But which video conferencing platform is worth your commitment? You don’t want to end up like my friend Drew, who hitched his wagon to Zune instead of the iPod back in the early 2000s. Let’s take a look at the best video conferencing apps. The most important number to look at is latency, which refers to the amount of time it takes for you to send and receive video data. So if I make a thumbs up gesture on a video conferencing call, it’ll take 17 milliseconds for the other meeting participants to see it. If they make a thumbs up back to me, it’ll take 24 milliseconds for me to see it. Okay, let’s put those wild numbers in context. The old rule of thumb used to be anything above 250 milliseconds was unacceptable, according to Cisco.2 Zoom has crushed that old expectation and consistently gets the most out of your internet. So you will pay more for Zoom, and get slightly less than what some other conferencing apps offer. The artist formerly known as Google Hangout has been rebranded about four different times in the recent past. This is how one Google representative laid it out on Twitter: Our advice: don’t worry so much about the name. Now let’s back to the best video conferencing apps review. As opposed to Skype or Zoom, you won’t have to hunt down people’s contact information with Meet because chances are, they’re already plugged into your Google contacts list. All you have to do is hit the Hangouts button with one of your contacts and you can begin a conference call. To give you an idea, 1 TB allows you to save 500 hours of 1080p video. Woah.
Record and save video meetings to Google DriveLive-streaming meetings with up to 100,000 viewersA maximum of 500 meeting attendees, plus attendance tracking, and noise cancellation
The Enterprise suite also gets you extra security and admin features, like data loss prevention, access transparency, and endpoint management. If you’re new to Google, then committing to Google Meet as your video conferencing app of choice will be a headache starting up. You’ll need to track down email addresses and familiarize yourself with the tools. Likewise, if the people you’re trying to video conference with don’t use Google, then you’ll have a hard time linking them into the conversation. For some people, that’s like getting a free shake with your burger and french fries. If you already love Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and other MS software, then getting Microsoft Teams bundled in there is an awesome bonus.
Webinar hosting 1 TB of file sharing Meeting scheduling Strong security measures Atendee registration and reporting tools
Source: Microsoft The Essentials package doesn’t come with the Office apps. The Basic package comes with the Microsoft web app versions of Word, Powerpoint, and Excel, and the Standard package comes with the full downloadable versions of those programs. For example, I am a committed Google Doc user, as evidenced by the fact I’m currently writing this in a Google Doc. Transferring all my files to Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel just isn’t an option at this point. By extension, that makes Microsoft Teams not a great fit for me. If you also use Google programs religiously, then Microsoft Teams might be too big of a transition. If it’s constantly a struggle to get everyone you want on the same conference call, Zoho will certainly alleviate that process. Let’s be honest, there’s just no way my Mom is figuring out how to join a Zoom call. Source: Zoho What you pay for the webinar support depends on how many attendees you plan on having. Here’s how the pricing breaks down: Zoho also comes with a free plan, or you can sign up for a 14-day free trial of its paid Meeting or Webinar plans. But we get the feeling that Zoho was built for business and folks who want to host webinars, not so much for the casual user that wants to conference with family and friends.
Slack: Slack comes with video conferencing automatically, but you can’t have more than 15 participants at a time. Slack shines when it comes to simple 1-on-1 video calls. Discord: Discord was made for gamers, but it works perfectly well as a stand-alone video conferencing app. It’s totally free, for starters, and you can have 10 video conference participants at a time. A friend and I have been using Discord to chat while playing Lord of the Rings Online, and it works beautifully while gaming. FaceTime: FaceTime supports a surprising 32 video conference participants at a time, but everybody on the video conference call needs to be using an Apple device. WhatsApp: WhatsApp allows for 16 participants on a video conference call at a time. It works on both Android and Apple devices. Wire: Wire is an up-and-coming video conferencing platform that’s fully committed to security. It currently only allows for four participants at a time during a video call, but it’s the most secure video conferencing platform we’ve seen. GoToMeeting: GoToMeeting’s overall video conferencing quality is just as good as Zoom and Google Hangouts, but its only downside is that it’s a bit more expensive than the other options. FreeConference: FreeConference isn’t quite as free as it sounds, but it does offer a free-tiered plan with a maximum of five participants at a time for video conferencing. You can opt for the not-so-free paid plans that include additional features, including support for tons of international call-in numbers.
Few things are more annoying than trying to have a productive meeting and having the stream cut out of every few seconds. Put in your ZIP code below and see what internet upgrade options you have in your area:
Monthly price Free option available Number of meeting participants Extra features
Skype is the second best, but it might be more fitting for some. If you don’t have more than 50 people joining you on your video call, you can download Skype for free.
