Today, video conferencing software is the preferred choice for meetings for remote and hybrid companies and even employers who primarily use physical offices. Since professionals around the world rely on these programs on a daily basis, it is essential to choose an option that consistently performs well and offers high-quality video calls.
We’ve compiled a list of five video conferencing software tools available for a Windows PC or Mac computer. These tools stand out among the sea of options for their quality and variety of features. Continue reading to learn more about each entry and choose the one that best suits your needs.
Zoho Meeting
Zoho Meeting It is one of the most affordable options on the video conferencing market, something that could never be said for its quality and possibilities. The platform even offers a free version that allows you to host one-hour meetings for up to 100 attendees. Paid plans have the following price:
- Standard Meeting Plan: $5.77/month per host
- Professional Meeting Plan: $9.90/month per host
- Standard Webinar Plan: $17.32/month per host
- Professional Webinar Plan: $29.70/month per host
Zoho Meeting also integrates seamlessly with other tools in the Zoho business software suite, allowing you to manage your entire business from a single control center.
As a standalone solution, Zoho Meeting offers an easy-to-use interface with a clean design. Therefore, there is no learning curve, even for the least tech-savvy users. When you’re in a meeting, all icons will disappear from your screen to minimize distraction. If you need to use the mute or unmute button or share your screen, move your mouse and the options will appear again.
When you host a meeting, you’ll gain access to typical moderator controls, such as muting and unmuting participants and adding guests. However, you will also have the option to lock the meeting. Basically, this feature prevents new people from joining the discussion. Thanks to this handy feature, you can ensure that uninvited participants don’t lock your session even if they somehow obtain the ID and password.
If you’re a participant, you can get the host’s attention using the nifty Reactions feature. This option allows you to virtually raise your hand and insert a comment or ask a question. It also offers other gestures to indicate your feelings during the meeting or confirm that you are following the conversation.
Plus, you can take notes with Zoho Notebook, a feature packed with text formatting options.
For those who need it, Zoho allows you to implement a virtual background, a must-have on days when your home office isn’t up to par. Additionally, you can choose from several animated options if you need to liven up a meeting.
A bad connection can be a big obstacle during an online meeting. Therefore, Zoho offers a network performance indicator that pinpoints the network to blame for the poor meeting experience. This way, the culprit can take necessary steps to fix the problem immediately and the meeting can resume smoothly in no time.
In addition to Windows PC and Mac clients, Zoho offers a iOS and Android app to help you stay connected while traveling.
Zoom
Zoom is one of the most popular video conferencing software on the market, and for good reason. The platform makes it very easy to organize and join a meeting, avoiding unnecessary delays that can significantly impact workflow. You can schedule video conference calls in advance or call one of your contacts right away.
This highly reliable software will continue the meeting even if your Internet connection fails.
Zoom offers full features for both hosts and participants. As a host, you can:
- Record any call as a full video
- Share your screen, a part of the screen, or a specific app
- Share audio from your computer
- Put attendees on hold
- Give the remote control to another person
As for the participants, they will be able to do the following:
- Use chat to communicate with each other.
- Send private messages to inpiduals.
- Blur background
- Touch up your appearance
If you find Zoom appealing, you can try it with a free plan. This plan allows you to host a meeting of up to 100 participants and no longer than 40 minutes. As for paid plans, you can choose between three options:
- Pro: $149.90/year per user
- Companies: $199.90/year per user
- Company: customized price
Google meeting
Google meeting It can be easily integrated with other applications, opening up a world of possibilities for your business. You can create a meeting using Google Calendar and all participants will automatically receive a Google Meet link to join the call. During the call, you can quickly access files from Google Drive and share them with everyone without leaving the meeting. Other Google services that may be useful during a session include:
- Chat
- Jamboard
- Documents
- Slideshow
- Leaves
- Sites
- Forms
Google Meet offers the possibility of real-time subtitles, something essential to make meetings more accessible. However, remember that English is the default language of the app and the subtitle software will not accept any other language.
This software runs in a browser, so there is no need to install an application on your computer. Although more convenient, browser-based video conferencing tools can sometimes struggle with larger calls. You can avoid this problem by having participants join through view-only mode.
Google Meet is part of the Google Workspace suite, which offers four paid tiers:
- Business Starter Plan: $6/month per user
- Standard Business Plan: $12/month per user
- Business Plus Plan: $18/month per user
- Business Plan: personalized prices
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams It offers excellent call quality and some of the most robust video conferencing features on the market. These attributes help the meeting run smoothly even when there are many people on the call.
However, the app’s interface can get a little cluttered due to the sheer number of features and the fact that Microsoft keeps adding new ones. For this reason, you will need time to master everything this software offers.
The time required to learn how to use the application will certainly be worth it, as Microsoft Teams offers several customization options to meet user needs. It also offers multiple integration options, including seamless pairing with other Microsoft Office applications.
While you’re in the meeting, you can take advantage of many communication and engagement tools, including a powerful whiteboard app. This option allows you to draw diagrams freehand and smooth your drawings for a perfect result. Participants can also take notes and share them with their team members after the meeting. Additionally, all chats from a meeting will be saved in the app for future reference.
As for pricing, Microsoft Teams is available as a standalone tool for $4 per month per user. You can also get this tool as part of a Microsoft 365 Business subscription. In that case, you must pay the following prices:
- $6/month per user for the Basic plan
- $12.50/month per user for the Standard plan
- $22/month per user for Premium plan
webex
webex is a premium video conferencing app for your Windows PC or Mac computer and iOS and Android devices. This software focuses primarily on video quality, so it’s no surprise that it excels at making every call look better.
In addition to looking good, the software works well, with particularly sophisticated collaborative features. These include:
- Share documents with all participants
- Sharing your screen
- Co-annotation of shared files.
- A virtual whiteboard
Thanks to these handy features, Webex is a great option when the entire team needs to brainstorm ideas for a new project. Automatic hand raising is one of the best features as it allows anyone to immediately chime in with a comment or suggestion. All you need to do is place your hand in front of the camera, which will trigger a reaction that will catch the attention of the meeting host and other participants.
Pricing is custom-made, so it would be best to contact a Webex sales representative for a specific quote.
Get work done without leaving home
Video conferencing programs have become an essential business tool that allows meetings to be held more efficiently. These tools offer a level of flexibility and accessibility that few in-person meetings can match. So, check out the video conferencing solutions we list in this article and determine which one is best for you, your team, and your business.
