10 virtual meeting tools for team collaboration

Stay connected and aligned to your team members with these top virtual meeting tools designed for effective collaboration

We all know the story: The traditional approach to meetings isn’t great. In fact, the unidirectional nature of most meetings got even worse during the pandemic, when virtual meetings became the norm, and engagement became more difficult for the vast majority of participants. That’s why platforms like MURAL and Zoom flourished — by elevating every voice and enabling more engagement than ever before through thoughtful features and guided methods.

But these aren't the only platforms that have stepped up their games to meet the challenges of the new (and evolving) workplace. Here are a few of our favorite tools for collaborating in virtual meetings and distributed workforces.

How we rate these virtual meeting tools

To make this list, each of the platforms below must meet the following criteria:

• A robust free plan with opportunities to upgrade if/when necessary
• Features that enable real-time and asynchronous collaboration
• Integrations with other popular platforms to streamline workflows
• Enterprise level that can scale for large, global organizations

To make this list more clear (and more useful), we’ve added two main categories: documentation and asynchronous collaboration; and real-time collaboration. There are always areas where the lines blur (our own platform can be equally useful in both synchronous and asynchronous work environments, for example), so we’ve noted instances where one category is likely the key use case, or where both generally apply.

While there was a tremendous focus on video conferencing during the pandemic, the need for asynchronous and real-time collaboration are varied and call for different approaches depending on the context as well as the content — these platforms show that you can be (even more) effective in a distributed or hybrid work environment.

Note: If you’re not sure whether asynchronous or synchronous is the best approach for your virtual meeting, then we’ve got just the guide on async communication for you.

Our top picks for virtual meeting collaboration

Loom

Documentation and asynchronous collaboration

When you need to explain something visually, Loom is a great way to create useful content that can be shared and consumed at any time. Loom offers easy-to-use recording tools that take the technical difficulties out of building professional videos, and builds in nice features like link sharing, a new home screen for your organization, reactions tied to specific moments in your videos, and viewer analytics.

Also offers:

• Desktop and mobile apps (iOS, Android)
• Chrome browser extension

Notion

Documentation and asynchronous collaboration

It’s one of the fastest growing startups for a reason — Notion is supremely useful when building documentation for your company, an individual project, or even just creating a person resource. The platform is based on blocks, which can be converted into different formats depending on the use case, or even after the fact (e.g., convert a paragraph of text into its own page) as your project evolves. It’s easy to manage assets and create pages that can be quickly shared via public links or permissions with other editors, and you can get up and running with one of a host of free templates.

Also offers:

• MURAL integration
• Desktop and mobile apps (iOS, Android)
• Library of free, editable templates
• Chrome extension (web clipper)
• Export in a variety of formats (including PDF)

Coda

Documentation and asynchronous collaboration

Coda is one of the best alternatives to Notion, with powerful database features, and a similarly clean interface that allows teams to quickly build documents and wikis. There is a heavy focus on data analysis and visualization, as well as collaborative editing and easy sharing that makes Coda a popular solution for distributed teams.

Also offers:

• Mobile apps (iOS, Android)
• Template gallery featuring docs created by the Coda community
• Coda Packs integration platform

Almanac

Documentation and asynchronous collaboration

Almanac is (very specifically) tailored for asynchronous work and working on documents in distributed environments. It uses a novel approach akin to web development — rather than editing the main doc, editors create ‘branches’ that can be merged with the original once the changes are approved.

Also offers:

• Template gallery featuring docs created by the Almanac community
• Rich text formatting
• Automated feedback and approval requests

Confluence

Documentation and asynchronous collaboration

Confluence is a great resource for building a single source of truth for your whole organization, and, because it’s part of Atlassian’s suite of tools, it offers seamless integrations with Atlassian’s other platforms (like Jira). Use templates to get started quickly, set permissions for pages with advanced editing capabilities, and use notifications to ensure everything stays on point and up to date.

Also offers:

• MURAL integration
• Desktop and mobile apps (iOS, Android)
• Library of free, editable templates

Asana

Documentation and asynchronous collaboration

While we’re on the subject of bringing multiple streams of work together, Asana is a prime example of doing just that. With Asana, you can easily create and manage tasks within the context of large-scale projects, assign tasks to collaborators, comment, and attach files so that everything you need is in the same place. You can also leverage their board and calendar views to keep tabs on all your to-dos, and work cross-functionally with other departments when the needs for deliverables demand a multi-faceted approach.

Also offers:

• MURAL integration
• Desktop and mobile apps (iOS, Android)
• Customizable home screen and project views

Zoom

Real-time collaboration

Zoom was the darling of the pandemic, and it’s easy to see why — by offering one of the most intuitive interfaces for video conferencing, as well as a robust free plan, Zoom built an enormous user community, and they haven’t stopped building. Having recently launched an app store, Zoom has powerful integrations with many of the most popular collaboration platforms, and remains an industry leader.

Also offers:

• Desktop and mobile apps (iOS, Android)
• Breakout rooms for smaller groups within a video call
• Zoom app library

Whereby

Real-time collaboration

One of our other favorite video conferencing platforms is Whereby, which also has a nice free offering, as well as a very clean interface and system of organization based on ‘rooms.’ Whereby can be used internally across organizations, or for personal meetings, and also offers embeddable, real-time videos inside your products. 

Also offers: 

• Mobile apps (iOS, Android)
• Breakout rooms
• Personalized branding options and URLs

Slack

Documentation and asynchronous collaboration
Real-time collaboration

A messaging tool that became ubiquitous in the years before the pandemic, and virtually indispensable since that time, Slack has continued to grow as part of Salesforce. By removing the lag that often arises with email threads, Slack helps facilitate faster and more efficient communication in real-time, or asynchronously, through dedicated channels that keep you focused and on task. 

Also offers:

• Desktop and mobile apps (iOS, Android)
• Powerful file sharing and search capabilities
• External communication with outside organizations and clients through dedicated channels

MURAL

Documentation and asynchronous collaboration
Real-time collaboration

Come on, you didn’t think you’d make it through this whole post without us doing at least a little patting ourselves on the back, did you? But seriously, we’re proud of the solution we are building, and it’s only getting better. With MURAL, you can completely upend the traditional, one-directional nature of meetings, ensuring that no good ideas are lost, and innovation happens faster. 

We also offer powerful integrations. In fact, MURAL was just named 2022 Microsoft Partner of the Year in the category of Apps and Solutions for Microsoft Teams, and MURAL is now integrated across Microsoft 365 — making it easy to bring stronger connection and more effective collaboration into an existing enterprise. Get started free and kick off your next meeting with an ice breaker to build stronger connections — here’s a list of 15 ideas for ice breakers we like. 

Also offers:

• Newly reimagined desktop and mobile apps (iOS, Android)
• Hundreds of free, editable templates, created by industry experts
• Advanced Facilitation Superpowers™ tools 
• A commitment to accessibility for users and facilitators
• Export in a variety of formats (including PDF)

More to explore

Online meetings generally have three options: gallery view, speaker view, or shared-screen view. This small selection limits engagement, but thankfully you can bring in software that allows people to work together during online meetings.

As we mentioned above, MURAL is a collaborative whiteboard platform that allows you and your meeting attendees to collaborate and ideate in real-time. Increase employee engagement during meetings by bringing new ideas to the table or solving complex problems faster. 

Try MURAL’s Free Plan to start solving complex problems with your team.