Web Video Conferencing ((HOT))
Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat were rebranded to Google Meet and Google Chat in April 2020. We announced in 2019 that we would be migrating all classic Hangouts users to the new Meet and Chat products. In order to provide enterprise-grade online video conferencing to everyone, we announced a no-cost version of Google Meet in May 2020.
web video conferencing
IT administrators control Google Workspace settings, such as whether Google Meet is the default video conferencing solution in Google Calendar. Visit the Google Workspace Admin Help Center to learn how to activate Google Meet in your organization.
Conference call providers have the technology to support large conference calling sessions with thousands of participants. With that technology, conference call providers offer businesses hassle-free conference calling and collaboration. In turn, businesses can save money on travel costs and increase productivity. They also offer various value-added features that make outsourcing conferencing services a cost-effective solution for businesses.
Our short guide will prepare you to compare conference call providers on cost, integration & collaboration, and ease of use. Here are the 13 best free web conferencing software providers with video and screenshare:
Zoom has a free plan and a paid one. The paid plan is actually cheaper than GoToMeeting. Zoom's free plan only offers 40 minutes of conferencing. It also limits the number of call participants to three people. With an upgraded plan, businesses can have as many users as it wants, unlimited meetings and video conferencing that includes many more features. Some of the advanced features include active speaker view, dual stream for dual screens, and full-screen views. Participants can even call in to join the conference.
The web conferencing feature also includes an MP4 recording of meetings, a personal meeting ID, application or desktop specific sharing, private and group chat, and a virtual whiteboard. Zoom also includes mouse and keyboard sharing free of charge. It is also possible to share the screen of an iPhone or iPad app. The downside to Zoom is that it only allows meetings up to 40 minutes in length. However, users can hold an unlimited number of meetings. 1 on 1 meetings is not limited to any particular time duration.
Zoho Meeting, from the company Zoho which is known for its security and privacy matters, is one of the secured web conferencing solutions in the market. There is no limit for the meeting duration and lets you hold unlimited meetings even using the free edition. Advanced moderator controls give you more control over the meeting and the participants. Not just from the computer, you can also share your screen from iOS and Android devices. If your participants are out of reach of the internet, they can still join the call from their phone. You can also have your meetings handy in your browser extension, GMail or Google calendar. You can rule out the OS dependencies like Windows, Mac, or Linux, as this tool lets you hold meetings from the web browsers without downloading any app.
The web conferencing features include keyboard and mouse sharing, recording and storage, embed meeting widget, lock meeting, application or desktop sharing, video conferencing, co-branding and local dial-in numbers. The tool is tightly integrated within the Zoho ecosystem such that you don't have to jump between the apps to hold meetings or video conferencing. The free edition is limited to 2 participants with restricted features but Zoho Meeting comes at a cheaper price that makes the small businesses and startups use the tool for their video conferencing needs. As far as security and privacy are concerned, it is perfect for large enterprises.
TeamViewer also has interesting add-ons, like TeamViewer QuickJoin. TeamViewer QuickJoin lets customers join meetings and presentations fast with little effort. The feature can be used without needing to have administrator rights or going through an installation process. It is also supported by Mac, Linux, Android, Windows, Chrome OS, and iOS. TeamViewer has most devices covered. There is also video and audio conferencing. Users can also use text-based chat. There are other good features, even though they are behind a paywall, includes Remote QuickSteps. Remote QuickSteps adds single-click shortcuts for their remote support actions. Anyone who upgrades to the paid plan will notice that TeamViewer offers great support and IT use.
RingCentral Video offers a superbly integrated video, message, and telephony experience that's unified, fast, trusted, and open. RingCentral Video is geared towards organizations and teams of all sizes. With RingCentral Video, you get HD video and HD audio conferencing, as well as a guaranteed 99.999% uptime reliability. You, your organization, and clients can use RingCentral Video without having to download anything, since it works right in the web browser automatically. RingCentral Video also boats enterprise-grade security, and a wealth of integrations with the other apps you use every day like Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Slack, and more.
GoToMeeting is one of a few highly popular web conferencing services that people recognize by name. Even when using the free plan, this platform provides one of the easiest methods to host conference calls. GoToMeeting also has screen sharing capabilities. The one-click meeting solution makes it easy for beginners to figure out the software. Anyone who uses GoToMeeting can also start meetings using the app. Meetings can also be initiated using Microsoft Office programs, chat links, and email.
Anyone using GoToMeeting's free option is limited to only audio conferencing. Video conferencing is limited to paid plans. However, the web audio conferencing comes with the option for VoIP voice chat. Teams can configure their conference calls to whatever meets their needs. The only other problem with GoToMeeting is the fact that the free plan limits the number of people who can join a conference. This platform only allows three conference call participants. While this may seem limiting and possibly problematic for larger enterprises, it's ideal for smaller ones. Anyone seeking a quick web conferencing solution for a small team should consider this web conferencing software.
ezTalks Meetings is definitely one of the best free web video conferencing services available right now. ezTalks Meetings not only provides free HD web video conferencing, but also provides powerful online whiteboard collaboration tools, so that team members can all see the notes and sketches of their colleagues on the online whiteboard. ezTalks Meetings can also support up to 100 people on one web conference!
Hosted, owned, and developed by networking giant Cisco, Webex is high on many of the lists that rank the best web conference software. It's one of the first conference solutions, but Cisco created a product that pretty effective. Like most other web conferencing systems; there is a free version of Webex. Webex's free version limits the number of conference participants to three. Users can share their screens. Anyone who uses Cisco Spark will appreciate the fact that the platform can be integrated with Webex.
Most people have heard of Skype. Skype has a free, web conferencing solution that is also worth using. Even though this feature is not widely-known, Skype does allow screen sharing. What makes this feature even better is the fact that it is free. Skype is not as flexible as other apps that do not force participants to download any software. Anyone who wants to use Skype has to sign up. Users need to create a Skype name and download the program. In order to use the conferencing features, conference participants must be added to the contact list.
Skype for business is possible. However, this feature has different applications and It requires a Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) subscription. So, Skype for business may not be a good option for smaller teams looking to upgrade their service to a paid option. Skype allows users to host video and audio conferences that can host up to 25 participants. The number is participants is higher than most other solutions. Skype can also support desktop OS, Android, and iOS phone apps to allow on-the-go conferencing.
OpenMeetings has minimal design and UI. It's also not one of the best-looking solutions, but it's a free web conferencing solution. OpenMeetings solution has video conferencing, whiteboard capabilities, instant messaging, and collaborative document editing. This solution has everything that most of its competitors have. Because this app is an open source app, it's possible for teams to get a developer to customize the platform to suit the needs of the user.
Screen sharing and the ability to record the session's audio are a few of OpenMeetings' features. To make matters even better, users don't have to devote their entire screen to video conferencing. It's possible to select only a portion of the screen. Collaboration is effortless. People can create more than one whiteboard, if necessary, to discuss and edit files. Also, there is a chat feature built into the whiteboard. Again, the UI is not great, but the UX is solid and has drag and drop features.
The free plan is limited to conferencing and screen sharing. The free trial of the advanced plans includes free audio conferencing that comes with its own dedicated conference call number in the U.S.and more than 40 other countries. There is also video conferencing. The one-click scheduling can be integrated with Google Calendar and Outlook to maintain and organize your invitations. Another feature is the creation of a permanent meeting location. This lets clients save the address to stay in contact with the business. The online whiteboard feature provides an extra level of collaboration, screen sharing, and presentation.
There aren't a lot of options out there for someone who is seeking a free web conferencing app that includes screen sharing. However, the ones that are available do a good job at meeting the needs of most teams. With options like Google Hangouts, Apache's OnlineMeeting, and TeamViewer, most companies may not have to spend any money on web conferencing. 041b061a72