At this time, we have to stay at home on lockdown. Keep calm and work remotely. Choose the best video conference tool to stay connected with your colleagues, host online business meetings and make HD audio and video calls. These services are of great help to share files, record online meetings with searchable transcripts and store them locally or in the cloud. Read the article and find the best video conferencing software for your business needs.
Special features
A number of participants
Price
Collaboration tools
Supported OS
Zoom Meetings
It's a feature-rich video conferencing service and one of the acknowledged leaders for effective remote business meetings. It's available for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android devices.
Create one-on-one chats or group rooms for up to 1000 participants to make HD audio and video calls, host webinars and hold training and other online events. Share multiple desktops with teammates, collaborate on your projects using interactive whiteboarding tools and book rooms using Google Calendar or Office 365. Moreover, scale videos to every room, browse your history and customize A/V systems for your devices.
Select a meeting plan for your business: use this software with limited functionality for free to host personal meetings (100 participants, 40-minute limit) or choose the Pro plan with the extended functionality for $14.99 per month for small business. Apply the Business plan for $19.99 monthly to join 300 participants and the Enterprise plan for 1000 participants.
Create one-on-one chats or group rooms for up to 1000 participants to make HD audio and video calls, host webinars and hold training and other online events. Share multiple desktops with teammates, collaborate on your projects using interactive whiteboarding tools and book rooms using Google Calendar or Office 365. Moreover, scale videos to every room, browse your history and customize A/V systems for your devices.
Select a meeting plan for your business: use this software with limited functionality for free to host personal meetings (100 participants, 40-minute limit) or choose the Pro plan with the extended functionality for $14.99 per month for small business. Apply the Business plan for $19.99 monthly to join 300 participants and the Enterprise plan for 1000 participants.
Conference call
Features
- Make calls among 100 participants within 40 minutes for free.
- HD video and audio support.
- Share 49 videos on one screen.
- Create rooms with 1000 participants.
- Share files.
Advantages
- Make one-on-one calls.
- Searchable history with a 10-year archive.
- Schedule meetings via Outlook, Gmail and iCalc.
- Collaborate with colleagues using interactive whiteboaring tools.
- Scale videos to every chat.
Disadvantages
- Echoes during a call.
- Issues with receiving email messages.
GoToMeeting
Choose this service to start and attend online meetings from your iOS or Android phone and customize the quality of your calls and images on the go. GoToMeeting is available for Windows and macOS as well.
Invite up to 250 participants (they don't need to have GoToMeeting accounts), schedule your meetings in Office 365 and Google Calendar and apply your webcam to simultaneously host HD calls with 25 webcams. Use voice commands and ask Siri to hold or join online events. Furthermore, generate custom links to attend meetings with just one click of the mouse, merge all slides from numerous presentations and convert them to PDFs.
Also, record your sessions, save them locally or in the cloud service with unlimited storage and process transcripts. Share your content in real time and allow your colleagues to make drawings and highlight important data. Create diagnostic reports and troubleshoot all technical issues as well.
Create an account and try this service free of charge for 14 days, then you have to pick a plan and purchase the software. The Professional plan enables you to invite 150 participants for €11.75 per month while the Business plan allows 250 participants for €14.33 per month.
Invite up to 250 participants (they don't need to have GoToMeeting accounts), schedule your meetings in Office 365 and Google Calendar and apply your webcam to simultaneously host HD calls with 25 webcams. Use voice commands and ask Siri to hold or join online events. Furthermore, generate custom links to attend meetings with just one click of the mouse, merge all slides from numerous presentations and convert them to PDFs.
Also, record your sessions, save them locally or in the cloud service with unlimited storage and process transcripts. Share your content in real time and allow your colleagues to make drawings and highlight important data. Create diagnostic reports and troubleshoot all technical issues as well.
Create an account and try this service free of charge for 14 days, then you have to pick a plan and purchase the software. The Professional plan enables you to invite 150 participants for €11.75 per month while the Business plan allows 250 participants for €14.33 per month.
Settings
Features
- Control the quality of calls and images.
- Invite up to 3000 users.
- Host conferences with 25 HD active cameras.
- Schedule events.
- Apply voice commands.
- Run diagnostics checks.
Advantages
- End-to-end AES encryption and standard-based cryptography.
- Start HD conferences from mobile devices.
- Join events without registering accounts.
- Merge presentations and convert them to PDF.
- Share your screen and collaborate with teammates.
Disadvantages
- You have to install GoToWebinar to host webinars.
- No polling options.
- You have to register an account to download the software.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a good pick for people who constantly work with Microsoft Office documents and have to remotely collaborate on Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. This software works on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android devices.
Access, share and modify Office docs with your colleagues. Create team chats or send one-to-one messages and attach funny stickers, GIFs and emojis. Invite up to 10,000 participants to video conferences by sending a link, select calling features for your business needs and choose among 4 calling plans (Teams calling, Phone System, Calling Plan, or Direct Routing) to make conference calls of high quality.
Extend the functionality of the service and integrate Microsoft or third-party add-ons or design your own custom apps. Schedule live events in Outlook, record meetings, browse transcripts and take notes in the same meeting thread.
Make use of the free version of Microsoft Teams for small businesses and organize meetings with 300 people. If you need extra functionality, select among 3 business editions starting from $8.25 per month.
Access, share and modify Office docs with your colleagues. Create team chats or send one-to-one messages and attach funny stickers, GIFs and emojis. Invite up to 10,000 participants to video conferences by sending a link, select calling features for your business needs and choose among 4 calling plans (Teams calling, Phone System, Calling Plan, or Direct Routing) to make conference calls of high quality.
Extend the functionality of the service and integrate Microsoft or third-party add-ons or design your own custom apps. Schedule live events in Outlook, record meetings, browse transcripts and take notes in the same meeting thread.
Make use of the free version of Microsoft Teams for small businesses and organize meetings with 300 people. If you need extra functionality, select among 3 business editions starting from $8.25 per month.
Main Window
Features
- Hold online events with 300 people for free.
- Organize large-scale events for 10,000 people.
- Collaborate on projects using MS Office and SharePoint Online tools.
- Muffle background noise.
- Virtually raise you hand to catch the host's attention.
Advantages
- Full integration with Office 365.
- Advanced security capabilities.
- Take notes during sessions.
- Customize calling feature for your needs.
- Share up to 1TB per user.
Disadvantages
- Inconvenient for non-Office users.
- You have to create an account.
- Server connection issues.
- It doesn't support more than 4 simultaneous videos.
Cisco WebEx Meetings
WebEx allows you to host large-scale online events, run webinars and live training. This tool is suitable for Windows, macOS, iOS or Android devices.
Invite 100,000 people, get access to a list of participants and send them private or public messages during meetings. Learn facts about people and read info about their backgrounds and companies. Also, customize video layouts, share the whole screen or one Word or PPT file and play animations and videos from your desktop.
Get an email with the MP4 file of the recorded meeting when it's over. Moreover, book your events in Office 365, Google Calendar and Outlook. Launch sessions from Slack, Microsoft Teams and Salesforce. Draw your ideas on an interactive whiteboard.
It offers a generous free plan with extended functionality to organize meetings for up to 50 participants within 40 minutes but you have to register an account for that. For more features, purchase paid plans starting with $13.50 per month.
Invite 100,000 people, get access to a list of participants and send them private or public messages during meetings. Learn facts about people and read info about their backgrounds and companies. Also, customize video layouts, share the whole screen or one Word or PPT file and play animations and videos from your desktop.
Get an email with the MP4 file of the recorded meeting when it's over. Moreover, book your events in Office 365, Google Calendar and Outlook. Launch sessions from Slack, Microsoft Teams and Salesforce. Draw your ideas on an interactive whiteboard.
It offers a generous free plan with extended functionality to organize meetings for up to 50 participants within 40 minutes but you have to register an account for that. For more features, purchase paid plans starting with $13.50 per month.
Main Window
Features
- 25 video cameras in one grid view.
- Meet 100,000 people in one place.
- View info about every participant.
- Share the whole screen or just a selected part.
- Get MP4 recordings of finished sessions via email.
Advantages
- Almost no video and voice lags.
- VoIP support.
- Collaborate on a whiteboard.
- Launch meetings from rivals.
- Manage video layouts.
Disadvantages
- The Call Me plan goes with extra cost.
- One host per license.
- Payment details are required when creating an account.
ClickMeeting
Showcase your product demos, organize paid and automated webinars and hold online courses and training. Use ClickMeeting on different platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android.
Demonstrate educational materials, draw on the whiteboard, create polls for tests and stream live events on Facebook and YouTube. Enhance the functionality of your account using third-party plugins and view stats on the webinar timeline. Furthermore, customize your webinar room, add your logo and change brand colors.
Enable waiting rooms with an agenda where you present your course, create customized invitations and post them on social media. Show slides and illustrate your ideas with drawing tools, shape and text boxes. Have your chats automatically translated into 52 languages as well.
Register an account and host online meetings with 5 people or webinars for 25 users free of charge for seven days and then choose your plan according to your needs: purchase Live Plan for 25 audio and 4 video feeds at $25 per month or buy Automated Plan for live, automated and on-demand webinars at $40 per month.
Demonstrate educational materials, draw on the whiteboard, create polls for tests and stream live events on Facebook and YouTube. Enhance the functionality of your account using third-party plugins and view stats on the webinar timeline. Furthermore, customize your webinar room, add your logo and change brand colors.
Enable waiting rooms with an agenda where you present your course, create customized invitations and post them on social media. Show slides and illustrate your ideas with drawing tools, shape and text boxes. Have your chats automatically translated into 52 languages as well.
Register an account and host online meetings with 5 people or webinars for 25 users free of charge for seven days and then choose your plan according to your needs: purchase Live Plan for 25 audio and 4 video feeds at $25 per month or buy Automated Plan for live, automated and on-demand webinars at $40 per month.
Hold webinars
Features
- Host meetings with 5 people or webinars with 25 users for free.
- Display tutorials of your products.
- Organize different types of webinars.
- Demonstrate materials.
- Stream on Facebook or YouTube.
Advantages
- Ideal for virtual webinars.
- Get more features with plugins.
- Personalize webinar rooms.
- Draw on the whiteboard.
- Translate chats into 52 languages.
Disadvantages
- Limited number of attendees.
- XLS and CSV import issues.
- An account is required to start for free.
Conclusion
All these video conferencing tools provide a wide range of features. Your choice depends on your needs: if you need to share Office documents, use Microsoft Teams.
GoToMeeting is a perfect pick in case you need to make HD audio and video calls from your mobile phone.
Download Zoom Meetings with decent collaboration and interactive whiteboarding tools.
Cisco WebEx Meetings is a must for you if you need to host large-scale virtual events and view the info about your participants.
With ClickMeeting, demonstrate your products' demos and hold webinars and online courses.
What service do you prefer? Please share your choice in comments and we'll add it to our list.
I want to use Zoom Client for Meeting in order to join the meetings.
Henry D. Mdlalose, admmorad