Top 10 Free and Paid Employee Communication Tools

Remote work and hybrid work arrangements have become the norm following the pandemic. And to keep communication seamless in the office and at home, internal or employee communication tools will help you stay in touch with employees. But which of these software applications can you use for your business?

1. Slack

Slack is one of the leading companies in employee communication. For most workplaces, Slack has it all, such as chatting, app integrations, and video and audio. Its primary feature, the chat, lets teams create different channels. Plus, you can also invite clients or customers into your Slack channel for smoother discussions on any matter. And you can be sure that your messages and files are secure while using Slack.

Pricing

Free

Pro – $7.25/mo

Business+ – $12.50/mo

Enterprise Grid – Contact Sales

2. Microsoft Teams

Slack’s main competitor is Microsoft Teams. This employee communication software is ideal for businesses using Microsoft products, such as OneDrive and Word. Like Slack, your messages and files on the chat platform are safe and encrypted. One advantage Microsoft Teams has over Slack is video conferencing. In Microsoft Teams, meetings are more engaging using the Microsoft Whiteboard and live captions.

Pricing

Free

Essentials – $4/user/mo (annual subscription)

365 Business – $6/user/mo (annual subscription)

Standard – $12.50/user/mo (annual subscription)

3. Trello

An alternative to chatting software is a project management tool like Trello. The Kanban software helps you organize your tasks. But it’s another tool where you can chat with your co-workers, thanks to its comments feature.

Like all the other employee communication tools on this list, you can integrate apps into Trello, such as Slack, Jira, and IFTTT. And you can also automate workflows on Trello with power-ups, making your team even more productive than ever.

Pricing

Free

Standard – $6/user/mo

Premium – $12.50/user/mo

Enterprise – $17.50/user/mo (annual subscription)

4. Monday.com

Like Trello, Monday.com is a project management software. But your team can talk and collaborate with one another on their platform, making it one of the best employee communication tools. It’s jam-packed with so many features that you might think of staying on Monday.com the whole workday.

Although they’re a project management software, you can still collaborate with your teammates via integrations, like Slack and Microsoft Teams. The platform also has a built-in chat where you can update one another.

But if you want to know how else Monday.com can help your business, here are some of its other features:

• Creative and design
• Software development
• Marketing
• Sales & CRM
• Task management
• HR
• Operations

Pricing (Minimum is 3 Seats)

Free (up to 2 seats only)

Basic – $8/seat/mo

Standard – $10/seat/mo

Pro – $16/user/mo

Enterprise – Contact Sales

5. Snapcomms

Snapcomms is another collaboration and email communication software to use as an alternative to most of the employee communication tools on this list. They’re different from most platforms because this is for enterprises that rely on internal communications, from small matters to emergencies.

Besides the chat option, you can also send out email newsletters to your employees. Plus, you can also engage with employees by congratulating them on new milestones or getting feedback from them to improve your workplace culture.

Pricing (100 to 200 users)*

Inform – $40/employee/yr

Engage – $60/employee/yr

* Monthly fee becomes lower as more users sign up to your Snapcomms workspace

6. Workvivo

If you want engaged employees, Workvivo could be the ideal employee communication software for your team. When you use Workvivo, you can update employees about everything in your company.

On the other hand, employees can also personalize the updates they’re receiving about your company. Aside from those, Workvivo also integrates chat apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams, so that you can keep everything in one place. Plus, you can alert employees about crises. And finally, you can hold meetings through video and connect with them via podcasts.

Pricing

Workvivo did not disclose how much their employee communication platform is. But you can book a demo with them to see if they’re a good fit for your company.

7. ContactMonkey

ContactMonkey is ideal for teams depending on email for employee communication. With ContactMonkey, you can create custom templates that are engaging to read.

Aside from that, you can also compose an email newsletter to give employees updates on your business. In addition, you can add emojis or surveys to the newsletter. Finally, you can track analytics and know how to improve your next emails. Oh, and one more thing, ContactMonkey also has an SMS option to disseminate info if email isn’t available.

Pricing

Like WorkVivo, ContactMonkey did not disclose its prices. However, you can request pricing.

8. OfficeVibe

OfficeVibe doesn’t aim to enhance team communications; they want to provide a better employee experience for their platform. It’s not your typical employee communication tool. Still, if you want to communicate with them better, their tools can help you understand them better by getting feedback from them or meeting with them one by one through their alignment feature.

Pricing

Free

Essential – $8/person/mo

Pro – $12/person/mo

9. Connecteam

Get more people to say to work events or notify them of every single event when using Connecteam. You can chat with your teammates here. But it’s more than just that. Aside from conducting surveys and polls, you can also add a knowledge base. This serves as your office manual or handbook or a place where you can add your new memos.

Connecteam isn’t only for small businesses. Service-based businesses like cleaning, healthcare, hospitality, construction, and logistics can enjoy the features of using their platform.

Pricing (Communications)

Free

Basic – $35/mo (for 30 users; additional $0.6/user/mo)

Advanced – $59/mo (for 30 users; additional $1.8/user/mo)

Expert – $119/mo (for 30 users; additional $3.6/user/mo)

10. Basecamp

Organize your work with Basecamp since they’re a project management and employee communication tool. Get more work done with them with to-dos, chat with employees, schedule important meetings, and share files with the team.

Like Slack, you can invite clients and customers to Basecamp for smoother and seamless communication with them. There’s no need to compose an email or send a message outside Basecamp. But Basecamp has a leg up above Slack since Basecamp has privacy options you can set so clients can only see what they need to see in your workspace.

Pricing

Free (3 projects, 20 users, 1GB storage space)

Business – $99/mo