With the world plunged into sudden chaos by the COVID19 Pandemic, people must still find a way to interact and communicate. Video Conferencing tools are one of the ways technology is helping to improve lives in these difficult times.
The most commonly used software in this period is Zoom Video Conferencing. You could say, Zoom has been crowned the software king in this niche. As at December 2019, Zoom recorded about 12 million daily Meeting participants, but now it records up to 300 million daily users. In 2019 it added 1.99 million users, but by the first quarter of 2020, it already had 2.22 million new monthly active users.
Due to its rapid growth, the platform began to experience some worrying issues, especially security problems, pricing, privacy settings, hoarding of user data etc. For some people, these may be significant issues. Hence you need to know other alternatives that may be better for your purpose, more secure and even cheaper.
Free Video Conferencing Software
For people on a slim budget, these platforms will serve your purpose. However, they have their disadvantages which you will have to consider. Here are some free Video Conferencing software for individuals and companies.
Skype
Skype is a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) owned by Microsoft. In December 2019, Skype introduced the ‘Meet Now’ feature. This allows up to 50 users to be in a meeting, and not all participants need to have a skype account. For you to participate in the conference, all you need is a link
Using Skype is free, although there is a premium feature. This means that you don’t have to pay a subscription fee to set up or attend a meeting.
Pros
This software has feature offers some exciting advantages, e.g. Call recording. With the recording feature, you have access to the meeting’s content for 30 days. While working at home, your background may be a distraction to your colleagues at the conference. The blur background feature helps to eliminate that problem.
Cons
Unlike other software, Skype supports Web browsers, windows and Mac. Also, it does not allow more than 50 participants in one meeting. This means you can’t have a meeting with more than 50 participants on Skype. Also, Skype is not very secure because it does not have End to End encryption.
Google Meet
This is considered the next best free alternative to Zoom because it is more business-oriented. Before the Pandemic, only customers paying for G-suite could access Google meet. However, due to the Pandemic, google added a free tier till 30th of September. This allows a person to host video calls with up to 250 participants.
Pros
Some of the advantages of this are participants can dial in with their phone numbers to access the meeting, which makes it easier for people with a slow internet connection. Also, it is integrated with the Gmail server, which makes it very secure and user-friendly. Like its counterparts, google meet also has the screen sharing feature.
Cons
For google meet, the record feature and unlimited storage space are only open to premium subscribers. This means that though you organize and attend the meeting at zero cost, you can’t record the session if you have plans to watch it again.
Discord
Originally, Discord was designed to be a voice chat tool for gamers. With time, it expanded its feature to include videos and texts. Due to the importance of cybersecurity in the gaming universe, Discord is very secure with concrete encryption. This platform allows up to 100 people to join a video call.
Discord is free for all users, and it would be a great option if you were hosting a virtual wedding ceremony.
Pros
Interestingly, for people looking for more interactive platforms, this is a better option. You can create different rooms and host different videos and text-based chats. And it can be used for free on browsers, windows, androids and iOS.
Cons
Discord is devoid of some specific exciting feature like the ability to alter your background or save the call recordings. But it allows you to share screens using the Go live feature. Discord much suitable for a more relaxed video conferencing, e.g. Video chat with friends as you play games.
Paid Video Conferencing Software
There are some other alternatives to Zoom that require a paid subscription. Some are more expensive than Zoom depending on your need and the package you choose.
Cisco Webex
This video conferencing software is more suited for a company meeting. For organizations and users who cannot afford expensive subscription fees, Cisco Webex is perfect for small or medium-sized companies with few team members. It is compact and has similar features to zoom without the subscription fees.
This platform has a 30-day free trial. However, certain features are restricted, and only premium subscribers have access to such. Although people will consider the starter package of $13.50 a month per month too expensive, it features make up for the price.
Pros
Due to Pandemic, one of the benefits of this software is that video calls are no longer restricted to 40 minutes. Also, you can have up to 50 people on the video call. It is more suited to corporate use because it has more secure, flexible and intelligent interphase. It has a modern design that helps to drive team productivity.
Cons
Some downsides to the software are that it is non-customizable, and it can sometimes be complex to configure. Sometimes, it is also challenging to use the advanced calling features, and when the screen-sharing stops, it doesn’t come back till you restart the meeting.
Microsoft Teams
This is the company’s teamwork-friendly chat app. Even before the Pandemic, a lot of companies uses this medium to interact with members. It has chats rooms that allow texts, voice calls and video calls. On teams, you can create different small groups for departments in your organization to ease information dissemination.
Microsoft teams is included in different Office 365 suite subscription plans. It comes with other apps like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, access etc. Because Teams is integrated with these other apps, it entirely self-sufficient. The built-in functions let you share your screen without many protocols.
To have Microsoft teams, you must be on plans like The Enterprise E1, E3 and E5, Business Premium or Business essential. However, the starter subscription is $5 for each user per month, and with it, you can have up to 250 participants in a meeting.
Pros
A lot of users are pro Microsoft teams because it is perfect for corporate environments. It provides for secure file-sharing, meeting-scheduling, call conferencing, screen sharing, amongst other features. While it may not be very interesting for interactions between friends and family, as a company too, it helps to drive efficiency and productivity
Cons
Microsoft Teams maybe problematic because it is only available to people with an Office 365 Subscription. The only way to get outside participants to your video conference is to send a link because the can’t dial in.
GoTo Meeting
This is one of the oldest video conferencing services with features similar to zoom. It is an excellent alternative to zoom as its basic plan allows up 150 participants in a video call. This platform is optimized for both the mobile device and PC Usage.
This video conferencing software has no free plan except or a 14-day trial period after which the user has to pay a monthly subscription fee of $12 per month. Interestingly, its enterprise plan can handle up to 3000 participants in one video call.
Pros
One advantage of the GoTo Meeting is that it allows multiple facilitators. You also get to enjoy features like screen sharing, call recording etc. It is accessible on Mac, Linux, Web browsers, Android and iOS.
Cons
Some people consider the subscription plan to be pricy especially the basic package.
Zoho Meeting
This is an Open source video conferencing service which lets you host video meeting and calls. The platform has end to end encryption and can accommodate up to 100 people. It has features like call recording, participant moderation (Muting participants), screen sharing etc.
Zoho Meeting’s basic package starts at $10 per month, and it is integrated with Zoho’s office suite. This basic package allows for 1 host and 100 participants. However, they have a 14-day trial version that is limited to 1 host and 5 participants.
Pros
Zoho has a lot of benefits like being browser-based, so you don’t have to download any app to attend meetings. Also, the amount of calls it can store does not depend on the file size but rather the number of recordings. However, one disadvantage is, the number of countries its permits Toll-Free VOIP are limited.
Cons
Although the basic package e maybe quite reasonable and affordable, the more the participants, the more expensive the plan.
Now that you know…
Now that you know about other video conferencing software at your disposal, you can choose the best suited for you. Selecting the best software is determined by what you want to achieve. As you have seen, some are more secure than others.
Consequently, if you have a meeting that requires premium security because you can’t have the content of the meeting becoming public. You need a video conferencing software with end to end encryption and top-notch cybersecurity.
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