29 April 2020

5 Best free video conferencing software at a glance

  1. Zoom Meeting
  2. Skype
  3. FreeConference
  4. Google hangouts
  5. Cisco Webex Meetings

Zoom Meeting

Feature-packed free video conferencing with secure encryption

  • Up to 100 participants
  • 256-bit TLS encryption
  • 40-minute limit for larger meetings
  • Screen Sharing

Available for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android, Zoom Meeting has lots of bases covered. There are free and paid-for tiers to choose from, but even in the free version you can hold either one-on-one meetings, or group meetings involving up to 100 people – however for meetings with three or more participants, there is a 40-minute time limit on the free version.

There are some nice touches such as desktop and application sharing, white boarding and annotations, and features which you have to pay for in competing product, such as recording meetings in MP4 or M4A format.

256-bit TLS encryption ensure that the meetings you hold, and the files you share within them, are secure. There are plugins available for Microsoft Outlook and Chrome which can be used for scheduling meetings, and administrator have a great deal of control over chat meetings and rooms. Zoom Meeting can also be used as a basic chat tool, but if you're needs are a little greater – such as needing support for more participants – there are various well-priced packages available.

Skype

Microsoft's video conferencing app has a generous free tier with Office 365 and Office Home and Student 2019.

  • Cross-platform support
  • Can be used in web browser
  • Live subtitles
  • 50-participant limit

Skype is very much a household name, which will serve as a strong draw from many people. While Microsoft's video chat tool is often thought of as being little more than a way of keeping in touch with friends and family, the cross-platform app also supports group video calling for up to 50 people.

Skype can also be used in a browser, which is great for chatting with people without the app installed – you can simply invite them to join in using their email address.

As you would hope, there is a screen sharing option, and to make it easier to focus on who you are speaking to, there is the ability to automatically blur backgrounds. Other handy features include live subtitling of conversations, and the ability to record chats.

If you need to have video meetings that involve more people, Skype for Business is a paid-for upgrade. For a low monthly per-user fee, you gain support for chats with up to 250 participants, Office integration, and stronger security options.

FreeConference

 Excellent free video conferencing for small international meetings

  • No desktop software necessary
  • International dial-in available
  • Maximum five participants

FreeConference keeps things beautifully simple for users by not requiring any software to be installed. There are mobile apps available, but it is possible to take part in a video conferencing session from just about any device with a web browser installed. You can participant in text or video chats, and use features such as screen and file sharing – but FreeConference is not without its limitations.

The maximum number of conference participants is five, which rules this out as a tool for many small businesses who may regularly want to host meetings for more people.

A number of international dial-in numbers are available for conference calls, and you have the option of recording calls if you like. Configuring, managing and scheduling meetings is very simple with FreeConference – including from Outlook – and there are some nice touches such as being able to set up recurring meetings. It's a shame that features such as advanced security, video recording and transcriptions are only part of premium packages, but the free version is still pretty powerful.

Google Hangouts

Ideal for smaller meetings, on any desktop or mobile device

  • For desktop and mobile
  • Can be used in web browser
  • Video chat limited to 10 participants

Google's range of messaging services never fails to confuse, and even Hangouts is divided into Meet and Chat variants. As Google Hangouts Meet is only available to G Suite customers, it is effectively not free, unlike the basic Google Hangouts service – although it’s worth noting that Google plans to start migrating users to Google Hangouts Chat. Confused?

Hangouts is a very simple tool that support chatting with up to 150 people, but video calls with only up to 10 participants. There are little in the way of options, but this is about speed and convenience. Hangouts can be used in your browser, and there are apps available for Chrome OS, iOS and Android.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, which led to large numbers of people either choosing or being forced to stay at home. Google responded by making it easier for people around the world to world and learn remotely, offering extended Hangouts Meet capability to G Suite and G Suite for Education users for free. Until July 1 2020, Enterprise-level features such as meetings of up to 250 people, recording to Google Drive and more are available for free.

Cisco Webex Meetings

Premium video conferencing features without the price tag

  • Includes 1GB cloud storage
  • Up to 100 participants
  • Screen sharing

With a name like Cisco behind it, expectations for WebEx Meetings are understandably high – and it doesn't disappoint. While there are various plans available for Webex Meetings, for most circumstances the free version should be just fine. This enables you to hold HD video meetings with up to 100 participants, and to take advantage of options such as screen sharing and private chat rooms.

When you sign up for an account, you are assigned a personal URL that can be used to manage all of your meetings, schedule video conferences, and access the recording you have made.

When it comes to holding a video meeting, you have the choice between using the Webex Meetings app or just sticking with the website, though it could be argued that the desktop apps give a smoother experience. There are also mobile apps available.

The free package includes 1GB of cloud storage, unlimited meetings of unlimited length and the ability to make MP4 recordings of them. Security is catered for by TLS 1.2 and AES 256-bit encryption, and backed by Cisco's networking know-how means performance is impressive.