Google Docs is good and convenient for writing and collaborating on texts. But if you need to find analogues of this proven but not perfect service, we suggest looking at our selection.
Zoho Writer
A free, full-featured online text editor, part of the Zoho business platform.
You can import into the online editor documents with the extensions .docx, .doc, .docm, .dotx, .dotm, .odt, .txt, .html, .htm, .tex. Upload – .docx, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, .html, .odt, .epub.
Zoho Writer and Microsoft Word are fully compatible with each other – no formatting is lost.
You can insert a table, picture or link into the text, bookmark it, and even add code. Images can be uploaded from your local computer, from a service repository, from a URL, from Flickr or via a Google search with different filters on the right to use the image.
The document can be made into a template, published directly to WordPress or Blogger, mailed or printed.
Dropbox Paper
A virtual workspace in the form of a document in which you can write, edit, and comment on text with other users, hold group discussions, manage tasks, and organize meetings. Part of the popular Dropbox storage service.
To create and open Paper documents, you need to have a Dropbox account or sign in through your Google account, and the service warns that it will get access to the user’s Google contacts.
There’s 2GB of space available for free use, which is decent considering that, according to the service, a Paper document weighs less than 100 bytes.
In Dropbox Paper you can write code with automatic language detection and syntax highlighting.
You can insert emoji, an image from your local computer, a file from Dropbox, a multimedia file, a table, and a task list into the text.
As for spell checker, Dropbox Paper does not have its own built-in function. But if your browser has such a tool, you can use it.
The service also has a presentation mode: you can display the document on the full screen and even change the topic to a dark one. In this case, comments will not be displayed.
To work with documents together all users should have a Dropbox account. To invite co-authors for viewing or editing, you can invite them by email invitation or by sending them a link to the file.
Like Google Docs, Dropbox Paper has a version log. Authors and editors can view and restore old versions of documents, as well as view and cancel archived comments.
By default, an author is subscribed to all documents they create or edit. This means that users receive email notifications of updates to these documents. Unsubscribing from such notifications is provided.
Word Online
A free online version of the popular desktop application
MS Word. There are premium versions with advanced features starting at $6.99 per user per month.
A Microsoft account is required for use.
New documents are stored in One Drive, and you can download already created documents from the same location or from your local computer. In turn, a Word Online document can be opened in the classic application.
Files can be downloaded in pdf or odt format.
The audio transcription feature is available in the paid version of the application.
You may not need a Microsoft account to work together.
The author of a document copies the link and sends it to the desired users for viewing or editing. In the paid version of the service to protect files you can limit the duration of the link and set a password.
Of the new features the service declares the mentioning of users in the comments. The invitee will receive an email with a link to the document to get involved in the work on the document.
Quip
This feature-rich platform for effective team collaboration was founded in 2012 by former Google and Facebook employees Bret Taylor and Kevin Gibbs. And in 2016, the company became part of Salesforce, a large cloud-based service for sales support and customer relationship management.
The service is free for personal use; for workgroups, subscriptions start at $10 per user per month.
You’ll need to register on the platform or sign in with a Salesforce or Slack account to use it.
The Quip service allows you to work with documents, spreadsheets, task lists and discuss projects without leaving the application. Quip’s document interface is minimalistic and user-friendly.
