Video calls were already on the rise before COVID forced everyone to communicate from their homes. Since then, there has been no looking back — video calls and conferencing are here to stay.
Aside from being a quick, direct way of communicating, it allows you to refine an expert remote team from all over the world, while staying connected and fomenting strong professional relationships.
Clearly, Zoom is the market leader, having even been turned into a verb. But that’s not to say it doesn’t come with its drawbacks. With a 40-minute limit on your calls and conferences, it’s not the most flexible tool, which is one of the reasons why so many organizations have started looking to Zoom alternatives.
The right video conferencing tool depends heavily on what you’re looking for as a team. Whether you need a free, simple tool for the basics, or complex software that’s jam-packed with AI features, we’ve covered the household names and powerful platforms you might not have heard of to give you a clear picture of what’s out there.Bitrix24 stands out from the crowd by allowing you to run a free online meeting with no time limit. You get HD audio and video quality for a crisp, clear experience, and Bitrix24 automatically detects slow internet connections and adjusts itself for a smooth connection. Moving up to the Basic level, you and your teams get a vast array of extra features, such as background blur, screen sharing, and call recording.
Bitrix24’s pricing is particularly attractive to small businesses as it works on a flat fee system. This means you can grow your team without your costs snowballing. Despite the low price, Bitrix24 gives you spy-proof security for your calls and the files you share. Similarly, you can work on your documents, CRM, or task management software within the same tool with a fully interconnected system.
Whereas Zoom is a one-trick pony, Bitrix24 stands out among video conferencing apps as the most interconnected platform there. Much more than just HD video calls, you get an entire suite of features for a similar or lower price than simple video call tools.
Microsoft Teams is a comprehensive alternative to Zoom that allows you to connect your other Microsoft apps for an all-in-one tool. Although the amount of features is small in comparison to Bitrix24, the native integration aspect and the reliability of Microsoft software are great for smooth video conferencing apps.
Microsoft provides everything you need from Zoom alternatives, with screen sharing, in-call chat, and 5GB of storage per person. As opposed to Zoom’s 40-minute limit, Microsoft’s video conferencing free app gives you a more flexible 60 minutes for up to 100 participants. However, the free version leaves quite a lot to be desired, lacking in security and compliance features.
With paid versions, you can up your capacity to 24 hours and 300 people and get more robust security measures. Your team can use both web and mobile apps, as well as the browser-based platform. At all levels, you can invite external users into your calls — great for customer-focused teams.
If your company is already on Microsoft, you get a recognizable tool that perfectly integrates with your documents and storage space. As Skype has now merged with Microsoft Teams, you can rest assured that most users and clients will already have an account.
Although the suite of Google tools are great for the creative side of work, they do miss out on key business tools such as a CRM and project management, limiting its global use for teams. That said, most people are used to Google tools, so it’s quick and easy to get conversations started with new team members and clients.
In terms of security, Meet uses the same the classic Google systems and encrypts all data. Meeting hosts can also manage their meetings by muting or removing any participants at the click of a button. For video conferencing, anybody can raise their hand — a simple feature that allows you to manage your meeting in an orderly way. As you may expect, file sharing and chat is a cinch with Google Meet, making your calls as productive as possible.
Fully integrated with Google tools, this is one of the most simple yet effective Zoom alternatives out there. Able to start a call with a click and easily launched within your browser, Google Meet is a great option for teams big and small.
Zoho Meeting is another of the Zoom alternatives that fits into the context of a more expansive platform. It seamlessly connects to Zoho Projects, CRM, and Bookings, so you get more than just a video tool. Although previously, all Zoho Meeting tiers were paid, the company recently realized which way the wind was blowing and introduced the Forever Free plan — 60 minutes for 100 participants without spending any money.
Although Zoho Meeting is one of the most secure video conferencing apps when it comes to the paid versions, the free tier does not allow you to lock your meetings. However, it does have the advantage over Zoom of having all of its features available through the web browser, with no sign up and no downloads required to join a meeting.
Zoho’s focus on security is a relief for teams that have sensitive data that they don’t want to put at risk.
Unlimited Users Free
Perhaps inspired by Zoom, GoToMeeting gives you free meetings for up to 40 minutes. They proudly claim to use 50% less bandwidth than other meeting apps, so it is one of the best Zoom alternatives for companies in countries with poor Wi-Fi. What’s more, like Bitrix24, GoToMeeting gives you the flexibility of unlimited meeting time without dipping into your wallet.
However, the free version is rather stripped down, so if you want to do a free online meeting with no time limit, great, but that’s all you get. To really make the most of the tool, you’ve got to get a paid version, which can give you features such as recordings and transcriptions.
GoToMeeting is all about working together, and the tool allows you to transfer your keyboard and mouse control to other participants. Perfect for collaborative presentations, it is one of those features you never knew you needed until you try it.
Small businesses may find Cisco Webex paid versions rather cumbersome if all they need is a piece of software similar to Zoom. They are packed with features such as whiteboards, live streaming and gesture recognition, but that does entail a considerable learning curve for your teams. Similarly, although the Cisco support team is impressive, it is only available on the top-tier package.
However, the Cisco Webex free version earns its place among our list of alternatives to Zoom for video conferences this year. You can get 50 minutes for 100 participants and an impressive range of features like personal rooms, screen sharing, and HD quality.
As a thoroughbred tech company, it’s no surprise that Cisco leverages great AI tools. With gesture recognition that helps manage meetings and word recognition that translates into note-taking, it is at the forefront of innovation.
Despite the name RingCentral Video Pro, we’re talking about a free version here, and it comes packed full of features you expect with apps like Zoom. As opposed to Cisco, RingCentral Video will give you support at every level except the free version, but with a simple tool that gives you 24 hours with 100 participants, you can’t complain too much.
In terms of paid tiers, RingCentral Video Pro+ doesn’t offer too much more for the price you pay — $11.99 per user per month on an annual plan. You can double your participants to 200, get 100 hours of cloud recording capacity, and a few extra security benefits, but not much else that makes the Pro+ deal stand out from the crowd.
RingCentral Video stands out among these Zoom alternatives for the impressive amount of features it comes with on the free version. You can even create tasks through the same app so nothing falls through the cracks — an almost nonexistent feature, apart from Bitrix24.
Aimed at smaller businesses, but paradoxically with no free version, BlueJeans is one of the more bare-bones alternatives to Zoom on this list, but has a bunch of features that make it reliable for online meetings this year. With Dolby Voice, you get crystal clear audio, which is great — especially for recording meetings that you want to publish.
As a fair warning, we should say that BlueJeans has issues with certain touchscreen Windows devices, and there have been regular reports of video lag. That said, it has a professional look that uses AI to be as comfortable as possible for your users, putting the most recent five speakers at the top of a clear display of 25 screens.
As one of the lesser-known Zoom alternatives on the market, BlueJeans has sought to build trust based on excellent security. With encrypted video, two-factor authentication, and failed login notifications, you can be confident in your privacy.
If you’re thinking that some of these options sound similar, enter Discord. Discord is primarily a chat tool, but you can upgrade to Nitro for $99.99 a year. This will give you HD video calls, screen sharing, live streaming, and unlimited file storage.
Far more than a channel for gamers, it is great for tech teams who are likely to be familiar with the software already. This also extends to your customer base. Running a games software company? Send out invites to your customers for fun, informal feedback sessions. By meeting your users where they are, you can set up an interactive communication stream that your competitors may not have taken advantage of.
Discord represents a huge swathe of the online population who will feel included and at home on the platform — great for keeping your team together and generating customer loyalty, whether via chat or video call.
As we mentioned at the outset, the best Zoom alternatives are the ones that work for your specific situation. Tools like Cisco Webex, whose top-tier plan can handle 100,000 participants are great for massive organizations, but they are realistically of no particular use to most burgeoning startups.
It might seem too obvious for us to highly recommend Bitrix24, but we’re not the only ones! Over 10,000,000 organizations around the world have chosen us as their technological hub and for good reason. We offer one of the best Zoom alternatives on this list, as well as Zoom integrations, and combine it with everything else you need to run your business.
With Bitrix24, you get project management software, a CRM, sales workflows, and so much more on one flat fee for your team — you don’t pay per user. This gives you the flexibility to grow without worrying about your budget.
And the best part is, you don’t even have to make an investment to see what it’s all about. Sign up for free to Bitrix24 and run seamless meetings in your team and with your clients.
Over time, there have been a range of reasons for choosing alternatives to Zoom, including:
Security concerns.
A 40-minute limit on calls.
Exceptionally expensive paid versions.
Many corporations banned Zoom.