When choosing the best conference call service for your business, select the platform that offers meeting and productivity features, such as high-definition (HD) audio and video conferencing, cloud storage, call recording, and collaborative whiteboards. Conference call service providers for small businesses are user-friendly, affordable, and come with 24/7 customer support. Based on our research of over a dozen providers, these are the best options in the market:
- Zoom One: Best overall conference call service
- RingCentral Intelligent Meeting: Best for phone functionality
- Dialpad Meetings: Best for artificial intelligence (AI) tools
- Webex: Best for enterprise-grade security
- Nextiva: Best for toll-free calling
- Vast Conference: Best for flexible pricing
Best Conference Call Services Compared
Software | Monthly Starting Price (per user) | Key Features | Free Trial | FSB Rating out of 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
| N/A | 5.00 out of 5 | |
 |
| 14 days | 4.89 out of 5 | |
 |
| 7 days | 4.69 out of 5 | |
 |
| 90 days | 4.52 out of 5 | |
 |
| 14 days | 4.50 out of 5 | |
 |
| 14 days | 4.31 out of 5 | |
Did you know how conference calling works? Call conference enables participants to join the same call simultaneously, no matter where they are. Read our comprehensive conference call guide to learn more about this technology.
Zoom One: Best Overall Conference Call Service
What We Liked
- Allows users to purchase or port existing phone numbers
- Offers unlimited outbound calling
- Has a large meeting add-on for up to 1,000 interactive participants
Where It Falls Behind
- Unlike higher-tiered plans with unlimited whiteboards, Basic and Pro users only get three boards
- Entry-level plan only has local recording
- Additional local, toll-free, or international premium numbers start at $60 per year
Zoom One Monthly Pricing*
- Basic: Free for one user, 100 attendees, 40-minute meetings, local recording, team chat, three whiteboards, virtual background, team chat, and notes
- Pro: $15.99 per user for up to nine users, 30-hour meeting duration, local and 5GB cloud storage, toll-based telephone dial-in, and AI companion
- Business: $19.99 per user for 10 to 99 users, 300 attendees, unlimited whiteboards, recording transcripts, and language interpretations
- Business Plus: $25 per user for 10GB cloud storage, translated captions, metered and unlimited outbound calling, auto-attendants and interactive voice response (IVR), and toll-free numbers
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for more than 250 users, 1,000 attendees, and unlimited cloud storage
*Save up to 21% when you opt for annual billing.
Zoom One is our top-ranked conference call service, thanks to its affordability, user-friendly interface, and feature-rich plan inclusions. All plans have essential features like team chat, meeting captions, local meeting recording, screen sharing, and robust host controls. Zoom One’s Basic plan is entirely free and allows people to host unlimited 1:1 meetings and video conferences for up to 100 participants for a maximum of 40 minutes.
Upgrading your plan unlocks cloud storage, 30-hour meetings, and up to 1,000 meeting participants. Zoom allows users to integrate their conferencing services with a full-service voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) phone system for improved collaboration and productivity. Zoom Phone’s features include internal and outbound calling, toll-free numbers, voicemail with transcription, and shared line appearance.
One of Zoom One’s biggest disadvantages lies in its limited storage offering for Basic plan users. While its entry-level plan is free, it only includes local meeting recording. If you want a conference call service with unlimited cloud recording, check out Vast Conference. Essentials plan holders also get 1GB of cloud recording per user.
Zoom One Features
Zoom One’s messaging solution facilitates asynchronous communication and real-time information-sharing. (Source: Zoom Blog)
- In-meeting quizzes: Create questions with set answers and deliver them during your meeting as a quiz. Gather responses and download the report on the results after the meeting. Quizzes can also be answered anonymously.
- Company branding: Add your branding to different communication elements and enhance your team’s credibility. Elements you can brand include vanity URL, custom meeting schedule email template, and global dial-in in meeting email templates.
- Team chat: This feature is available for all plans, including the free Basic plan. Communicate with team members and other Zoom users by sending messages to contacts, groups, or entire channels. Organize chats by priority and customize notifications to minimize distractions.
Are you looking for a free conference call service? Here’s our list of the best free conference call services and their best use cases.
RingCentral Intelligent Meetings: Best for Phone Functionality
What We Liked
- Free plan has AI capabilities
- Extensive hardware appliances and systems compatibility
- RingCentral Rooms comes with voice-activated control
Where It Falls Behind
- Pro plan’s video recording is limited to 10 hours / seven days of cloud recording retention
- Advanced analytics is a paid plan feature
- End-to-end encryption (E2EE) for video and messaging is limited to paid users
RingCentral Intelligent Meetings Monthly Pricing*
- Pro: Free for up to 100 attendees, 50-minute meeting length, 10 hours video recording, waiting room, AI capabilities, and 500 included call me/call out minutes
- Pro+: $10 per user for 200 attendees, 24-hour meetings, 100 hours of video recording, advanced analytics, and single sign-on (SSO), and E2EE
- Rooms: $49 per room for one tap to join meetings, voice-activated control, and dual-screen support
*Save more by paying annually and get volume discounts on phone solutions if you have 50-plus users.
If you’re looking for the best conference call services with powerful calling capabilities, RingCentral Intelligent Meetings is your best bet. Its free plan includes unlimited 50-minute video meetings for up to 100 attendees, complete with AI-generated insights and transcription, content sharing, and whiteboard tools. Upgrade to the Pro+ plan and host meetings for up to 24 hours with 200 participants. Video Pro+ users also have advanced analytics and SSO.
In addition to powerful AI video meetings, RingCentral offers intelligent phone solutions that combine phone, video, and messaging. It’s one of our recommended business phone systems because users get free business or toll-free numbers, toll-free minutes, business short message service (SMS), HD voice, multilevel auto attendant, and IVR. RingCentral also provides desk and conference phone rentals.
While RingCentral Intelligent Meetings includes essential and advanced phone and video functionality, its Video Pro plan only has 10 hours and seven days of cloud recording retention. Check out Vast Conference’s service offering. All plans have unlimited cloud recording, except for the base plan, which maxes out at 1GB per user.
RingCentral Intelligent Meetings Features
Enable the waiting room feature and prevent the entry of unwanted guests. (Source: RingCentral)
- Team messaging with file sharing: Collaborate efficiently with features like team messaging, task assignment, and calendar sharing. Users can share photos, notes, events, and documents in integrated storage apps like Google Drive and Dropbox.
- Closed captioning: Ensure all participants understand the discussion by enabling closed captions. This is particularly useful in cases where background noise or language barriers are present.
- Waiting room: Control who enters your meetings by enabling waiting rooms for your entire account, your own extension, or for individual meetings. Hosts determine who can enter the meeting by admitting everyone individually or letting them all in by clicking “Admit All.”
Dialpad Meetings: Best for AI Tools
What We Liked
- Unlimited call me/call out
- Telephone dial-in option
- Offers unlimited ring groups
Where It Falls Behind
- Lacks breakout rooms
- Only the Enterprise plan has extensions
- Free plan only allows 10 meeting participants
Dialpad Meetings Monthly Pricing*
- Free: Free for up to 10 participants for meetings up to 45 minutes, virtual backgrounds, and unlimited audio recordings
- Business: $20 per user for up to 150 participants, five-hour meetings, AI meeting transcriptions, unlimited video recordings, automated post-meeting summaries, and custom hold music
Paid Add-ons:
- Rooms license fee: $34 per room, paid monthly (annual pricing)
- Toll-free dial-in number: $20 per user, monthly
*Gain greater savings with annual billing.
Dialpad Meetings is suited for teams searching for the best conference call services with automations. Its AI features include automated post-meeting summaries, live and post-meeting transcriptions, and custom action items. Using automated speech recognition (ASR), Dialpad transcribes conversations into written text in real time. AI recap gives you instant summaries of all conversations and outlines Dialpad Ai-recommended items.
Use Dialpad Meetings to quickly hop into calls, send quick files to colleagues, or start meetings straight from a message thread. It’s important to note that when you use Dialpad Meetings for conference call services, the platform offers unlimited meetings but has a 10-person and 45-minute cap. If you plan to hold larger meetings with more than 10 persons, Zoom One’s free plan has a similar 45-minute limit, but it accommodates up to 100 attendees per meeting.
Dialpad Meetings Features
Choose which guests are admitted to your building with Dialpad’s waiting room. (Source: Dialpad)
- Meeting transcription: Unlike other providers, Dialpad Meetings transcribes calls as they’re happening. This built-in feature even sends a recap email to attendees after the session.
- Recordings: Dialpad offers video and audio recordings, which you can turn on and off manually.
- Call forwarding: Send your number to a colleague, cellphone, or a completely different department. Users get a maximum of five forwarding numbers, ensuring you never miss another call.
Webex: Best for Enterprise-grade Security
What We Liked
- No wait time in between meetings
- Free plan comes with unlimited whiteboard
- Up to 81 videos in grid view
Where It Falls Behind
- Does not offer closed captions and meeting highlights in its Free plan
- Two lowest plans are limited to Webex-to-Webex calling
- Encrypted cloud recording is a paid plan feature
Webex Monthly Pricing*
- Basic: Free for 100 attendees with a 40-minute time limit, local recording storage, screen sharing, and unlimited whiteboards
- Meet: $14.50 per user for 200 attendees with a 24-hour time limit, 5GB cloud meetings storage, closed captions, live polling, and close captions
- Business: $20 per user 10GB cloud meeting recording storage
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for 1,000 participants with a 24-hour time limit, unlimited cloud storage, simultaneous interpretations, and auto-attendant
*Save more by choosing annual billing.
Webex is one of the best webinar software and the best conference call service for teams handling sensitive internal and customer data, thanks to its advanced security tools. All Webex plans, including its free plan, come with E2EE, locked personal meeting rooms, and meeting passwords. If you upgrade to a paid plan, you will unlock cloud recording encryption.
Webex plans are HIPAA-compliant and use transport layer security (TLS) 1.2 and 256-Advanced Encryption Standard with Galois Counter Mode (AES-GCM). Unfortunately, real-time translation is an optional paid service priced at $30 per license, monthly. If you have an international team or clients, give Zoom One a try. It includes translated captions in its Business Plus plan.
Webex Features
Use Webex’s limitless whiteboard to co-create with anyone, anytime and anywhere. (Source: Webex)
- Livestreaming: Administrators and hosts can stream meetings and events via Facebook Live and YouTube.
- Mobile screen sharing: Share an application or an entire screen in real-time using any device, including cell phones. Hosts and attendees can share content like an open document, which meeting participants can mark simultaneously.
- Interactive whiteboarding: Showcase your ideas and collaborate creatively using shared whiteboards. Users can brainstorm using a virtual canvas using tools, such as pointers, pens, magic pens, erasers, and stickies.
Nextiva: Best for Toll-free Calling
What We Liked
- 99.999% uptime guarantee
- Bigger participant capacity in entry-level plan than its popular counterpart Zoom
- Email, chat, phone, and multisite support offered in all plans, along with real-time system status alerts,
Where It Falls Behind
- Multilevel auto attendant is not available in the entry-level plan
- Call recording is an Enterprise plan feature
- Fewer integrations compared to other providers like Zoom and RingCentral
Nextiva Monthly Pricing*
- Essential: $30.95 per user for voicemail, toll-free numbers, auto-attendant, and voicemail to email notifications
- Professional: $35.95 per user for multilevel auto-attendant, voicemail-to-SMS notifications, and advanced integrations
- Enterprise: $45.95 per user for unlimited conferencing participants, call recording, voicemail transcription, and single sign-on (SSO)
*Save up to 22% by paying annually; volume discounts are available for more than five users.
Of all the best conference call service providers on this list, Nextiva offers the most generous toll-free inclusions. It has three plan options, and all users get a free local and toll-free number and toll-free minutes, which vary depending on your plan. Essentials subscribers get up to 1,500 minutes, Professional plan holders have up to 3,000 minutes, and lastly, Enterprise users get a maximum of 12,500 minutes.
Aside from toll-free minutes, Nextiva also offers up to 2,000 messages sent and received per user. However, one of Nextiva’s downsides lies in its limited third-party integrations, and many of them are locked behind higher tiers. Explore other providers like RingCentral if you want other business tools to be connected to your phone system. RingCentral offers robust integrations with over 300 apps, including top productivity, communications, and CRM platforms.
Nextiva Features
Nextiva supports up to 25 active video participants and up to 250 audio participants. (Source: Nextiva)
- Meeting guest view: Invite external partners to attend group video meetings without inconveniencing them with downloads and installations. Guests can quickly join virtual conferences from their web browser.
- Multilevel auto attendant: Route calls confidently using this system to direct calls across your private branch exchange (PBX) network with submenus. Transfer incoming calls automatically to the caller’s extension of choice.
- Team chat: Use the chat box to share insights, ask questions, or converse with colleagues. You can also use this chat solution to upload and share files.
Vast Conference: Best for Flexible Pricing
What We Liked
- Offers unlimited cloud recording
- Dedicated account manager available for pay-as-you-go plan
- Up to 500 call and meeting participants
Where It Falls Behind
- Lacks standard collaboration tools, such as whiteboarding and breakout rooms
- United States and Canada toll-free dial-in and dial-out is not available in the Free plan
- No video conferencing capabilities in the pay-as-you-go plan
Vast Conference Monthly Pricing*
- Essentials: $16.46 per user for unlimited calls and meetings for 10 participants, unlimited cloud recording, and messaging
- Standard: $21.99 per user for unlimited calls and meetings for 100 participants, branded welcome message, and billing and client codes
- Professional: $43.99 per user for unlimited calls and meetings for 250 participants
- Pay-as-you-go: 2 cents per minute per caller for unlimited calls and meetings for 500 participants and dedicated account manager
*Save 20% with annual billing
We recommend Vast Conference to teams needing the best conference call service for affordability and low call volumes. This straightforward solution is usage-based and comes with unlimited calls and meetings for up to 500 participants. The Pay-as-you-go plan also has conference call lines for up to 52 countries, unlimited cloud recording, and international toll-free dial-in for up to 80 countries. This is great for teams with seasonal or fluctuating call volumes.
Vast Conference offers a generous cloud recording offering, unlimited cloud recording in all plans. This allows your team to keep copies of crucial conversations. However, compared to other conference call providers, Vast Conference does not have an extensive list of productivity and collaboration features. As an alternative, check out Zoom One. Its free Basic plan includes co-annotation, breakout rooms, and team chat.
Vast Conference Features
Focus on the speaker or priority participants by selecting who you want to see on your screen. (Source: Vast Conference)
- Screen sharing: Share your entire desktop or select an open application to show participants. Vast Conference lets users record screen-sharing content.
- Custom hold music: Tailor your conference call or meeting experience by personalizing greetings and holding music. Hold music is played for attendees waiting for the host to start the call.
- Branded welcome message: Start your meeting on the right foot by personalizing your welcome message. This is played for guests when they join your call.
How We Evaluated the Best Conference Call Services
Conference call services connect participants via web, audio, or video in the same call, regardless of their geographical location. There are several businesses offering call services that bring together remote teams or international clients for better collaboration. To determine the best conference call service, we looked at each provider’s subscription prices, package inclusions, tools and features, usability, and customer support.
Learn how we evaluated the best conference call services by clicking on the tabs below:
15% of Overall Score
To determine the best conference call provider, we considered each platform’s monthly subscription plans. Solutions with free plans and free trials are given more points. The best conference call service offers paid plans below $25 per user, and we noted which service providers offer cheaper annual pricing.
25% of Overall Score
When choosing the best conference call service, we looked at how many people they can include in online meetings. Video calling and mobile app availability are high priorities in our evaluation, and we also evaluated whether providers offer security features like meeting encryption and passwords.
20% of Overall Score
For niche features, we assessed providers’ software integrations and reviewed if the solution has breakout rooms. To facilitate efficient and affordable calling, we took into account international dial-in numbers and call recording.
10% of Overall Score
Usability is a key consideration for small businesses. To determine ease of use, we looked at whether technical know-how is necessary to set up and install the platform. We also tested the interface to see if it’s easy to configure.
10% of Overall Score
Our team reviewed the types of support channels the provider offers, including phone, live chat, and an email ticketing system. Providers with complete support channels that are available 24/7 were awarded additional points.
20% of Overall Score
The expert score includes our own evaluation of the provider’s standout features, overall value for money, and ease of use. Finally, we looked at online reviews of real customers to determine each platform’s popularity and ease of use.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
If a conference call is work-related, it’s always best to schedule meetings during regular business hours, but of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Remember to send out your invites as early as possible to ensure all crucial participants have ample time to make arrangements to be able to attend your meeting or conference call.
Conference call services are secure, especially if your provider offers enterprise-grade security. Carefully consider the security offering of conference call service providers because some security features only unlock on the highest plan. Check if the platform has E2EE features and permission controls, such as waiting rooms and meeting passwords.
Yes, some conference call companies like Zoom and RingCentral offer free conference call service options. However, these solutions are often built for individual use or small-scale operations because features are often limited.
Bottom Line
Conference call services allow small teams to reduce costs by providing a low-cost alternative to in-person meetings. It facilitates collaboration and coordination without the travel costs and time. The best conference call service boosts flexibility and mobility by bringing people together remotely. They include features like conference and video calling, robust integrations, meeting encryption, and international dial-in numbers.
Zoom One was our top choice because of its feature-rich free and paid plans and intuitive interface. Get a feel for how Zoom One works by signing up for its free plan today.
