During the lockdown, people started to look for options to stay connected with clients, students, parents, friends, and everyone who matters in their lives. What can be a better way to stay connected remotely than through video calls, meetings, conferences and virtual classrooms. As the demand for video collaboration shoots up, Zoom Meeting was one of the most popular brands among people in every possible sector.
Until recently, when various reports started coming in about dubious privacy policies of Zoom web conferencing. Just a few days back, the Ministry of Home Affairs in India cautioned people against the use of Zoom web conferencing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also warned people against the use of Zoom video call, leaving people with the only option to look for Zoom alternatives.
Now that the ‘zoom-bombing’ phase seems to settle down, let’s look out for some alternatives to Zoom. After all, you need to stay connected, while you are trying to stay safe at home!
Breaking News!!
Zoom in action again! Zoom has released Zoom 5.0 with advanced security features, such as, AES 256-bit GCM encryption and also a security button. Can we expect that our data is safe now? Let’s see.
Still, Using Zoom Online? Find Free Meetings app like Zoom
✅ Amid the security concerns with Zoom account, the government has launched an app challenge for developers to create secure Zoom alternatives. The prize money for this video conferencing app challenge is ₹ 1 crore. |
✅ As people started working from home, a large amount of information was being shared through Zoom app and Zoom web platforms. |
✅ To minimize the dependency on Zoom website or Zoom link for information sharing, the registration for this app development challenge began on April 13 and ends on April 30. |
✅ The beta version of Namaste App has been launched by the government recently as an alternative to Zoom Meeting app and Zoom screen sharing. |
Zoom Alternatives for Business: Say No to Zoom VC & Zoom Calls
RingCentral | Microsoft Teams | Adobe Connect | Elision MassMeet | |
Unique Features (USPs) | You can choose any mode, any device you want Much higher uptime Enterprise grade security File sharing & task setups Features for team messaging | Fully integrated with Office 365 Conversation channels Direct access to email, Skype, OneDrive, and SharePoint Collaborate with vendors, suppliers and clients Easy information search Industry-standard security | For meetings, webinars & learnings Recording & editing capabilities Authenticated & controlled permissions Dynamic multimedia & video streaming Cloud storage & VoIP Multi-level security | Multiple room Breakout room Multi-vendor, multi-device interoperability Military-grade security and end-to-end encryption Share documents, videos & presentation Conference scheduler & reports |
Pricing | ₹1150/ user/ month | ₹150 / month/ user | ₹3815/ month to host meetings with up to 25 attendees | The price is available on request |
Supporting OS | Windows 7 or later version Mac OS X with MacOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or later version Linux | Windows (32-bit & 64-bit)MacLinuxWeb Client | Windows MacOS iOS Android Linux Virtual environment | It’s a web-based solution and runs on any device |
Microsoft Teams
A unified communication platform, Microsoft Teams is popular for its video meeting, workplace chatting and file storage features. You will get an Assignments tab where educational professionals can provide assignments and grades to the logged-in members. It’s one of the best alternatives to Zoom Meeting, as it is integrated with Office 365. Microsoft Teams provides access to other office 365 business premium tools like SharePoint, Skype, OneDrive and emails.
Adobe Connect
Whether you have to organize meetings, conferences or classroom, Adobe Connect provides customized features to make virtual communication hassle free. One of the popular Zoom Meeting alternatives, Adobe Connect is a secure and flexible web conferencing solution, which is widely used for webinars and other digital marketing events. You can showcase your products, service and ideas with great impact by using Adobe Connect.
MassMeet
MassMeet is a web-based conferencing software by Elision Tech that helps meet the increasing communication needs between remote teams and customers. It leverages the latest technologies like VoIP to allow multiple participants to attend a meeting effortlessly. As it’s a web-based solution, users don’t need to download this software or app on their device. It helps with live captioning, desktop sharing, meeting recording and playback, etc.
RingCentral
Meeting remotely is made quite simple with RingCentral. It ensures HR-quality video and audio. It also allows you to switch between your desktop or mobile app while you are on a web-video call. Most importantly, it protects your meetings with enterprise-grade security features. You can use this software securely for video conferencing, team messaging and customer service management.
Zoom Alternatives for Education: Goodbye Zoom Classroom
Blackboard Collaborate | Cisco WebEx | ClickMeeting | |
Unique Features (USPs) | On-demand learning Displays 5 HD videos (max) per conference Browser-based web conferencing Class & study groups features Marketing and enrollment functionalities | Virtual class lesson plan Virtual group projects Features for education IT admins Supports different teaching styles Virtual parent-teacher conference | Customized invitations Webinar room Address book Multi-user facility Simultaneous chat translation Polls & surveys Whiteboard & presentation |
Pricing | The price is available on request | The price is available on request | The price is available on request |
Supporting OS | Web-based Desktop iOS Android | Windows MacOS X Linux Chrome OS | Windows 10 MacOS 10.13 Linux Chrome OS |
Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard Collaborate is one of the most popular virtual classroom software to collaborate with your students effectively. Backed by user-friendly features, this Zoom alternative for schools facilitates learning efficiency through an all-in-one flipped classroom. Your students can pause, rewind or fast-forward any recorded lessons with crystal-clear video and audio.
Cisco WebEx
Cisco WebEx software provides customized solutions for teachers, students and their parents. It also provides exclusive features for IT admin teams to keep classrooms connected digitally. The software allows students to attend a class from anywhere and participate in virtual group study meetups. It’s a teacher-friendly software, as it allows them to prepare virtual class lesson plan as per their teaching style.
ClickMeeting
Reach your students wherever they are and help them resume online classes with ClickMeeting. It allows to explain the most difficult topics visually through whiteboards. You can display your educational content to teach your students in an interactive manner. It’s also one of the popular solutions for hosting webinars for your students and parents.
Zoom Alternatives for Webinars: Bid Adieu to Zoom Webinar
GoToWebinar | WebinarNinja | |
Unique Features (USPs) | Quick and easy event management Automatic invitations & follow-up emails Attendance & performance data Video polls and sharing Flexible scheduling and pre-recorded events | Auto-pilot mode to run videos automatically Live broadcast by the host Helps run webinar series with multiple sessions Upload slides & share screen Block/ban attendees Email notifications& automations |
Pricing | ₹6809/ month | ₹2984/ month, billed annually |
Supporting OS | Windows iOS Android | Windows iOS Android |
GoToWebinar
GoToWebinar has everything that you need to conduct successful online sessions for corporate training, demand generation and virtual classroom sessions. With GoToWebinar, you can easily adjust settings and set-up live events or on-demand sessions. There are multiple webinar templates to start new events in quick steps. Further, presenter webcams help panelists express their ideas better.
WebinarNinja
WebinarNinja provides many webinar templates and page designs for even the beginners to host webinar sessions effortlessly. You can run any type of webinar, be it live, automated, series or hybrid. Also, you will get marketing tools to promote your next webinar sessions and grow your audience. As your attendees can join the webinar from any device, the chance of participation is quite high.
Zoom Alternatives for Personal Use & Video Conferences
Google Hangouts Meet | Skype Video Chat App | |
Unique Features (USPs) | Instant messaging Auto screen focus Intelligent muting Built-in screen sharing HD group conferencing | Audio & HD video calling Call recording & live subtitles Smart messaging Screen sharing Call phone & private conversations |
Pricing | It’s a free video conferencing software | It’s a free video conferencing software |
Supporting OS | Mac OS X Windows Chrome Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions | Desktop Tablet Web Alexa Xbox Phone |
Google Hangouts
With so many people working from home and trying to connect with their friends and families through video calls, Google Hangouts has updated its messaging feature. Now, you can connect with up to 5 people in one grid, using this free Zoom alternative. However, Google has recently increased this limit to 16! In this race against Zoom video conferencing, Google is trying to win over new customers with its paid business plans, which are available with G Suite Enterprise & G Suite Basic.
Skype
Skype is another free Zoom alternative for personal and professional use. Skype video chat app supports video calling with up to 50 people without any subscription charge. You can use any device, mobile, tablet or computer to organize a virtual party with the important people in your life. Skype also facilitates group video calls with your co-workers or classmates, so that you don’t miss Zoom conference anymore.
Wrapping Up
Now, you know about some of the best Zoom alternatives for video conferencing app to keep your communication flow alive without worrying about security. So, let’s get started! Choose any of these alternatives to Zoom and find that on our website. You can also check Jio Meet App for free video conferencing.
Kalpana’s tech writing journey began in 2017 with Techjockey, and she truly belongs here! If she was not a technical content writer, she would have been a coder. Technical writing, especially for business software, is her passion, and she enjoys every bit of it. From addressing the pain... Read more