Video calling and meeting is undoubtedly the best option to stay connected during the novel Coronavirus pandemic period. For this reason, most of the office employees are currently using Zoom app for video conferencing.
However, the Zoom is in the news these days for other reasons. The company is not clear about their security and many more people are concerned about how the company is doing with the data they collect.
What is Zoom?
Video calling has emerged tremendously with the introduction of latest and user-friendly apps with more features. Zoom is a very popular name in making video calls, handling webinars and very huge group conversations and meetings online.
Advantages: Zoom is popular for clear video calling with an automatic adjustment feature. The service is top-notch for superb audio-quality, conference calls with 10+ members, easy screen sharing, and scheduling option with calendar support.
Disadvantages: Based on recent performance findings, Zoom is facing difficulty in delivering lag-free buffering due to high traffic than normal. Also, there is an issue about Zoom secretly sending data to Facebook is circulating online.
Best Zoom Alternatives
Usually, every app in features and pricing wise differ from one another. To suggest the best of the best video conferencing and online meeting app, I’ve selected the best Zoom alternatives in this article. Each app has its own set of unique features, subscription plans and other features.
1. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a powerful and feature-rich alternative to the Zoom. It is a power-packed web conferencing suite with many features. It is a perfect video calling app designed for business people, teams, with a clean user-interface.
You can make a video call to your team members at the same time you can access Office 365 documents in real-time. The Microsoft ecosystem works flawlessly in delivering the result. Microsoft Teams is best suitable when you have more number of participants in your web conferences. The program allows a whopping number of 250 participants and it can handle up to 10,000 teammates in a web seminar.
Microsoft called it a hub for teamwork online. You chat from anywhere in the world and perfect companion if you are in work from home mode. The collaboration features the main asset of the program. All the essential features are packed in the program and perfectly works for team meetings. The plans start at $8.25 per user/month and available for both Home and Business users.
- We Liked: Features, Voicemail, Office 365 integration, screen share, Calls between team users.
- We Disliked: It can only be used as part of Office 365.
2. Google Hangouts Meet
Google Hangouts doesn’t need any introduction. It is a product from the house of Google. Hangouts Meet is a tough competitor to the Zoom and it has plenty of features to enrich your online conference experience.
Currently, it is available only for G Suite users and you can join the online meetings pretty easily than other programs. You can create a meeting and share the link with the participants to join the conference. The participants don’t need to create or join the Google account wherever they are.
Hangout Meets is best for business conferences and webinars because you can take advantage of the Google business tools like Drive, Docs and calendar support.
- We Liked: Up to 250 participants, Google ecosystem apps.
- We Disliked: No free plan.
3. Skype
If you want a hassle-free experience with plenty of features, then meet Skype. It is a bit old competitor to Zoom, however, it manages to compete with the other alternatives. Skype is an attractive and convenient video conferencing app designed for everyone to use. Whether you are a business person or a student communicating with the tutor, Skype will help you to complete your online conferencing task smoothly.
Skype supports HD video calling with call recording and live subtitles feature which is a bonus attraction for different language speaking people. Along with good calling quality, it has additional features like screen sharing, private conversations, and multi-platform support.
If you have a group of people for a conference, it can handle up to 50 members without any time limit. Whereas Zoom has a 40-min limit if the call contains more than 3 participants.
- We Liked: Up to 50 participants, Hassle-free setup.
- We Disliked: No free plan.
4. Cisco Webex
Cisco Webx is a very popular name among the videoconferencing apps and it has plenty of call making and productive abilities. Since it is a business-oriented platform the Webx is most suitable for running videoconferences for companies with a large number of participants.
The free plan is enough to make a videoconferencing with 50-100 participants and whereas the paid plan will add additional features like recording calls, video file download, cloud storage, customizable meeting room links and many more.
Cisco Webex free plan is best suited for small companies who want to cost cut in expenses. Also, the members don’t need to create an account joining the meeting which is a great attractive option when the participant’s number is large.
- We Liked: Unlimited time for each meeting.
- We Disliked: None.
5. Zoho Meeting
Zoho is very popular for its range of products designed for business people and organizations. The company is popular for making quality software, CRM’s and office products at affordable prices. Zoho got an entry in the best Zoom alternatives list by its Zoho Meeting. It is the best solution to organize web conferences real-time with business tools like documents creation and sharing.
Apart from serious business tools, it also has basic video conferencing features like screen sharing, audio calls and project collaboration. Zoho Meeting supports up to 100 participants at a time without installing the standard Zoho software. With an invitation link, you can join calls and web conferences through a browser like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or any other supportive browser.
- We Liked: Up to 100 participants, Hassle-free setup.
- We Disliked: None.
Top Zoom Alternatives
These are the best Zoom alternatives for video calling and web conferencing. Each company is offering a unique set of feature in their video calling tools. Check each feature of the program and pick the best one which matches your needs. Based on your requirements, you can select the best conferencing service from the list.