NEWJoin 2M+ software buyers|Get Weekly Insights, Trends & Expert PicksSubscribe free →

Last updated:

Best Pulse Alternatives: 12 Compared, With Free Options (2026)

Explore 12 alternatives to Pulse, vetted by our editors with real user reviews, pricing, and feature comparisons.

Pulse alternatives: our 12 top picks at a glance

Quick answer

The best free collaboration software tools to replace Pulse are Samesurf, Howspace and RowShare. Samesurf sits at number one with a SpotScore of 8.6 and 4.5★ from reviewers. Compare all 12 on score, rating, and pricing below.

Not every team clicks with Pulse, and that's fine. These 12 collaboration software free alternatives give you real choices on price, features, and usability. We rank them by SpotScore, which combines real-user satisfaction with market presence, then layer in ratings and pricing. Scan the comparison table first, then read the detail for each pick.

ProductSpotScoreRatingPricingBest for
SamesurfUnite and collaborate in real-time, effortlessly.8.6★★★★★ 4.5(12)Freefrom $10 /User/Monthteams of all sizes
HowspaceEffortless collaboration for seamless teamwork.8.5★★★★★ 5(20)FreeFree Trial · Subscription · Quotation Basedteams of all sizes
RowShareCollaborate, organize, and stay connected seamlessly.8.4★★★★★ 4.7Freefrom $9/moteams of all sizes
CrruxCollaboration made easy for seamless teamwork.8★★★★☆ 3.5(3)Freefrom $6.42 /User/Monthteams of all sizes
HootsuiteStreamline your social media management with Hootsuite.9.8★★★★☆ 3.98(2932)FreeFree Trial · Freemium · Subscription · Quotation Basedteams of all sizes
ClickUpEffortlessly streamline your projects with ClickUp9.8★★★★★ 4.87(2889)FreeFree Trial · Freemium · Subscription · Quotation Basedteams of all sizes
Google WorkspaceCollaborate seamlessly with Google Workspace.9.6★★★★☆ 4.49(173)FreeFree Trial · Subscription · Quotation Basedteams of all sizes
AirtableEffortlessly manage projects and collaborate with ease.9.5★★★★★ 4.78(1294)FreeFreemium · Subscription · Quotation Basedteams of all sizes
LarkCollaborate and conquer projects effortlessly.9.4★★★★★ 4.81(92)FreeFreemium · Quotation Basedteams of all sizes
CoSchedulePlan, publish and profit with CoSchedule.9.3★★★★☆ 4.49(71)FreeFree Trial · Subscription · Quotation Basedteams of all sizes
SendibleEffortless scheduling for maximum social media impact.9.3★★★★★ 4.95(556)FreeFree Trial · Subscriptionteams of all sizes
NextcloudStreamline your communication, securely and from anywhere.—★★★★★ 4.53(65)FreeFree Trial · Subscriptionteams of all sizes

8.6

SpotScore

Samesurf - Collaboration Software

Samesurf

Unite and collaborate in real-time, effortlessly.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is Samesurf?

Samesurf is a smart collaborative tool that combines video conferencing and social networks in one platform. This means you and your team can work together with video, text chat, document sharing and instant messaging in real-time. The collaboration platform has been built from the ground up to ...

Read more about Samesurf
Free Trial

8.5

SpotScore

Howspace - Collaboration Software

Howspace

Effortless collaboration for seamless teamwork.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is Howspace?

Howspace is a digital collaboration platform used by facilitators, HR teams, and organizational development consultants to run workshops, co-creation sessions, and participatory planning processes with distributed participants. It centralizes agenda building, document sharing, and structured ...

Read more about Howspace
Free Trial·

Howspace offers custom pricing plan

Spotsaas Ads

Want your product up here? Put it in front of buyers the moment they're comparing your category.

Reach in-market buyersRank above rivals2M+ buyers a year

8.4

SpotScore

RowShare - Collaboration Software

RowShare

Collaborate, organize, and stay connected seamlessly.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

4.7

Add to compare

What is RowShare?

RowShare is a collaborative software tool that synchs up calendars, contacts, documents, and task lists. Users invite individual or groups to join one or multiple "shares," then access and contribute to each other's projects. The platform comes with a variety of features, such as Web-based and ...

Read more about RowShare
Free Trial

8.0

SpotScore

Crrux - Collaboration Software

Crrux

Collaboration made easy for seamless teamwork.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is Crrux?

Crrux is a collaboration tool that allows an entire team to work together on the same file at the same time. Nearly all document types — spreadsheets, slides, and even text files — can be shared across an organization with seamless instant messaging to clarify or contribute to a conversation ...

Read more about Crrux
Free Trial·

Crrux offers custom pricing plan

9.8

SpotScore

Hootsuite - Social Media Management Software

Hootsuite

Streamline your social media management with Hootsuite.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is Hootsuite?

Hootsuite Enterprise integrates social media management into team's workflow. Get a complete picture of everything happening across all the social networks from one dashboard and collaborate with team to manage all the social communications fast. Hootsuite gives one place to publish, monitor ...

Read more about Hootsuite
Free TrialTry Free →·

Hootsuite offers custom pricing plan

9.8

SpotScore

ClickUp - Collaboration Software

ClickUp

Effortlessly streamline your projects with ClickUp

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

watch-demo

Watch Demo

What is ClickUp?

ClickUp is a versatile cloud-based project management platform designed to cater to both individual project needs and the complex demands of enterprise-level teams. Offering a customizable planning experience, it allows users to toggle between two distinct views, providing flexibility based on ...

Read more about ClickUp
Free TrialTry Free →·

Starts from $7/User/Month when yearly, also offers free forever plan

9.6

SpotScore

Google Workspace - Collaboration Software

Google Workspace

Collaborate seamlessly with Google Workspace.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is Google Workspace?

The Google Workspace is a set of cloud-based applications designed to help you work better, together. Workspace gives you tools to work confidently in the cloud, like SharePoint Online, Google Docs, and Slides. And it makes your team's content available on any device - computer, smartphone or ...

Read more about Google Workspace
Free Trial·

Starts from $6/User/Month

9.5

SpotScore

Airtable - Collaboration Software

Airtable

Effortlessly manage projects and collaborate with ease.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Try for Free

Add to compare

What is Airtable?

Airtable is a collaborative database with powerful tools for managing projects, visualizing information, and sharing with others. Task lists, calendars, comments, due dates, member contributions — all this belongs inside available records. Airtable starts you with simple one-table overviews and ...

Read more about Airtable

Starts from $10/User/Month when Billed Yearly, also offers free forever plan

9.4

SpotScore

Lark - Collaboration Software

Lark

Collaborate and conquer projects effortlessly.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Try for Free

Add to compare

What is Lark?

Lark is a simple, powerful collaboration and project management tool that's designed to work the way you do. Lark lets you easily break down complex projects into logical steps and assign these tasks to others in the form of agile sprints and 'to-dos'. Track work-in-progress, plan and enforce ...

Read more about Lark

Lark offers custom pricing plan

9.3

SpotScore

CoSchedule - Social Media Management Software

CoSchedule

Plan, publish and profit with CoSchedule.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is CoSchedule?

CoSchedule is a social media management software that's perfect for content marketers, bloggers, and small business owners. Using the CoSchedule editorial calendar template, user can schedule blog posts from any connected device. The tool integrates with Google Analytics to gather key metrics ...

Read more about CoSchedule
Free Trial·

Starts from $29/User/Month when Billed Yearly

9.3

SpotScore

Sendible - Social Media Management Software

Sendible

Effortless scheduling for maximum social media impact.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is Sendible?

Social media scheduling just got easier. Schedule, create, edit and post messages from anywhere, any time on all the social profiles. Reach new audiences and convert more followers - all in one simple-to-use app. Whether managing several branded social media channels or simply sending out a ...

Read more about Sendible
Free TrialTry Free →·

Starts from $25/Month when Billed Yearly

Nextcloud - Collaboration Software

Nextcloud

Streamline your communication, securely and from anywhere.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is Nextcloud?

Nextcloud is a project management and collaboration tool that brings together universal access to files, apps, contacts, and calendars from virtually any device and store them in one central place. Nextcloud provides a platform you can use to communicate with your team, clients, or family. Keep ...

Read more about Nextcloud
Free Trial

The main Pulse competitors

Across Collaboration Software, 12 products compete directly with Pulse. The strongest overlap is with Samesurf, Howspace and RowShare. Each is compared against Pulse on rating, pricing and feature coverage below.

Tools similar to Pulse

Searches for "sites like Pulse" and "apps like Pulse" land on the same set of options as "Pulse alternatives" — the 12 options below cover both, whether you want a like-for-like replacement or something lighter.

What earned each one a spot

Samesurf8.6Best for teams of all sizes

Real-time collaboration

Watch for: Limited advanced features

Howspace8.5Best for teams of all sizes

Centralized project management

Watch for: Limited offline capabilities

RowShare8.4Best for teams of all sizes

Calendar synchronization

Watch for: Complex for new users

Crrux8Best for teams of all sizes
Hootsuite9.8Best for teams of all sizes

Comprehensive dashboard

Watch for: Higher pricing tiers

ClickUp9.8Best for teams of all sizes

Versatile platform with constant updates and amazing customer support that prioritizes user feedback promptly.

Watch for: Steep learning curve initially, which may be challenging for newcomers without a technical background.

Google Workspace9.6Best for teams of all sizes

G Suite offers good value for money and has been reliable for long-time users.

Watch for: Customer support is extremely poor, with non-existent human assistance and incompetent chatbot interactions.

Airtable9.5Best for teams of all sizes

Provides unmatched flexibility for various tasks, making project management simple and tailored to specific needs.

Watch for: Initial setup can be daunting, requiring some support to create customized databases tailored to specific needs.

Lark9.4Best for teams of all sizes

User-friendly interface

Watch for: Limited integrations

CoSchedule9.3Best for teams of all sizes

Editorial calendar integration

Watch for: Limited social platforms

Sendible9.3Best for teams of all sizes

Easy scheduling and posting

Watch for: Limited reporting features

NextcloudBest for teams of all sizes

Universal file access

Watch for: Setup can be complex

Why teams look for a Pulse alternative

A handful of pain points come up again and again when teams consider replacing Pulse:

  • Limited features for large teams
  • May require training
  • Performance issues with heavy usage

What to look for in a Pulse alternative

A factual rundown of the 12 free alternatives: 12 offer a free tier; paid plans run $6.42–$10, with Crrux the cheapest entry point; and Howspace is the highest rated at 5★ across 20 reviews.

Behind the ranking.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Stuck on something? We're here to help with all the questions and answers in one place.

The top-rated alternatives to Pulse are Howspace (5.0★), Sendible (5.0★), ClickUp (4.9★). Compare all 12 alternatives side-by-side above.

When evaluating alternatives to Pulse, prioritize: Synchronous Editing, Discussion Boards, Content Management, Project Management, Contact Management, transparent pricing, free trial availability, and integrations with your existing tools. Use the filters above to compare by feature, budget, and team size.

Pulse starts from $5 /Month. Many alternatives offer similar functionality at different price points — some with free tiers, others with more flexible per-seat pricing. Use the filters above to narrow by budget.

Migration difficulty depends on how deeply Pulse is integrated into your workflows. Most alternatives offer data export/import tools and dedicated onboarding support. We recommend narrowing to 2–3 options, running a free trial, and checking each vendor's migration guides before committing.

Which Pulse alternative fits your needs?

  • On a budget / just exploring: start with a free tier — Samesurf, Howspace and RowShare let you evaluate without paying upfront.
  • If real-user ratings matter most: Howspace has the strongest star rating (5★) among the options with verified reviews.
  • Want the safest pick: Samesurf has the highest Spotsaas Score (8.6) in this list — a strong default if you're unsure.

Leaving Pulse behind

Planning your exit from Pulse? Pull your data out first and confirm the replacement imports it without loss. Make sure the workflows you depend on are covered, run a short trial before committing, and keep Pulse live as a fallback until you're settled. Many tools here offer a free path to test.

Disclaimer: This research has been collated from a variety of authoritative sources. We welcome your feedback at [email protected].