When it comes to web conferencing you’re looking for something that is versatile, user-friendly, and simple to use. There are many that will give up this information for free, but they want something in return. The truth of the matter is that not all conferencing tools are created equal. A lot of them are out there simply to make money under false pretenses. A web conferencing tool can be delivered with great promises in terms of features and price; the key, however, is to find one that actually delivers on these promises in a respectable manner.
To get you started, here are eight amazing web conferencing tools. Some are household names and others aren’t, but they all help teams meet face-to-face when they can’t be in the same room.
1. Zoom
Who should use it?
Zoom is ideal for anyone who works remotely or has remote team members. Zoom allows for simple, easy setup meetings or regular meetings in your personal meeting room. Quickly create and share a private meeting link with an individual or team and connect remote team members through video.
Top Free Features:
- Host up to 100 participants
- 1-1 and group meetings
- Unlimited meetings
- HD video and audio
- Screen sharing
- Scheduled meetings
- Private and group chat
- Host controls
Google Hangouts
Who should use it?
Google Hangouts is a simple way to connect with Google contacts (or those outside of your network) and can be used for personal or business reasons. Use this tool for individual conversations, team meetings, recorded demos, and more.
Top Free Features:
- Up to 25 video participants
- Video, audio, and messenger conversations
- Video meeting recordings
- Join calls using Google Calendar
- Screen sharing
2. ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting primarily markets itself as a webinar solution, but it works for video conferencing as well. It offers a satisfying user experience according to PC Magazine, and its webinar structure provides meeting controls that many competing video conferencing tools lack.
Special Features
One of ClickMeeting’s top features is a new webinar room, which uses WebRTC technology to optimize audio and video quality. This is in addition to a full set of meeting enhancement features, such as:
- Screen sharing
- Whiteboards
- Document sharing and markups
- Customizable feedback surveys
- Chat and Q&A
Using the chat function, webinar moderators or video conference hosts can screen comments, choose which to present and switch to private chat if necessary. You get the interactive element of chat without losing the trajectory of the conversation.
One of the most interesting parts of ClickMeeting is its Automatic Webinar feature. This feature makes it easy for even inexperienced webinar hosts to create a professional-looking event. Simply select the type of webinar and chat settings, then upload a recording and add extras like call-to-action buttons and audience surveys.
With Automatic Webinar, you can drag-and-drop the elements of your presentation to change the order or make any element longer or shorter. When the day of the webinar comes, the event will run automatically according to your plan.
Featured Use Cases
As you can see, ClickMeeting isn’t just for webinars. It’s also well-suited to:
- Product demos
- Sales pitches
- Online courses
- Employee training
- Virtual meetings
- Collaboration sessions
- Large-scale events
You can use ClickMeeting for any virtual event, though the price tag is a bit high for most casual users.
Customer Reviews
Like Zoom, ClickMeeting is a multi-award-winning web conferencing tool. Recent honors include:
- PC Magazine Editor’s Choice for webinars and presentations.
- Rated by PC Magazine as best for small businesses
- Gold Stevie winner for sales and customer service, 2019
- Five-Star Excellent Service 2019, verified by LiveChat
ClickMeeting also boasts high star ratings on sites like Capterra and G2.
Pricing
ClickMeeting has three options for paid accounts:
- Live: $30 monthly for live webinars and video conferencing, four video feeds and 25 audio feeds
- Automated: $45 monthly for automated, live and on-demand webinars, four video feeds and 25 audio feeds
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for scalable solutions
ClickMeeting allows you to have more than 25 attendees, but you’ll pay more per month. The cost depends on your attendee numbers, increasing to $309 per month for the Live plan or $359 per month for Automated. That level of support accepts up to 1,000 attendees.
At any pricing level, you can save up to 20% by paying annually.
3. GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting also appears on PC Magazine’s list of top web conferencing tools. It calls GoToMeeting “best for small businesses and consumers” and “one of the easiest conferencing services to use.”
There are no menus to navigate, and controls are visible on the main screen. Share your screen, keyboard or mouse with selected attendees, change the presenter and adjust your audio or video—all without leaving the call.
As a host, you can choose your personal meeting room URL, so there’s no need to find an access code and password like you would need to with Zoom. Starting the meeting is easy too—simply send out an invitation or click “Meet Now” to start a meeting immediately.
Updated Features
Like ClickMeeting, GoToMeeting released an updated interface in late 2019. The new version features several advanced features that keep this platform competitive with the others in its space. Those features include:
- Multistream HD video
- Live screen sharing
- Free call recording
- Real-time note-taking (saved in the transcript)
Integrations
The new version of GoToMeeting features a consistent experience across platforms and integrations with business collaboration apps like Slack and Salesforce.
GoToMeeting also has plug-ins for Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar, so you can add your meeting link to the connected calendar event. You’ll then have one source where your contacts can find the meeting invitation.
Pricing
GoToMeeting currently offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. Once your trial expires, you can continue with one of three subscription options:
- Professional: $12 per organizer per month, up to 150 participants
- Business: $16 per organizer per month, up to 250 participants
- Enterprise: Up to 3,000 participants
All subscribers receive a 60-day satisfaction guarantee.
4. Google Meet
Google Meet is the business version of the Google Hangouts you may have used in the past with friends and family. To host on Meet, you need a G Suite account, but participants don’t need one. You don’t need any plugins or software either because everything happens through your browser.
Joining a Google Meet meeting is easy, particularly if you use Gmail and/or Google Calendar. All event details are included as part of the invite. And if you’re using the Enterprise edition of G Suite, your attendees even get dial-in phone numbers so they can join without using data or having to find WiFi.
Security
Google Meet takes privacy seriously. Every meeting has a changeable 10-character code in the event invite. Changing the code changes the PIN, so you can safely un-invite someone if necessary.
External participants can only join if they have an invite code or submit a request that a member of the host organization approves. In-domain participants also have the freedom to remove attendees while the meeting is in progress.
All data is encrypted during transmission and while in storage, except for voice data transmitted via telephone lines. Google’s encryption protocol complies with several global standards, including SOC1, ISO/IEC 27018 and HIPAA.
Customer Feedback
Google Meet is a Gartner Peer Insights Customer’s Choice for 2018 and currently has a 4.5 out of 5 rating from more than 1,440 customers on that platform. Meet also has a 4.5 out of 5 rating on Capterra, where more than 8,000 customers have reviewed the product.
Pricing
Service tiers for Google Meet connect directly to your G Suite subscription type:
- Basic: $6 per user per month, 100 participants
- Business: $12 per user per month, 150 participants
- Enterprise: $25 per user per month, 250 participants
Enterprise clients also have the option to live-stream videos and save their recorded meetings to Google Drive.
If you’re a new G Suite customer, you can try the entire suite, including Meet, free for 14 days.
5. Lifesize
Lifesize has been involved in video conferencing for almost 20 years, but it’s still making top-ten lists. One of its main points of appeal is its ease of use. Your guests don’t have to download any special software or even sign up for an account. They just click on the link you send them and they’re ready to go.
Lifesize is compatible with almost all devices including PC, Mac, tablet and smartphone. It’s accessible, but it’s still secure. Every call and recording is fully encrypted.
Integrations
Lifesize integrates easily with your Microsoft Teams and Outlook systems. You can schedule and even place calls within Microsoft Teams, allowing external contacts to participate in video conferencing.
The Teams integration also benefits your internal team by adding higher-quality video and audio to the Teams interface. You’ll get similar benefits with Lifesize’s Skype for Business connection, great news for groups who aren’t yet on Microsoft Teams.
With the Outlook integration, you can schedule video conferences and launch meetings with click-to-call. Lifesize also offers integration with Office 365 and the Microsoft Exchange calendar. With these tools, you can log in and schedule meetings directly from the calendar interface.
Lifesize also offers another useful integration with Microsoft Edge. The browser will automatically launch the Lifesize app when you join a meeting.
Awards
Lifesize has received numerous honors from all over the world. Recent accolades include:
- Top Rated Web Conferencing Software by TrustRadius users in 2018 and 2019
- India Cloud Video Conferencing Vendor of the year by Frost & Sullivan in 2018
- German Stevie Gold Award for 2018
- Best in Show Award 2018 from AV Technology Europe
Pricing
As of the time of this writing, Lifesize offers a six-month subscription for free. That brings the total number of subscription levels up to four, which are:
Free
- Unlimited meetings
- Up to 25 participants
- Personal meeting room
- Desktop and mobile apps
Standard
- $16.95 per host per month
- Up to 100 participants
- Meeting duration of up to 24 hours
- Central management console
- Online and chat support
- Single sign-on
Plus
- $14.95 per host per month, 15-host minimum
- Up to 300 participants
- 1-hour recording storage per host
- Real-time meeting insights
- Integrations with Microsoft products
Enterprise
- $12.95 per host per month, 50-host minimum
- Live-streaming for up to 1,000 viewers
- Unlimited recording
- Unlimited audio calling
- Customized branding
- Premium support
Lifesize also offers a la carte tools including unlimited audio conferencing and subscription-based conference and huddle room solutions. Yet another option is Lifesize’s “rooms-as-a-service,” which bundles meeting room hardware with cloud service, support and maintenance for a fixed price.
Dialpad Meetings
Who should use it?
The free version of Dialpad Meetings is ideal for teams of 10 or less. The free version limits your video call duration to 45 minutes, so it’s ideal for shorter meetings. Since it allows unlimited video conferences, you can use this video conferencing tool for recurring meetings, like 1-1s or monthly team debriefs.
Top Free Features:
- Up to 10 participants
- Unlimited conferences
- Call recording
- HD Audio
- Screen and document sharing
- Mobile apps
4. TrueConf Online
Who should use it?
TrueConf offers a free plan with up to three participants in video calls. This solution is great for small teams or individuals who need a simple tool to host video calls or collaborate with small groups. The collaboration features like remote desktop control are helpful for those in support who may need to help a client solve a problem.
Top Free Features:
- Up to three participants on team calls
- HD video
- Collaboration tools (screen sharing, remote desktop control, recorded calls, file transfer, and shared virtual whiteboard)
Conclusion
The web conferencing tools listed here come in various forms and offer various features – all of which are designed to help organizations collaborate more effectively.