The Best Alternatives To Zoom For Remote Meetings

1

Zoom

Zoom is getting a lot more use these days now that people need to hold meetings remotely and carry on other events that require face-to-face interaction without the current risks posed by physical proximity. Zoom lets you create and host meetings, but it isn’t the only online video conferencing solution out there. With anecdotal reports of slow connections and dropped calls, some might be looking for a secondary option. Thankfully, there are plenty of paid and free options to pick from, depending on your needs.

#Video Conferencing #Phone System #Group Chat & Notifications 195 social mentions

2

Zoho Meeting

Zoho Meetings lets you host end-to-end encrypted video meetings, conference calls, and webinars, all of which can be accessed through dial-ins and email links”you don’t need to force anyone to sign up or download an app in order to join in. There are also desktop, web, and mobile versions of the app.

#Web And Video Conferencing #Video Conferencing #Webinars And Webcasts 1 social mentions

3

Zencastr

Zencastr is technically a web-based podcasting service and doesn’t do video calls, but it’s excellent for conference calls. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Zencastr is lifting its restrictions on group size and recording limits. Free users can now host calls with unlimited users and unlimited recording time (normally only three users per call and 8 hours of recording time per month, though unrecorded calls don’t count).

#Podcast Tools #Podcast Hosting #Podcasts 31 social mentions

4

Discord

Discord is a gaming-focused app, but it has a broader appeal than just gaming thanks to its encrypted chats and flexible organisation features. Discord chats take place on dedicated “servers” that users can set up and organise themselves, each chat rooms”think Slack, but with video and voice calls in addition to text chat.

#Communication #Group Chat & Notifications #Messaging 122 social mentions

5

WhatsApp

Both WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger support group voice/video calls, but since these are tailored more for basic calls over mobile or the web, you won’t find enterprise-level conferencing features here. If all you need to do is hold a quick check-in with a few colleagues, both apps will work well.

#Communication #Messaging #Instant Messaging 24 social mentions

6

Facebook Messenger

Both WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger support group voice/video calls, but since these are tailored more for basic calls over mobile or the web, you won’t find enterprise-level conferencing features here. If all you need to do is hold a quick check-in with a few colleagues, both apps will work well.

#Group Chat & Notifications #Messaging #Chat 52 social mentions

7

FaceTime

Facetime is iOS-only, which limits its use as a universal solution, but since it’s included on just about every Apple device many folks will likely have access to it. The app supports up to 32 people in a single call, so as long as everyone’s got an iPhone, iPad, or Mac handy, it can be a solid way to hold remote meetings.

#Video Conferencing #Video Calls #Communication

8

Skype

Skype is another video chat service most people are likely familiar with. It supports up to 50 users on a single video call and is available on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and as a web app, but like most of the other free apps here, all participants will need to have an account”in this case, you’ll need a Microsoft account. That said, if everyone in your group is already signed up and using the service, it’ll do the job just fine.

#Group Chat & Notifications #Communication #Chat