Creating a collaborative workplace culture through Slack apps can help take your team to new heights. While hundreds of Slack apps help connect remote team members, we’ve narrowed our list down to the top 5 best.

Sure, Donut has its place as a coffee meeting organizing system, but our top picks for apps combine planning, communication, and a relaxed atmosphere to satisfy your team's collaboration cravings.

A good Slack app brings the convenience of online communication with the organization skills of a well-planned spreadsheet, all in a simple app. So if you're looking for a collaboration app that does it all, we've got you covered. First off, let's cover the pros and cons of donut:

Pros and Cons of Donut Slack App

Pros:

• Donuts. They’re delicious. Need we say more.
• Integrates neatly with Slack's interface to randomly pair team members for coffee chats. Unless you want to awkwardly set up 1x1’s with your coworkers, which we won't judge.
• Makes workplace connections less intimidating for shyer colleagues. No need to fear rejection from that scary payroll lady. Donut forces her to be your buddy!
• Cutesy sprinkled branding that millennials crave. Who doesn't smile while being paired with "@glittergirl" for donut hangouts?
• Facilitates water cooler talk from the comfort of your PJs. Save money on fancy coffees while still getting all that office FOMO.
  

Cons:

• Pricey at $7 per user monthly for core pairing features. CultureBot costs less than Friday night beers.
• Random matches won't align similar interests or bridge actual workplace gaps. Our matching algorithms do.
• Donut branding feels a bit kids' birthday party. Do grown teams need sprinkles to connect? We think not. Teams often want a more genuine interaction than Donut provides.
  

In all seriousness, all of these tools aim to foster social connections in remote teams. However, Donut is not the best tool if you’re looking for a more holistic Slack app to keep employees engaged.

Good thing Donut’s not the only tool on the market, let’s dive into some Donut alternatives.

5 Donut Slack App Alternatives at a Glance:

• CultureBot
• Trello
• Around
• Notion
• Asana

1. CultureBot

Our top pick for Slack collaboration is CultureBot. Our Donut Slack app alternative combines workplace collaboration, employee wellness, self-starter training, and more, all in one convenient app. So if you want to revive dead channels, start conversation prompts, or cultivate team bonding, CultureBot has everything you need.

From the virtual watercooler feature that helps get your team chatting to birthday reminders, HR prompts, and employee recognition, CultureBot is genuinely a multitasking wizard.

In addition, this Slack app is easily programmable, so you can set reminders for your team without feeling like a micromanager.

Remind everyone about the upcoming office event, introduce new employees, or even plan birthday celebrations with this social app. While many Slack apps focus on a single aspect of team building, CultureBot covers every touchstone of employee engagement and socialization.

Whether managing a corporate team or working one-on-one with freelancers, CultureBot allows your teams to form meaningful connections. If you’re looking to boost communication for your remote team or want to give the main office something to chat about, check out CultureBot.

2. Trello

If you’ve never used Trello, you're missing out on one of the best project organization apps. If you're a Donut's meeting management fan, Trello takes that concept to the next level with its innovative card format. You can create Trello boards for almost any project. For example, if you're planning an office party, make a Trello board to coordinate who's in charge of deserts. Similarly, if you're looking to manage work projects through every step of production, Trello can help keep your team on track.

With Slack integration, Trello allows you to attach users to cards, ping new projects, and mark off progress, all without leaving Slack. In addition, you can keep projects moving without trying to coordinate several teams simultaneously by notifying users of changes as soon as they happen.

While Trello may be workplace projects-based, you can always use its functions for social planning, matching up different departments for lunch meetings, or using Trello boards to plan workplace functions. In addition, Trello is a customizable workplace coordination app allowing you to monitor projects from a Slack channel for ultimate workplace management convenience.

3. Around

Continuing our Donut Slack app alternatives list, Around is the latest and greatest in video meeting apps. But, of course, everyone has heard of Zoom, and while that may be your go-to for professional out-of-office calls, you're missing out if you've never tried Around.

This video app takes the boring out of video meetings, using innovative sound technology to make every meeting feel like an in-person event. Around knows how isolating working remotely can be, especially on a group call. By tailoring audio inputs to each device, Around allows your team to work collaboratively without feeling like the odd man out.

On top of its groundbreaking audio features, Around includes dedicated subspaces to help you organize standing meetings for anyone who works better when talking to a group. In addition, dedicated collaboration spaces allow remote employees to tap into workplace culture.

On top of this, creating dedicated interdepartmental hangout spaces for social calls or workplace collaboration can help make even the most far-flung of teams feel closer than ever. So if you want the personal touch of a Donut coffee meet-up for every aspect of your workplace, you want Around.

4. Notion

If you’re looking to replace Donut as your only collaboration app, we have a Notion you might like. Okay, that was a little cheesy, but Notion is a collaboration app that will revolutionize your workplace. Notion's base premise is to cut down on the external apps you need to track your work and, instead, keep all the information you need in one convenient space customized for your business.

With custom channels, easy-to-use reference pages, and plenty of meeting "cheat sheets" for those easily distracted employees, Notion helps you organize and optimize your workspace in a flash. Notion has project progress pages similar to Trello, meaning you can coordinate across several departments in one accessible location. Gone are the days of attaching seven pages of notes to the meeting email. With Notion, everything is all in one place, allowing your team to spend more time working and less time looking for their notes.

5. Asana

The term “asana” may be familiar if you've ever practiced yoga. Asana (the Slack collaboration app) works off of the name of this meditative pose, helping your team meditate on projects and keep their cool while facing down deadlines. In addition, Asana notifies team members about project changes as soon as they happen, making it easier to keep up with deadlines, requests, and changes.

Thanks to Slack integration, making updates to project progress is as simple as typing in a few notes. Asana even allows you to create new tasks from Slack using command lines, so you can add projects as they pop up. From tracking the latest changes to a client request to coordinating office lunch plans, Asana offers the collaborative benefits of Donut with much more range and customization.

You'll never have to waste time scrolling through your email for progress reports again; simply check Asana to find out detailed notes on every project in progress. So if you're looking for a Donut Slack app replacement that benefits your team and helps streamline collaboration, Asana is the app for you.

So, What Tool Takes the Cake?

When it comes to choosing a Slack app for workplace collaboration, the options abound. While Donut paved the way in randomized coffee chats, today's teams require more robust, customizable solutions. Tools like CultureBot, Trello, Around, Notion, and Asana take Donut's precepts for bringing teams together across distances to the next level.

Rather than cobbling together disjointed apps that only isolate facets of remote collaboration, adopt a unified toolkit like CultureBot for connectivity. Give your distributed teams the purpose-built home for engagement they deserve while realizing smoother coordination across the organization.

Want to learn more? Get in touch or start a free trial with CultureBot today to bring the power of Slack apps like Donut into one intuitive destination boosting CultureBot company-wide.