Video conference software helps business owners meet with clients, customers, and remote workers over the internet using computers or mobile apps when face-to-face meetings aren’t feasible. We looked at a variety of video conferencing software and compared them by price, features, and ease of use to determine the top six, including a best overall.
Top 6 Video Conferencing Software for 2020
| Video Conferencing Software | Best For |
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(Best overall) Businesses wanting the best combination of features like reporting and cloud storage | |
Businesses that want a complete phone system package with built-in video conferencing | |
Companies that already use GoTo products like GoToConference or GoToWebinar | |
Organizations wanting free integration with Salesforce, G Suite, Slack, and other business applications | |
Business owners needing a video conferencing solution that supports international callers | |
Companies wanting to host free meetings for up to 1,000 participants | |
Last updated on 04/03/20 | |
Which Video Conferencing Software is Right for You?
Evaluating the Best Video Conferencing Software
The best video conferencing software should allow one-on-one meetings and also accommodate groups of three or more participants. Since video meetings are often collaborative, screen sharing, whiteboarding, call controls, and other collaboration tools are also important. Video conferencing software should be easy to set up and use, and have good customer support to back it up. To learn more, check out our detailed list of evaluation criteria.
Here’s how the six services we evaluated stack up when compared against each other for price, features, and customer support.
Zoom: Best Overall Video Conferencing Software for Small Businesses
Zoom meeting view
What it costs: Zoom’s pricing ranges from a free basic plan to $19.99 per host, per month at the highest level. Each level includes 100 participants with the option to purchase more seats at the paid levels.
What it does: Zoom is a video conference software service with a generous set of features, including unlimited meetings, on-screen collaboration, and call controls for free.
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Zoom’s free tier level video conference software package features screen and desktop sharing, and accommodates up to 100 participants for an unlimited number of meetings. However, there is a 40-minute time limit on group meetings of three people or more. Paid packages accommodate up to 100 participants with the option to purchase up to 1,000 additional seats. Meeting duration at this level is a whopping 24 hours and also includes advanced host controls.
Learn more about Zoom’s features and tools on our Zoom reviews page.
RingCentral: Best Conferencing Software With Built-in Phone Service
RingCentral’s meeting dashboard
What it costs: RingCentral pricing ranges from $19.99 to $49.99 per month. Additionally, for all healthcare providers, schools (K-12), and nonprofit organizations that have been impacted by COVID-19, RingCentral is offering free access to RingCentral Office suite for new customers.
What it does: RingCentral is a comprehensive business phone system with built-in video conferencing. It features an auto-attendant to greet and route callers, internet faxing, and call forwarding.
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RingCentral’s video conference software package accommodates up to four participants for an unlimited number of meetings. It includes screen sharing, drawing tools, and speaker spotlight. Its integrated business phone system includes robust features like multilevel auto-attendant for call routing capability to multiple locations and external phone numbers.
To read more about RingCentral’s video conferencing and business phone features, check out our RingCentral user reviews page.
GoToMeeting: Best Video Conference With GoTo-branded Integration
GoToMeeting meeting view
What it costs: GoToMeeting’s pricing ranges from $14 to $19 per host, per month. The number of meeting participants varies from 10 to 250, depending on the plan level. There are discounts available for annual contract agreements.
What it does: GoToMeeting is video conferencing software that provides seamless integration with video-based GoTo products, like GoToConference and GoToWebinar, that companies are already using.
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GoToMeeting video conferencing software supports 10 to 250 participants depending on the plan, as well as unlimited meetings. It includes mobile apps, a screen-sharing tool that allows hosts to share their screen or pass control to their participants to collaborate, and a record function with automatic transcription. However, where GoToMeeting really shines is with its 24/7 phone and web support customer care for easy troubleshooting if issues crop up.
To learn more about how GoToMeeting can help your business hold video meetings, visit our GoToMeeting reviews page.
Join.me: Best Video Conferencing for Business App Integration
Join.me Salesforce integration
What it costs: Join.me is a video conferencing solution with plans from $10 per user, per month. It offers audio and video conferencing, screen sharing, cloud storage, and more free customer relationship management (CRM) and other business communication integrations than its competitors.
What it does: Join.me includes integration for CRM tools, including Salesforce.
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Join.me integrates with a variety of business applications, including Office 365, Slack, and Trello, to boost productivity and get the most out of online meetings. It also joins seamlessly with Salesforce to allow users to host Join.me video meetings directly from Salesforce. Join.me offers an optional toll-free number with per-minute rates starting from 8 cents to help your business to inexpensively absorb the participant’s cost to attend meetings.
For more information about Join.me’s video conferencing software service, head to our Join.me users review page.
UberConference: Best Video Conferencing Software for International Callers
UberConference call summary
What it costs: UberConference offers two pricing options. The Free tier provides unlimited meetings for up to 10 participants, while the Business tier provides unlimited meetings for up to 100 participants for $20 per user, per month.
What it does: UberConference features international video meeting access to over 50 countries.
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UberConference’s Free tier accommodates up to 10 participants for an unlimited number of meetings. As an added layer of protection against unauthorized participants, PINs are required for participants to enter and attend meetings. The Business tier accommodates up to 100 participants and PINs are not required for participants to enter and attend meetings. This tier also includes a team management portal, custom call-in number, and international access.
For details on UberConference’s features and international meeting access, read our UberConference reviews page.
FreeConferenceCall.com: Best Video Conferencing Software for Large Group Meetings
FreeConferenceCall.com dashboard
What it costs: FreeConferencecall.com accounts are free for an unlimited number of meetings of up to 1,000 participants. Additional a la carte upgrades include a toll-free number, custom hold music, and custom greeting.
What it does: FreeConferencecall.com is a video conference software service that offers free, unlimited audio and video conferencing for up to 1,000 people, well exceeding the industry average.
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FreeConferencecall.com allows up to 1,000 participants in meetings free of charge, call controls, recording, and optional upgrades like a toll-free number. Customers can record audio, screen sharing, and video conferencing to store, download, and share. FreeConferencecall.com also includes 1GB of cloud storage space free with each account, which users can increase up to 40GB for an additional fee.
For more information about using FreeConferenceCall.com for your video conferencing needs, check out our FreeConferenceCall.com reviews page.
How We Selected the Best Video Conferencing Software
A number of factors went into how we selected which video conferencing software is worth checking out and which one we think is the best overall. Here’s a detailed look at our evaluation criteria.
- Price: Most video conference software companies offer tiered pricing structures. To evaluate each company fairly, we attempted to compare packages costs on a per-user basis with similar features.
- Number of participants: Some companies limit the number of participants that can join meetings, though in some cases it’s possible to buy additional seats.
- Number of meetings: Some organizations limit the number of meetings you can host at different tier levels.
- Available screen sharing and collaboration tools: Screen drawing, annotation, document sharing, and other collaboration tools make it easier for teams to share information more effectively during video conference calls.
- Call controls: Mute, meeting lock, switch presenter, and other call controls make it easier for the host to manage video conferences efficiently.
- Business application integration: Business app integration extends the benefits of video conferencing by linking it to popular productivity and sales tools like Slack and Salesforce.
- Customer support: Video conference software companies should offer easily accessible online documentation and customer support. The companies we reviewed offer a combination of phone, email, and chat support, online knowledge bases, and community forums.
- Ease of use: Video conference software customers usually manage their accounts through software installed on a computer or through a web browser. We evaluated how easy the software is to install, set up, and use in a browser.
Bottom Line
Video conference software is great for helping business owners connect with clients and customers when face-to-face meetings aren’t possible. It should be affordable, accommodate groups of three or more, and offer enough call controls and collaboration tools to keep everyone in the meeting on track and productive.
The best video conferencing software depends on how many people regularly join your calls, how often you host them, and what kinds of tools you need during the calls. Businesses that want a solid combination of features at an affordable price can’t miss with Zoom. Visit Zoom’s website for a free demo and to sign up for a free account.
Kimberly Chichester
My question relates to the evaluation of Zoom. In my research, the Pro plan does not include “webinar” capapbility unless the “add-on” for webinar is also purchased – meaning it is meeting software (only audio/chat but no video) At the Pro level of $14.99/month plus $40/month for webinar add-on the true comparison cost is $54.99 for actual webinar capability. This is what Zoom says – but can anyone confirm this as an actual user or who has also looked into Zoom?
Thank you.
Laura Handrick
Hi Kimberly, Thanks for your question.
We use Zoom at Fit Small Business, both paid and free plans. They all offer video conferencing capability.
For example, I can set up and host a Zoom webinar for free and interact with employees across the globe. (The free group plan does limit you to 40 minute video conferences.)
The Pro plan adds additional features, but video conferencing is included in all plans. Here’s our review of Zoom, where you can see other user’s comments.
Best of luck to you.
Laura, HR Sr. Staff Writer
Brightside Treatment
Another very good video conferencing service which you guys can have a look at is: R-HUB HD video conferencing servers. It allows 30 people to join video conference at one time.
Amanda Norman
Hi Brightside Treatment,
Thank you for sharing. We really appreciate our readers’ feedback. We would love for you to leave a review on our TurboMeeting R-HUB review page.
Thanks for stopping by!
Mandy, Moderator
Thomas Carter
From my trials, the automated transcription services were not a good enough quality to use. Im sure they will be soon, but we use a transcription service like https://takenotetyping.com or rev.com to ensure its usable. We then use it to create content and make our video or audio searchable on youtube.
Lisa McGreevy
Hi Thomas,
Thanks for the note. A backup transcription service is a great idea. I’ve used rev.com myself and think it’s really useful.
praveen poojari
can we buy Zoom Pro account for 3 months and what is the cost of each license
Laura Handrick
Hi Praveen,
Please contact Zoom for specific pricing information.
https://zoom.us/?tt!pID=3521&tt!bD=5613081_1
Best!
Laura
Cari
I’m not sure why you say, “Zoom, Join.me, and GoToMeeting all offer users the ability to join meetings as participants by entering a URL and the meeting ID in their browser or entering the meeting ID in their mobile or desktop apps.” Technically both Zoom and GoToMeeting require you to download their app after receiving the URL with a meeting ID if you don’t already have it installed. I prefer Zoom’s HD quality video but Join.me’s ability to have prospects join a meeting without having to download an app is priceless. I wish Zoom could do that — or that Join.me had HD quality video.
Laura Handrick
Cari,
Thanks for sharing your personal experience. We tend to use Zoom in spite of our staff using MACs, Chromebooks, and PCs — we’ve had no issues. We’ll take your comments into consideration when we update this article. Best!
Laura, HR Staff Writer