Table of Contents
The Best 15 Platforms For Online Meetings
FAQs
The migration to online tools was already underway before it really took off in 2020. Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine running a business without the top online meeting platforms. But like with everything in life, not all tools are the same.
That is why we’ve compiled a list of the best 15 platforms that can make your online meetings and conferences a piece of cake. From pre-event preparation, minutes, and agendas to future tasks, reflections and analysis, we’ll take a deep dive into features way beyond the actual communication aspect.
If your team is new to the world of online meeting tools, we’d advise you to discover the best tips on how to manage virtual meetings to help inform your decision for a platform.
Once you’re settled on your strategy, it’s time to read on and find the right tool for you.
1. Zoom
The go-to name for video calls, Zoom’s explosion in popularity over recent years has turned the brand into a verb. You can zoom your team for free for up to 40 minutes with everything you need and nothing you don’t. It’s known for its reliability and ease of use, and it’s now so ubiquitous it’s rare to find an employee who isn’t used to it.
The Pro and Business accounts are more expensive than the average on this list. However, they do offer a lot of add-ons such as cloud storage and whiteboards, so you can customize your package.
2. Skype
Some major companies jumped on the Skype bandwagon early and haven’t gotten off, so it still has a place for a lot of businesses. However, it’s notoriously glitchy and any mid- to long-term users will have suffered spam at some point.
Skype for Business has now integrated into Microsoft Teams, so we’re only focusing on the free version here. A super-easy platform to get to grips with, it features little more than a contact list and your calling tool. You can schedule calls and create polls, but aside from that, Skype is a bare-bones tool.
3. Cisco Webex
As a big player in the game, Cisco gives you a reliable set of online meeting tools for calls, messaging, and creating events. It is great for big teams, although you can run video conferences for free for up to 100 participants. To keep people from talking over each other, Webex AI uses gesture recognition that detects a raised hand, thumbs up or down, and clapping before sharing them through the user’s video window.
Premium plans start at $25 per user per month, so it’s not the cheapest option available. It is, however, among the top online meeting platforms for reliability. Although with the high price, you might expect more complementary features.
4. Microsoft Teams
One of the most trusted names in computing, Microsoft Teams is a reliable collaboration platform with easy to use online meeting tools that you can use for free. It’s not the prettiest app out there, but the recognizable interface makes it easy to get started as a team.
Compared to Cisco Webex, you get more bank for your buck. The free version allows for 60-minute meetings for up to 100 participants and it comes with cloud storage to keep track of notes and documents. Cranking it up to Microsoft 365 Business Standard, you get all of those classic meeting tools like video calling and instant messenger along with a full suite of Office apps alongside them.
While many top online meeting platforms supplement offering with extra features, Bitrix24 takes the top spot for the sheer variety of its uses. Much more than communication, scheduling, and storage, you get a fully-integrated CRM, project management tools, and even HR management software.
They certainly don’t skimp on the online meeting tools either, with excellent audio and video quality, screen sharing, file exchange, and custom backgrounds and blur. It’s ideal for growing businesses as the unexpectedly low price covers your entire team, rather than individuals. This means you can boost your numbers without emptying your pockets.
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6. Zoho Meeting
Zoho Meeting gives you video call and conferencing tools with an emphasis on security and simplicity. Anybody with your link can join your chats and you can control access as well as mute participants. Just remember that with the free version, you’re limited to 60 minutes per conference.
If you already use other apps from the Zoho family, it’s easy to add their online meeting tools to your arsenal. This way, you can connect it to a CRM and keep tabs on your customer interactions. Similarly, you can include customizable forms to register attendance and add them to your mailing list.
7. Ryver
Perfect for social media teams, Ryver positions itself as a meeting and productivity tool. There is no free version, but you can get 12 users on board for $69 per month. With that, you get unlimited chat as well as voice and video calls. Unique among our online meeting tools, social media teams can automatically receive posts and RSS feed content within the platform. This way, you can monitor your channels as well as your competitors and industry changes.
Another element that makes Ryver stand out is how it connects communication with task management. This smoothens the online meeting process, assigning tasks as you go, rather than getting to the end of your conversation with no solid steps to take next.
8. Google Meet
If your team is already using Google apps, it’s an easy step to start using their meeting tools. Google Meet is fairly cheap and although it’s far from feature-packed, it is accessible with real-time captions as well as reliable and secure.
You can kick things off for free as a small business and Google Meet will do the job. However, for more features such as meeting recording and break-out rooms, it’s best to upgrade to at least Google Workspace Individual for under $10 a month.
9. Lucid Meetings
Among the less-well-known brands included here, Lucid Meetings still earns its place on our list of the best online meeting tools because of its focus on productivity and engagement. If inefficient meetings are holding you back, Lucid Meetings offers training software to turn things around. They analyze your meeting prep and measure performance so you can make data-driven changes to your company culture.
Focused entirely on meetings, it has a vast range of tools like action items, voting, and a speaker queue, and the geeks out there can drill down into analytics. The $12.50 monthly cost per host is good for individuals and small teams, but the jump to $249 monthly cost per team is quite a jump to make for blossoming businesses.
10. Magic Minutes
Magic Minutes falls into the category of online meeting tools that focus on making meetings worthwhile by holding people accountable. Before your meetings, the platform sends out agendas so you all arrive prepared. Once the meeting is over, you can run a “Follow on Meeting”, which includes subsequent tasks to put into action.
One disappointing element is that on the Free and Team 10+ plans, you can’t actually create a meeting yourself. That said, the Premium level isn’t outrageously expensive and you get agendas, notes, whiteboard sessions and more with the pack.
11. Boardable
Boardable is a highly rated platform that aims to streamline board meetings in particular. It is relatively well priced for what you get and easy to use out of the box.
However, despite being aimed at board members, it’s hard to see exactly how Boardable stands out from the crowd. The features are similar to many other top online meeting platforms, with agenda setting, note-taking facilities, voting, and integrated documents. That said, the layout has been well thought through. You can structure your screen to show other participants in one section, key documents below, and meeting minutes on the side.
12. HubSpot Meetings
HubSpot has a great customer-facing meeting scheduler that cuts out the tedious work of finding a free time slot. Instead, you can present a webpage with a widget showing your availability. Your customer clicks on the time they want and automatically saves the event in their Google or Office 365 Calendar.
Be aware that HubSpot doesn't include their own video tools, so you’ll have to integrate it with another app to make your online meetings work. It’s also far from the cheapest platform on the list, but you do get some excellent sales and marketing features such as deal management, email marketing, and landing pages.
13. Infinity
With a unique one-time payment, this up-and-comer works well for teams that have to keep their purse strings tight. It brings you templates for meeting calendars and links up with marketing, sales, project management, and product development tools so you can organize a large chunk of your business all from one platform. However, without in-built automation features, you do have to link integrations through third parties.
Like HubSpot, you’ll need to integrate a video tool, but this doesn’t necessarily disqualify Infinity from the list of the best online meeting tools. Use the most recognizable in your market and it could get your customer relationship off to a trusting start.
14. Meetin.gs
Meetin.gs is one of the more dedicated meeting organization tools that allows your users to schedule a call with your team via a widget on your website. Every meeting request is immediately reflected in your calendar so you never miss a call. You can attach tasks and notes to every call and see a timeline of your progress.
One drawback is that Meetin.gs doesn’t have its own video feature in its online meeting tools, so you need to link to another app. This could mean paying for two apps when other platforms offer everything in one.
15. Lifesize
Lifesize is a no-nonsense video tool that is the first on the market to offer 4K quality. This makes it ideal for companies who need sharp images, such as production companies. Although most devices aren’t at that level yet, we’re not far away, so if quality is what you’re after, Lifesize is a good bet. For its unique capabilities, it doesn’t break the bank, but nor does it come with many extra features.
Although Lifesize doesn’t come with a native video tool, it brings that 4K quality to other meeting platforms. You can also integrate external calendars for scheduling and notes.
So now you’ve seen what’s out there on the market, it’s over to you to decide what you need.
The best online meeting tool for you isn’t simply the one with the most features or the most recognizable name. Therefore, you should decide on what you need now, and what you predict you’ll need in the future and make a decision accordingly. For example, you might only need internal meetings for a small team now, but if you plan to run webinars in the future, the last thing you want is to have to fork out a small fortune to upgrade.
If pricing is your main pain point, we’d recommend taking a broad view for your budget. The more tools you can get from one platform, the better, and apps like Bitrix24 clean up in this regard. With everything you need for online meetings, as well as features covering every other aspect of your business, you keep your costs down by containing everything in one package.
To find out just how easy life can get, sign up to Bitrix24 for free and you’ll see what we mean.
FAQ
What is the best online meeting tool?
The best tools are always those that fit your company’s purpose. However, for value, versatility, security, and quality, Bitrix24 stands out from other online meeting tools.
What is the easiest online meeting platform?
The easiest online meeting platform to use is one that integrates smoothly with your other tools and has an easy user interface. Often the easiest platforms are those which your team is already familiar with.
