Online video conferencing has changed the way people communicate or employees work in a remote or work from home setup. We all know that humans are wired for a face-to-face connection or an in-person approach. With virtual meeting software, teams can work together or engage clients & customers to leverage greater productivity & efficiency, no matter where they’re put up.

Since video conferencing solutions perform more than 35% better than its audio counterpart, it would be wise to invest in an online conference software for your team. There are free options that can be leveraged with affordable hardware like high-quality video conferencing webcams that facilitate inclusion for remote teammates and creates a collaborative atmosphere between office personnel from various locations.

Remote team members feel less included if they are not able to perceive visual clues and thus have less impact or productivity. Adding a video component helps build employee effectiveness & relationships. Making remote team members more inclusive fuels employee happiness, efficiency, and working capacity.

To begin, let’s evaluate the top six video conferencing solutions for conversations, teams, broadcasts, etc.

The best free video conferencing systems are listed as –

• iFMeets
• Zoom
• GoToMeeting
• Cisco Webex

The evaluation of these top 6 video conferencing solutions is based on the following tools and features

• Personal Meeting Room
• Custom Meeting ID
• Admin Controls
• Breakout Rooms
• Agenda
• Ticket Support
• Direct Web Access
• Meeting time limit
• Multiple participants on a single screen
• Recording Support
• Chat through meeting
• Mobile & browser-based meetings
• High-quality Audio and Video
• Team & personal file storage
• Real-time collaboration with Office 365
• Coauthoring
• File sharing
• Security and compliance
• Virtual Background
• Waiting rooms
• Whiteboarding & Co-annotation
• Participants
• HD video meeting
• Screen Sharing

iFMEETS

iFMeets is ideal for anyone who has remote team members specifically in the AEC community, education, and healthcare sector. iFMeets allows for a simple and easy setup of virtual meetings. With up to one host in the free plan, users can personalize their conferencing experience for connecting virtual classrooms, facilitate productive meetings, and allow healthcare service providers to reach out and serve patients with effective and reliable communication. Anyone using the iFMeets free option is not limited to audio conferencing. Users can leverage secure video conferencing for up to 100 participants with customized meeting IDs, secure screen-sharing, whiteboards, and other great features. With complete market disruption, iFMeets has highly competitive paid plans integrated with high-end features that are second-to-none.

Top free features :

• Hosts up to 100 participants
• Meeting duration limit of 2 hours
• Custom meeting id
• Admin controls
• Meeting recording
• Agenda-based meetings
• Ticket Support
• Breakout rooms
• Whiteboards
• Uploading presentations
• Co-annotation
• Screen-sharing

ZOOM

The Zoom free option offers users a decent set of tools and features that helps users connect for virtual meetings. With simple online meetings, group messaging, and an easy-to-use platform, Zoom offers HD audio and video conferencing, limited duration group meetings, virtual backgrounds, waiting rooms, etc. Zoom’s free plan is applicable for users and enterprises with small remote teams that require a simple and easy setup, and short collaborative meetings. Private meeting links can be shared with individuals or teams and connect them through video. It also facilitates screen –sharing from multiple attendees at the same time. 

Top free features :

• HD video & voice
• Simultaneous screen share
• Personal room or meeting ID
• MP4 or M4A recording
• Private & group chat
• Breakout rooms
• Whiteboarding
• SSL encryption & AES 256 bit encryption
• Co-annotation

GOTOMEETING

GoToMeeting is a popular web conferencing software that provides easy-to-setup methods to host a small group or one-on-one meetings. Even in its free plan, it does support screen-sharing and webcam support on Android and iPhone, and Mac. With a limited count of 3 people, GoToMeeting would not be the preferred choice against its competition. The free plan also provides in-meeting chats, limited time meetings, & VoIP audio.

Top free features :

• VoIP audio
• 40-minute meeting duration
• Webcam support and screen-sharing
• Browser and mobile-based meetings
• Up to 3 meeting participants

CISCO WEBEX

Cisco Webex is hosted, owned, and developed by the networking giant Cisco. It is one of the first web conferencing solutions. The free plan from Cisco Webex is good for small or medium-sized teams in terms of the participants that can be invited for a meeting. Once signed for Webex, hosts get a host license, personal room, and Webex site. Teams can share content or start instant messaging in the personal room. The free plan also has a meeting recording facility, wherein users can save the recording to the computer and not the Webex site. Transcripts cannot be recorded in the free-plan. In terms of sharing content, the free plan offers desktop, app, file, and whiteboard sharing capabilities. 

Top free features:

• Invitation to 100 participants
• Instant messaging in the personal room
• Content sharing
• Unique Secure URL’s
• Instant messaging in a personal room
• Call-into-a-meeting
• Switch between an active speaker and grid layouts
• Record a meeting & save it on the computer
• Share desktop, file, app, or whiteboard

Google Meet is another online video conferencing software that works for quick meetings on web and mobile devices like Android & iOS. With a participant limit of 100 and a meeting limit of 60 minutes, unlimited participants on a single screen, and screen-sharing capabilities, and recording support until September 30^th; Google Meet is quite basic in its free offerings.

CONCLUSION

When considering which online video conferencing software suits you, your team, and business, take a look at our previous blog. The debate on whether free online video conferencing software is good enough or you need to upgrade to a paid plan is a crucial call that requires a core understanding of your business demands. If the features in the free plan serve you well, then there’s no need to upgrade to a paid version. But if you do require features that are locked in the paid plans, then you should seriously consider upgrading to a higher plan.   

Visit us: – https://www.ifmeets.com/