With the help of video conferencing technology, online video conferencing can be quite easy. You can use video conferencing to communicate with your customers, employees or partners no matter where they are located.
For small businesses, they would want to look for inexpensive or even free video conferencing software given their limited budget. In this article, we will choose the five best free video conferencing software for effective online meetings, screen sharing and team collaboration according to the number of participants.
ezTalks
ezTalks, a leading international provider of video conferencing, meetings, rooms and webinars that can fulfill all the video conferencing requirements of any business. ezTalks Meetings was the world’s first SaaS solution provider to offer a full range of video conferencing features and customizations. With its features, ezTalks Meetings is ideal for mid-sized businesses and startups.
Maximum number of participants: 100 participants, each meeting is limited to 40 minutes Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and browser
Features:
- It supports a huge number of group meetings and cyclic meetings;
- HD video and voice ensure smooth and efficient communication during the meeting;
- One-on-one chat during meeting and group chat so you can ask your questions anytime;
- Quickly share your screen, applications and content with support for Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, PDF files, movies and high-resolution images;
- Whiteboard service makes it easy to draw and take notes while presenting;
- Meeting control and user management, such as creating attendees as presenters so they can deliver presentations at the meeting.
Zoom Cloud Meeting
Similar to ezTalks Meetings, Zoom also provides a free version of cloud-based online video conferencing services for up to 50 participants in a single meeting. In addition to video meetings, you can also use Zoom Cloud Meeting for web conferences, webinars, and events.
Maximum meeting capacity: 50 participants, group meeting limit of 40 minutes Platforms: Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
Features:
- It supports unlimited one-on-one meetings and a huge number of group meetings;
- Powerful video conferencing features such as HD video and audio, full screen mode and gallery view or phone connection;
- Excellent web conferencing features such as desktop and app sharing, private room or meeting ID and local MP4 or M4A recording for playback later;
- Several nice group collaboration features including multi-sharing, interactive whiteboard and keyboard or mouse control;
- Secure and confidential communications with SSL encryption and 256-bit AES encryption.
Fuze
Fuze Meeting is another good free video conferencing platform that Fuze provides. You can easily attend meetings without registering or log in with your account to have video meetings with people anytime and from anywhere. Fuze Meeting’s free plan is also a good option for small businesses. It supports up to 25 people involved in a single meeting and up to 12 video streams.
Maximum number of people in a meeting: 25 participants with no time limit Platforms: Windows, iOS, BlackBerry and browser
Features:
- It offers HD group video conferencing for up to 25 people in remote locations;
- Incredible audio quality makes your online meetings smooth; Chat and instant messaging during the meeting;
- Efficient content sharing including any formats such as PPT, Word, PDF, MP4;
- Permission to control the meeting, such as mute or unmute someone or make one of the participants the speaker, etc.
Skype
Skype is often known as a social software that people use to video chat with friends and family members. For small businesses, you can use it for business video meetings as it is completely free. Using Skype, you can make voice calls to up to 25 participants at a time and video calls to up to 10 people.
Maximum meeting capacity: 25 participants, Windows Phone and a browser
Features:
- Free Skype-Skype calls or group audio calls for up to 25 people anywhere in the world;
- One-on-one or group video calls for better communication and collaboration;
- Multifunctional messaging features such as emoji and emoticons, video or voice messaging, instant messaging or text messaging;
- Screen sharing and transfer files, photos and videos of any size via Skype.
ooVoo
As an important provider of video conferencing solutions, ooVoo also provides video conferencing services for free. Users can use ooVoo for online video calls, voice calls and texting. It is one of the best video calling tools to keep in touch with anyone. Before doing so, make sure your network connection is correct and the required video conferencing equipment is well installed.
Maximum number of participants: 12 participants
Operating system: iOS and Windows Phone
Features:
- Group video chat and free voice calls allow for effective online meetings;
- It offers text and instant messaging during meetings;
- Record video call and replay after meetings;
- Powerful screen sharing to make a good presentation;
- Send meeting related files to other participants.