Best (Free) Video Conferencing Software: Comparing 7 Solutions

Since 2019, in-person meetings and business trips have steadily become a thing of the past. These days, business meetings are held online more often than ever before. Many employees work from home, and it seems unlikely that with skyrocketing rent and utility costs, the way business is conducted will ever look the same again. Thankfully, there are plenty of video conferencing solutions. The only question is: Which is the best?

Below, we'll introduce you to seven of the most popular video conferencing programs, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages, as well as what each is best suited for.

It's important to exercise caution when selecting video conferencing software - Enterprise tools don't come cheap and for something that will be used on a daily basis by many of your employees, you want to make sure that your business is getting the solution that best matches its needs and requirements. We advise keeping the following factors in mind:

As you can already tell, choosing the right video conferencing solution depends on a whole host of factors. This makes recommending a single program as "the best" difficult. To ease your decision-making process, we tested out seven of the most popular video conferencing solutions, and below, will let you know how they fared and what each is best suited for.

During the COVID pandemic, Zoom rose to prominence as THE video conferencing solution. Was it just good marketing? Surely, the service did an excellent job promoting itself, but, Zoom's success has much more to do with how user-friendly and versatile the platform is.

The solution doesn't take long to set up, allowing anyone to come to terms with it and its features fairly quickly. Beyond that, the software is lightweight, making it capable of running on nearly any system.

Zoom comes with nearly everything a video conferencing solution should offer. Meetings lasting up to 30 hours can be held with up to 1,000 participants. Collaboration tools like screen sharing, a whiteboard, breakout rooms, and a chat are directly integrated as is the ability to record meetings.

In particular, we liked Zoom's user-friendliness: By clicking on a simple Zoom link, you can connect to an ongoing or scheduled meeting or conference directly in your browser without any hassle.

The service is well-suited for businesses looking for a video conferencing solution for larger teams, of which not everyone possesses a high level of technical know-how. Another positive is Zoom's price-performance ratio, which makes it an attractive option for pennywise small and medium-sized enterprises that need a comprehensive video conferencing solution but aren't willing or able to break the bank for one.

As Zoom grew in popularity, several security weaknesses came to light: Some of these pertain to encryption, which could see sensitive data fall into the wrong hands. The provider's privacy policy is also a bit problematic. Currently, it seems that the most glaring issues have been rectified, however, a tinge of doubt remains.

Zoom is free, however, such meetings are limited to 100 participants and 40 minutes. To access additional features like polls, live streaming, or an admin portal, you'll need to book a paid subscription.

In addition to its free version, Zoom is also offered in four different subscription packages:

On Zoom's website you can find an overview of all the platform's pricing.

Webex is Cisco's video conferencing solution. The developer is known for their high-quality enterprise communication tools, and Webex is no exception. Offering crystal clear video and advanced security features, the platform easily slides in near the top of our unofficial ranking.

Meetings can be entered either through your browser, or Webex's app, which is compact and user-friendly. A mobile app makes the service easy to use when on the go too.

Cisco Webex definitely scores when it comes to quality: Video meetings have sharper resolution and play smoother than they do when using Cisco's competitors. Especially for business users who value security, the platform's emphasis on compliance and certificates is another major advantage. It's also clear that Cisco didn't cut any corners in terms of extra features, offering a useful whiteboard along with plenty of other tools.

The video conferencing software is geared primarily towards medium and large businesses that want their system admins to have a highly versatile program that excels in security. As Cisco is known for its comprehensive office software, Webex is interesting not only for remote or distance work but usage in office settings and in conference rooms as well.

Webex's app isn't as lightweight or user-friendly as Zoom's. For smaller businesses or less technical teams, there are definitely simpler solutions available.

Like Zoom, there also exists a free version of Webex that allows for up to 100 attendees to participate in a 40-minute meeting. In addition, two premium subscriptions are offered:

You can find an overview of all Webex plans on Cisco's website.

Above, we referred to Zoom as nimble, however, there's a video conferencing solution that's even lighter on its feet: Jitsi Meet. The free, open-source tool is offered by 8x8, a communications company, and can be used without an account to create online video meetings for multiple participants. Attendees are invited via URL (without the need to install a client).

Jitsi Meet is compatible with all common browsers and even has a few mobile apps. In terms of features, Jitsi can't go toe-to-toe with premium solutions, however, it offers useful tools like content sharing, chats, reactions, polls, and virtual backgrounds.

Free and open-source are the two biggest arguments in Jitsi's favor. The code it uses can be viewed in its entirety, allowing anyone to probe it for weaknesses or exploits. Since you don't need to install anything and the program uses an intuitive Web interface, setting up a meeting only takes a few mouse clicks. Rounding out its advantages, you can install the Jitsi Meet server locally, allowing businesses and organizations to exercise greater control over their security.

Jitsi Meet is a good choice for smaller businesses and organizations that need a free video conferencing tool that doesn't require installation or setting up.

In terms of features, Jitsi Meet can't compete with its premium competitors. Users will have to make do without a range of collaboration tools, such as whiteboards, while other features, like the ability to record meetings, are far more complicated.

Jitsi Meet is completely free.

Google Meet is part of the digital giant's Workspace suite, making it a good choice for businesses that already rely on or use Google's office solutions.

As is common with Google products, Meet impresses with its high degree of usability: The web-based client is easy for beginners to use, offering a smartphone app in addition to its desktop version.

You'll also get access to all of the most important features, such as screen sharing, breakout rooms, and meeting recordings, along with a few interesting extras. For example, Google offers automatic captioning in a range of languages, as well as live streaming directly to YouTube.

Google Meet is one of the most user-friendly video conferencing programs on the market, greatly simplifying the process for those lacking a technical background. In addition, each meeting is assigned a unique URL and dedicated phone number that can be called in order to participate. As a result, Google Meet takes all the guesswork out of video conferencing, both for regular staff and guests.

The platform is a particularly interesting option for businesses that already use other Google Workspace apps, with the resulting synergies offering a clear benefit. For example, meetings can be planned in Google Calendar, invitations to which will be automatically sent to participants with Gmail addresses.

At the same time, Meet's compatibility with other Google solutions can also be seen as a disadvantage, since it promotes over-reliance on Google. Should your business utilize a more diverse range of software, there are better options available.

We also noticed that Meet becomes more chaotic and disorganized as the number of participants increases. It would be nice if more options for maintaining an overview of participants were offered.

Google Meet is not a stand-alone program but part of Google Workspace. Anyone with a Google account can use the program for free to create a video conference with up to 100 participants. Meetings can last for a maximum of 60 minutes.

For businesses and organizations that need more, the following subscriptions are available:

Teams is Microsoft's answer to Google Meet. If your business utilizes Office 365 or just Microsoft in general, Teams is one of the most readily available options for video conferencing.

However, Meet and Teams don't just differ in terms of their developers: Whereas Meet is attractive for individual and organizational users, Microsoft's solution is clearly focused on the latter, offering far more features, many of which will be particularly appealing to businesses.

The focus on businesses is immediately apparent in the kinds of features Teams offers, giving the platform a boost when comparing it directly to Google Meet. Microsoft Teams' chat feature, for example, is more useful than Google Meet's, since you can communicate publicly with the entire group or individual participants. Beyond that, Teams offers more tools for webinars, and its whiteboard is better integrated than Meet's.

Microsoft Teams is primarily marketed to businesses that already use Microsoft apps and solutions, in particular, Office 365. Should you be looking for a comparatively affordable solution that's able to bring together staff from around the world, Microsoft Teams is worth looking into.

Microsoft Teams is slightly more complicated to use than Google Meet, losing out to it in terms of intuitive elegance. Compounding matters, prospective users need to download the Teams app before they can connect, whereas Google Meet (and other solutions) work entirely through the browser.

A free version of Microsoft Teams is available, offering one-on-one meetings for up to 30 hours, and group conversations for 60 minutes. Up to 100 participants can join the latter. Free users also get 5 GB of cloud storage (per user), data sharing, polls, and live (English) subtitles.

Alongside the free version, Microsoft also offers three paid subscriptions for business users:

Apart from business subscriptions, Microsoft also offers Teams for individuals. Along with the free version, users can also purchase a Microsoft 365 Single or Microsoft 365 Family (up to 6 people) package.

All rates can be found on Microsoft's website.

Video conferencing isn't just for office work and business: Content creators like podcasters, vloggers, and streamers looking to record their interviews with the highest audio and video quality can make just as much use of the software. However, most of the tools we've listed above are less suited to their exact needs. Meet Boomcaster.

Boomcaster is a video conferencing tool designed for podcasters, helping them to plan and record interviews with relative ease. Using the digital, cloud-based studio, content creators can adjust the sound levels and video quality of individual podcast episodes, sorting entries by their date and/or guest's name.

Having a straightforward user interface is important for podcasting software since guests come from all sorts of backgrounds, few of which are technical. Luckily, Boomcaster makes it particularly easy to send emailed invitations to each guest, explaining clearly how the program works. Guests can join the interview through their browser without needing to install specialized software or apps.

Boomcaster also scores thanks to the high quality of its A/V recordings and the capability to stream sessions directly on YouTube or Facebook.

Boomcaster is for podcasters or other content creators looking for a user-friendly, browser-based solution to record video and/or audio interviews. Owing to its pay-as-you-grow model, you can easily book additional minutes if needed, making it possible to adjust the amount the service costs depending on how much you actually use it.

Unfortunately, there's no free version of Boomcaster.

The service's payment structure is very straightforward: For $20 per month, you get five hours of HD recording and live streaming. Each additional minute that you need costs $0.07. You can try the service for free for 30 days.

Widening our scope, video conferencing isn't just for generating income, but also, a great way to bring families together. Whether in another state, studying abroad for a semester, or living on a different continent, video conferencing helps you keep in touch with your nearest and dearest. Skype was one of the first programs to offer video calling to the masses and remains a useful tool for individuals and families to this day.

Skype is easy to use, free, and doesn't come with any unnecessary bells and whistles. It does offer useful features like screen sharing, live transcripts, and simultaneous translations. One particularly nifty aspect of Skype is that you can use it to call international phone numbers. This tool isn't free but offers a great and affordable way to talk to a friend or family member on their landline.

The service is primarily geared towards individuals interested in keeping up with their friends and family members, regardless of where they are.

In terms of features, Skype can't compete with many of the other business video conferencing solutions on the market. Skype for Business has been discontinued and replaced by Microsoft Teams.

Skype is completely free to use. You'll only need to pay for Skype-to-Phone, which makes it possible to call international phone numbers over the Internet. If using this feature, you can either add credit to your Skype balance, book a global package, or select one for a specific country.

Video conferencing tools, whether for professional or personal use, are here to stay. Thankfully, there are plenty of solutions that make it easy to collaborate digitally with colleagues, record interviews, or keep up with friends and family. Deciding which tool is "the best", depends entirely on your individual needs:

Zoom and Cisco Webex are excellent for businesses, Jitsi Meet is a secure and free open-source alternative, while Google and Microsoft offer first-class digital collaboration solutions. For families and individuals, Skype is still the first choice, while podcasters or other content creators are likely to prefer online studios like Boomcaster.