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Top 6 Google Docs Alternatives for Businesses!

April 22, 2019

Are you looking for a modern Google Docs alternative? Your search stops here as we bring to you the top four Google Docs alternatives on the market today!

If we are talking about collaboration tools or cloud-based document editors, Google Docs is right at the top of that list. Google Drive offers all the major productivity tools you need to get work done with their products around documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Google Docs’ intuitive and easy-to-use design, security, privacy features, and mobile apps keep you on the grind 24×7. These are some of the reasons it has managed to become a crowd favorite productivity suite since its launch.

When Google started offering real-time document editing and collaboration, it was a game-changer for a lot of remote teams who previously had to exchange a chain of emails to do the same. Google solved a problem and solved it handsomely.

However, as time has passed, there are some new options available on the market that are taking document editing and adding more flare to it.

If you always wondered what’s out there apart from Google Docs and think that there must be a better way to handle collaboration, you’re not wrong.

There are a number of Google Docs alternatives on the market that not only offer real-time document editing and sharing but a number of smart features that will make you question why you are still using Google Docs!

List of Top 6 Google Docs Alternatives:

1. Bit.ai

Coming up first on the list, the newest and dare we say, the most feature-rich tool on this list is Bit.ai

Bit.ai is a new-age real-time collaboration tool that handles everything you throw at it. Bit knows that your documents are more than just plain boring text. Thus, apart from allowing users to collaborate on documents. Bit also allows users to share any sort of rich media: YouTube videos, SoundCloud Playlists, Google Docs, Excel Spreadsheets, GIFs, Tweets – basically anything on the internet with a link. There are currently over 50+ rich media embed integrations and growing.

Just copy and paste the URL of your content and hit enter. Bit, then, generates a live preview of the file, right there in your document. You can watch the videos, listen to audio files, edit excel sheets, view marketing brochures, proposals, etc. – without ever leaving your document.

There are quite a few powerful features baked in and here are a few of them:

Bit’s minimal editor allows you to quickly format your document without spending a lot of wasted time designing your document so you can focus on the content you are creating. There are themes that you can toggle between that allow your entire document to quickly change from one professional look to another without having to select each individual header to format it.
Bit provides the option of creating trackable links on its documents. It gives you the ability to study document engagement (scroll ratios, time spent, etc.) Imagine, you can track how far your sales proposal, training guides, reports, etc. were scrolled and the amount of time spent on them. It’s a smarter way to find out if all the time you are spending creating content provides the results you are looking for.
Bit’s content library combines and stores all of your digital assets in one place. Now your web links and rich embeds (YouTube videos, etc.) live right next to your images and files. This reduces the amount of shoulder tapping that takes place and allows teammates to easily access digital assets.
Bit has one of the most robust document template libraries of any document editor out there. There are a number of extensive smart templates that work for a variety of workplace document needs. It’s a smart time saver as you crank out your work!
Bit provides the ability to add expiration dates, password-protected documents, lead capture forms for the documents you share. The thoughtful features truly place workplace documents front and center!

Our written communication should be more than just plain boring text. Bit handles documents in just the right way in our modern digital age!

2. Microsoft Office Online

Microsoft Office is undoubted, the world’s most popular office suite. Microsoft has long been known as a productivity powerhouse in the enterprise space. Microsoft Office online aims to be just that in the online space and compete directly with the likes of Google Docs. It offers free access to all your favorite Microsoft tools such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Onenote, Sway, One Drive, etc. All you need is a web browser and a Microsoft account to access its productivity suite.

We all have used Microsoft Office at some point. The online apps for all the tools have a similar interface and design. You can almost carry out all the tasks that are possible with the desktop version online.

This Google Docs alternative provides similar collaborative functionalities to Google Docs, where you can co-author and co-edit word documents with your teammates simultaneously.

The familiarity with the interface and a plethora of editing options makes Microsoft a tough competitor to Google Docs.

3. Quip

Quip is a team collaboration and communication tool that wants to rescue you and your team from those long dreaded email chains. Quip lets the team create and edit live documents and spreadsheets effectively by providing chat rooms and discussion threads for each document.

Users can attach a document or a spreadsheet to a chat and then review and edit it together. With Quip, teams can create, discuss and organize their work for efficiency and transparency by syncing in folders for teams, departments and projects. You can even connect your SalesForce account and integrate your data with Quip’s live documents and spreadsheets. You can even add other apps to your living document like calendars, polls, kanban boards, countdowns, etc, and keep all your work tools in one place for quick collaboration.

Quip is made to be mobile-first and offers dedicated Android and iOS apps to take your work with you wherever you go. You can even work offline and your work gets synced whenever you next connect to the internet. A worthy Google Docs alternative indeed!

4. Zoho

Just like Google Docs, Zoho Docs also provides tools to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, right in the cloud.

What sets this Google Docs alternative apart is its clean design and Microsoft Word-like functionality. It makes document creation, storage, editing, sharing, and collaboration a breeze. You can set permissions, password protect your files, or even set an expiration time after which, everyone loses access to the file or document. Zoho Docs also provides the ability to chat with collaborators in real-time to make document editing easier.

Zoho Docs has an interesting feature called the writing modes, which include- compose, review and distribute modes, all with different functionalities. The writer essentially accommodates itself to work for you, based on the phase of your document editing you are currently in.

Zoho Docs also offers an advanced document review system- you can search and filter through comments, get email updates when a change/comment is made, track change history, turn off live cursors when working with others, and reply to the comments happening on the writer directly from the email.

Zoho Docs even allows you to publish a document by providing distribution tools. You can mark a document as ‘final’ and obtain digital signatures via DocuSign or Adobe EchoSign. The best part is the ability to post your final document directly to WordPress without having to upload it separately.

5. ONLYOFFICE

ONLYOFFICE provides all the usual collaborating and editing tools Google Docs has. With this software, you can build Documents, Presentations, and Spreadsheets with ease. You can also post comments on a document and also chat live on the document.

ONLYOFFICE helps you remain focused and put a stop to shifting between various software while working on a document.

This app has a free version that is for personal use, if you are part of a big company then you will have to go for the paid version that covers all the tools that a company needs, such as mail servers, CRM tools, and domain.

The best part is that you can connect a cloud storage account with ONLYOFFICE to store your work in one place. You can connect Google Drive, OneDrive, DropBox, and OwnCloud. Right from the beginning, you can download, move, share and delete documents, making it easy for you to interact with documents.

6. CryptPad

CryptPad is an easy-to-use alternative for Google Docs in the form of an online app. You can use the most-used formats including rich text presentations and documents. In fact, with these two formats, users can share polls, to-do lists, and even a code compiler window.

Besides these options, CryptPad is seen as one of the most preferred Google Docs alternatives for one simple reason, that is- you don’t have to sign up to create an online document (until you allow others to view the contents of the documents).

With CryptPad you get a good collection of editing tools similar to Google Docs, and the color scheme also familiar. When it comes to sharing, you even can share the document with others with a link or embed the document in an online article.

Conclusion

Google Docs is an excellent collaboration tool that offers many straightforward features. But as time has passed, a lot more collaboration tools have emerged on the market.

If you want familiarity, you can try Microsoft Office Online or Zoho Docs. If you are looking for a minimalistic and no distraction approach to work, with more features than you can count, Bit.ai is the go-to tool for you.

All the above-mentioned Google Docs alternatives are great at what they do so the chances of you getting disappointed with either one are very, very low.

Did we miss any Google Doc alternative out there? Which one do you prefer? Tell us about it in the comment section below!

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