10 Best Video Conferencing Applications in 2024

Video conferences have connected people from different locations and time zones and propelled businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, video conferencing software has become a necessity in today’s business landscape. However, finding the most ideal solution poses a challenge, given the staggering number of options on the market. Fortunately, some platforms carry comprehensive features that make them stand out from the pack.

Besides hosting digital meetings, top-tier platforms serve as communication hubs that accommodate a large number of participants and foster collaborations. There are also systems that allow you to store and share files, record meetings, share your screen with other parties, and even control another’s desktop. To help you find the most suitable solution, we’ve compiled the 10 best video conferencing applications on the market.

With the COVID-19 pandemic limiting mobility, video conferencing has become a staple in today’s hybrid business landscape. Regardless of industry, managers and teams leverage video conferencing applications to plan, discuss, assign, and accomplish tasks. In fact, 83.13% of employees spend about a third of the week on online meetings. This points to the ubiquity of remote and hybrid work since both arrangements entail the heavy use of video conferencing.

Ever since the pandemic broke out, remote work has experienced a massive surge and is expected to continue through the next few years, according to the latest remote work software trends.  In North America, 25% of all jobs are projected to be remote by the end of 2022.  For communication to be possible between workers and the office, video conferencing apps are necessary, and so the market of these platforms is slated for directly proportional growth.

Recent numbers show that the global video conferencing systems market is expected to surge from $4.66 billion in 2021 to $9.95 billion in 2028, with an annual growth rate of 11.4%. This suggests that even though many economies have allowed the workforce to return to their offices, the hybrid model remains popular, which underscores the current high demand for video conferencing.

In leveraging a system, a business has the luxury of connecting with its remote staff in real-time regardless of their locations, and this extends to external parties like customers, partners and investors. Many of the leading platforms also support various channels like video, voice, email, and SMS and afford users mobile access. As such, the best video conferencing applications can make a difference in your business.

Top Video Conferencing Applications

1. RingCentral MVP

RingCentral MVP, formerly known as RingCentral Office, is a powerful communication system that serves as a communication hub for businesses of all scales. It supports multiple channels, including video, voice, and text, enabling video conferencing and collaboration between many parties. To effectively simulate face-to-face meetings, the platform’s video broadcasts are in HD and are equipped with an interactive screen sharing feature and whiteboards. Participants can also share and store files, record meetings, and create subgroups for smaller meetings concurrent with the main ones.

Moreover, RingCentral MVP has a remote control feature that allows administrators to access other desktops, who in turn can give remote control access to other participants. This helps during training and onboarding exercises. The platform also comes with Glip, a collaboration tool for team messaging and task management. In addition, it streamlines conferences through features like one-click video meetings and phone integration, and even acts as an online fax machine to boot. RingCentral MVP integrates with widely used apps like Google, Microsoft, Jira, and Salesforce.

Price Range: RingCentral MVP offers three pricing plans, ranging from $29.99 user/month to $59.99 user/month. It also has a free trial.

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What is unique about RingCentral MVP?

1.  Communications hub. RingCentral MVP consolidates video, phone, and instant messaging into one platform. It also supports file sharing and task management.
2. HD video meetings. Video conferences are blessed with crisp, lifelike resolutions to perfectly simulate face-to-face meetings. It also has a whiteboard functionality through which brainstorming and planning can take place.
3. One-click video meetings. The platform lets you join a meeting with a single click from your desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Inviting participants is just as easy.
4. Smooth team collaboration. The system lets managers delegate and monitor the tasks of their team. In addition, it lets you group staff members into teams and chat with each group in real-time.
5. Numerous participants. RingCentral MVP accommodates up to 500 participants. This means you can leverage the platform for department-wide or company-wide discussions and engagements.

2. BrainCert

BrainCert is a full-featured learning management system that unifies four central functionalities: online courses, online testing, content management, and virtual classroom. Designed for businesses of all scales, the platform is made for all types of training, which includes skills development, certification exams, and compliance training, and carries reliable solutions for communication. Meanwhile, businesses that don’t intend to use it for training can leverage its video conference mode that supports up to 10 concurrent streams. The mode is also equipped with whiteboards, screen sharing, and document annotation.

As a tool for learning, BrainCert does not skimp on the features. It acts as a content management solution with which users can upload written, photo, and video content. Crafting learning courses is simplified through its drag-and-drop course builder, accounting for a wide range of teaching methods, from explainer videos to live classes and different test types. Moreover, it has a gamification extension that helps boost the engagement of learners and meeting participants. BrainCert is mobile-ready and integrates with popular applications like Google Drive, OneDrive, Mail Chimp, and PayPal.

Price Range: BrainCert offers a free Elearning plan and a free Meeting Room plan along with a host of paid plans. Their Elearning plans range from $24/month to $239/month while their Enterprise LMS plans start at $119/month. On the other hand, the VC plans can cost between $79/month and $569/month.  Lastly, for Meeting Room plans, the range is from $18/month (annual billing) to $151/month (annual billing).

What is unique about BrainCert?

1. Quick course creation. Putting together learning courses is made simple by the system’s drag-and-drop interface. It supports a wide range of content, from educational videos and streamed lessons to live classes and exams.
2. Interactive digital classroom. The platform’s virtual classroom is built for collaborations, with its interactive whiteboard and document annotation tool. It also serves as a video conferencing platform that allows up to 10 concurrent streams.
3. Comprehensive testing module. BrainCert allows you to create any type of test or exercise that gauges the skills of your staff. It also lets you record sessions and remotely monitor tests.
4. Centralized content library. Content can be uploaded or embedded from various sources on BrainCert. It organizes the content so you can easily find what you need.
5. Integrated ecommerce. BrainCert comes with ecommerce features that enable you to establish online stores. It also integrates with payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe to complete transactions within the platform.

3. GoToMeeting

GoToMeeting is a dynamic video conferencing system that offers much more value than what its price suggests. Furnishing plans that are less than $20/month, the software enhances the video conferencing experience with its HD-quality streams and its crisp VoIP integrated audio. What’s more, it accommodates up to 3,000 participants, enabling large multinational firms to meet with their entire workforce from all corners of the globe. Even its basic plan allows small businesses to meet with up to 150 individuals in one conference.

GoTo Meeting allows you to conduct presentations with screen-sharing, group chat, and recording capabilities. As such, presenters can perform detailed demonstrations while viewers can type in comments and record the video sessions. It also has private meeting rooms that enable remote teams to prepare prior to online presentations. Each meeting room is encrypted and has risk-based authentication to ensure that the conferences are kept within the confines of companies. GoToMeeting is mobile-ready and integrates with reliable solutions like Slack, Google Calendar, Salesforce, and Office 365.

Price Range: GoToMeeting has three paid plans, with the Enterprise plan available by quote. The two other plans are priced at $12/month and $16/month, respectively.

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What is unique about GoToMeeting?

1. Affordable price. GoToMeeting is as budget-friendly as they come. Its Professional plan charges only $12/month and its Business plan costs $16/month while the Enterprise plan is available by quote.
2. Massive number of allowed participants. GoToMeeting’s Enterprise plan accommodates up to a staggering 3,000 participants. Enterprises can send company-wide messages or hold company-wide conferences with ease.
3. Crisp audio and video. GoToMeeting flexes its video capabilities with its HD video streams and integrated audio. This ensures clarity in communications through every conference.
4. Tight security. The platform protects its meeting rooms with layers of encryption. It is also HIPAA-compliant.
5. Personal meeting rooms. Remote teams can prepare their presentation materials early on in personal meeting rooms before conducting video presentations. They can also trade notes during ongoing presentations.

4. GoToWebinar

GoToWebinar is a self-service web conferencing system that marries video conferencing with event management, audience interaction, event branding, and analytics. Designed for all types of users, the platform fashions end-to-end solutions for events, from planning and promoting to engaging and converting, quantified in detailed reports. GoToWebinar is remarkably easy to install and has a painless interface. It also offers a variety of webinar templates for the different types of video conferences a company can perform.

Besides having tools for video conferencing, GoToWebinar offers solutions for raising audience engagement. An engagement dashboard displays the audience’s level of attention throughout an event. Events can be recorded and shared while the data surrounding them can be leveraged for CRM and marketing through the platform’s integrations. Meanwhile, event marketers will find a lot of use for the system’s host of promotional solutions like creating invites, branding, and custom registration, all of which boost the numbers of attendees.  GoToWebinar integrates with dynamic apps like Hubspot, Hubspot CRM, Zoho CRM, Marketo, and Automate.io.

Price Range: GoToWebinar offers three paid plans, ranging from $89/month to $429/month. It also comes with a seven-day free trial.

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What is unique about GoToWebinar?

1. Effective event promotion. GoToWebinar lets you create event invites, apply different branding schemes, and provide custom event registration. It also offers a channel page for on-demand webinars.
2. Audience engagement tracking. The system monitors audience engagement throughout the event. In addition, it provides features like real-time polls and surveys that increase engagement.
3. Event integration. The platform enables you to record events and leverage the data for promotions and marketing. It smoothly integrates with CRM and marketing automation tools.
4. Comprehensive reporting. GoToWebinar generates a range of reports that offers insights into events and the aspects surrounding them. Attendance numbers and audience engagement are just two of the many factors it tracks.
5. Supports numerous participants. GoToWebinar accommodates up to 1,000 participants. In fact, its basic plan already takes in up to 100.

5. Lifesize

Lifesize is a comprehensive video conferencing system that offers end-to-end solutions for online meetings and meeting rooms. Enhanced by 4K UHD video conferencing, its resolution is lifelike and the audio quality is particularly crisp. The platform hosts public and private meeting rooms, the latter of which can be leveraged for planning and preparations. This potentially enhances productivity and makes collaborations possible.  Inviting attendees and collaborators is made easy since the platform has an integrated directory.

Video conferences may contain an overwhelming amount of information, thus Lifesize enables users to record, document, and share these. This allows attendees to focus on the proceedings rather than spend too much time taking notes. The system also interoperates with other conferencing and video solutions to boost the latter’s capabilities. Its integrations include those with Skype, Apple AirPlay, IBM Cloud, and Slack. Moreover, the conference rooms are protected with layers of encryption. Lifesize supports a wide range of mobile devices and operating systems.

Price Range: Lifesize offers three price plans, ranging from $12.95/user/month to $16.95/user/month. It also has a free trial.

What is unique about Lifesize?

1. Vivid streams. Lifesize features 4K UHD video conferencing. This ensures clarity in every online meeting or webinar.
2. Flexible system. The system works with a wide array of platforms and devices as it seamlessly connects users to different meeting rooms, which work perfectly with BYOD programs. It also integrates with other video conferencing apps to not disrupt existing workflows.
3. Powerful admin dashboard. Lifesize not only connects people to various conferences; it also allows admin users to monitor meeting rooms and home screen features. As such, admins can quickly delete empty rooms.
4. Reliable contact management. The system has a built-in directory for your contacts, which can be sorted according to their designation. Its search function makes finding people easy.
5. Encrypted meeting rooms. Lifesize protects its meeting rooms with enterprise-grade security. This assures the privacy of any conference run on the platform.

6. Skype

Skype is one of the leading names in video conferencing. It consolidates all forms of communication as it provides tools for video conferences, instant messaging, text messaging, group messaging, voice messaging, and even VoIP service. For a small fee, users can make unlimited calls to 63 countries and a minimal fee with no peak times for domestic calls. What’s more, it has collaboration tools like file and image sharing. The best part is that these features are available in Skype’s free plan, making the platform an appealing option to both personal and business users.

Upgrading to a paid plan has its share of benefits as well. First of which is that the number of people accommodated in virtual meetings goes up to 250, which is enough to cover the entire workforces of small and mid-sized businesses. Another benefit is the seamless integration with MS Office tools along with its other third-party integrations, including Slack, Agile CRM, Bitium, and Lucid Meetings. Skype also offers high-grade security and is compatible with most devices and operating systems.

Price Range: Skype has a free plan and three paid plans, ranging from $5.50/user/month to $12.50/user/month.

What is unique about Skype?

1. Generous free plan. Skype’s free plan has all its core features, from video conferencing to international calls. The paid plans often serve as enhancements to the free plan’s features.
2. Low-cost VoIP. Skype offers low rates across the board for local and international calls. You can place unlimited calls to over 60 countries for a low price.
3. Centralized communications. The platform acts as a communications control center since it furnishes multiple channels with which you can communicate with your team, partners, and customers. It even offers file sharing and screen sharing.
4. Affordable paid plans. For a low price, Skype increases the number of accommodated conference participants to up to 250. It also provides seamless integrations with MS Office tools to streamline your operations.
5. Huge individual file storage. Skype isn’t only generous with its pricing; it extends the same generosity to its file storage. Those who availed of the Office 365 Business Essentials plan are entitled to 1 TB storage per individual user.

7. Zoom

Zoom is one of the most popular video conferencing software around, and for a good reason. Its flexible features enable users to leverage it for a wide range of conferences, from webinars to online courses, all the way to interactive video demonstrations. This makes the system valuable to businesses of all scales. In addition, Zoom accommodates up to 100 video participants and lets up to 10,000 view-only guests observe the proceedings. Meanwhile, conferences are enhanced by features like dynamic screen sharing and the dual-screen support system, which allows speakers to share presentations and demonstrations on a different screen.

Collaboration is among Zoom’s core competencies. Organizers can create rooms for specific groups in which the participants can send messages, share files, annotate documents and parts of presentations, and more. The system supports mobile devices so people who are away from their computers can still participate regardless of their location. Moreover, conferences can be recorded, stored, and shared in widely-used video formats like MP4 and M4A. Best of all, most of its core features are available in its free plan. Zoom integrates with numerous renowned apps, the likes of which include Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Slack, and Salesforce.

Price Range: Zoom comes with a free plan and three paid plans, ranging from $14.99/host/month to $19.99/host/month.

What is unique about Zoom?

1. Full-featured free plan. Zoom’s free plan has more than enough features for business users to conduct meetings, training, and other types of webinars. The plan also carries a host of group collaboration tools and accommodates up to 100 participants.
2. Enhanced conference experience. The system’s dual-screen support system centers on two screens simultaneously, which works well with presentations and demonstrations. It also offers dynamic sharing that allows users to share their desktop screens, illustrations and diagrams, or lists of ideas.
3. Low-cost, high-value paid plans. For a relatively low rate, users receive a boatload of useful features like managed domains, 1 GB video recording, and company branding. Zoom also offers valuable add-ons like extra storage and toll-free dialing.
4. Large number of viewers. Zoom’s maximum number of participants may be only 100, but the number of conference attendees it accommodates is up to 10,000. This is why the platform is popular not just for business functions, but also for other social functions like online concerts, forums, and even worship-related events.
5. Fosters collaborations. Zoom promotes collaboration among participants through features like file sharing, document posting, and user annotations. It supports mobile so a participant doesn’t need to be in front of a computer to join.

8. Cisco Webex

Cisco Webex is a flexible video conferencing system designed to help businesses of all sizes conduct various types of conferences in a streamlined fashion. With just a few clicks, online meetings can be scheduled, commenced, and conducted by users with host accounts. As the system integrates with Outlook, the only information needed to invite other participants is their email addresses. Large conferences are possible since the platform allows up to 3,000 attendees to grace an event, with the invitations and registrations customized to suit an event’s theme.

An interesting feature of this system is the Training Center, which adjusts the displayed screen to the format of the file being presented. A marketing deck, for instance, can be presented as a dedicated slideshow with all the needed controls. Video presentations, on the other hand, are presented as such and come with video feature controls. This enables presenters to include various types of media in their presentations, promoting viewer engagement in the process. Cisco Webex integrates with popular apps like Dropbox, GitHub, Microsoft Outlook, and Nimble.

Price Range: Cisco Webex comes in three plans whose prices range from $24/user/month to $69/user/month. It also has a free trial.

What is unique about Cisco Webex?

1. Dynamic presentations. Cisco Webex’s Training Center can style presentations in accordance with the presented materials’ file types. Slideshows, video presentations, and other forms come with their respective control sets.
2. Organized approach to conferences. Cisco Webex streamlines the video conferencing process by simplifying the steps to schedule, start, and conduct a conference. It also limits admin controls to those with host accounts to ensure that all parties are on-board.
3. Painless invitation process. With the system integrating with Outlook, invites are quickly sent to large numbers of people. Invites and registration can be customized to suit various themes.
4. Supports large events. Cisco Webex allows up to 3,000 people to participate in video conferences. This is ideal for large corporate functions like symposiums, talks, company-wide announcements, and parties.
5. Promotes engagement. The platform is equipped with tools for live chat, screen sharing, polling, Q&A, and other similar functionalities. This ensures that attendees/participants are engaged throughout the whole affair.

9. Townscript Live

Townscript Live is a robust events management system that offers a plethora of hosting solutions for a wide variety of events. These include conferences, concerts, marathons, training programs, and workshops, among many others. Among its many competencies is its ticketing solution. The platform produces various types of tickets, accounting for the nature of an event and different seat locations. Integrating with payment gateways, the system supports more than 100 currencies and enables users to conduct events in 27 countries.

Townscript Live also provides customizable registration forms that can be styled to suit any type of event. These forms accommodate various queries, such as polls and surveys. Moreover, the system comes with built-in video conferencing tools to have ticketing, registration, and the events themselves in one platform. It even carries a search engine optimization solution that improves an event’s position on Google listings as well as a box office management tool that tracks the performance of each event. Townscript Live integrates with payment platforms like Stripe and PayU.

Price Range: Townscript Live offers a free trial, a free trial room, and three paid plans, ranging from ₹495/event to ₹935/event. It also comes with a Custom plan that’s available by quote.

What is unique about Townscript Live?

1. Effective ticketing solution. Businesses use Townscript Live to produce different types of tickets. These include Early Bird, VIP, Economy, and other forms suitable to any event.
2. Ideal for large-scale events. Townscript Live accommodates thousands of participants for huge events. These include concerts, fundraisers, product launches, company parties, and the like.
3. Supports numerous currencies. Even if an event were to be held overseas, Townscript Live has a solution for it. The platform supports over 100 currencies and can be used to host events in 27 countries.
4. Custom registration forms. The system provides registration forms that can be tweaked as needed. These accommodate any type of event.
5. All-in-one events management. Townscript Live not only allows you to sell tickets; its video conferencing tools enable it to broadcast events.  This means ticketing, registration, and events are centralized in one self-contained solution.

10. Google Meet

Formerly known as Google Hangouts, Google Meet is a powerful enterprise-grade video conferencing system that offers solutions for multiple communication channels. It affords an unlimited number of meetings with up to 100 participants each. The platform ensures that all the points made get across through its live captioning feature. This makes notetaking much easier. What’s more, it grants hosts a slew of controls like muting and removing participants, enables users to share their screens, and integrates with other Google apps. Interestingly, all the aforesaid features are only for the free plan.

Google Meet’s paid plans, while retaining most of the free plan’s features, exponentially enhance the video conferencing experience. From 100, the number of participants is raised to 250. The Enterprise plan also tosses in a staggering maximum capacity of 100,000 attendees for conferences and other events. Moreover, the maximum time of group meetings is extended from 1 hour to 24 hours, which is critical when coming up with strategies and action plans. All plans are protected with encryption and two-step verification. Besides Google Apps, Google Meet integrates with Slack, Sprint, Smartsheet, and Lucid.

Price Range: Google Meet carries a free plan and two paid plans, one charges $7.99/month and the other by quotation.

What is unique about Google Meet?

1. Comprehensive free plan. Google Meet’s free plan is packed with features that can rival the low-tier paid plans of others. It provides unlimited meetings, has live captioning, supports various communication channels, accommodates up to 100 participants, just to name a few.
2. Live captioning. The system supplies talks and presentations with captions. These make the job of taking down minutes in meetings simple.
3. Reliable Google integrations. As a Google product, the platform’s capabilities are expanded by the apps under Google Workspace like Google Drive and Google Calendar. It also integrates with Microsoft Outlook.
4. Huge attendee capacity. Google Meet’s Enterprise plan grants event access to up to 100,000 attendees. As such, the platform can be leveraged for concerts, company parties, and other large gatherings.
5. Smart conference features. Google Meet has an intelligent muting solution that sets the stage for other presenters. It also provides break rooms, adjustable layouts, phone dialing, and virtual hand raises, among many other handy tools.

Choosing the Ideal Video Conferencing Solution

Although video conferencing systems tend to have similar features, some offer functionalities that are more suitable for particular endeavors and industries. Some platforms have a no-frills approach, offering the best possible resolution and audio for presentations, while others surround their core features with fully complementary ones like ticketing and contact management solutions. Besides ratings, the best solution should answer the question, what is the video conferencing software that best aligns with my business?

This isn’t easy to answer, which is why this list is populated by products that offer flexible solutions. For instance, a system like RingCentral MVP fits various industries and initiatives with its HD streams and multichannel support. Likewise, BrainCert vastly expands on the capabilities of standard platforms by fusing video conferencing with a learning management system. Many of the products on this list have a free trial, which you can leverage to find an ideal solution.

Should you want to know more about the general usefulness of virtual video conferencing, you can check out our guide on the latest video and web conferencing software statistics.

By Louie Andre

B2B & SaaS market analyst and senior writer for FinancesOnline. He is most interested in project management solutions, believing all businesses are a work in progress. From pitch deck to exit strategy, he is no stranger to project business hiccups and essentials. He has been involved in a few internet startups including a digital route planner for a triple A affiliate. His advice to vendors and users alike? "Think of benefits, not features."