Best Video Conferencing Tools for Small Business

Now that working remotely is the new normal, small business owners should re-evaluate the software that has become the backbone of remote team communication — their video conferencing tools.

In this post, we’ll cover best video conferencing apps and outline how they benefit small businesses specifically.

The Best Video Conferencing Tools for Small Business

Video calling tools cut down on unnecessary meetings, make necessary ones much more efficient, allow for remote face-to-face communication, and have advanced team collaboration features like file sharing and whiteboard to cut down on miscommunications.

However, the platform you choose makes a difference.

The best video conferencing tools for small businesses are:

• GoToMeeting
• Zoom
• Microsoft Teams
• Zoho Meeting
• Intermedia AnyMeeting
• Cisco WebEx
• RingCentral Video
• Dialpad Meetings

Read on for a complete breakdown of prices, plans, features, user experience, and more.

GoToMeeting

GoToMeeting, powered by LogMeIn’s GoToConnect, has added many new features that make it a much more competitive web conferencing tool than in the past.

These features include risk-based authentication, which automatically detects and alerts users of any potentially problematic behaviors like new logins from a new device or new location. The new note-taking feature lets meeting attendees take notes directly within the GoToMeeting interface, automatically saves them, and allows users to share them with others after the meeting ends.

The Smart Meeting Assistant leverages the power of machine learning to identify meeting actions and highlights, making it much easier to outline essential information with those that did not attend. This feature in particular is beneficial to smaller businesses since team members will likely be less available for meetings than they would at a corporation with lots of employees that could easily fill in for one another during a meeting.

It has limited meeting analytics but does offer information on individual user performance and downloadable admin reports.

There are three available paid plans available with monthly or annual payments. If you’re wondering, going for the yearly price model will save you roughly $64.00 each year.

Each plan includes the following features:

• Sharing screens
• Dial-in and Call Me access
• Unlimited number of meetings
• Conference calling
• No time limit on meetings
• Personal meeting room link
• Meeting locks
• Apple and Android mobile app
• SSL and AES-256 bit encryption
• HIPAA compliance
• Custom backgrounds
• 24/7 customer service
• Single sign-on
• Integration with Slack, Office 365, Salesforce, and more

The below table outlines prices and features available only with more advanced plans. As of this writing, the tool offers a free 14-day trial, but no free option.

Looking for more detailed information? Check out our complete review of GoToMeeting.

Best For: GoToMeeting is best for small-to-midsize teams that have a high volume of weekly meetings that can easily last for several hours. It’s also a good fit for teams that rely on third-party tools like Slack for more advanced team collaboration features, and therefore don’t need a platform with native team chat capabilities.

Zoom

Zoom is often the first name that companies think of when exploring options for cloud-based video communication.

Users can take advantage of features like meeting locks, waiting rooms, passcodes, remove participants. They can also limit which meeting features attendees can use.

Additional upgrades include both landscape and portrait view options, the ability to star important contacts and messages to pin them at the top of your screen, and easily start meetings by right-clicking on any contact’s name.

Smaller businesses — especially those who either cannot afford or are not ready to commit to a paid plan — will benefit most from Zoom’s free option. Though meetings are limited to 40 minutes, up to 100 participants can attend and access features like local meeting recording, sharing their screens, and breakout rooms.

It also offers a “meet now” button, allowing users to instantly start a meeting without the need to schedule one ahead of time. The new “filter” feature allows users to have more fun in meetings by adding stickers and color filters to their screens.

The app’s major downside is that it requires all meeting participants to download the app, meaning that browser-based calls are not available.

Zoom has four plans — the free one and three paid options billable on a monthly and annual basis.

Each Zoom plan, including the free one, offers:

• An unlimited number of group and one-on-one monthly meetings
• Local meeting recording
• Personal Meeting ID
• Virtual backgrounds
• Outlook and Google Calendar integration
• Spotlight up to 9 simultaneous screens
• Breakout rooms
• Private and group in-meeting chat messages
• Polls and virtual hand raising
• Co-annotation and the ability to share screens
• Remote control
• Whiteboarding
• TLS encryption
• Waiting rooms

The below table breaks down the prices and features of the three paid plans.

Looking to see how Zoom stacks up against the competition? Our showdown of Zoom vs RingCentral makes it easy to compare features, prices, and more.

Best For: Zoom is best for small teams needing a robust free video conferencing tool, those needing breakout rooms for smaller team collaboration within meetings, teams with a high amount of team collaboration via video calls, and remote workers that communicate primarily on mobile devices.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams combines video calling, instant chat messages, audio conferencing, and team collaboration tools within a single workspace.

Users can make and receive video calls from Mac and Windows desktop and mobile devices, integrate Teams with popular third-party CRM applications, meet instantly and pre-schedule meetings, use breakout conference rooms, and more.

It’s an especially strong option for small businesses that rely on real-time team collaboration tools like in-app file sharing and co-authoring, translations to over 35 languages, and whiteboard.

The new Together Mode is designed to help eliminate meeting fatigue and create a sense of teamwork among geographically diverse remote employees.

This mode uses AI segmentation to put each meeting participant in the same background, creating a virtual auditorium where every participant can be seen at all times. Users can now personalize their meeting views even further by viewing shared content together and creating participant side-by-side views. Live reactions and chat bubbles that show when participants are typing help to keep viewers engaged.

Microsoft Teams offers 1 free version and 3 paid plans, billable on a yearly or monthly basis. Note, however, that all three of the paid plans require a year-long commitment, while the free version doesn’t require a commitment of any kind.

Each version of Teams, including the free one, comes with:

• Screen share capabilities
• Custom backgrounds
• Pre-scheduled meetings
• Unlimited searchable chat messages
• UP to 2GB of file attachments per user and up to 10GB of storage per team
• Real-time collaboration in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Over 250 app integrations
• Two-way data encryption
• User reports
• 24/7 phone and web support

The below table outlines the prices and features of the three paid versions.

Best For: Teams is the best choice for teams that primarily communicate via video chat and therefore often need access to more advanced team collaboration and communication features. It’s also a good option for those looking for a free option, but who may be willing to upgrade to a paid plan in the future, once they’ve gotten more comfortable with the platform.

Zoho Meeting

Zoho Meeting is a web browser-based online meeting platform that is especially focused on secure communication.

It doesn’t require third-party applications to function, doesn’t offer advanced host controls that allow meeting administrators to access personal data about meeting attendees, and meeting locks. Additionally, the host is the only user who is able to record meetings and share those recordings with other attendees. Two-factor authentication and data encryption also come standard.

Users will also receive a notification when any user joins a meeting, along with the option to mute or remove participants at any time.

Aside from its excellent security policies, smaller businesses will benefit from Zoho Meeting’s features — particularly functionalities related to scheduling meetings. Automated emails invite, follow-up with, and collect RSVPs for attendees, and meeting links can easily be embedded in email invitations.

Smaller businesses that require clients to book an appointment or online meeting will appreciate the integration with Zoho Bookings, while companies that need project management features on team communication tools will benefit from the integration with Zoho Projects.

As of this writing, there is a free version of Zoho Meetings, and each of the four paid plans comes with a free 14-day trial. The free option is limited, and allows for 2-10 people to meet — however, it lets free users meet for as long as they want.

All Zoho Meetings plans, including the free option, come with:

• Screen and application sharing
• 3 simultaneous video feeds
• Instant and pre-scheduled meetings
• Add meetings to the calendar
• Meeting reminder notifications
• Meeting RSVPs
• Mute, unmute, remove meeting participants
• Custom registration forms
• Pre-meeting and in-meeting polls, virtual hand raising
• Q&A tool
• iOS and Android smartphone app
• Google Chrome Extension

The below table outlines the four paid plans.

Best For: Zoho Meetings is ideal for companies with under 100 employees that are concerned with privacy and strict industry regulations, such as those in the healthcare or financial sectors. It’s also a good choice for those that are looking for an all-in-one video conferencing solution, and are therefore less concerned with extensive third-party software integrations. Finally, companies that rely mostly on pre-scheduled meetings as opposed to spontaneous ones will benefit from Zoho Meetings.

Intermedia AnyMeeting

Intermedia AnyMeeting is a beginner-friendly web-based video conferencing tool for SMBs.

It offers standard features for desktop and mobile users and integrates with popular team communication and calendar tools like Outlook, GSuite, Slack, and Teams.

Though some basic collaboration features like real-time document editing, version control, and automatic transcription are available, it is best seen as primarily a tool for strictly video calling.

AnyMeeting offers a free 30-day trial of its Pro Plan, and has one completely free option in addition to three paid plans. The free option allows for a maximum of 4 participants to meet for an unlimited amount of time.

Each plan, including the free Starter version, offers:

• Phone conference bridge
• Unlimited and recurring meetings
• Mobile applications
• Custom meeting URL
• Instant and pre-scheduled meetings
• Meeting Lock
• HIPAA Compliance
• Mute/Unmute
• Active Speaker view
• Screen annotation
• Screen and application sharing
• In-meeting chat
• Attendance Reports

Looking for a VoIP phone plan in addition to a virtual meeting platform? Read our complete review of Intermedia Unite to learn more.

Best For: Intermedia AnyMeeting is best for SMBs looking primarily for a free video calling tool that don’t need extensive team collaboration features. It’s also right for small teams that meet only a few times per week via video, not on a nearly daily basis. Businesses that need to share only a few video screens with a higher number of dial-in only meeting participants will also enjoy AnyMeeting.

Cisco WebEx

Cisco WebEx is an all-in-one virtual meeting tool that combines team chat, video communication, Webex Calling, and team collaboration tools in a single platform.

WebEx breakout rooms are ideal for not only brainstorming in small groups during meetings but also for employee training. Admins can create up to 100 breakout sessions with 100 participants per room in every conference session and can broadcast messages to these rooms when needed. Participants can take advantage of features like app and desktop shared screens, whiteboard tools, and the “Ask for Help” button during these smaller sessions.

The WebEx Meeting Assistant is a voice-activated AI bot, also known as an intelligent virtual assistant (IVA), that takes meeting notes, identifies meeting highlights, transcribes in real-time and offers closed captions, automates recap emails, and schedules future follow-up meetings.

As of this writing, WebEx has one free option and three paid plans. The free option allows for up to 100 people to meet for a maximum of 50 minutes.

All plans, including the free one, come with features like:

• Screen sharing (mobile and desktop)
• Two-way whiteboarding
• Noise removal/speech enhancement
• Apple and Android mobile apps
• Team chat
• Polling and virtual hand-raising
• Personal meeting rooms
• Pass presenter
• File sharing and editing
• Breakout sessions
• Virtual backgrounds
• Integrations with Asana, Salesforce, Trello, and more
• Meeting recording
• HIPAA/BAA compliance
• Meeting locks
• iOS and Android mobile app
• Custom video layouts
• Events platform for webinars

The below table outlines the features and prices of the 3 paid plans.

To learn more about the features and functionalities of this solution, check out our complete Cisco WebEx review.

Best For: Cisco WebEx is best for established SMBs or new businesses that plan to grow into larger companies with time and therefore need a tool with advanced features. WebEx has found particular success in the software development, education, and retail sectors. It’s also a good fit for teams that frequently use breakout sessions in larger meetings.

RingCentral Video

RingCentral Video Pro (previously known as Glip) is a no-download video calling tool that can be used as a standalone free app or as a part of RingCentral MVP.

It allows for up to 200 participants, can be accessed on desktops or mobile phones, and meetings duration can last for up to 24 hours.

Users can create teams out of attendees in a single click once a video meeting starts, allowing for more streamlined group chat.

Another standout feature is the ability to switch devices without having to leave a meeting, meaning it’s easy to transition from desktop to mobile if a conference goes longer than expected. Users can also turn any group chat into a video call with one click.

RingCentral Video allows users to:

• Integrate Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft 365
• Switch a meeting between devices with one click
• Store cloud recordings up to one year
• Call any phone from a meeting (500 minutes included per user)

Small businesses will especially benefit from the task management features, which make it easy for employees juggling multiple projects to keep track of their work. Users and admins can create and assign tasks, update task status, add notes, files, and comments, and see upcoming, past due, and completed tasks.

Additional features available on all plans include:

• Password protected meetings
• Waiting rooms
• End-to-end encryption
• HIPAA/BAA compliance
• Team chat
• Document and file sharing
• Task management features
• Create teams from meetings
• Closed captioning
• Lock meeting, mute participants
• Team event creation
• Shared screen co-annotation
• Virtual Background
• Instant and Scheduled Meetings
• Active Speaker View

RingCentral Video offers one free option and one paid plan, outlined in the table below.

Best For: RingCentral Video is best for SMBs that primarily connect via chat messages throughout the day, but that want the option to switch to a video call instantly when necessary. It’s also a smart choice for teams looking for a free option that allows for long meetings, as well as those who want to integrate task management features into their video conferencing tool.

Dialpad Meetings

Dialpad Meetings (formerly UberConference) is a no-download video conferencing platform that allows businesses to hold video, audio, and web conferences.

It’s especially known for its user-friendly interface, positive overall user experience, and advanced voice analytics features.

The Voice Intelligence feature can detect customer sentiment by using Natural Language Processing (NLP) to pick up on keywords and phrases. It also automates note-taking during meetings, identifies actionable items, and transcribes conversations in real-time. Machine learning means transcriptions will only become more accurate with time, and voice recognition features make it easy to tell which user is speaking.

Dialpad integrates with essential business communication tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, Twitter, Teams, Google Calendar, and Outlook. Users can also opt to be called into a meeting rather than dial in themselves, which means far fewer forgotten meetings.

Additional features include:

• Access to recordings, uploaded files, and analytics after every conference
• Group call invitations and one-on-one video calls
• Live chat messaging
• Google Chrome app
• Set recurring conference calls
• Toll-free conference calls
• Instant and scheduled calls

Dialpad Meetings currently has one free option and one paid plan.

The below table compares the prices and features of each plan.

Best For: Dialpad Meetings is an excellent solution for companies primarily seeking a positive overall user experience with their video calling tool. Businesses looking to avoid a lengthy training process will appreciate its overall ease of use. It’s also a good choice for companies that frequently host not just internal, but also external client meetings via video chat, especially given the customer sentiment detection capabilities.

For additional information, check out our complete Dialpad review.

See How The Best Video Conferencing Tools Stack Up

Before you make your final decision on which video communication solution to use, you’ll likely want to see how they compare to one another.

User reviews, the pros and cons of each platform, and head-to-head feature comparisons can help you to narrow down your list even further and ensure you choose the right tool for your small business. You can also learn about other video conferencing services like ClickMeeting, Google Hangouts, BlueJeans, Skype for Business, and top compatible webcams.

In addition to detailed reviews of individual platforms, be sure to study our comparisons of Zoom vs GoToMeeting, WebEx vs GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams vs. WebEx, and more.