For the sake of transparency, the Reviews.org team uses Zoom for its video conferencing. But since we use Zoom, we know all the reasons why people start to consider alternatives. Thankfully, we haven’t been hacked mid-meeting, but we have had technical issues and have been suddenly kicked off meetings. The Reviews.org team belongs to the over 25% of people who currently use video conference software for their jobs, it feels safe to assume that number will only increase.1 Let’s take a look at the best Zoom alternatives that might be a better fit for you. Along with having the largest capacity for meeting participants, Zoom is fairly simple to use (although my oldest brother can’t figure it out), streams reliably, and offers a free plan to boot. Sure, that free plan will end your call automatically after 40 minutes automatically, but you can always just start a new one. In the meantime, there are plenty of other video conferencing apps that don’t have Zoom’s rocky security history and can even offer more value depending on your situation. Conversation on Skype around the 40-minute mark “So, anyways, I actually ended up watching a few Joe Exotic from Tiger King music videos, and they’re terrible.” Conversation on Zoom around the 40-minute mark “So, anyways, I actually ended up watching a few Joe Exotic from Tiger King music videos, and …” (Zoom shuts down the meeting) The biggest difference between basic Skype and basic Zoom is your call allowance time. Zoom allows for 40 minutes of video conferencing for free, while Skype will let you talk for up to four hours at a time, giving you plenty of time to explain the nuance of your Joe Exotic music video takes. Perhaps the coolest thing about the Google integration is that you can save recordings directly in your Google Drive. This gives you plenty of space to save recorded conversations and easily share them out with fellow Gmail users. If you already use Google programs for your daily life, then Google Hangouts makes a lot of sense as a Zoom alternative. Below is a screenshot of the security features offered by the Business version (on the left) and the Enterprise version (on the right). Bundling Microsoft Teams with the other Microsoft Suite programs is either an awesome thing, or it’s something that will just go to waste. If you regularly use Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and other Office programs over their Google counterparts, then getting Microsoft Team bundled with everything else is an amazing deal. If you won’t even use the Microsoft Suite of programs, then you could find better value with Zoom, Google Hangouts, or Skype. Imagine you wanted to organize a family conference call, but you know that grandma and grandpa probably couldn’t figure out how to set up a Zoom conference call. You can set up a Zoho conference call and just tell grandma and grandpa to click the link or enter the phone number you email to them. They can join in the call without having to download anything or create an account. The webinar features include registration moderation, international dial-in numbers, and will even give you detailed reports about how people are engaging with your webinar. It basically takes all of the complicated out of hosting a webinar series. Here are all the advanced security measures that Wire offers in its Enterprise plan to protect your conversations:
SAML 2.0 integration SCIM provisioning integrations Wire API for services integrations Premium Support with SLA
For those of you who have no idea what those things are, rest assured they’re the latest in internet security. That’s why robotics labs, non-profits, and other technology companies like Intel use Wire for their Zoom alternative. For having so many security features, it’s pretty impressive that Wire only costs $5 or $9 a month. You’d think that it would cost double that for the amount of stuff you get. You just have to live with the small participant capacity.
Slack: Slack has a built-in video conferencing capability, but it maxes out at 15 participants at a time. If you already use Slack, it’s super easy to make 1-on-1 calls. Discord: This communication software was made with gamers in mind, but it works as a free video conferencing platform as well. You can have 10 video conference participants at a time. FaceTime: This is the built-in video conferencing app on Apple devices. You can only FaceTime with other people with Apple products. On the plus side, FaceTime allows for a whopping 32 video conference participants at a time. WhatsApp: As opposed to FaceTime, WhatsApp will work on both Android and Apple phones. You can have video conferences with up to 16 people at a time. GoToMeeting: GoToMeeting video conferencing has all the features you would expect from a top-of-the-line platform, and especially shines when it comes to hosting meetings from your phone. We just wish it was a few dollars less expensive. FreeConference: FreeConference does offer a free-tiered plan, but you only can get five participants at a time for video conferencing. There are paid plans that include more features, including a huge number of international call-in numbers.
But if you share your internet connection or like to watch Netflix while you keep your camera off and listen to your meeting, you’ll need to look at 100 Mbps plans or thereabouts instead. (And we won’t tell about the Netflix.) If your well-made points constantly get reduced to static on video conferences, or if your stream tends to freeze you while making unflattering faces, you may want to upgrade your internet connection. We’ll help you start your search by checking for internet plans in your zip code.
