The Best Free Microsoft Teams Alternative

What Is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is a communication tool that was created by Microsoft. Launched in 2017, Teams is one of the most popular video conferencing applications in the market, besides Zoom and Google Meet. Slack is also one of the companies that compete with Microsoft Teams in the communication field. 

Designed as part of Microsoft’s suite of products in its Office 365 lineup, Teams integrates with other Office products seamlessly so that you can use it alongside your favorite Microsoft applications.

Microsoft Teams gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic when many businesses had to pivot online and have their workers adapt to a remote working environment. Today, Microsoft Teams has around 270 million monthly users, making it one of the most popular communication platforms available.

What Are Some Features of Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is a tool that helps you to communicate with your team. Two functions that Teams does well are its chat and video conferencing feature. Also, you can easily integrate Teams with other tools from Microsoft’s ecosystem. This lets you manage your projects by using Teams as a base for your Microsoft applications.

Another way to manage project via Teams would be to use its share screen function while on a video conference call to display your project via another project management tool. By using this method, you’ll be able to use other better project management tools that are not from Microsoft.

You can connect to other Microsoft project management tools via Teams. This includes integrating Microsoft’s ‘Tasks by Planner and To Do’ app, which lets you create task lists in Microsoft Teams. You’ll be able to store files and access them all via Teams, making it your hub for project management.

Additionally, if you’re familiar with Microsoft Project, you can use it in Microsoft Teams to help you manage and organize your projects efficiently. Microsoft Project is Microsoft’s project management application that helps you manage projects with advanced features.

Communication within Teams comes with the usual chat and video conferencing features. Messages in chat can be marked to state their importance so that it shows up more prominently. Channels can also be created to create groups where different business units and teams can communicate with each other. This function is similar to channels in Slack, which work relatively the same way.

You can create and schedule meetings in Teams to communicate with your team via video call. Other users within the same channel will be able to see that a meeting is happening, and can join in if they have to.

Besides that, Microsoft Teams can also integrate with applications that are available on Microsoft AppSource so that you can include apps in your Teams workspace to help you be more productive.

What Is Microsoft Teams Good For?

Microsoft Teams is good for businesses and remote teams that need a platform to communicate and collaborate on work. Using teams for your business communications can help you and your team collaborate efficiently and also host virtual meetings professionally.

If you’re looking for a free alternative to chat and host video calls for free within the same project, Taskade allows you to communicate and collaborate without limits even on our free plan!

Otherwise, popular alternative tools that focus on communication include Zoom, Google Meet, and Slack. 

What Are Some Limitations of Microsoft Teams?

Despite it being a good tool to use for communications, Microsoft Teams has some limitations which include:

• No built-in project management function
• Low file storage limit
• Productivity functions available only with paid plan
• No advanced project management features

Although Teams is a solid communication tool, it lacks in the collaborative project management area. Taskade offers a more robust solution to your project management needs because not only are we a full project management suite, we also offer free video conferencing and chat within the same project. This means that you can hop on a call and get work done, all via one single app.

How Much Does Microsoft Teams Cost? 

Microsoft Teams offer four different price points for its product.

Free

• 1 hour group meeting limit
• 100 max participants
• 5GB file storage

Essentials ($4 per user/month)

• 30 hours group meeting limit
• 300 max participants
• 10GB file storage

Business Basic ($6 per user/month)

• 30 hours group meeting limit
• 300 max participants
• 1TB total storage
• Breakout rooms
• Meetings recordings 

Business Standard ($12.50 per user/month)

• 30 hours group meeting limit
• 300 max participants
• 1TB total storage
• Advanced security features
• Advanced support features

What Is Taskade? 

Taskade is an online productivity and collaboration tool that was founded by John Xie, Dionis Loire, and Stan Chang in 2017. The Y Combinator-backed startup aims to help remote teams and individuals get work done faster and smarter.

With Taskade, you can organize and break down your projects into smaller actionable steps. Change between multiple project views, automate repetitive workflows, collaborate via built-in video chat with your team, and more, via an all-in-one unified workspace. 

Invite your teammates and stakeholders into your projects, folders, and workspaces with a unique link and collaborate to get work done together. 

Get a headstart on your projects and find a suitable structure for your notes via Taskade’s versatile collection of templates. Simply choose from a wide variety of templates and add them to your projects to get started instantly!

Taskade is a supercharged productivity app that both individuals and teams can use to collaborate on projects in real-time.

Taskade is the best free Microsoft Teams alternative. Get started instantly for free today.

Key Features of Taskade

• Project Views. Visualize your projects in several different ways. Cycle between the List, Mind Map, Org Chart, and Board views to work the way you want. 

  • List View. This is the default view on Taskade. Create new lists here.
  • Board View. This view lets you work horizontally like a Kanban board. Visualize your workflow and tasks in this full-width view.
  • Mind Map View. This view lets you work in a horizontal tree-structured manner and map out what you have in mind.
  • Action View. Work in table view and stay organized with your task due dates, and more.
  • Org Chart View. Break down larger tasks into smaller ones to help you get things done.

• Zoom In, Zoom Out. Get a bird’s-eye view of the workflow by zooming out on all project views, or zoom in to focus on a specific area.
• Fold/Unfold. Fold (collapse) a parent task/bullet element to hide its subtasks. Indent outline elements with ⌨️ Tab and unfold lists with ⌨️ Shift+Tab.
• Real-time Communication. Chat and video conference with your team while collaborating in real-time on the same page. 
• 500+ Templates. Choose from 500+ templates across 26 categories to improve your productivity and workflows. Customize existing templates or create new ones across your workspaces.
• Multi-Select. Select and format multiple blocks or bulk assign them as tasks to other team members. You can also copy, paste, or indent selected blocks.

• Customize Sub-Tasks. Customize the format of your sub-tasks at individual levels. Choose from headings, numbered lists, shapes, and more.
• Recurring Tasks. Add due dates with start and end times to tasks within your project and set them to repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly.
• Move Tasks. Move and copy selected tasks to other projects across any workspace. You’ll receive a pop-up notification on completion.
• User Roles & Permissions. Manage collaborators and assign user roles/editing privileges (Owner, Admin, Editor, Checker, Viewer).

• Sort Tasks. Sort sub-tasks/children elements by completed/uncompleted stats or the due date. Task sorting can be accessed from a convenient pop-up menu.
• Search. Search within projects or globally across workspaces and subspaces. Instantly browse and jump between projects anywhere in the Taskade.
• Keyboard Shortcuts. Navigate projects, create content blocks, reorder elements, and complete tasks using a set of handy keyboard shortcuts.

• Team Calendar. Aggregate all tasks and projects in a shared calendar. The Taskade calendar integrates with Google (two-way), Apple, and Outlook. 
• Reorder Tasks. Lists in Taskade aren’t set in stone. Reorder tasks and find them a new home with intuitive drag-and-drop mechanics.
• Project History. See all the changes made by you and other collaborators. Click on the entries to navigate to the edited items within the project.
• Version History. Taskade saves snapshots of your project so that you can restore a previous version of your project with a single click.

• Export and Print. You can export your projects as plain text or markdown files. Attach them to emails, presentations, or for print.
• Cloud File Upload. Share files directly from Google Drive, Dropbox, Instagram, and Box in your projects with our integrations.
• Breakdown Larger Tasks. Organize your thoughts with Taskade’s unlimited hierarchy to break down large projects into tasks.

• Quick Search. Use CMD / CTRL + K to jump between any projects within Taskade web and apps.

For an exhaustive list of Taskade’s features, click here.

Taskade Pros

• Free-forever plan is loaded with features
• Real-time collaboration within the same project 
• Free built-in video call and chat function in each project
• Customizable templates to give you a headstart
• Work and chat in the same window, in the same app
• Frequent updates based on user/your feedback and suggestions
• Tabbed workflow for working with multiple Projects

Taskade Cons

• No custom APIs (yet)

Taskade Pricing

Taskade Free Plan

• Unlimited Tasks & Projects
• Unlimited Members & Guests
• Unlimited Folders & Teams
• Templates, Calendar, Repeat Tasks
• Real-time Collaboration
• Built-in Free Chat and Video Call

Taskade Unlimited Plan - Starts from $5/month

• Everything in Free, plus:
• Version History
• Advanced Permission
• Cloud Upload Integration
• 2-Way Calendar Integration

Click here for more information.

Is Taskade Right for You?

Taskade can be used by individuals and teams working from anywhere. Use Taskade individually or collaborate with your team for weekly agendas, team meetings, note-taking, project management, product roadmaps, and more. 

Make use of customizable board views to visualize your projects into digestible smaller tasks. Multiple board views are available even on Taskade’s free plan, allowing you to get more work done the smarter way. 

Collaborate with your team in real-time with free and unlimited chat and video conferencing available on every project. Automatic syncing ensures that your data is always up to date across devices.

Our customizable templates are available even with our free plan. Find the perfect template to help you get started with your project, and customize it to fit your needs!

Taskade is the simplest way to create task lists, checklists, and workflows. Manage projects and get more work done the simple way with Taskade.

Taskade is the best free Microsoft Teams alternative. Try Taskade for free today.