As companies and individuals scramble to connect digitally during the pandemic, Zoom has become the go-to option for many of us. Zoom has an excellent free version meant for personal meetings, which supports up to 100 participants, up to 40-minute long group meetings, and even free support. Zoom’s paid versions start at $14.99 per month per host and go up to $19.99. The paid version will bring you additional features like recording on the cloud, REST APIs for integrations, and optional add-ons. However, Zoom’s rapid growth in popularity has led to a key challenge – large-scale outages. On May 17, 2020, users across the world reported audio and video problems as the Zoom app went down. Essential events like UK’s COVID-19 briefing were interrupted by the outage. Apart from this, there have been concerns around Zoom’s security (which the company was quick to address). You could be looking at a Zoom alternative for any of these reasons. Or, you might simply want a different UI and feature set. Here are four Zoom alternatives to consider as you try to stay connected during the pandemic.
Zoom Alternative #1 - GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting is a popular Zoom alternative by LogMeIn. It covers all of your essentials like HD video, screen sharing, cloud-based recording, mobile apps, and security. But unlike Zoom, it doesn’t have a free version – you would have to shell out $12 per organiser per month for the Professional version, or $16 for the Business version. That extra $4 goes a long way, giving you access to a host of value-added features like transcriptions, slide to PDF conversion, in-app note-taking, an ML-based smart assistant, and keyboard & mouse-sharing. If you are interested in a paid digital collaboration app, GoToMeeting is a great Zoom alternative. It goes well beyond audio/video calling to cover your full breadth of collaboration needs.
Zoom Alternative #2: Cisco Webex
Cisco is a giant in the unified communications space. Its Webex series has products for internal meetings, online events, education, and customer support. Typically, Webex comes in a range of versions, starting with a 30-day free trial of Webex Meetings and going up to $26.95 per host, per month. But at the moment, Cisco is experiencing a surge in demand due to COVID-19 – so you might have to contact sales for a bespoke quote. In terms of features, Webex Meetings has it all. Its simple UI makes adoption easier. You can use it either as a barebones meeting software, or add-on functions like Collaboration Meeting Rooms and Event Support for more powerful capabilities. Check out our Cisco Webex Meetings Review.
Zoom Alternative #3: PGi GlobalMeet
PGi is a global communications solutions provider, known for its Global Meet Application Suite. Global Meet supports both online events and meetings/collaborations, which makes it a good Zoom alternative. And like Zoom, PGi GlobalMeet has a free version – with support for up to 125 participants. The free version gives you HD video, Dolby audio, local dial-in, recording, screen sharing, Microsoft Outlook integration, and free support. In other words, it is right up there with Zoom’s free offering. The premium version is billed at £18 per user per month, which includes file storage, an admin portal, toll-free international dial-in, and company branding. If you’re looking for a software that integrates with your video systems (Cisco, Polycom, etc.) PGi GlobalMeet might be the one for you.
