A reviews-based short list of best-in-class free and open source video conferencing software
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Hollywood has lied to you. We're not getting hologram meetings anytime soon.
Until then, perhaps you should look to video conferencing (or web conferencing) software to help you meet up with all those distant relations and workplace proximity associates. After all, 63% of businesses are currently using group video conferencing software and 30% are currently implementing or deploying it, according to a Gartner survey.
Video conferencing software lets you host remote meetings, which cuts down on overhead, makes it easier to hire speakers since you no longer need to worry about travel, and helps you reach a much wider audience because you're not bound by a single location.
You can use video conferencing software for events, internal meetings, webinars, and lectures, so it's incredibly valuable. And it's even more valuable if it's free.
We've compiled a list of five of the top free video conferencing software for you. Several products on this list are open source, which means they're infinitely customizable. However, you should approach those only if you a) have at least a rudimentary knowledge of programming and b) are comfortable not having much in the way of live customer support.
Methodology
Products considered for this article have to:
Offer a free version of software that offers screen sharing, video conferencing, and presentation streaming functionality.
Be listed on Capterra's web conferencing software directory with an overall rating of at least 90/100. (After analyzing almost 61,000 reviews of web conferencing software, we developed a 100-point rating system to reflect that reviews data.)
The products are listed in alphabetical order, and the open source options are noted as such.
1. FreeConferenceCall.com
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
If you have fewer than 1,000 participants attending your event online, you're covered by FreeConferenceCall.com's free plan. Founded in 2001, they now have more than 800,000 businesses listed as clients, so they're a titan in the industry.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
It's so darn easy to use. In fact, users give it a 93.9/100 for ease of use (well above the video conferencing average of 89.2). It also offers the largest number of features compared to the other software on this list, and you can customize those features on your dashboard. | Reviewers feel the quality of the calls isn't the best. Reviewers experience some problems with the user interface depending on which browser they use. |
Cost to upgrade:
The cost to upgrade overall is $12.95 per user, per month. You can also upgrade for specific features, including custom hold music for $2 per month and extra storage for conference recordings at $3 per month for 40GB.
Best suited for:
Midsize businesses that are looking for an affordable and customizable video conferencing option.
The profile page for a FreeConferenceCall.com user (Source)
2. Livestorm
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
With a primary focus on webinars, Livestorm's free plan offers unlimited web conferences for up to four participants. Depending on how your event is structured, that might be all you need.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Great for beginners thanks to the robust customer support offerings (rated 98/100 compared to the category average of 85.4). | Some reviewers mention frequent connection issues. Livestorm's replay feature is limited, leaving some users frustrated. |
Cost to upgrade:
To upgrade the video meetings feature, it costs $31 per host, per month. To upgrade the webinars feature, it costs $99 per host, per month.
Best suited for:
Businesses just breaking into the world of open source video conferencing software. Livestorm's biggest customers, based on reviews data, are small telecommunications companies and government administrators.
Livestorm allows for more than just text chats during a video conference , with options such as questions and polls (Source)
3. Samepage
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
The free version of Samepage offers you unlimited users and meetings, chat, and search history. The search history option is especially helpful for internal events so you can centralize all of your data and interactions for improved event follow-up.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Cloud-based and can integrate with a multitude of different apps. Most affordable option on this list to upgrade. | Its primary focus is as a collaboration tool, so it might be too bulky for what you're looking for. Reviewers say that because of the expansive functionality, it can be difficult to navigate. |
Cost to upgrade:
The pro model is $8 per member, per month and allows for an additional 1TB of storage per member, as well as extended administrative capabilities.
Best suited for:
Businesses looking for collaboration software that plan on using video conferencing for internal purposes. The product is most frequently reviewed by small nonprofits and education management companies.
Samepage lets you chat while video conferencing (Source)
4. UberConference
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
UberConference's free plan offers you an unlimited number of video conferences under 45-minutes long with up to 10 free participants. They've also added one small tweak to the standard video conference fare: They've eliminated pin numbers, making it easier for users to join.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
It's easy to use, according to their reviewers, more than half of whom use it every week. It's got great hold music. (Seriously. This was mentioned in a lot of reviews.) | It suffers from lag and connectivity issues. Their notification system is also a cause of frustration for reviewers who find it interrupts the flow of the video conference. |
Cost to upgrade:
The business model is $15 per user, per month and lets you have five-hour long meetings with up to 100 participants. You can also upload your own custom hold music if theirs isn't groovy enough.
Best suited for:
UberConference's highest ratings come from large businesses, and most reviewers are in the marketing and advertising and computer software fields.
Reviewers love the ability to share their screen during video conferences (Source)
5. Zoom
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
Zoom offers an unlimited number of one-on-one meetings and meetings under 40-minutes long for up to 100 participants. The software also sends you post-webinar/video conference reports to help you plan your next event.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Zoom is the only option on this list that is above the category average for every category based on reviews: ease of use, functionality, customer support, value for money, and likelihood to recommend. It has exceptional video and audio quality, according to reviewers. | Zoom requires participants to download the software, which can be daunting if they aren't ready for that step. The high quality requires a strong and fast internet connection, so if you don't, you might have trouble connecting. |
Cost to upgrade:
The pro model is $14.99 per user per month and gets you a 24-hour time limit on group conferences of up to 100 participants and 1GB of MP4 or M4A cloud recording.
Best suited for:
Businesses that are focused on video and audio quality. Zoom gets its highest ratings from small companies focused on education management and eLearning professionals.
Zoom offers high -quality video, even in the face of a litany of participants (Source)
Next steps
Hopefully by now you have a stronger sense of which web conferencing software might be a good fit for you. If you're still not sure, though, take a look at our buyer's guide to give you a better sense of what video conferencing can do.
Or, if none of those options appeal to you, check out our directory for web conferencing software and see if there's another option that feels like a better fit.