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Just like choosing a new Netflix show to binge, you need to first carefully assess the current situation and make wise decisions. Choosing the right web conferencing tools is a crucial step for your business. And not every video calling app out there would be suitable for your business needs.

For example, video calling tools like Google Duo and FaceTime are primarily used for personal video chat. On the other hand, Google Meet previously known as Hangout and Microsoft Team s are best suited for group video calling. Previously known as Google Hangout , Google Meet is a video conferencing platform from the folks at Google.

The app is completely free if your team already has a G Suite or Google Workspace account. While Google Meet is mainly geared towards business users , individuals can also use this video conferencing and collaboration tool to video chat with their family. On top of that, teachers can use Meet to create a virtual classroom. Google Meet has two pricing options:. Microsoft Teams is a cloud-based group messaging platform for Office users. Microsoft Teams offers three pricing options:.

Livestorm is a video engagement platform that makes it easy to manage every part of your meetings, webinars, or video conferences. Livestorm has three pricing options:.

Zoho Meeting is an open-source video conferencing tool that lets you host video conferences. It protects user information and meeting privacy with its advanced end-to-end encryption technology. Zoho Meetings has three pricing options:. It uses several encryption techniques to maintain the security of its users.

What makes it different from other video chat apps? GoToMeeting offers two pricing plans :. Skype is a popular video conferencing tool primarily used for personal video chat. Pricing also came into account when determining our best list. When deciding which Zoom alternative to use, first consider what actual needs you have. For example, someone simply wanting to talk to a handful of people on a casual basis may find a free option is the most practical and cost-effective while providing all of the necessary tools that would be required.

However, if you're planning to use a Zoom alternative for professional or business videoconferencing, especially with a large number of people and on a regular basis, then you will probably want to look to the higher-end options for the more advanced tools that are included.

We've also featured the best webinar software opens in new tab. Anna is a freelance copywriter with extensive knowledge on the technology sector. She writes about a variety of topics for TechRadar including web hosting, website builders and cybersecurity. She also has a knack for writing deals, guides and versus articles. Tech Radar. North America. Reasons to avoid - Zoom allows for larger group calls.

Cisco Webex. Reasons to avoid - Many features are paywalled. Google Meet. Best if you need a video-chat tool that's free, easy to use, and accessible. This year, Teams announced the rollout of a new feature called Microsoft Viva, which is an employee experience platform that interacts with each individual as opposed to having static elements for everyone.

This means that each person will only see things that relate to their job role. On Teams, you can set your personal status to let others know if you are available, on a call, or away from your workstation. This means that you can appear to be unavailable even if you are online so you can quickly turn on your computer to get important information from your Teams without alerting anyone that you are online.

While it is easier to use Microsoft Teams on a Windows10 laptop or desktop, it can be downloaded like Zoom as an Android or Google application and works fine even when you are on the go.

Its video conferencing function also comes with a screen sharing ability and a chat function that lets you share information during the course of deliberation. It is important to note that Skype for Business will soon be integrated into Teams and will cease to exist afterward. Microsoft Skype is a popular Zoom alternative that needs no introduction. It is often referred to as the department store of communication because it provides group video calling, text messaging, and calls to standard phones.

In fact, just recently, Microsoft rolled out their new chatbots features in Skype which is powered by artificial intelligence. You can use Skype whether on your Android or iOS phones and laptops, and it is even available on accessories such as Android wears and Apple watches. Getting started on the app is easy. Simply navigate to the homepage to download Skype. Then run the installation and set up the click-to-call function in your browser to enable call out from any web page.

Once you have installed Skype, create a new account and sign in to Skype. You can add a profile picture and start using the application immediately. Skype allows you to search your existing contact list to find people who are already on the platform and you can also search for someone by entering their name or phone number. Currently, it is clean and simple with a picture on the top left side and four buttons below to allow you to perform different tasks.

As on Teams, you can set your status on Skype to allow other users to know if you are available, away, or offline. This is a testament to the top-notch voice and video service that the company has maintained over the years.

Just like Zoom, you can conduct video sessions with multiple participants on Skype, albeit the free version does not allow you to add more than 10 participants. The unique thing about Skype is that you can add participants that consist of Skype app users and calls from the telephone system as part of the group call, although the telephone callers will join as call only.

Skype provides you with end-to-end encryption, so you can be sure that your communication with another user is private between the two of you and the service also provides live subtitles to foster clearer communication.

It is quite different from the old Hangouts chat that merely existed as a chat app. This Hangouts application is a full-blown message space that is in the same line as other collaboration applications such as Microsoft Teams and Slack. However, it is only available via a business G Suite account. Just like Zoom, you can use Google Hangouts for one on one calls and group video calls for up to 10 users at once and is a good option to have if you are already paying for the G Suite account.

Its interface is quite different from the other collaboration apps that you will come across. It contains all posts and replies so that they will stay grouped together. For example, you can share a link to a Google document to your Hangouts chat, and Google will automatically assume that you want that document to be accessible by everyone in the room.

However, you can change this and delete the link altogether if you no longer want it. Also, you can access your Hangouts rooms and direct messages right from your Gmail. This feature is especially useful to Hangouts users that often work out of their emails. You can keep the Hangouts app open as a pop out and it will look exactly like the old Hangouts that used to be a chat application.

Google Hangouts is a decent tool that offers you the basic features that other Zoom alternatives offer but lacks certain distinct features such as auto caption, screen recording, and other integrations. Nextiva is an all-in-one tool to help you communicate with everyone—from team members to business partners to customers.

Unify your video and audio conferencing, team messaging, email, file sharing , and other internal and external communications all in the Nextiva app. This is a great solution for businesses with employees in the office, remote, or on the go. Source: Skype. You can get on a video call one-on-one or up to people for free. Source: Webex. The leading video meeting platform for Fortune companies , Webex by Cisco integrates your meetings, messaging, and contact center on one platform.

Stellar improvements include more integrations e. Plus, you never have to worry about your audio echoing. This smart video calling tool even automatically pans and zooms to keep you in frame.

If only we could remove our noisy background in video calls… Oh wait, we can with Google Meet formerly Hangouts Meet! Recent updates for premium plans include moving participants automatically from Breakout rooms, hosting meetings with up to participants, and translated captions.

Source: BlueJeans.

     

Best Zoom alternatives of | TechRadar.

 

Skip to content. Software Alternatives. Table of Contents hide. Best for hybrid-remote teams: Around. Best for team communication: Slack. Ideal for Microsoft users: Microsoft Teams. Best for unified communications: Nextiva. Best for casual video calls: Skype. Perfect for enterprises: Webex.

Best for large meetings: GoToMeeting. Ideal for GSuite users: Google Meet. Best for meeting productivity: BlueJeans. Best for audience engagement: webMOBI. Zoom is a remote conferencing service that combines video conferencing, online meetings, chat, and mobile collaboration. It gained popularity over the last few months because it permits up to participants in a video call. This large limit is perfect as people can use it for large team video calls. That people worldwide are working from home and humans like to stay connected shows how essential this technology is.

Zoom alternatives like Whatsapp , for example, only lets you add four people in a video call. Skype allows up to 50 participants. So, Zoom became a perfect choice for large business meetings and online studies. There's some coverage recently that Zoom doesn't have standard end-to-end encryption, and the service itself can access unencrypted video and audio from meetings.

Like many of you, I have also been using Zoom as a solution, but recently l became aware of Zoom's privacy issues and the fact that hackers are taking advantage of the whole situation. Consequently, I decided to explore Zoom alternatives for remote meetings and video calls. One of our goals at StartupStash is to give a stage for more startup tools and cool projects, so I gathered a list of 23 Zoom alternatives. Some of those tools are very popular, some you might never have heard of before.

This list is for individuals looking for a solution to connect with their team, people who work remotely, and friends and family who happen to be in-home quarantine and want to catch up. Note: Some of the Zoom alternatives in this list might be less secure than Zoom.

However, as they aren't as popular, their security concerns haven't been publicized. Perhaps cyber experts didn't check them as carefully as they are checked Zoom. Task management, business chat, and video calls are easier with Hibox. With it, you can start a video conference call with your team with one simple click, without hassle. However, Hibox is not only a Zoom alternative, as it does a fantastic job when it comes to teamwork and collaboration, allowing you to keep track of all the projects your team is working on and also increase productivity.

It comes with powerful features and capabilities like the AI assistant and the possibility to set up integrations with popular apps like Gmail and Google Drive, which makes it an excellent solution for keeping all the information in one single place. Google Duo is a video chat mobile app. Even if Google developed it, I first heard about Duo while researching the alternatives for this article.

However, it turns out that Google Duo is designed for smaller group video calls, as it allows up to 12 participants, which might be a considerable downside for bigger teams. Even so, compared to Google Meet, there are some significant differences that make Google Duo a powerful solution.

The other important feature is about its security, as the video calls in Google Duo are end to end encrypted while the Google Meet ones are not. You can read more about it here. Pricing: Free for everyone, forever.

Discord is another Zoom alternative that makes it easier to communicate with your team over voice, video, and text. For a long time, I thought Discord is only for gamers as a gamer, myself. However, I recently discovered that the video call option is being used by millions of people worldwide. When digging about it, I found out that there is a difference between the live chat and the video calls when it comes to limitations on Discord. Their live chat option is more oriented to webinars, CEO announcements, class teaching, etc.

Riot is another excellent alternative for secure calls that allows you to organize rooms around your team, friends, or community. With Riot, you can chat, share files, add widgets, make video or voice calls, and also hold conferences. Additionally, as a user, you have the freedom to own your data by hosting your server.

What makes it unique is the fact that it shares your screen once you start a call, which can be extremely useful when you need to discuss with your teammates on a specific subject. However, this very benefit that makes it attractive to Microsoft customers is a deal-breaker for non-Microsoft users. Teams video conferencing abilities together with a host of other features make it a top choice for organizations looking to collaborate over Microsoft products.

This year, Teams announced the rollout of a new feature called Microsoft Viva, which is an employee experience platform that interacts with each individual as opposed to having static elements for everyone. This means that each person will only see things that relate to their job role. On Teams, you can set your personal status to let others know if you are available, on a call, or away from your workstation.

This means that you can appear to be unavailable even if you are online so you can quickly turn on your computer to get important information from your Teams without alerting anyone that you are online.

While it is easier to use Microsoft Teams on a Windows10 laptop or desktop, it can be downloaded like Zoom as an Android or Google application and works fine even when you are on the go. Its video conferencing function also comes with a screen sharing ability and a chat function that lets you share information during the course of deliberation.

It is important to note that Skype for Business will soon be integrated into Teams and will cease to exist afterward. Microsoft Skype is a popular Zoom alternative that needs no introduction.

It is often referred to as the department store of communication because it provides group video calling, text messaging, and calls to standard phones. In fact, just recently, Microsoft rolled out their new chatbots features in Skype which is powered by artificial intelligence. You can use Skype whether on your Android or iOS phones and laptops, and it is even available on accessories such as Android wears and Apple watches.

Getting started on the app is easy. Simply navigate to the homepage to download Skype. Then run the installation and set up the click-to-call function in your browser to enable call out from any web page. Once you have installed Skype, create a new account and sign in to Skype. You can add a profile picture and start using the application immediately.

Skype allows you to search your existing contact list to find people who are already on the platform and you can also search for someone by entering their name or phone number. Currently, it is clean and simple with a picture on the top left side and four buttons below to allow you to perform different tasks. As on Teams, you can set your status on Skype to allow other users to know if you are available, away, or offline. This is a testament to the top-notch voice and video service that the company has maintained over the years.

Just like Zoom, you can conduct video sessions with multiple participants on Skype, albeit the free version does not allow you to add more than 10 participants. The unique thing about Skype is that you can add participants that consist of Skype app users and calls from the telephone system as part of the group call, although the telephone callers will join as call only. Skype provides you with end-to-end encryption, so you can be sure that your communication with another user is private between the two of you and the service also provides live subtitles to foster clearer communication.

It is quite different from the old Hangouts chat that merely existed as a chat app. This Hangouts application is a full-blown message space that is in the same line as other collaboration applications such as Microsoft Teams and Slack. However, it is only available via a business G Suite account.

Just like Zoom, you can use Google Hangouts for one on one calls and group video calls for up to 10 users at once and is a good option to have if you are already paying for the G Suite account. Its interface is quite different from the other collaboration apps that you will come across.

It contains all posts and replies so that they will stay grouped together. For example, you can share a link to a Google document to your Hangouts chat, and Google will automatically assume that you want that document to be accessible by everyone in the room. However, you can change this and delete the link altogether if you no longer want it.

Also, you can access your Hangouts rooms and direct messages right from your Gmail. This feature is especially useful to Hangouts users that often work out of their emails.

Discord recently raised the limit for Go Live video calls from 10 users to Download Discord for free. The open-source video conferencing service allows you to host end-to-end encrypted video meetings and calls for up to people. Participants don't need to sign up for a login; they can access the meetings through a link or a dial-in via web browsers, desktop clients or mobile apps.

Zoho has even provided a handy chart opens in new tab comparing its product to Zoom. Zoho Meeting offers an array of meeting tools, like screen sharing, the ability to record calls and moderation you can mute participants, for example.

And you can easily pull in documents, spreadsheets and presentations since the service is integrated with Zoho's Office suite. But note that there's a different pricing plan for webinars, which may make it too costly.

One of the first video conferencing services out there, GoToMeeting is a feature-packed Zoom alternative. The entry-level plan allows for participants, while the enterprise plan can include up to 3, GoToMeeting offers all the standard tools, like the ability to record meetings and share your screen.

You can also have multiple meeting facilitators. Tom's Guide Tom's Guide. Kelly Woo opens in new tab.