Top 10 Best Research Collaboration Software of 2026

Overleaf is a cloud-based LaTeX editor tailored for collaborative scientific document creation, enabling real-time multiplayer editing of LaTeX files with instant PDF previews. It offers version control, track changes, Git integration, and a vast library of over 20,000 templates for papers, theses, and reports. Designed for researchers, it streamlines workflows from drafting to final compilation without local installations.

Open Science Framework (OSF) is a free, open-source platform designed to support the entire research lifecycle, enabling collaboration, project management, file versioning, and open data sharing. Researchers can create projects with wikis, file storage, and integrations for tools like GitHub, Dropbox, and survey platforms, while promoting transparency through preregistration, DOI assignment, and preprint hosting. It fosters reproducible science by allowing public or private projects with granular permissions and version history.

GitHub is a leading web-based platform for Git version control, enabling researchers to host code repositories, track changes, and collaborate on projects through pull requests, issues, and discussions. It supports research collaboration by facilitating sharing of scripts, Jupyter notebooks, datasets, and documentation, with built-in tools like Projects for task management and Wikis for knowledge sharing. Widely adopted in academia for open science, it promotes reproducibility through features like GitHub Actions for workflows and Pages for hosting results.

Google Colab is a free, cloud-based Jupyter notebook platform that allows researchers to write, execute, and share Python code directly in the browser with real-time collaboration features similar to Google Docs. It provides access to GPUs and TPUs for compute-intensive tasks like machine learning and data analysis, with seamless integration into Google Drive and GitHub for versioning and sharing. Ideal for research teams, it supports commenting, simultaneous editing, and easy publication of interactive notebooks.

LabArchives is a cloud-based electronic lab notebook (ELN) platform tailored for scientific research, allowing users to digitally document experiments, store data, and manage protocols in a searchable, organized manner. It facilitates collaboration through shared notebooks, real-time commenting, and permissions management, making it ideal for team-based research. The software also includes inventory tracking, scheduling, and integrations with lab instruments to streamline workflows while ensuring compliance with standards like 21 CFR Part 11.

Notion is a versatile all-in-one workspace tool that combines note-taking, databases, task management, and wikis into customizable pages and blocks. For research collaboration, it excels in creating shared knowledge bases, organizing literature reviews in databases, tracking project progress with kanban boards, and enabling real-time multi-user editing and commenting. While not specialized for scientific workflows, its flexibility supports teams in documenting experiments, brainstorming ideas, and centralizing resources.

Mendeley is a free reference management tool and academic social network designed for researchers to organize, annotate, and share PDFs and references. It facilitates collaboration through shared libraries, private groups, and discussion features, allowing teams to co-manage bibliographies and discuss papers. Owned by Elsevier, it integrates discovery tools like paper recommendations and integrates with word processors for easy citation insertion.

Benchling is a cloud-based platform tailored for life sciences R&D, serving as an electronic lab notebook (ELN), LIMS, and collaboration hub for biotech and pharma teams. It enables real-time experiment documentation, molecular design (e.g., plasmids, CRISPR), sample tracking, and workflow automation. The software facilitates secure data sharing, protocol standardization, and integrations with lab instruments to streamline research collaboration.

Zotero is a free, open-source reference management tool that enables users to collect, organize, annotate, and cite research sources from the web, databases, and PDFs. It supports syncing libraries across devices and offers group libraries for collaborative sharing and editing of references, notes, and attachments. While powerful for bibliography management, its collaboration features focus on shared collections rather than real-time document co-authoring.

Authorea is an online platform tailored for researchers to collaboratively author, edit, and publish scientific documents in formats like LaTeX, Markdown, and Word. It offers real-time collaboration, version history, and seamless integration of citations, datasets, and interactive visualizations directly into papers. The tool streamlines the research workflow from drafting to DOI-assigned publication, making it ideal for academic teams.