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The best conference call service is GoTo Meeting, thanks to its unbeatable sound and video quality, and lower price point than many of its rivals. If you’re new to the software, Zoom is another excellent option, whereas RingCentral Video will be your go-to option for longer meetings.
With the majority of US businesses embracing a remote or hybrid working model, the role of web conferencing software has never been more important. The provider you choose can have a major impact on your team’s collaboration and productivity levels though, and with so many options to choose from, whittling down the competition can be hard.
Fortunately, there are tons of credible solution, and we’re here to help you find one that fits your business. Keep scrolling to learn about all the features, price points, pros, and cons of some of the best conferencing call services on the market today.
Price from The lowest starting price for a paid plan. The lowest price available for your business will depend on your needs. | Best for | Free plan | Breakout Rooms | Whiteboard | Audio-Conferencing | Pros | Cons | ||
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FEATURED DEAL | TOP RATED | | |||||||
Zoho Meeting | GoTo Meeting | Zoom | RingCentral | Webex | Google Meet | Microsoft Teams | Lifesize | BlueJeans | |
Value | Sound and video quality | Beginners | Security | Larger businesses | Google Workspace users | Microsoft 365 users | Users that need hardware | Users that need customer support | |
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Yes (paid plan) – VoIP, Phone & Toll-Free | Yes – VoIP, Phone & Toll-Free | Yes – Add-on audio plan allows you to add Call Out, global Toll-free & local dial-in for premium countries | Yes – Companies get a single audio conferencing bridge dial-in phone number for easy universal access. | Yes – Audio-only calls can be created when a host generates an Audio pin | Yes – Just call the number listed on the meeting invite, or join via the link and turn off your camera | Yes – but only in selected countries, and each user dialing into meetings will need an audio-conferencing license. | Yes – in a meeting contact card, users can tap the phone number under Details to call using their default phone or voice app | Yes – Easy access to audio conferencing is provided via a traditional PSTN number | |
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Top Conference Call Systems for Business
Tech.co selected and ranked the best conference call systems using five main criteria: The quality of the audio and video, the usability of the interface, the range of features, the availability of support, and the kinds of price plans offered.
Check out our list of the best conference call providers for 2024 below or try our free comparison tool if you’re interested in comparing prices for integrated conference call services, including video chat, instant messaging, and more.
- GoTo Meeting — Best overall
- Zoom — Best for beginners
- RingCentral Video — Best for longer meetings
- Webex — Best for larger businesses
- Google Meet — Best for Google users
- Microsoft Teams — Best for Microsoft users
- Zoho Meeting — Best for business on a budget
Pros:
- 14-day free trial
- High quality audio and video
- Very reliable and secure
- Lower cost than competitors
Cons:
- Weak free plan
- Relies on a very strong internet connection
- Webinar features requires GoToWebinar integration
If you’re looking for a reliable conference call service with years of experience and plenty of conference calls under its belt, GoTo Meeting is the best option for remote and hybrid teams. Yes, we even recommend it above Zoom.
With HD video, clear audio, and enough helpful features to keep everyone on track, GoTo Meeting is an industry standard for a reason. The simple interface, combined with an easy-to-use layout, makes it a no-brainer for everyone in the office. Most notably, this software provides unmatched compatibility with a wide range of devices, from mobile to PC to Mac.
The only downside is that GoTo Meeting is missing a few advanced features that could really add to the conference call experience. You can’t share videos and you can’t take polls, for example. But if you can forego those things, it’s cheaper than Zoom’s equivalent service, and offers a high-quality user experience.
GoTo Meeting Pricing
GoTo Meeting has three plans, all of which come with the same basic features. The Professional and Business plans can host conference calls with up to 150 and 250 participants, respectively. The Enterprise plan is for up to 3,000 participants. There’s regular deals on GoTo Meeting pricing plans, too, with a currently deal that could get you 34-35% off your subscription.
GoTo Meeting Features
- Screen sharing
- Dial-in conference lines
- No meeting limits
- Personal meeting rooms
- Great mobile app
- 24/7 customer support
- Integrations with Slack and Salesforce
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Broad functionality
- Free version available
Cons:
- Poor audio quality
- Lots of features are only available as add-ons
- 40-minute meeting limit on free plan
Zoom is a reliable and easy-to-use software that makes conference calls as easy as sending a link to potential participants via email. It offers an easy-to-use interface, along with a low price, fast install times, and plenty of features, including whiteboarding, automated captions, breakout rooms, virtual backgrounds, and polling. Like the best players in the game, the web conferencing software is constantly upgrading its offering too.
In March 2023 the solution launched Zoom IQ — a collection of AI-backed features including smart meeting summaries, automatic prompt-generated Whiteboards, enhanced customer analytics, and smart meeting summaries (pictured below).
However, despite its HD audio status, after testing the product we found that Zoom’s audio quality is far from perfect, making it unsuitable for remote businesses prioritizing top-quality sound. This is why we put Zoom just below GoTo Meeting as a worthy conferencing service.
In addition, the service has weathered some security issues in the past that may give privacy-focused users pause. However, these have largely been addressed in the last few years, and other than that, Zoom boasts one of the more affordable, comprehensive conference call services on the market.
Zoom Pricing
Zoom Workplace, which includes Zoom Meetings, consists of a limited, albeit impressive free plan along with four paid plans that offer a wide range of different features. Unlike GoTo Meeting, Zoom combines VoIP, webinar, and other communication tools into one platform, so you’ll get all of it for the low price listed above.
Zoom Workplace Business and Zoom Workplace Business Pro offer unlimited editable whiteboards too, making these plans much better suited to businesses running interactive sessions. Take a look at its pricing table to understand even better.
Price | Licenses | Participants | Time limit | Whiteboard | Breakout rooms | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic | Pro | Business | Business Plus | Enterprise | |||
Free | $13.32/host/month | $18.32/host/month | $22.49/host/month | Custom pricing | |||
1 | 9 | 10-99 | 10-99 | Minimum 250 | |||
100 | 100 | 300 | 300 | 500 | |||
40 minutes | 30 hours | 30 hours | 30 hours | 30 hours | |||
Limited to 3 | Limited to 3 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | |||
| | | | |
Zoom Features
- Direct messaging
- Video webinar functionality
- Breakout rooms
- Screen sharing
- Gallery view
- Virtual backgrounds
- End-to-end encryption
Pros
- Great free version
- No app required, works on browser too
- Integrates with Microsoft 365 and Google Workplace
Cons
- No analytics or single sign-on with free plan
- Less suitable for larger companies
- Lacks advanced project management tools
Formerly known as RingCentral Glip, RingCentral Video is a relatively new software that allows for 24-hour meetings on its free plan, which makes it one of the best options for longer meetings in a small budget.
RingCentral Video has a lot of great features when it comes to its paid plan as well, like AI noise cancellation, virtual backgrounds, whiteboarding, breakout rooms, and live transcription. You’ll also get tons of cloud storage for meeting recordings, advanced analytics to see how your team communicates, and integrations with Microsoft 365 and Google Workplace to make scheduling easy.
After we tested RingCentral ourselves, we were really impressed by its intuitive software and slick usability. The platform has a simple setup process too, walking you through the onboarding with a step-by-step guide, making it a great web conferencing service for beginners.
RingCentral’s video service has just got even better for sales teams, too. In March 2023 RingCentral launched RingSence — a new AI-powered sales platform that unlocks a number of smart features like AI summary scoring, automated sales follow-ups, and enhanced keyword tracking (see below).
Choosing an established VoIP provider like RingCentral means you’ll have easy access to other conference calling and Unified Communications features, too, outside of just RingCentral Video’s video calling. If you’re looking for in-office conferencing perks for example, RingCentral recently announced a partnership with Logitech which should make for a smooth experience, should you upgrade to RingCentral’s Rooms product.
RingCentral Video Pricing
RingCentral Video keeps things a bit more basic than other providers like Zoom, offering only two pricing plans, including its robust free plan. Below, you’ll find out about how these two plans match up against each other.
RingCentral Video Features
- Unlimited meetings
- Cloud storage
- Dial-in features
- Virtual background
- Browser functionality (no app needed)
- Integrates with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365
Pros:
- Feature-rich software
- High quality audio and video
- Easy setup
Cons:
- Occasional bandwidth issues
- A little pricier than similar software
- Analytics not included in basic plans
Webex is a safe bet if you’re looking for a seriously robust conference call service. The platform is ideal for larger businesses, because it offers a massive selection of features, and its resources provide all the assistance you need to make it work for your company. Even better, it allows up to 81 videos in grid view, so you can see your whole team in one meeting.
All that functionality comes with some downsides, though. Compared to Zoom, for example, Webex is much more complicated to use, requiring meeting numbers and passcodes to get started. Still, larger businesses will definitely enjoy the advanced features that come with it, like end-to-end encryption and the ability to share multiple apps at once.
Webex Pricing
Webex offers three different plans, as well as a free forever plan. Here’s how they compare:
Webex Features
- Screen sharing
- Multiple gallery layouts
- Cloud recording in MP4
- Breakout sessions
- Virtual backgrounds
- End-to-end encryption
Pros:
- Very easy to use
- Gmail and Google Calendar compatibility
- Additional services included in paid plan
Cons:
- Spotty connectivity
- Poor audio quality
You can’t deny that Google Meet is a great, convenient option when you need to talk to your team. But if you really need to communicate on a regular basis, you’d be a lot better off with a service that focuses on audio quality and solid connectivity.
As perhaps the standard for businesses unwilling to shell out resources for a paid conference call service, Google Meet certainly performs admirably for a free alternative. Anyone with an existing Google account can create a video meeting, invite 100 people and chat for 60 minutes without paying anything – and it integrates with your Gmail and Google Calendar too which makes it a really simple easy-to-use option.
After testing Google Meets ourselves, we were really impressed with the platform’s seamless integration with Google Calendar. It made it easier to avoid double-booking meetings and to get a clearer overview of daily itineraries than any of the other solutions we’ve tried out.
For businesses looking to move on from their current solution, Google Meet’s workspace integration and low barrier make it one of the best services to switch to as well.
Free services have their limits, though, and Google Meet is no different. Connectivity problems run amok, particularly with video chats hosting multiple users, and there’s no way to record meetings. Audio quality also suffers compared to paid services, and any noise-canceling technology is nowhere to be found.
If you opt for a paid plan, though, you get way more than just a video conferencing tool. You’ll be paying for Google Workspace, a full-on business suite with Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and many other services built in. This provides a lot more functionality than tools like Zoom and RingCentral, but if you don’t need all that, simply stick to the basics.
Check out our Google Meet pricing guide for more information
Google Meet Pricing
Google Meet offers a great free plan that individuals can sign up to by virtue of having a google account.
Google’s cheapest paid plan, Business Starter, is $6 per user, per month, has a limit of 100 participants, and 30 GB of storage per user. Google’s Business Standard plan costs $12 per user, per month and has slightly larger limits of 150 participants and 2 TB of storage per user.
Google Meet’s Business Plus plan is also available for $18 per user, per month. With a 500-participant limit and a storage capacity of 5 TB per user, it’s a great option for larger businesses. Finally, Google Meets offers an Enterprise option as well, with the same participant limit as Business Plus, but with an unlimited storage cap.
Take a look at how the business plans differ side by side below:
Price | Licenses | Participants | Time limit | Whiteboard | Breakout rooms | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free | Starter | Standard | Plus | Enterprise | |||
Free | On request | ||||||
1 | up to 300 | up to 300 | up to 300 | Unlimited | |||
100 | 100 | 150 | 500 | 1,000 | |||
60 minutes | 24 hours | 24 hours | 24 hours | 24 hours | |||
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Google Meet Features
- Up to 100 participants
- Screen sharing
- Mobile app
- No recording
- Dial-in phone numbers for US and international
- G Suite integrations
Pros:
- Lots of team collaboration features, including the ability to coauthor content
- Robust free forever version
- Seamless integration with Microsoft platforms like Outlook, OneDrive, and Office
Cons:
- A bit more complicated than other options, given the vast functionality
- Forced to download the app on mobile and desktop to operate
If you haven’t heard about Microsoft Teams during the pandemic, you must be living under a rock. This team collaboration tool has been on a meteoric rise in the last year, offering a wide range of tools for remote teams and updating the platform on such a consistent basis that it already rivals the likes of Google Meet, Zoom, and many others.
Microsoft Teams is no stranger to a product update, either. Riding the artificial intelligence wave, the web conferencing giant released a series of new AI features this June too – including enhanced call delegation, improved meeting invitation options, and face enrollment for Teams Desktop.
Check out our Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet comparison guide
It is worth nothing, however, that Microsoft Teams is way more than just video conferencing. It is a full-on team collaboration platform that allows for project management, as well as a wide range of other team-based features that are perfect for remote teams.
Microsoft Teams Pricing
Microsoft Teams is completely free, which again makes it a very attractive offer if you’re looking for a business software package that can handle more than video conferencing. However, if you want even more for your team, the Microsoft 365 Basic software offers a wide range of other Microsoft business tools, including Microsoft Teams for only $5 per user per month, with the Microsoft 365 Standard plan only costing $12 per user per month, so they’re also a pretty good ideal if you need that extra power for your business.
However, there’s also a ‘Teams Essentials‘ package that Microsoft has recently launched that’s designed specifically to cater to the needs of small businesses, and is available from just $4 per user per month, making it the cheapest paid plan Microsoft now offer. It includes features like extended meeting times, large meeting capacity, and twice the amount of cloud storage (10 GB) you’re afforded in Microsoft’s free version of Teams.
Like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams doesn’t just come by itself. For starters, it’s a collaboration platform that allows for other features like task management and team messaging. Additionally, if you want to pay more, you’ll be signed up for the full-on Microsoft 365 service, which also acts as a business suite for added functionality with Outlook, Calendar, and Bing.
Check out our Microsoft Teams pricing guide for more information
Price | Licenses | Participants | Time limit | Whiteboard | Breakout rooms | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams Essentials | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | ||||
Free | $4/user/month | $6/user/month | $12.50/user/month | ||||
Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||||
300 | 300 | 300 | 300 | ||||
60 minutes | 30 Hours | 30 hours | 30 hours | ||||
| | | | ||||
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Microsoft Teams Features
- Screen sharing
- Customized backgrounds
- File attachments in chat
- Real-time Microsoft Office collaboration
- Dial-in conferencing
- File storage
Pros
- Low-cost, flexible pricing plans
- Browser functionality
- SSL/128-bit AES encryption
Cons
- Recording costs extra
- Only 10 participants
- Extra participants cost more
If the better-known web conferencing options out there don’t suit your particular needs, don’t worry. Zoho — the company offering an impressive wide range of business resources like CRM and accounting software — has a video conferencing tool as well, dubbed Zoho Meeting.
While it may be a bit late to the game, this platform is actually quite robust, most notably allowing for no time limit on its free plan, a serious rarity in the web conferencing game. Additionally, it’s decidedly more affordable than Zoom, RingCentral, GoTo Meeting and pretty much any other option on this list when it comes to paid plans, which could be perfect for smaller businesses on a budget.
Still, it’s pricing is a bit limited from a participant standpoint, which definitely doesn’t set Zoho Meeting apart from the competition. If you’re a fully remote business, it may be worth investing in a service with more advanced capabilities instead, like GoTo Connect.
Check out our Zoho Meeting guide for more information
Zoho Meeting Pricing
Zoho Meeting offers a free plan and four paid plans. Here’s how they compare to each other when it comes to features:
Price | Licenses | Participants | Time limit | Whiteboard | Breakout rooms | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | |||||
Free | Standard | Professional | |||||
Free | $1/month | $3/month | |||||
1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
3 | 10 | 10 | |||||
60 minutes | 24 hours | 24 hours | |||||
| | | |||||
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Zoho Meeting Features
- Unlimited meetings
- High quality audio and video
- No time limit on free meetings
- Zoho app integrations
- Sharing during meetings
- Meeting notes
Finding the Best Conference Call Service
There are a lot of aspects of conference call services that you need to take into account before you buy. Make sure to consider each of these factors before making a decision.
Core Decision-Making Factors
Locating the best providers
Here at Tech.co, we’ve basically done this bit for you in this article. We’ve reviewed and tested a huge number of web conferencing providers and only recommend ones that will genuinely make life – as well as meetings – easier and more effective for your business, based on our personal experience.
Researching plans and features
As with any software that costs money, it’s vital that you perform adequate research before jumping into a decision, or else you’ll be left with a program or application that no one in your business gets any use out of.
The first thing to do is make sure you’re clear on what each provider is offering you, and in each package – and ensuring you’re comparing comparable packages (business/team plans should generally be compared to other business/team plans, rather than enterprise plans, for instance). Web conferencing software is a broad term, and providers usually differ greatly in what they offer, so paying attention to the minor distinctions is crucial.
Making a choice based on your needs
Ultimately, every business is different, and every business has a multitude of needs, some of which can be satisfied with software. Ensuring the web conferencing software you’re choosing does everything you need it to is one important aspect of the decision-making process, but equally, it’s also important to make sure you’re not overreaching and paying for packages or services that cost more because they house features you just don’t need.
This becomes even more of an important principle if you’re on a tight budget and just don’t have the financial capital to spend on the most expensive, all-encompassing services. In this case, it’s time to prioritize – so it’s a good idea to work out exactly what you need from a web conferencing software solution, but also to work out which of your needs are most important. An example would be screen sharing – not all providers offer this – so work out whether that’s a central priority.
Aspects of Software to Consider
Free vs. paid
Free conference call services are good when you need a simple solution, fast. However, they often suffer from terrible audio and video quality, and offer few – if any – added features like polling and annotating. Paid services are designed for companies that really need to communicate effectively on a regular basis.
Audio and video quality
Having a good camera and microphone is one thing. But some software boasts better audio and video quality than others. Make sure your conference call service can display at least 1080p video and HD audio to get the full experience.
Number of hosts/users
Ensuring you pick a provider – and a subsequent package – that has the capacity to cater to the number of people in your business who will be hosting conference calls is crucial. The last thing you want to do is to decide on a package that looks ideal, only to find out that it doesn’t have enough licenses to cater to your company, team, or organization.
Connectivity
Unless you want to endure dropped meetings and frozen screens, you need to make sure your conference call service has a reputation for reliability.
Feature catalog
Depending on what you need a conference call service for, you might need to know exactly what kind of features are being offered. Many services provided added options like polling and annotating, often at an additional price.
Customer support and setup
Make sure to take note of the customer support options for each service, particularly if you’re new to these platforms. Some offer 24/7 assistance, while others are a bit more hands-off.
Software integrations
Many conference call services can integrate with calendars, note-taking apps, and other software, helping them connect with your virtual ecosystem.
Device compatibility
Conference call services are often paired with mobile apps, but not all of them work on both popular operating systems. If you use iOS or Android exclusively, make sure your conference call service is compatible.
Benefits of Using a Conference Call Service
Conferencing call systems are some of the most essential services for many businesses, particularly for large and growing operations. While the best services aren’t cheap, they’ll more than pay for themselves in a variety of ways, not all of which are obvious. Here’s a quick look at the main reasons why your conference call system is worth the price tag:
Keeping Up With the New Normal
Meeting in person can come at a cost – and right after a pandemic, that’s a cost in terms of both health and finances. If you’re still paying for office space in a large city or business hub, you could save thousands of dollars by transitioning to remote working. If you don’t have an office, and you’re remote working already, web conferencing software is really the only way to nurture your team, improve cohesion and communicate face-to-face.
If your business hosts events, web conferencing software can make them vastly cheaper and hugely cost-effective. For any major in-person event, costs for travel, food, and a venue will be exponential – hosting virtually is therefore always a good option to have. For run-of-the-mill meetings that happen on a daily basis, a conferencing system can streamline even more, letting participants join from behind their desks at the touch of a button rather than disrupt their work to locate a physical conference room.
When a workforce is given the option to work from home, conferencing systems are a great way to ensure that everyone shows up to the meetings they need to stay in the loop for. The best conferencing services can help participants join from any type of device, meeting them where they are.
A business doesn’t need to have a fully distributed workforce to benefit from the added flexibility of remote work, which can keep employees happier and more efficient.
Why a Professional Conference Call Service is Always Better than a Free App
We’re sorry to disappoint, but the answer is pretty simple and not very exciting: professional conference call services have specific features geared towards businesses that are developed to meet the precise needs of certain types of businesses.
Free apps like FaceTime or Zoom’s free version, which are designed to cater to a broad range of basic needs (like simply trying to contact someone else, face-to-face), are unlikely to satisfy all of your business’s needs.
Think about it like this – if we gave you an unlimited budget and asked you to buy a car to win the next Formula 1 Grand Prix, what type of car would you choose? Would you choose an average roadworthy car, designed to provide the basics that everyone needs to drive (e.g. seatbelts, an average speed, enough seats for the family, trunk space) or a racing car, built to go around specific types of tracks, and excel in certain areas (e.g. speed, aerodynamics, traction)? Clearly, the latter car would be the better choice.
That’s really the bottom line – you’re never going to find everything you need to succeed in the most basic, free plans that aren’t really geared to businesses in the first instance.
About Our Research
If you’re looking for a software or service to improve productivity at your business, the last thing you need is spurious advice from a website that doesn’t put any effort into research. Luckily, Tech.co is committed to providing readers with actionable information that can inform your decision in a meaningful way.
When it comes to video conferencing software like the tools listed above, we had a specific set of criteria by which we ranked and rated them. The metrics we measured included features, pricing, third-party integrations, audio/video quality, and customer support.
If you want to see how seriously we take research at Tech.co, be sure to check out our comprehensive research guide to learn more about our process.
Verdict: What is the best conference call service?
According to our research, GoTo Meeting, Zoom, and RingCentral Video are the three best conference call services due to their robust feature catalogs, effectiveness across multiple devices and operating systems, and general ease of use for users of all skill levels.
Getting a reliable web conferencing call service is more important than ever, especially for fully remote teams. If you’re interested in finding a cost-effective solution, you can use our free web conferencing quote tool to compare prices in under a minute, based on your specific business requirements.
You’ll be able to get set up with secure, modern business calling equipped with conference and mobile integration, and a whole lot more: A VoIP service can help your team make and receive simultaneous phone and video calls to anyone around the globe.
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