Top 13 online meeting platforms

The market has become saturated with more online meeting platforms than ever. But which software should you choose for your specific needs?

13 best online meeting platforms for remote workplaces

Below, you’ll find a rundown on the best video conferencing software currently available. Hopefully, this will help you make an informed choice. 

Best online meeting platforms for team meetings

1. Google Meet

Google Meet provides simple scheduling, screen sharing and instant messaging. You can also use threaded teams channels, similar to what you can do in Slack. If you already have a Google account, there’s no account setup or login required to start a meeting in Google Meet.

Features include the ability to record meetings, host meetings for longer than an hour and live stream to peers. Video calls can hold up to 100 users. Upgrading to a paid plan bumps the user number to 150. Users can also dial in from a domestic or international phone number. Google Meet also offers real-time captioning powered by Google’s speech recognition technology. 

Google Meet will fully replace Google Hangouts, which Google plans to phase out in 2021. 

Pricing

A free version exists. The advanced version is $8 a month per user but it’s free if you have G Suite. 

Access

You can open meetings, with full details, directly from Gmail or Google Calendar. You can also use Google Meet by:

• Going to meet.google.com on your web browser

• Installing the Chrome extension

• Downloading the mobile app for Android or iOS

Hot Tip: Schedule your next video call faster with Calendly

If you find yourself spending a lot of time setting up video calls with colleagues or clients, Calendly could be your perfect solution. Calendly takes care of your calendar scheduling by working from your availability preferences and allowing your invitee to choose a time that suits them, too. It even helps with your meeting invitation email.

2. Skype for Business

The Basic version of Skype for Business provides instant messaging, audio and video calls, online meetings and sharing capabilities. The full client enables the user to manage team call settings, make or handle calls on behalf of another contact and manage a high volume of calls. 

Whereas Skype for consumers allows you to video call with up to 20 people, Skype for Business facilitates online meetings with up to 250 people. It also: 

• Provides enhanced security

• Allows you to manage employee accounts

• Fully integrates into your Office apps

One particularly winning feature of Skype for Business is the ease with which you can see when your peers are in a meeting, offline or available to talk. 

Microsoft Teams will replace Skype for Business on July 31, 2021.

Pricing

Skype for Business Basic is free. The full client has a pricing plan but it also comes with Microsoft Office and some Office 365 subscriptions.  

Access

You can schedule and open Skype for Business meetings directly from Microsoft Outlook. Other ways to use Skype for Business include:

• Installing Chrome or Firefox extensions

• Getting the desktop app for Windows or Mac

• Downloading the mobile app for Android, iOS or Windows 

3. Join.me

Join.me focuses heavily on video conferencing and webinar functionalities. The platform allows you to personalize your URL and add a customized meeting waiting room background. 

The Lite package allows only five users to join a call but the number of participants you can add increases to 250 with the Pro and Business packages. 

Pro and Business also provide streaming, recording functionalities and cloud storage for those recordings. As a bonus, you can provide toll-free numbers to your attendees. Join.me offers its Outlook and Google Calendar plugins to Pro and Business customers, as well. These integrations make scheduling meetings and sending invitations much easier. 

Apart from Outlook and Google Calendar, Join.me can connect to more than a dozen other platforms.

The Business package also offers CSV file bulk user import, Single Sign-On (SSO) and the ability to start meetings directly from your Salesforce environment. 

Pricing

Packages run from $10–$30 monthly, with lower rates offered for nonprofits.

Access

You can use the online meeting platform by going to Join.me site on your web browser.

4. Highfive

Highfive operates in both the software and hardware conferencing spaces. The company sells audio conferencing technology, too. But what about its virtual offerings? 

There are no online meeting time limits with Highfive. You have the option to dial in by phone, too. It’s ideal for small to medium-sized company meetings as you can host between 40–150 participants, depending on the package you’ve bought. 

It’s simple to set up wireless in-room mirrored screen projection. The feature facilitates remote meeting members as well as having people in the same room as the host. 

Nothing embarrassing will come of clicking the wrong tab while you’re presenting. Highfive allows you to specify which individual windows or browser tabs your audience can see.

Any participant can screen share effortlessly, so there’s no time wasted in figuring out how to bestow appropriate rights or host status. Visiting guests whose laptops are on other networks can also screen share securely and easily. 

Pricing

Highfive is a paid service. The cost ranges from $9.99–$16.99 a month per user, depending on the package chosen. 

Access

You can use Highfive by:

• Going to company.highfive.com on your web browser

• Installing the desktop app for Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS or Android

5. ezTalks Meetings

With ezTalks Meetings, you pay a fee only for each of the hosts. The concept is ideal for organizations with only a few users that present information virtually. You’ll save money by not having to register and pay for each colleague that attends a meeting. 

Another strong aspect of ezTalks Meetings is its interconnectivity. You can import contacts from Outlook or Google. You can also sync meetings between ezTalks and numerous calendars across Android, iOS, Windows and Mac devices. 

With the free Starter version of ezTalks Meetings, you can host two participants in a meeting that can go on for as long as you want. You can also add up to 100 participants to a meeting with a 45-minute limit. If you’re willing to invest, however, each paid upgrade tier gives you room for another 100 participants. The Business package allows up to 300. 

To host more than 300 attendees, you’ll need ezTalks Webinars. It can facilitate 10,000 participants with tons of advanced functionalities but at a far heftier fee. 

Pricing

A free version is available. Upgrading to one of the three paid packages costs between $10–$50 a month per host.

Access

You can schedule meetings directly from the provided Outlook plugin. You can also use ezTalks Meetings by: 

• Going to the company’s cloud-based platform on your browser

• Installing the desktop app for Windows or Mac

• Downloading the mobile app for Android or iOS 

Better online meeting platforms for large conferences

6. Pexip

Pexip stands out because of its interoperability. It boasts of the ability to integrate with any of your existing productivity tools, platforms, calendars or devices. 

Google Meet, Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams can all function in the same workflow as Pexip. The number of users you can involve in streamlined communications is scalable and restricted only by the limitations of other software.

Users can also self-host meetings or conferences with Pexip’s Infinity Connect — a rare functionality for software like this. You can host either on-premises or in any cloud environment. 

Pexip is also ideal for meetings that need participants to be in sync. Its technology minimizes sound delay and latency issues.

Pricing

Pexip is a paid service. The price you pay is dependent on the functionalities you choose.

Access

You can use Pexip by:

• Installing the Pexip Service desktop app for Windows or Mac

• Downloading the Pexip Service mobile app for Android or iOS

• Installing the Pexip Infinity Connect desktop app for Windows, Mac or Linux 

• Downloading the Pexip Infinity Connect mobile app for Android or iOS

7. Adobe Connect

Adobe Connect allows for easy video chatting, screen-sharing and instant messaging. But it’s also full of extra functionalities that make video chatting a dream.

Speakers will longer be interrupted awkwardly mid-flow. Participants can click to send requests to them — like “speak louder,” “speak softer,” “speed up” and “slow down.” 

Adobe Connect offers a lot of freedom. Users can set up ahead of the meeting in customized and persistent virtual rooms. Asynchronous browse means participants can browse content at their own pace, while the instructor moves forward with the presentation. Polls, quizzes and content can be made and then reused for a different audience. 

You can have up to four hosts in a meeting. All of them can regroup or edit the materials in the virtual backstage area during a presentation break. 

Countless custom integrations have been designed to increase engagement, such as “rock paper scissors.” The integration has a randomized participant selector and stage lights to stop presenters from running over their allotted time. 

Pricing

Adobe Connect is free for up to three attendees. The price is $50 a month per user for up to 25 participants and $130 for up to 1,500. 

Access

You can use Evia by:

• Installing the desktop app for Windows or Mac

• Downloading the mobile app for Android or iOS

8. Zoom

Zoom is used mainly to host virtual meetings, product training and video webinars. It provides a virtual whiteboard and intuitive screen sharing. Its chat features also allow participants to share messages or files. You can host a meeting of 100 people for free. Paid plans increase the participant accommodation to email up to 300 people. 

When it integrates with other programs, Zoom comes into its own. A few examples are the: 

• Calendly add-in, which automatically schedules Zoom meetings with unique Zoom video conference details each time

• Zoom app for Slack, which allows participants to start or join a video meeting directly from Slack

• Egnyte for Zoom connector, which seamlessly transfers all Zoom Cloud meeting or webinar recordings to a single Egnyte repository

Zoom has also just released OnZoom, where you can pay small fees to participate in virtual yoga classes, art lessons, workday wellbeing breaks or other fun and quirky events. 

Pricing

The free version allows for meetings lasting up to 40 mins. Paid packages start at $14.99 a month. 

Access

You can use Zoom by:

• Going to the Zoom site on your browser, although functionality is limited

• Installing the Chrome or Firefox extension

• Installing the desktop app for Windows or Mac

• Downloading the mobile app for Android or iOS

Compare Calendly to Zoom Scheduler

9. GoTo Meeting

GoTo Meeting has most of the functionalities expected from the better video conferencing platforms:

• Phone dial-in options

• Personal meeting room links

• Chat windows

• The option to record and store meetings in the cloud for one year 

But it offers rarer features, too. GoTo Meeting’s software generates transcripts of meetings automatically. I can also collect slides chronologically and convert them into a shareable PDF. The platform’s Smart Assistant detects action items from a meeting and highlights them automatically.

GoTo Meeting can handle anywhere from 150 to 3000 participants per meeting. 

Pricing

There are paid packages ranging from $12–$16 per user a month. The Enterprise package offers customized prices.

Access 

GoTo Meeting can integrate with Calendly. In doing so, GoTo Meeting details will appear whenever someone books a video meeting via your Calendly calendar. You also can open meetings, with full details, directly from Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac or Google Calendar. 

You can use GoTo Meeting by:

• Going to the company’s cloud-based platform on your browser

• Installing the desktop app for Windows or Mac

• Downloading the mobile app for Android or iOS

Full content management systems

10. Digitell

Digitell specializes in helping organizations leverage their content online. It provides the functionalities for live-streaming and hosting virtual events, as well as managed webinar services.

The company is a leader of online meeting platforms, offering digital solutions that are fully customized to the customer’s needs. Recording and distribution of sessions come as standard features. Digitell can even assist with marketing plans to increase attendance. 

Digitell’s services include on-site capture, streaming and support help from a professional platform and production team. It also offers access to content monetization platform OPUS DX, which features useful functionalities — like chat, polling, question submission, note-taking and attention checkers. 

Pricing

Digitell is a paid service. The price you pay can vary significantly depending on the platform aspects you choose. 

Access

You can use Digitell by going to the company’s platform and web player on your browser.

11. Intrado

Intrado facilitates digital communications globally by using innovative cloud-based technology. Although there are many strings to its bow, Intrado is a one-stop-shop for digital media. 

As an online meeting platform, Intrado hosts over 40,000 webcasts and events every year. It can enable effective communications and broadcasts for both B2B and B2C companies through the use of webcasts, online events and web-based video conferencing. You can make use of Intrado for any type of event: product launches, thought leadership, interviews, workshops and more.

If you’re just looking to connect with your team remotely, you can try Intrado’s Hoot Meetings. It’s a secure and reliable video collaboration platform. Hoot Meetings syncs with Outlook on both browser and mobile. 

Pricing

Intrado is a paid service. The price is dependent on the functionalities chosen. 

Access

You can use Intrado by going to one of its platforms on your browser.

12. Aventri

Aventri offers premium event and meeting management technology. It provides planning tools for conferences, trade shows, internal meetings, roadshows, field marketing and more. 

In light of the shift to virtual events early in 2020, Aventri pivoted its offerings. The company now provides video conferencing functionality on its platform. You can host anywhere from five to over 5,000 attendees on a video call. 

The Aventri platform also allows for easy transfer of data. An in-person event can be changed to a hybrid or fully virtual presentation very quickly — ideal functionality for times when the setup of events can change at short notice. 

Pricing

Aventri is a paid service. Its price is dependent on the functionalities you choose.

Access

You can use Aventri by going to its main online platform on your browser. 

13. ON24

Delve behind the webinar with ON24. It analyzes your presentations to turn audience engagement into actionable insights. The service can provide overview statistics on engagement and specific analysis of a participant or section of the content you presented. 

ON24 specializes in interactive webinars, virtual events and multimedia content experiences. Users can record multiple takes and even edit together separate presentations.

The digital content comes together in customer-built marketing hubs with everything you could ever need to engage prospects and customers. Between live and on-demand content, your audience can consume the materials they want when they want them. 

ON24 facilitates a combination of real-time and recorded interaction. If you’d like to answer questions and encourage further engagement after a presentation, you can switch from pre-recorded to live mode.

Pricing

ON24 is a paid service. The price you pay is dependent on the functionalities you choose.

Access

You can use ON24 by going to the company’s cloud-based platform on your browser. 

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