When shopping for collaboration suites, the default options are G-SuiteWorkspace and Microsoft 365. If you’ve ever used either, I don’t need to convince you that they’re terrible. And then of course there’s the privacy nightmare involved. Google and Microsoft are main pillars of big data that I wouldn’t trust with my company data. As always, I’ve put together a list of privacy-respecting alternatives to both suites.
Cloud
Zoho
Zoho is not open-source.
Zoho tries to replicate most of Google’s cloud offerings in-house. As I discussed at greater length in privacy-friendly Gmail alternatives, it’s not perfect. Their privacy policy is better than Google’s, but they also respond to data requests.
Grommunio
Grommunio is a robust enterprise-ready open-source workspace solution. It relies on open-source components but is largely built from scratch. It includes device management, email, contact and calendar sync, tasks, chat, video calls, file management, and even office suite collaboration.
Their cloud offering is free for up to 5 users, with support reserved for the more expensive tiers. For the more technical, they also offer a self-hostable version calledGromox.
Odoo
Odoo is a lot of things. It’s a multi-lingual website builder with support for blogs, eCommerce, and even eLearning. It’s a CRM and project management solution. It handles accounting and HR with expenses, billing, subscriptions, and employee management. Collaborative document editing, management, and signing. Marketing, events, appointments, chat, and calls. Helpdesk, surveys, knowledge base, forums, inventory, and more. Like I said, it’s a lot.
Their cloud service is free for a single app and unlimited users. They treat each of their components as a different app. Adding more apps will set you back $7/user/month. You can self-host it and gain access to all their services for free. The only limitation to the self-hosted route is your hardware infrastructure.
kSuite
kSuite is not open-source.
kSuite markets itself as an ethical swiss-based alternative to many Google services. In addition to the basics, they also include chat, video meetings, OnlyOffice, and more.
Unlike some other providers, kSuite supports white labeling and using a custom domain. They also offer dedicated native mobile apps for each of their services, which is always great to see.
Murena
If the idea of self-hosting seems daunting, you can give Murena a shot. They offer a cloud-based workspace with all the features you need. They also sell refurbished deGoogled smartphones that come with /e/ pre-installed.
Murena Workspace is their cloud service that emulates Google’s. It’s powered by Nextcloud and OnlyOffice.
You get a @murena.io email address that acts as your portal to their services. Their main selling point is privacy-friendly contact and calendar sync. You also get privacy-friendly cloud storage and an office suite. It’s also self-hostable so you can sync to your own server.
eXo
eXo is very different from everything else on this list. It’s a corporate intranet social network with collaboration features. eXo aims to improve company culture through communication and gamification. It integrates OnlyOffice for document editing and Jitsi for video meetings. It also centralizes internal knowledge using wikis and blog posts.
Native mobile apps are available and so is self-hosting. Their cloud service only has a single all-inclusive tier which costs $5/user/month.
Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is another “everything solution” like Odoo. The main difference is their pricing structure. Bitrix24 offers a free forever plan with no user limit, but many of the features are reserved for the paid tiers. Each price tier unlocks more users, more cloud storage space, and more features.
Self-hosting isn't free here. While they claim to be open-source, I couldn’t find an official repository anywhere. They also charge hefty licensing fees to self-host. I haven’t tried to install it but I’m assuming it asks for a subscription key during setup.
Larksuite
Larksuite is not open-source.
Lark exists. I don’t like their privacy policy.
Self-hosted
Nextcloud
Nextcloud is your digital home. You install it on your server, store your data on it, then access it from any device anywhere over the internet. Out of the box, it’s a replacement for Google Drive and Google Photos. But delve into their app store to explore all the plugins that expand its functionality. It can replace a surprising number of Google services. Groupware, office, contact sync, notes, chat, tasks, and many more. You can even connect it to other Nextcloud servers using built-in federation.
OpenPass
OpenPaas is an open-source groupware solution for enterprise use. While Nextcloud starts with file storage and expands through plugins, collaboration is the core of OpenPass. Groupware, meetings and team communication are all here. They also integrate OnlyOffice for collaborative editing.
2023 Update:
Abandonware.
Sogo
Sogo is a simple groupware solution that focuses on the basics. Webmail, calendar, and address book management and sync. Don’t let that simplicity fool you because it nails those basics with a lot of functionality. It’s extremely good-looking for such a simple self-hosted solution. It integrates with Thunderbird and DAVx5 for desktop and Android respectively. iOS supports CalDAV natively so it doesn’t need any connectors.
Crossbox
Crossbox is another simple groupware solution that offers a few more features than Sogo. It adds built-in chat, note-taking, tasks and file management. It integrates with Nextcloud, Mattermost, and other services.
Crossbox has a modern UI based on Material Design and native mobile apps. They offer white labeling services even for their mobile apps. The pricing structure is per-component though, not per-user like the others. That means that a fully-featured server will set you back $38 a month. Like Bitrix24, you need a license to self-host here too. I’m not a fan of this trend as they reserve the right to terminate your service at any time.