8 Best Zoom Alternatives for Free Group Video Conferencing

8 Best Zoom Alternatives for Free Group Video Conferencing.

Zoom has been a video conferencing staple ever since telecommuting became the new normal as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It has an extensive free version that allows screen sharing, up to 100 participants, unlimited meetings up to 40 minutes, and other features including:

Screen Sharing Virtual background (you can also create your own Zoom backgrounds ) Discussion rooms 3 boards Apps for smartphones and computers

However, some people don’t like the Zoom interface. Others want extra features that Zoom doesn’t offer in its free plan or only offers in its top tier plan. For example, let’s say you need to run meetings that are longer than 40 minutes. Zoom might not be the best option unless you switch to one of the paid plans.

If you’re a small business or enterprise looking for a messaging and video conferencing app to replace Zoom, we’ve got 8 of them for you. In this guide, we will cover 8 other services that are worthy alternatives to Zoom.

8 Best Zoom Alternatives in 2022

Below are the best Zoom alternatives for paid and free video calls. Some of them offer the best free plan while others offer the best functionality.

1. Google Meet

Google Meet is an alternative to Zoom because most companies already use other G Suite tools to some extent. Google Meet offers a slightly longer meeting duration of 60 minutes on the free plan (20 minutes more than Zoom), although it offers the same maximum number of participants (100) per meeting.

Here are the other features you get with the free Google Meet plan:

Unlimited meetings Direct captioning based on Google speech recognition (English only) Compatible with all popular devices: desktops, laptops, Android and iOS Customizable layoutsHost controls (including mute, remove and pin attendees) Screen sharing Integration with Gmail, Google Calendar, Office 365 and Calendar Outlook

If you are an enterprise user with a large team, you can upgrade to Enterprise plans for online meetings with up to 250 people. You can also stream meetings (or host webinars) with up to 100,000 participants and record Google Meet meetings with the Enterprise plan.

Google Meet doesn’t have many advanced features, but it offers everything you need for high-quality, hassle-free video conferencing. When choosing between Google Meet and Zoom, it all comes down to using a tool that gives you the flexibility to host slightly longer meetings and integrates with the tools you already use.

Google also has other video conferencing platforms for various purposes. For example, you can use Google Hangouts for private video calls, or Google Voice if you need VoIP calling features.

2. Microsoft Commands

Microsoft Teams is Microsoft’s cloud-based video conferencing app and is installed by default on the latest version of Windows, Windows 11. Most of the features of Microsoft Teams are more or less similar to Zoom and include:

Unlimited group meetings for up to 60 minutesUp to 300 participants per meeting (big plus compared to Zoom’s 100 participants)Unlimited chat with co-workers and clientsFile sharingChange background (or upload your own)Live subtitles 5 GB cloud storage (compared to 25 MB in Zoom)

So, is Microsoft Teams better than Zoom? Well, it depends on your specific needs. However, if you need more features, you can choose Microsoft Teams Essentials ($4/user/month), Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($6/user/month), or Microsoft 365 Business Standard ($12.50/user). per month).

3. Skype

Skype has been around for a long time, but is Skype better than Zoom? It was originally a video chat app for personal use. Skype offers most of its features for free and continues to evolve as a video conferencing platform for individuals rather than businesses.

If you are a sole trader or a small team, you can use Skype Meet Now. Free video conferencing software offers the following:

Up to 100 participants in a conference room Call recording Change background End-to-end encryption Screen sharing File sharing (for files up to 300 MB) ) Redirect

Almost all features are available on the free plan, except calls to mobiles and landlines (which cost $2.99 â€‹â€‹per month for unlimited minutes). You can also get a Skype number from another country so you can make and receive calls and send and receive text messages as if you were in that country.

4. Go to the meeting

GoToMeeting supports up to 150 participants and up to 50 breakout rooms, even on the cheapest plan. You get unlimited cloud storage for recordings and transcriptions for those recordings (only available in the two higher plans), so you can quickly look up conversations in meetings.

The biggest downside to GoToMeeting is the lack of a free plan, but here are the extra features you get with paid GoToMeeting plans:

Shared hosting features Screen sharing Interactive whiteboard Drawing tools Smart Assistant (machine learning-based discovery system that detects actions and highlights items in a meeting) In -meeting notes Slide to PDF (GoToMeeting records presentation slides and creates chronologically organized and shared PDF files) Plugins for Google Calendar and Microsoft Office 365

However, GoToMeeting lacks webinar functionality. To host a webinar, you will need to spend extra money on GoToWebinar, GoTo’s webinar product.

5. Center ring

RingCentral is aimed at enterprise users who need a video conferencing solution, as well as other communication and collaboration tools. The RingCentral video conferencing tool gives you a lot more options than some of the free tools we have on our list.

For example, RingCentral allows you to video conference with up to 500 meeting participants, allows you to switch between audio and video calls, and change the device you use for the meeting without dropping the call.

RingCentral doesn’t offer a free plan, but here’s a list of the features you get with the paid plans:

Meeting recording Whiteboard and annotations for easier collaboration Screen sharing Real- time file editing Up to 50 breakout rooms Integration with popular CRMs, Zapier, Microsoft Outlook, Google Workspace (Google Calendar, Gmail, etc.), etc. Real-time analytics li> li>Webinar with up to 10,000 attendees

RingCentral’s only downside is that it’s expensive. Pricing is also a little tricky, with tier rates changing as your team grows.

6. Blue jeans

BlueJeans is a cloud-based video conferencing service that is best suited for small groups rather than individuals or corporate users.

However, the platform offers several enterprise features. For example, you can host up to 50,000 viewers only. There is no free plan, but you can try BlueJeans with all the features with a 7-day free trial.

Paid plans (Standard, Pro and Enterprise) on BlueJeans offer the following features:

Up to 50, 75 and 100 members on the lowest, mid and highest plans respectively. Available on Windows (but not Windows touchscreen devices), Apple devices (Mac, iPhone, and iPad), and Linux Smart Meetings (helps you mark important meeting points and assign activities to attendees) Whiteboard and annotations File sharing Private and group chats Polls, Q&A, show of hands and other interactive features Live events on Facebook Integration for Slack, Microsoft Office 365, Gong and more

Overall, BlueJeans is great for small teams that only need video conferencing features and not many other communication features.

7. Cisco Webex

Cisco is a video conferencing tool that enables HD video calls and offers a range of collaboration features, including file sharing and call recording.

The best part? Webex has a generous free plan that allows you to host up to 100 team members for 50-minute meetings. You can always extend your meeting to 24 hours by upgrading to a paid plan. However, if you would like to accommodate more participants, you will need to upgrade to one of the higher tier plans.

Upgrading to a Premium plan allows unlimited hosts to host up to 100,000 members. Here are other features you get with paid Webex plans:

Whiteboard Screen Sharing Phone Access Call Recording File Transfer Transcriptions SurveysTop-class security features such as firewall, single sign-on and secure scheduling Integration with Office 365, Google Drive and Salesforce Direct customer support

Cisco Webex is also equipped with AI features such as gesture-based meeting response. Webex AI also finds the most important moments in the meeting, puts them at the top, and saves the corresponding shared files with those moments.

8.Jitsi Meet

Jitsi Meet is a free and open source video conferencing solution. If you’re a startup or small business, Jitsi Meet is a great way to collaborate with your team on video. You can invite up to 50 participants to a meeting by inviting them via the meeting link or by calling them directly.

Here are a few features you get on Jitsi Meet:

Screen Sharing Live meetings on YouTubeFeatures such as presenter transfer, viewing scheduled meetings, and connecting to a calendar to schedule future meetings Remote control of each participant’s desktopIntegration for Slack, Google and MicrosoftAvailable video resolutions: 1280Ã—720 (HD), 640Ã—360 (SD), and 360Ã—180 (LD)

Since Jitsi Meet is an open source platform, it is highly customizable and allows you to add a few extra features. Of course, if you are not a developer, you can simply pay for these features in a paid tool.

You can use Jitsi Meet via the web app, Android or iOS mobile app, or Chrome extension and integrate it with other business tools like Dropbox, Slack, Google Calendar, and Microsoft 365.

Zoom Alternatives Explained

Now that you know the Zoom alternatives available to you, you can choose the one that best suits your needs. However, if you really don’t need video chats, you can also just use one of the best free calling apps that offers unlimited calls and text messages.