The best video conferencing software has quickly emerged as a must-have purchase for most modern teams. Currently, 45% of teams use video calls on a daily or weekly basis, and 75% of CEOs believe their video calling practice will eventually replace common voice-only calls.
For most people, the sudden explosion of video conferencing popularity started during 2020, when the rise of the pandemic pushed countless companies into a new remote working trend. To keep teams connected and avoid the threat of isolation, businesses began shifting more aggressively into the video market. Since then, we’ve discovered a host of benefits from video.
Video has reduced the need for business travel by 47%, and many experts believe it helps to positively influence company culture.
The question is, which video conferencing tools are best?
The best video conferencing software is any tool capable of helping your team members to collaborate, connect, and interact as effectively as possible. Since demand for video conferencing technology has begun to increase at an incredible rate, the number of tools available has evolved.
Today, there are countless exceptional video conferencing services out there. We’ve examined some of the top-performing services on the market, to help you narrow down your choices.
Easily one of the most popular video conferencing tools on the market today, Zoho Meeting is part of the comprehensive Zoho ecosystem of productivity, sales, and support tools. The online meeting application combines webinar functionality with state-of-the-art meeting technology, to boost remote collaboration sessions and strengthen conversations.
Zoho Meeting benefits from being inherently easy to use and scalable, with industry-standard security built-in, and a host of interactive tools to keep your users engaged. There’s the option to share your screen, record and share web meetings, and even join with phone or computer audio.
Affordability is a significant draw for Zoho Meeting, and there’s even a free tier available with unlimited meetings and webinars for up to 30 minutes. The free version comes with meeting chat and notes, multiple video layouts, and meeting reactions. Alternatively, you can choose a premium package based on your number of participants.
For 10 participants, you’ll pay $3 per host per month, whereas 25 participants cost $6 per host per month, and the pricing goes up from here. There’s also the option to purchase Webinar functionality separately, starting at $16 per organizer per month.
Flexible and easy to use, GoToMeeting is a standalone videoconferencing service delivered by the LogMeIn brand. This powerful service ensures teams have a number of great ways to communicate and collaborate, without unnecessary complexity. You don’t even need to download an application to use the meeting service, which also runs on Android and iOS.
GoToMeeting is also well-known for taking security seriously, with powerful enterprise-grade security powering mor than 80 million online meetings per year. The company also offers an industry-leading 99.996% uptime, which is something you don’t always get from some video conferencing tools.
GoToMeeting offers relatively cost-effective pricing, often on a discount rate, if you’re willing to pay on an annual basis. The packages include:
There are also add-ons available, like GoTo Webinar for $20 per month, and toll-free numbers. For the Enterprise package pricing, you need to contact GoTo directly.
Built for the age of collaboration, TeamViewer supports quick and agile videoconferencing with sensational security built-in. The service allows business leaders to connect their team members wherever they are, through secure VoIP calls, screen sharing, instant chat, and all the other tools you need for a better conversation, across devices.
With support for a host of platforms, one-click meetings for easy use, and huge huddles available for up to 300 people, TeamViewer can help to bring teams together in any environment – even in today’s world of hybrid work.
TeamViewer Meeting is available for free for up to 5 users. Altenratively, you’ll pay for your service based on the number of people you’re going to include in the meeting. 50 people will cost $9.49 per month per host, while 100 attendees costs $12.99 per month per host. There’s also a Company package for $19.99 per month per host.
With over 270 million monthly active users, Microsoft Teams has quickly become one of the most popular collaboration and conferencing tools in the world. With a single application, Teams allows users to schedule video and audio meetings with people or teams, as well as hosting large meetings and webinars with up to 10,000 participants.
As part of the comprehensive Microsoft 365 ecosystem, Teams comes with access to a host of productivity features, as well as powerful video meeting capabilities, like the ability to replace your background with a new image.
There are a number of ways to access Microsoft Teams, starting with the free package which supports up to 100 participants per meeting, And group meetings of up to 60 minutes. You also get 5GB of cloud storage, file sharing, data encryption, and unlimited chat. Paid options include:
Cisco Webex is powered by the incredible communication experts at Cisco. Known for offering exceptional stability, security, and reliability, Cisco provides business leaders with the peace of mind they need when connecting hybrid teams. The collaborative Webex ecosystem can even integrate with other tools from Zoom and Microsoft.
With a free version available for beginners, and access to state-of-the-art security to keep your meetings encrypted at all times, Cisco never disappoints for bigger brands. The solution can even support conversations between internal and external teams.
Though Cisco is flexible enough to cater for larger businesses, it’s also suitable for small companies, with a free package capable of hosting up to 100 participants per meeting, for up to 50 minutes. The service comes with 4 video meeting layout options, screen sharing, and mobile screen sharing.
Paid packages pricing are available upon request via their website.
RingCentral is one of the most popular providers of cloud-based communication tools on the market today. The company’s video meeting service is extremely reliable, with HD functionality available on a range of devices, so you can connect with your colleagues wherever they are. There’s even access to handy one-click meetings.
With end-to-end encryption, business leaders can ensure their private meetings stay secure, and RingCentral can also easily integrate with a wide range of other tools, including Slack, and Microsoft 365. With RingCentral, you can even access meetings without a download.
RingCentral Video starts with a free package for 100 participants in each meeting, and unlimited meetings. You can also access a premium version for $11.99 per month per user with up to 200 participants, single sign-on, extra cloud storage per user, and more.
Part of the popular Google Workspace environment, Google Meet, previously Google Hangouts Meet, is one of the most accessible and affordable tools for video conferencing in the modern market. Trusted by companies around the world for quick and intuitive meetings, Google Meet makes it easy for anyone to launch a video session in no time.
The world-class cloud-based experience requires absolutely no software download, so you can start a meeting instantly. At the same time, you don’t have to worry about security issues, thanks to end-to-end encryption and various built-in protections.
There’s absolutely no payment required for the basic version of Google Meet, so you can jump in without spending anything. The only pricing options you’ll need to consider are for Google Workspace, if you want to upgrade your entire productivity experience. Google Workspace packages start at $6 per month per user, but you don’t need a premium plan to access Meet.
For most people, Zoom is the company from the video conferencing landscape that first help to accelerate the shift to video. Offering a more flexible way to connect with your colleagues through a quick and easy interface, Zoom offers enterprise-grade security and amazing functionality in one. It can even support up to 1,000 participants at the same time.
Zoom allows users to save meetings locally or to the cloud, with access to transcripts with searchable text. There’s also a host of collaborative tools built-in, such as instant messaging, screen sharing, and file sharing.
Like many of the best video conferencing tools on the market today, Zoom comes with a free package available for hosting up to 100 participants for up to 40 minutes. You can also have unlimited one-on-one meetings with a 30 hour limit. Paid packages include:
If you’re low on budget and won’t be using your video conferencing tools very often, you may be tempted to use a free service. Many of the best video conferencing tools either come with free versions or demos you can use without spending anything. However, there are limitations on what you can do with these options.
For instance, while Google Meet is free to use, it doesn’t have the same advanced features of some other tools, like live transcription or virtual backgrounds. While Zoom and Microsoft Teams have free versions, these also limit the number of people you can include in a conference, and how long those conferences can last.
While free tools are fine if you’re only going to be having small meetings with a handful of people, it’s best to double check what kind of compromises you’ll be making for a free service.
For a small business, there are a few specific considerations to keep in mind when choosing the right video conferencing software. First and foremost, you’re going to need a more affordable pricing package to ensure you don’t break your budget. Options like Zoho Meeting, Zoom, and Google Meet should help you to keep your outgoing costs relatively low.
Microsoft Teams and Zoom both have free versions which are quite generous in the number of people you can invite into your meeting.
It’s also worth noting there are other things to keep in mind when choosing your video conferencing tools besides cost. For instance, if you’re a small business owner, you might want to avoid having too much downtime to worry about while your teams learn how to use new tools. A relatively simple service you can easily set up and provision will be crucial.
Video conferencing software is an online tool or service which allows for communication through video streams and audio in meetings, seminars, and webinars. Usually, this software will come with the ability to host a certain number of people in a meeting for a specific length of time.
Depending on the nature of the video conferencing software you choose, you may also be able to access bonus features like recording, screen sharing, chat, and background blurring.
Video conferencing can help to bring context and depth to meetings between distributed employees and teams. Around 87% of remote employees say they feel more connected and involved with their teams when they’re using video conferencing, and 55% of businesses believe video increases employee engagement.
Video can help to improve employee relationships and preserve company culture in a business embracing trends like remote and hybrid work. The right video conferencing strategy can even save companies money, by ensuring teams don’t have to travel as often for in-person conversations.
The exact features you’ll need for your video conferencing software will depend on what kind of meetings you’re going to be having. Some companies might need an advanced video conferencing service which supports things like virtual backgrounds and calendar synchronization. Others will just need a simple and secure way to communicate.
Some of the most common things to look for in video conferencing tools include:
It’s crucial to make sure your conversations remain secure and protected when using video conferencing tools. Look for a service which offers end-to-end encryption for all of your calls and meetings, as well as enterprise-grade security services. You may also want access to various access control options, so you can determine who can join your meetings.
Video meetings are usually a valuable part of a modern collaboration session. It makes sense to have collaboration functionality built into your meeting tools if you’re going to need to access these features anyway. Look for services like digital whiteboarding, screen and file sharing, and messaging. You might also want to be able to record meetings or transcribe conversations in real-time.
Users of a video conferencing service should be able to access the tool whenever they choose, from any device or platform. The ideal service will work across all devices, from smartphones to tablets. It’s also worth looking for something that can easily work with a range of devices, like headphones, microphones, and webcams, for your meeting rooms.
Depending on the size of your business, you might need access to more video conferencing licenses and users as you grow. Your ideal solution should be able to scale to include as many meeting participants as you need. You may even want to look for a service which comes for access to meetings and webinar functionality in one.
Our ideal pick overall is Zoho Meeting, thanks to its flexibility, affordability, and ease of use. However, the right choice for you will depend on a number of different factors, including your budget, and what you’ll be using your video conferencing service for.
There are various different options on the market for a range of budgets. Some meeting conferencing software is available for free, but there will be limitations on how many users you can support with this kind of software.
Outside of video conferencing software, you’ll also need access to hardware for your video conferencing sessions, such as a webcam and a microphone.
As video conferencing continues to rise in popularity, there are plenty of fantastic tools for today’s business leaders to choose from. Our ideal overall choice is Zoho Meeting, but the right pick for you will depend on various factors. If you’re looking for a more flexible range of advanced features with a simple interface, Zoom could be the ideal choice.
If you’re interested in enterprise-level meetings, you can look at Cisco Webex, with it’s state of the art scalability and incredible security. Alternatively, consider Microsoft Teams if you’re already using the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. If you’re in search of something simple you can use for free, Google Meet is likely to be the choice for you.
Let us know your experiences using the best video conferencing tools in the comments below!
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