Platforms reviewed



Platforms reviewedCISCO WebEx MeetingsClickMeetingZoom MeetingBlueJeans MeetingGoToMeetingRingCentral MeetingIntermedia AnyMeetingjoin.me Microsoft TeamsZOHO MeetingWhatsAppGoogle Hangout (Google Meet)SkypeCisco WebEx MeetingsPros: Free plan available. Minimal voice and video lag. 25 simultaneous video feeds. Trusted provider by the private sector and government because of its security and privacy settings.Cons: "Call Me" plan has additional cost. Only one presenter per license.Bottom Line: Video conferencing service Cisco WebEx Meetings offers a generous free plan and it's dropped its price considerably in the past couple of years. Cost: Basic, Enhanced and Premium Packages but not onscreen pricing only available by email or phone call because there are so many combination of options.ClickMeetingPros: Easy to use. Free trial that doesn't require credit card to try. Excels at webinars.Cons: Lacks phone support. Still utilises Adobe Flash, which is scheduled for deprecation in 2020. Limited number of video participants.Bottom Line: ClickMeeting is a competent video conferencing solution for small businesses that's simple to use and well-priced. Costs: Free trial - Online meetings for up to 5 people, Webinars for up to 25 attendees 5 audio feeds, 4 video feeds. Live - Video conferencing and live webinars, 25 audio feeds, 4 video feeds for ?20 per month, billed annually until you cancel. Automated – Live, automated and on-demand webinars, 25 audio feeds, 4 video feeds for ?30 per month, billed annually until you cancel. Enterprise - The dream solution for large companies seeking a scalable, out-of-the-box webinar platform.Zoom MeetingPros: Generous free account. Competitively priced paid plans. Stellar performance. Rich features for hosts and participants. Easy to use.Cons: Still presenting security issues – no end to end encryption but they are sharpening up on this and trying to win back trust through a 90 day plan. No toll-free dial-in numbers for the UK.Bottom Line: Zoom Meeting's claim to fame is top-notch performance and easy interface.Cost: Free – unlimited 1:1 meetings, up to 100 participants, 40 mins limit on group meetings, unlimited number of meetings. Pro - ?11.99 per month which supports up to 9 hosts per plan (special offer) up to 100 participants, meeting duration is 24 hours. Business - ?15.99 per host (min 10 hosts) ?159.90 per month for up to 300 participants. Enterprise - ?15.99 per host (Min 100 hosts) ?1599.00 per month for up to 500 participants.BlueJeans MeetingsPros: 50-100 people max, directional audio for Dolby Sound-enabled rooms and hardware. Quality and feedback statistics. Supports browser, desktop, and mobile platforms.Cons: No file sharing capabilities. No recording for the Me plan. Lacks common webinar features.Bottom Line: BlueJeans Meetings is an excellent service for folks who just need to meet, whiteboard, and screen share. Its Dolby-powered directional audio experience is unique and gives you a greater feeling of presence.Pricing plans: basic is $16.99 per month (can’t find UK prices)GoToMeetingPros: Simple user interface. Easy to create meetings. Can use a custom URL to access conference room. Free plan available. Commuter mode. Trial doesn't require credit card. Meeting transcription. 25 video feeds.Cons: Lacks advanced meeting options such as polling. Webinar features require getting GoToWebinar.Bottom Line: GoToMeeting is one of the easiest conferencing services to use, and its video conferencing feature keeps the app relevant in today's competitive market.Costs: Professional ?9.50 per organiser per month for up to 150 participants. Business ?12.67 per organiser per month for up to 250 participants RingCentral MeetingsPros: Generous free plan. Dial-in support for all plans. Works on all major platforms.Cons: Only local recordings are offered. No collaboration with outside users.Bottom Line: RingCentral Meetings is a low-cost, high-value video conferencing solution that very nearly hits a home run but has problems in a few critical areas. Still, it's hard to argue with a free plan that offers so much value.Cost: Standard from ?14.99 per month per user for 750 mins and 4 unlimited video meetings. Premium from ?19.99 per month per user for 100 video meetings.Intermedia AnyMeetingPros: Adds various collaborative and file-sharing features to business-focused video conferencing. Solid integration options.Cons: One-click functionality limited to Chrome browsers. Mobile app needs polish and lacks instructions.Bottom Line: Intermedia AnyMeeting ticks most of the feature boxes that small businesses are looking for in a video conferencing solution. And it adds some well-integrated collaboration and file sharing tools, too.Costs: $48 per month per user for 50 attendees or $128 per month per user for 200 attendees. (No UK pricing available)join.mePros: Generous free plan. Cost-effective, scalable options. Displays up to 10 video streams at once.Cons: Whiteboard is only available on iOS devices. Lite plan doesn't include webcam feeds.Bottom Line: Join.me is an easy-to-use video conferencing software solution with a modern user interface and numerous features that will improve your online meetings.Costs: Lite ?9 per month for meetings of up to 5 people, Pro ?13 per month Business ?20 per month (Discounts for more users and for non profit organisations)Microsoft TeamsPros: Easy to navigate. Rich chat including native voice calling. Pared down activity feed and team layout. Channel-based file viewing (channels- the name for groups of people working on a particular goal or project). Customisable mobile alert settings.Cons: No video calling on iOS. Custom Teams sticker sets not available from mobile chat. Need Office 365 mobile apps installed to edit files.Bottom Line: The Microsoft Teams mobile app is simple by design, giving you basic channel-based collaboration, chat, and calling on the go. As with the desktop experience, you need an Office 365 subscription to take full advantage.Costs: Microsoft 365 licence (participants can join via free weblink).Zoho MeetingPros: Solid free version. Intuitive. Offers website meeting embeds.Cons: Lacks customization of attendee information. Rudimentary reporting and data capture. Bare-bones features compared with some competitors. Hidden costs.Bottom Line: Zoho Meeting is a solid video conferencing tool if you need screen sharing and web presentations. However, if you need features such as white boarding, recording, and social sharing, it’s limited.Costs: Meeting ?8 per month per host 100 participants and storage for 10 recordings. Webinar ?15 for 25 attendees and ?23 for 50 attendees ?31 for 100 attendees ?63 for 250 attendees (per month) storage for 25 recordingsWhatsAppPros: User friendly, popular app to connect with a maximum of 8 people at one time. Can send text and voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other media. End to end encryption (secure - no one can read or access it apart from you and the person you are communicating with).Cons: Maximum on one call 8 (previously 4 people), file size limit.Costs: Free but internet access is needed.Google HangoutsPros: Very easy to install and set up, especially if you already have a Google account. The video and audio are decent quality. Allows many more active participants—up to 10 devices can be connected to a single meeting. Cons: Slower connection speed with more users. High-need apps, like those that project funny hats on participants’ heads, can cause dramatic lag and even frozen screens. While the video quality is good, it isn’t as good as Skype’s. Because Google Hangouts provides for multiple participants, it doesn’t allow for single-click conferencing. Bottom line: This is more like other video conferencing platforms. Google Hangouts provides a suite of productivity apps that let users share what’s on their screen, collaborate in Google Docs, view presentations and diagram together.Costs: FreeGoogle’s educational conferencing package ‘Google Meet’ is soon to be released for all users at no cost.SkypePros: The basic version of Skype is easy to install and operate. With a single click on the contact, a videoconference begins. Video and audio are clean and fluid (provided users are connected to a reasonably solid Internet source). ‘Skype in the Classroom’ is free and teachers and students can share ideas and collaborate on projects, too.Cons: Skype is a person-to-person video conferencing tool with only two devices connected at one time. There is no screen-sharing feature, meaning a user cannot share with attendees a view of his or her computer screen.Bottom line: A useful free person to person video call but not very useful for larger groups of people.Costs: Free (internet connection required) ................
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