7 Best Video Conferencing Apps

video conferencing apps

Being a remote team, almost every task, collaboration, & meeting at ListenOnRepeat is done through video conferencing. Besides, 2020 and 2021 have been the years of remote work due to the Coronavirus outbreak and so will be 2022 with the release of new Omicron variant. Large and small scale businesses are now relying on video conferencing apps to drive their work online.

The management of teams at different locations can be difficult and employees can feel isolated, indirectly affecting their productivity. In these cases, video conferencing software can be of a great asset for higher productivity. We know the low-quality calls and interruptions can be annoying while conducting large webinars. Therefore, we have listed below the best video conferencing apps ranked from user experience & ratings that you can use to connect with your co-workers and host online meetings.

7 Best Video Conferencing Apps

Zoom

The Zoom Meeting holds the #1 position due to its affordability and free plans at a high-end performance. Recently, Zoom claimed to have jumped from 10 million active users to 300 million active users because of everyone working from home due to lockdown. A huge number of people are maintaining social distance and working remotely with Zoom Meetings. Zoom offers services of audio and video conferences with free and paid plans starting at $14.99 per month per host. The free plan can host up to 100 participants and purchasing an enterprise plus license can host up to 1000 participants.

Besides business meetings, people are now attending marriage ceremonies and funerals via Zoom. People worldwide are uploading their video clips from Zooms Meetings on social media and encouraging others to do the same to stay safe. Zoom is available in Windows, Android, Mac, and iOS.

Pros:

  • Free accounts
  • Competitive pricing
  • Easy to host meetings

Cons:

  • No toll-free dial-in numbers for US/UK
  • 40 min limit on free accounts

 

Google Meet

Available in Android, iOS, and as an extension in the Chrome browser, Google Meet is one of the best video conferencing apps that can host meetings for up to 250 people at a time. Previously known as Google Hangouts Meet, which was only available to premium G Suite customers, is now free for all. At the end of April 2020, Google announced to have made Google Meet free to use for everyone.

After being free, Google Meet is now in head to head competition with Zoom Meetings. It can be integrated with other Google apps making it easier to use Google products. You can now easily set up video chats and conferencing anytime, anywhere. With an easy interface, Google Meet provides end-to-end video encryption securing video & audio meetings.

Pros:

  • Free for everyone
  • Easy to use
  • Video Encryption

Cons:

  • Focuses on Google Products

 

Skype

Launched in 2003, Skype is one of the most powerful video conferencing apps that not only offer video calls but phone calls, text chats, and translations. Many small to mid-sized businesses prefer Skype over other video conferencing apps because of its affordability, free video calling, real-time translations, and inbound phone numbers.

Microsoft Skype is available on Android, Apple, and Windows and comes with Microsoft services. Skype now integrates AI with chatbots as an additional feature. Skype is free to use but if you want to call on someone’s phone via Skype in the US, the subscription plan starts at $2.99 per month. Microsoft Skype now has more than 40 million active users. At ListenOnRepeat we use Skype as our primary group chatting and in-house video-conferencing application.

Pros:

  • Free to use
  • Low-rate calls
  • Screen sharing

Cons:

  • Outbound SMS only

 

Slack

Slack is one of the most popular collaboration applications with integrated video conferencing capability. Slack is an organization deal which means it’s not much use for one to one video chatting. Slack is a very powerful tool that offers a wide range of features including adaptability, customizable features, and tools for collaboration.

Slack has only a limited number of features on its free version. The standard version of Slack is most suitable for small to medium-sized businesses and its pricing starts at $6.67 per month. The plus version of Slack is suitable for large businesses starting at $12.50 per month. The pricing of Slack is higher than other video conferencing and collaboration tools but the additional features make it unique and provide a friendly environment to the users.

Pros:

  • Customizable
  • Friendly Environment
  • Additional tools and features

Cons:

  • Expensive
  • Organization deal

 

GoToMeeting

GoToMeeting is a popular video conferencing software known for its easy and competitive services. The user interface is simple and creating a meeting is just a step away. You can create a meeting and share your custom URL for others to join the meeting room. The free plan is very generous and the paid plan starts at $14 per month, billed annually. However, most of the features are available in the free plan including meeting descriptions and commuter mode. The trial for GoToMeeting doesn’t require a credit card and you can still continue to use the free plan after the trial ends.

Pros:

  • Easy to set up meetings
  • Custom URLs
  • Simple UI

Cons:

  • Lacks advanced features

 

Cisco WebEx

Cisco WebEx is specially designed for large enterprise video conferencing and collaboration. It provides 2 major services: Web conferencing and voice calling and you can join meetings from any devices. The free version of Cisco WebEx allows up to 100 participants at a time and provides additional features of screen sharing, personal room, and high-quality video. It is available in Windows, iOS, Android, and Web browsers.

The free plan of Cisco WebEx gives you an unlimited number of meetings and call-in for audio, reliable video quality at 720p, and cloud storage of 1 GB. The paid plan for WebEx starts at $13.50 per month which is most suitable for small to mid-sized businesses. For large businesses, the Business plan can be purchased at $26.95 per month per host which offers hosts up to 200 participants with up to 10 GB cloud storage and optional add-ons.

Pros:

  • Generous Free Plan
  • Available in different platforms
  • Competitive Pricing

Cons:

  • Audio quality could be better

 

MyOwnConference

MyOwnConference is another webinar software that lets you easily host webinars and online conferences. You don’t have to download any software applications to host online meetings. Just upgrade your browser to the latest version and register to get started. The free plan of MyOwnConference offers you three attendees broadcast and storage of 500MB for 20 attendees. The paid plan starts at  €25 with storage of 5GB and 10 attendees broadcast with participants up to 10k attendees.

Pros:

  • Easy to Use
  • Life-long Free Plan
  • No Software to Download

Cons:

  • Requires High Internet Speed

Various other video conferencing apps are available including BigBlueButton, Lifesize, RingCentralVideo, Cyberlink U Meeting, Bluejeans Meetings, etc. You can choose anyone according to your business requirements and team size. The meetings are easy to create and you can share your short meeting links to anyone.

18 Shares:
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like