sections of a doc and tag stakeholders or team members to it.
This way, they know what you’re referring to and can provide timely feedback to make decisions faster.
***
So, you’ve hopefully got the gist; document collaboration tools are important, especially for remote teams.
But it wouldn’t be nice to make the case for these tools without sharing the best of them with you…
10 document collaboration tools for effective day-to-day work
Let’s unpack some of the top document collaboration tools on the market today.
To start, we’ve created a comparison table showing an overview of the tools we’ll discuss in this guide.
It highlights their features and pricing – basically, everything you need to know before deciding which tool to use.
Let’s begin with the first tool on our list…MarkUp.io.
Tool #1: MarkUp.io
Collaborating on documents with your teammates, other professionals, or clients can be frustrating, to say the least.
If Slack or Gmail could speak, they’d probably have a lot to say about it.😂
If you’re tired of dealing with long threads or unclear comments, MarkUp.io can help.
MarkUp.io is an online collaboration tool that helps creative teams, marketers, video producers, and other professionals collaborate on documents in real-time.
Users only have to upload their files in various formats such as PDF, JPG, GIF, and live URLs.
Once the documents are within MarkUp.io’s intuitive environment, users can share the MarkUps with multiple collaborators so they can start annotating.
Easy peasy, right?
MarkUp.io also allows users to track changes made on the doc to know which comments have been implemented and which still need to be resolved.
Document collaboration features
MarkUp.io’s key features include:
- Pixel-accurate annotation on documents
- Comment attachments
- Shareable links
- Roles assignment
- @Mentions
- Folders and Workspaces for easy accessibility and organization
- Loom integration for visual and contextual feedback
Pricing
MarkUp.io has three pricing plans, but to get the most from this collaboration tool, you should consider the Pro plan.
It costs $25 monthly for unlimited users and offers 500GB of storage, Folders, and unlimited MarkUps. That’s a lot when compared to the Free plan!
Large teams that require more storage and Workspaces can get in touch regarding the customized Enterprise plan.
Tool #2: Confluence
Confluence is a cloud-based workspace that allows remote teams to brainstorm, share files, and manage their work in one place.
The document collaboration tool supports creating and managing different file types, from documents to spreadsheets and presentations. You can use templates for tasks across industries or just edit and share with collaborators.
Confluence is also integrated with third-party apps such as Jira, Figma, Slack, and Google Drive for a more streamlined workflow.
Document collaboration features
Confluence’s key features include:
- Page versioning
- Page permissions
- Page insights
- Team calendars
Pricing
Confluence’s pricing plans start at $5.75 per user per month for the Standard plan.
There’s a Free plan with limited functionality for solopreneurs and a customized Enterprise plan for larger teams.
Tool #3: Notion
Notion is project management software that enables teams of different sizes to collaborate and work asynchronously.
This collaboration tool lets users create wikis to centralize their knowledge and docs to share ideas. They can invite teammates to comment and collaborate on tasks to promote teamwork and speed up work.
Notion also enables users to assign permissions to collaborators to limit what they can access or do on a document.
Document collaboration features
Notion’s features include:
- Activity tracking
- Access permissions
- @Mentions
- Customizable templates
- Document generation and storage
Pricing
Notion’s paid pricing plans start at $8 per user per month for the Plus plan.
Tool #4: Google Docs
Every devoted Gmail user is familiar with Google’s brainchild, Google Docs.
Google Docs is a collaboration tool that allows users to create, edit, and manage documents in real-time.
Google Docs is cloud-based software, which means documents are stored and edited online. The tool auto-saves documents as changes are made and allow users to revert back to any version of the document.
Document collaboration features
Google Docs’ features include:
- Customizable templates
- Activity tracking
- Text searching
- Version history
- Notes management
- Integration with other Google apps
Pricing
Google Docs’ pricing plan starts at $12 per user, per month for the Business Standard plan.
But it’s generally free for all Google users.
Tool #5: Document360
Document360 is a document collaboration tool that enables teams to create knowledge databases for internal purposes or their customers.
The SaaS platform is a tool content creators can use to produce and edit content while inviting team members to collaborate.
Document360 is integrated with multiple apps such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Zapier. This allows users who are already using those tools to collaborate more easily.
Document collaboration features
Document360 supports features such as:
- Customizable templates
- Knowledge base management
- What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) editor
- Rich text editor
- Customizable reports
- Platform API
- Bulk operations
Pricing
Document360’s paid pricing plans range between $149 and $599.
The customized Enterprise Plus plan is available on demand.
Tool #6: Monday
Monday.com is a work management tool that allows teams to organize and monitor their workflow.
With Monday.com, users can create a customized system for their work process and invite teammates to provide status reports on their respective tasks.
The management tool features a work doc that allows users to brainstorm and share ideas right in the app, connecting documents and workflows in a unified workspace.
Document collaboration features
Monday’s features include:
- Task creation and assignment
- Document generation and management
- Commenting/notes
- Project planning
- To-do lists
- Task management and prioritization
Pricing
Monday’s pricing plan ranges between $8 and $16 per monthly seat.
There’s a free plan offering two seats and an Enterprise plan for companies that require high-grade features.
Tool #7: Microsoft OneDrive
OneDrive is a Microsoft-owned cloud storage app that allows personal users and organizations to collaborate on documents in real-time.
With OneDrive, users can create or upload documents and invite others to work on them together. The app has a backup and protection feature that ensures users don’t lose important documents.
Document collaboration features
Some of OneDrive’s features include:
- Cloud storage
- Document editing
- Annotation
- Version control
- Integration with other Microsoft Office apps
Pricing
OneDrive’s pricing plans are between $5 and $12.50 per user per month.
Tool #8: Zoho Docs
Zoho Docs is cloud-based document management software where users can create and edit documents.
With Zoho Docs, files are automatically stored in the cloud for easy access. Organizations can leverage Zoho’s shared workspace to brainstorm ideas digitally. Compared to using a whiteboard for brainstorming, you’d have a central location your ideas can call home.
Document collaboration features
Zoho Doc’s features include:
- Content management
- Secure sharing
- Document finder
- Domain management
- Folder management
Pricing
Zoho Doc’s paid pricing plan starts at $2.50 per user per month for the Starter plan.
There’s the Team plan at $4 per month for each user and the Business plan at $8 per month.
Tool #9: DropBox Paper
DropBox Paper is a collaboration tool that supports real-time editing for teams of different sizes.
The software allows users to create and co-edit documents with their colleagues. Users can also take meeting notes with DropBox Paper, produce creative briefs, and brainstorm ideas with collaborators.
Document collaboration features
DropBox’s features include:
- File sharing
- Annotation
- Assignment management
- Document creation and editing
- Project planning
Pricing
DropBox Paper is a free tool from DropBox so that users can get started at no cost.
Tool #10: Bit.ai
Last but not least, Bit.ai is another platform that enables teams and individuals to create, organize, and collaborate on documents.
The collaboration software features customizable templates users can edit and use for their projects.
Document collaboration features
Bit.ai’s key features include:
- Content management
- Document editor
- End-to-end sharing
- Workflow solution
- Personalized workspaces
Pricing
Bit.ai has two paid pricing plans starting at $8 per member per month.
There’s a Free version available, but it only allows a limited number of members and documents.
***
There you have it! A list of the 10 best document collaboration tools out there.
Overwhelmed by all your options?
In the next section, you’ll learn about important features to look for when choosing the right tool for your team.
Essential features in any document collaboration tool
You’ve read our case for why you need a real-time document collaboration tool, and you’re convinced.
Now it’s time to get your debit card out and choose which one to go for.
The problem?
…there are just so many of them. 🥹
Here are some things to look for when choosing a document collaboration tool.
- Autosave: Does the tool automatically save changes while you work on the documents?
- Edit tracking: The collab tool should keep track of changes made and show who made them.
- Real-time editing: Collaborators should be able to work on the document simultaneously and see changes made immediately.
- Commenting: This feature ensures that you and everyone involved in a task can ask questions and get responses without modifying the document.
- File tagging and sharing: Can you add tags to a file so it’s easily discovered and shared? After all, you don’t want your documents to be needles in a haystack.
- Cloud storage space: When multiple users collaborate on a document, they sometimes make many changes simultaneously. The tool you choose needs sufficient cloud storage to save all of that.
- Integrations and extensions: Can the collaboration tool integrate with other apps? It should: it’ll make work easier for you.
- Change tracking and notifications: Good collaboration software should track changes made to the document and notify you via email or mobile apps.
***
If you made it to this point, you deserve a standing ovation.
Just one more thing, and you can take off!
Wrapping up
Let’s share one final secret before you go.
Did you know that MarkUp.io incorporates all of the features we just talked about? 🤯
It’ll help you streamline your team’s entire work process, so your team will look forward to reviews and project approvals (instead of dreading them).
Claim your 30-day free trial with MarkUp.io to start working more efficiently.
