Remote work isn’t a trend anymore — it’s how many small organizations operate full-time or in hybrid mode. The right tools make remote work seamless. The wrong ones make it frustrating. Here’s what you need to communicate, collaborate, and stay productive from anywhere.

Quick Comparison by Category

Video Meetings

Google Meet — Best Free Option

Included with Google Workspace, Google Meet handles video calls, screen sharing, and recording. It’s reliable, simple, and already included if you use Google tools.

Pros: Free with Google account; no app download needed; integrates with Google Calendar; good for up to 100 participants; recording on paid plans.

Cons: Fewer features than Zoom; no breakout rooms on free plan; less control over meeting settings.

Pricing: Free (up to 60 min); included with Google Workspace.

Zoom — Best for Large Meetings and Webinars

Zoom remains the gold standard for video meetings. Breakout rooms, polling, webinar mode, and robust recording make it the best choice for meetings over 25 people.

Pros: Breakout rooms; webinar mode; robust recording; good for large meetings (up to 1,000 participants); strong mobile app.

Cons: Free plan limits meetings to 40 minutes; paid plans start at $13/user/month; more complex than Google Meet.

Pricing: Free (40 min limit); Pro $13/user/month; Business $18/user/month.

Team Chat

Slack — Best for Team Communication

Slack is the most widely used team chat app. Channels organize conversations by topic, project, or team. Direct messages handle quick questions. Integrations connect Slack to every other tool you use.

Pros: Best-in-class search; channels organize conversations; 2,000+ integrations; good mobile app; threads keep conversations organized; huddles for quick voice calls.

Cons: Free plan limits message history to 90 days; can be noisy if not organized well; paid plan is $7/user/month; another app to check.

Pricing: Free (90-day history); Pro $7/user/month; Business+ $12/user/month.

Microsoft Teams — Best if You Use Microsoft 365

If your organization uses Microsoft 365, Teams is included and integrates with Outlook, SharePoint, and OneDrive. It’s chat, video, and file sharing in one app.

Pros: Included with Microsoft 365; integrates with Office apps; good for Microsoft-centric organizations; combines chat, video, and files.

Cons: Complex interface; slower than Slack; notification management is frustrating; less intuitive for non-Microsoft users.

Pricing: Included with Microsoft 365 ($6-22/user/month).

Project Management

Trello — Best Free Option

Trello’s Kanban boards are the simplest way to visualize projects. Create a board, add columns (To Do, Doing, Done), and move cards through them. It’s visual, intuitive, and free for small teams.

Pros: Free for up to 10 boards; simplest PM tool to learn; visual Kanban boards; Power-Ups add features.

Cons: Not suited for complex projects; limited reporting; no timeline view on free plan; gets messy with many projects.

Pricing: Free (10 boards); Standard $5/user/month; Premium $10/user/month.

Asana — Best for Growing Teams

Asana handles projects, tasks, and workflows in one place. List view, board view, timeline view, and calendar view give every team member the perspective they prefer. If your team has outgrown Trello, Asana is the next step.

Pros: Multiple views (list, board, timeline, calendar); automation rules; good for managing multiple projects; integrates with Slack, Google, and 200+ tools; free for up to 10 users.

Cons: Learning curve is steeper than Trello; free plan lacks timeline and reporting; can feel overwhelming for simple needs.

Pricing: Free (10 users); Starter $10/user/month; Advanced $24/user/month.

Document Collaboration

Google Workspace — Best for Most Organizations

Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Gmail, Calendar) is the most widely used collaboration suite for remote teams. Real-time co-editing, shared drives, and seamless integration make it the default choice.

Pros: Real-time collaboration; familiar tools; shared drives; good mobile apps; integrates with everything; reliable.

Cons: Less powerful than Microsoft Office for complex documents; no offline mode without setup; Google owns your data.

Pricing: Business Starter $7.20/user/month; Business Standard $14.40/user/month.

Microsoft 365 — Best for Excel and Outlook Users

If your team lives in Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, Microsoft 365 is the natural choice. Real-time co-authoring in Office apps, Teams integration, and OneDrive storage.

Pros: Full Office suite; best Excel and PowerPoint; Teams integration; OneDrive storage; industry standard.

Cons: Heavier and more complex than Google Workspace; co-authoring isn’t as smooth; learning curve for new users.

Pricing: Business Basic $6/user/month; Business Standard $12.50/user/month.

Password Management

1Password — Best for Teams

Every team member needs unique, strong passwords for every account. 1Password generates, stores, and autofills passwords across all devices. It’s the single most effective security upgrade for remote teams.

Pros: Generates and stores strong passwords; team vaults for shared accounts; two-factor authentication; Watchtower alerts for breached passwords; works on every platform.

Cons: $8/user/month for teams; requires team adoption to be effective.

Pricing: Teams Starter $20/month (up to 10 users); Business $8/user/month.

Bitwarden — Best Free Option

Bitwarden is open-source, free for individuals, and offers a paid plan for teams at a lower cost than 1Password. It’s not as polished, but it’s the best free password manager available.

Pros: Free for individuals; open-source; cross-platform; team sharing; self-hosting option.

Cons: Less polished interface; fewer integrations; smaller community.

Pricing: Free (personal); Teams $4/user/month; Enterprise $6/user/month.

Scheduling

Calendly — Best for Booking Meetings

Calendly eliminates the back-and-forth of scheduling. Share your link, people pick a time, it’s on both calendars. Essential for remote teams that need to book calls across time zones.

Pros: Simple link sharing; automatic time zone detection; integrates with Google, Outlook, and Zoom; free plan for 1 event type; team scheduling available.

Cons: Free plan is very limited; team features require paid plan; another subscription to manage.

Pricing: Free (1 event type); Standard $10/user/month; Teams $16/user/month.

The Remote Work Stack We Recommend

For most small organizations (under 25 people):

1. Google Workspace — Email, docs, sheets, drive, calendar ($7-14/user/month)

2. Slack — Team communication (free or $7/user/month)

3. 1Password — Password security ($8/user/month)

4. Asana — Project management (free for 10 users)

5. Calendly — Scheduling (free or $10/user/month)

6. Google Meet — Video calls (free with Workspace)

Total cost: $25-50/user/month for a complete remote work setup.

For budget-conscious teams:

1. Google Workspace (free tier or $7/user/month)

2. Slack (free plan)

3. Bitwarden (free)

4. Trello (free)

5. Calendly (free)

6. Google Meet (free)

Total cost: $0-7/user/month.

Our Top Pick

For most small organizations, Google Workspace + Slack + 1Password + Asana covers communication, collaboration, security, and project management. Add Calendly for scheduling and you have a complete remote work setup for $25-50/user/month.

If budget is tight, the free tier of every tool listed above (Google Meet, Slack free, Bitwarden, Trello, Calendly free) gives you a functional remote work setup for $0/month per user — you just won’t get message history in Slack or advanced features in the others.

SoftDecide helps churches, nonprofits, and small organizations find the right software. Our comparisons are independently researched. We may earn a commission if you purchase through links on this page — at no extra cost to you.