Microsoft Teams
CE 88 free tierOrganizations already invested in Microsoft 365, where Teams is a line they own rather than a purchase.
Entry plan · billed yearly$4 / seat
× 6 seats$24
Against your $96 ceiling−$72
Team cost$24 / mo
Verified
Reviewed by
Oleh Kem
Oleh KemPlans checked57 / 19 vendors
“Contact sales”13/57
Median entry$16.49/mo
Entry range$4-500
Publish a price16/19
Free tier12/19
Leader91 Whereby
Video conferencing compared: pricing, encryption and webinar mode
Three of the names here do not sell a call on its own: Meet lives inside Google Workspace, Teams is a line in a Microsoft 365 bundle, and a Slack Huddle is a chat feature you may already run. Published prices for the nineteen apps follow, with free tiers and their meeting limits marked, and the handful that have shut down sorted to the bottom.
How much does video conferencing cost, and what already comes bundled?
Video conferencing software runs a live call in a browser, and across these nineteen apps the least costly paid plans start near $4 a month. The typical entry lands close to $16.49, verified July 29, 2026, while a free tier ships on 12 of them. For three, the call is already folded into a suite you fund elsewhere.
- The paid tiers span $4 to $500 monthly, and half the field enters at or below $16.49.
- A free tier ships on 12 apps, yet most clip a group call by the clock: Zoom at 40 minutes, Whereby at 45.
- The giants do not sell a call on its own. Meet is priced inside Google Workspace, Teams inside a Microsoft 365 plan, and a Slack Huddle rides the chat seat you already keep.
- Webinars and recording change the meter: Livestorm charges by attendee credits that expire, Demio by host and room size, Daily by the participant-minute.
- A few products in this ranking have shut down. Their prices stay on the record, but their scores drop to zero and they sort to the bottom.
Ranked by a transparency score: pricing transparency 60%, user satisfaction 40%. Capability is not scored. It is the condition grid below. Prices are read from vendor pricing pages and re-checked per product on the dates shown. ComparEdge sells no video conferencing apps and takes no payment for placement. How the score is built.
01 / 07
Video apps ranked: encryption, transcription, webinars and streaming
Read the axis knowing that Teams, Meet and a Slack Huddle are billed as part of a larger subscription, not as a video product you buy on its own.
Sorted by transparency scorePriced tiers 44 / 57Full disclosure 4 / 19
How to read this table
Reading the console
Rows sort on transparency, not on how capable the app is, so a modest tool that lists every tier ranks above a suite that withholds its enterprise price. The axis places the lowest paid monthly plan, which puts a suite seat at its own entry tier rather than at the full bundle. Metered and free-only apps show a label where a tick would go, since they have no single seat price to place.
- Price axis
- One shared logarithmic axis, $4 to $196. A tick further right is genuinely dearer. The tall tick is the cheapest paid tier.
- Diamond
- A flat platform fee, billed per month, not per seat.
- Granted
- Listed on the vendor’s own pages on the verify date.
- Conditional
- Present, but some tiers carry no published price.
- Not on the record
- Absent from the recorded feature set. It means unlisted, not incapable.
01WherebyFree tierAll tiers pricedE2E encryption not on the recordTranscription not on the recordWebinar mode not on the recordLive streaming not on the record$10.99/host91Alternatives to Whereby
02DemioNo free tierAll tiers pricedE2E encryption not on the recordTranscription not on the recordWebinar mode listedLive streaming not on the record$63/u91Alternatives to Demio
03Microsoft TeamsFree tierAll tiers pricedE2E encryption listedTranscription listedWebinar mode listedLive streaming listed$4/u88Alternatives to Microsoft Teams
04Jitsi MeetFree, no paid plansFree tierAll tiers pricedE2E encryption listedTranscription not on the recordWebinar mode not on the recordLive streaming listedFree88Alternatives to Jitsi Meet
05DailyUsage-priced, public rate cardFree tier1 of 2 tiers unpricedE2E encryption listedTranscription listedWebinar mode not on the recordLive streaming listedSales only85Alternatives to Daily
06Riverside.fmFree tier1 of 5 tiers unpricedE2E encryption not on the recordTranscription listedWebinar mode listedLive streaming listed$14flat83Alternatives to Riverside.fm
07LivestormUsage-priced, public rate cardFree tier1 of 2 tiers unpricedE2E encryption not on the recordTranscription not on the recordWebinar mode listedLive streaming listedSales only81Alternatives to Livestorm
08ZoomFree tier1 of 5 tiers unpricedE2E encryption listedTranscription listedWebinar mode listedLive streaming listed$16.99/u79Alternatives to Zoom
09Google MeetFree tier1 of 5 tiers unpricedE2E encryption listedTranscription listedWebinar mode not on the recordLive streaming not on the record$8.40/u79Alternatives to Google Meet
10LoomFree tier1 of 4 tiers unpricedE2E encryption not on the recordTranscription listedWebinar mode not on the recordLive streaming not on the record$18/u79Alternatives to Loom
11Cal.com (Cal Video)Free tier1 of 4 tiers unpricedE2E encryption listedTranscription not on the recordWebinar mode not on the recordLive streaming not on the record$16/u78Alternatives to Cal.com (Cal Video)
12SlackFree tier1 of 4 tiers unpricedE2E encryption listedTranscription not on the recordWebinar mode not on the recordLive streaming not on the record$8.75/u77Alternatives to Slack
13Webex by CiscoFree tier1 of 4 tiers unpricedE2E encryption listedTranscription listedWebinar mode listedLive streaming listed$14.50/u72Alternatives to Webex by Cisco
14RingCentralNo free tier1 of 4 tiers unpricedE2E encryption not on the recordTranscription listedWebinar mode listedLive streaming not on the record$30/u69Alternatives to RingCentral
15GoTo MeetingNo free tier1 of 3 tiers unpricedE2E encryption listedTranscription listedWebinar mode listedLive streaming not on the record$14/u66Alternatives to GoTo Meeting
16DialpadNo free tier2 of 4 tiers unpricedE2E encryption not on the recordTranscription listedWebinar mode not on the recordLive streaming not on the record$27/u57Alternatives to Dialpad
17AroundProduct discontinuedFree tierAll tiers pricedE2E encryption not on the recordTranscription not on the recordWebinar mode not on the recordLive streaming not on the recordRetired0Alternatives to Around
18VowelProduct discontinuedFree tierAll tiers pricedE2E encryption listedTranscription listedWebinar mode not on the recordLive streaming not on the recordRetired0Alternatives to Vowel
19ButterProduct discontinuedFree tierAll tiers pricedE2E encryption listedTranscription not on the recordWebinar mode not on the recordLive streaming not on the recordRetired0Alternatives to Butter
GrantedSome tiers sealedNot on the recordCheapest paid seatFlat account fee, not per seatScore ranks pricing transparency and user ratings, not capability. Capability is the grid.
19 vendorsMedian entry $16.49Coverage span 4 → 0 of fourSealed tiers 13 / 57
Scroll the console sideways to reach the remaining conditions.
02 / 07
Shortlist a video app by host count and what it really costs
The shortlist ranks by what the plan actually costs your team, not by list price. Flat plans are folded into a per-team number so they compare like for like. Only vendors rated 85 and up are eligible.
Seats
6
Budget / seat
For 6 seats at $16 per seat, start with these
Ranked by monthly team cost, vendors rated 85 and up · Your ceiling for this team: $96 / mo
Whereby
CE 91 free tierTeams who never want to make a guest install anything.
Entry plan$10.99 / host
× 6 hosts$65.94
Against your $96 ceiling−$30.06
Team cost$65.94 / mo
Over your ceilingDemio $63 / seat
Not sure what to weigh? Five questions narrow it faster than the grid.Answer 5 questions
03 / 07
Every app's plans, verdicts and the date we checked each price
Order follows transparency, highest first. Prices come from each vendor's page, re-checked on the date beside each product. Discontinued apps keep their last known prices and score zero.
Transparency scorePricing transparency 60%User satisfaction 40%
Teams who never want to make a guest install anything. Whereby opens a room from a browser link, priced per host with guests free, though the Business plan asks for at least three hosts and every tier caps a room at 200 people.
Plan table and expert take
Whereby: expert take
The $13.99 Business plan is not one seat: it bills per host with a three-host minimum, so the real floor is near three times that. Pro at $10.99 carries a single host, and every tier caps a room at 200 people.
Where Whereby holds up
- Guests join via browser link; no app or login required
- Customizable rooms with personalized branding and URLs
- Embeddable video calls directly into websites or apps
- Built-in Miro whiteboard and YouTube integrations for collaboration
- Simple, fixed-price plans without complex feature gating
4.7CE scoreG2 4.6 · 1,163 reviewsCapterra 4.5Founded 2013Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Pro | $10.99 | $9.12 |
| Business | $13.99 | $11.61 |
Marketing teams running polished, on-brand webinars with registration and follow-up. Demio prices per host and by room size, so the same Growth plan for a 3,000-seat room costs many times the 150-seat version, which the single tier name never shows.
Critical gapThe platform experiences latency and audio synchronization degradation during high-traffic live streaming sessions.
Plan table and expert take
Demio: expert take
Marketing teams pricing a large audience pay far more than the $63 Starter plan implies, because Demio bills per host and by room size. The Growth plan for a 3,000-seat room costs many times its 150-seat version, hidden inside one tier name.
Where Demio holds up
- Highly rated (4.4/5 on G2)
- 15 key features including Live Webinars and Automated Webinars
- Multiple pricing tiers (3 plans) to match different needs
- AI-powered features built in
- Workflow automation capabilities
4.5CE scoreG2 4.4 · 171 reviewsCapterra 4.7Founded 2016Verified July 16, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $63 | $45 |
| Growth | $117 | $80 |
| Premium | Not published | $196 |
Organizations already invested in Microsoft 365, where Teams is a line they own rather than a purchase. A standalone Essentials tier exists, but it leaves out the Office apps, and most buyers reach Teams through a business bundle and never price the call by itself.
Critical gapInconsistent performance and errors reported on Linux impact real-time communication quality.
Plan table and expert take
Microsoft Teams: expert take
Dearer than the standalone Essentials tier suggests for most buyers, who reach Teams through a Microsoft 365 bundle where the call is one line among many. Essentials leaves out the Office apps, and Phone, Rooms and Premium are separate SKUs on top.
Where Microsoft Teams holds up
- Free plan available
- Affordable starting at $4/mo
- Strong user ratings (4.3/5 on G2)
- 15 key features including Video Meetings and Chat & Channels
- Multiple pricing tiers (4 plans) to match different needs
4.4CE scoreG2 4.3 · 17,942 reviewsCapterra 4.5Founded 2017Verified July 17, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Teams (free) | Free | Free |
| Microsoft Teams Essentials | Not published | $4 |
| Microsoft Teams Enterprise license | Not published | $8.55 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Not published | $7 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | $16.80 | $14 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | $26.40 | $22 |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | Not published | $39 |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | Not published | $60 |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $99.99 / /year | Not published |
| Microsoft 365 Family | $129.99 / /year | Not published |
| Microsoft 365 Premium | $199.99 / /year | Not published |
| Teams Phone Standard | Not published | $10 |
| Teams Phone with Calling Plan (US zone 1) | Not published | $17 |
| Teams Rooms Basic | Free | Free |
| Teams Rooms Pro | Not published | $40 |
| Teams Premium | Not published | $10 |
| Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing | Free | Free |
| Copilot for Microsoft 365 | Not published | $30 |
Teams unwilling to pay a per-seat fee for a call at all. Jitsi Meet is open source and free to run on your own server with no attendee charge, while the hosted JaaS plans are a separate 8x8 product, and the public meet.jit.si comes with no service guarantee.
Critical gapThe platform experiences high bandwidth consumption during active screen sharing sessions.
Plan table and expert take
Jitsi Meet: expert take
Free for teams that can run their own server, and a different product for everyone else. Self-hosted Jitsi Meet costs nothing per attendee, while the hosted JaaS ladder is a separate 8x8 line that opens at the $99 JaaS Basic tier.
Where Jitsi Meet holds up
- Completely free, open-source, and self-hostable for total data control
- No account or software installation required for guests to join meetings
- End-to-end encryption (E2EE) available for enhanced security
- Extensive API access for deep integration into custom applications
- Strong community support and transparent development roadmap
4.4CE scoreG2 4.3 · 225 reviewsCapterra 4.5Founded 2003Verified July 16, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Jitsi Meet (Self-hosted) | Free | Free |
| JaaS Dev | Free | Free |
| JaaS Basic | $99 | Not published |
| JaaS Standard | $499 | Not published |
| JaaS Business | $999 | Not published |
| JaaS Enterprise | Contact sales | |
Engineering teams that do not want a meeting app, only video inside their own product. Daily is an API priced per participant-minute, with 10,000 minutes free every month, and telephony or a HIPAA add-on billed separately above the rate card.
Critical gapThe platform necessitates significant custom development for deployment in legacy enterprise environments.
Plan table and expert take
Daily: expert take
Free until you scale, then priced like infrastructure. Daily is an API, not a meeting app: every account gets 10,000 participant-minutes a month free, and past that you pay per minute off a rate card, with a flat Healthcare add-on on top for regulated use.
Where Daily holds up
- Generous free tier: 10,000 participant-minutes/month
- Prebuilt UI for rapid deployment with minimal front-end code
- Global infrastructure for low-latency calls (SFU network)
- Comprehensive SDKs for web, mobile, and desktop platforms
- Advanced features like live transcription and real-time streaming
4.8CE scoreG2 4.7 · 15 reviewsCapterra 4.7Founded 2016Verified July 17, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | |
| Healthcare (add-on) | $500 | Not published |
Podcasters and video creators recording studio-grade interviews with remote guests. Riverside captures each track locally so the file survives a bad connection, but the free tier stamps a watermark on every export, and separate-track hours are capped by plan.
Critical gapIntermittent file synchronization errors often cause data loss during sessions.
Plan table and expert take
Riverside.fm: expert take
The $14 Pro plan is a recording studio, not a meeting seat: Riverside captures each track locally for podcasts and interviews. The free tier stamps a watermark on every export, and separate-track hours are rationed by plan up the ladder.
Where Riverside.fm holds up
- Local recording for lossless 48kHz WAV audio & 4K video
- Separate audio/video tracks for each participant for easy editing
- AI-powered text-based video editor simplifies post-production
- Progressive upload ensures files are safe even if connection drops
- Built-in teleprompter and media board for live production
4.9CE scoreG2 4.8 · 1,717 reviewsCapterra 4.7Founded 2019Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Pro | $14 | $12 |
| Grow | $19 | $16 |
| Webinar | $49 | $39 |
| Business | Contact sales | |
Marketing teams running registration-driven webinars in the browser. Livestorm meters by attendee credits bought in a pool, and those credits expire after twelve months, so buying a surplus means burning it; the free tier ends a session at 20 minutes and 30 live attendees.
Critical gapThe platform restricts advanced branding and granular analytics reporting.
Plan table and expert take
Livestorm: expert take
The $99 Pro plan looks flat but is not: Livestorm meters attendee credits from a pool, and the pool expires after twelve months. Pro caps a live room at 1,000, so a bigger event forces the $299 Business plan on top of the credits.
Where Livestorm holds up
- No-download, browser-based access for all attendees
- Built-in email cadences for event promotion and follow-up
- Deep native integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, and Marketo
- Automated on-demand webinars from past live event recordings
- Advanced engagement analytics dashboard for lead scoring
4.4CE scoreG2 4.3 · 1,705 reviewsCapterra 4.7Founded 2016Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Pro | $99 | $79 |
| Business | $299 | $249 |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | |
The team that wants the call everyone already knows how to join. Zoom's free Basic tier cuts a group meeting at 40 minutes, and the paid Pro seat adds cloud recording, though rooms past 100 people and storage above 10 GB arrive as add-ons billed on top.
Plan table and expert take
Zoom: expert take
The $16.99 Pro plan is the real floor: the free Basic tier ends a group call at 40 minutes. Pro clears that, but cloud storage stops at 10 GB and meetings past 100 people need the Large Meeting add-on billed on top.
Where Zoom holds up
- Industry-leading video/audio quality and reliability, even on low bandwidth
- Generous free plan with 40-minute group meetings for up to 100 attendees
- Extensive third-party app integrations via the Zoom App Marketplace
- Strong webinar features for large-scale virtual events and broadcasting
- Advanced features like immersive views, breakout rooms, and detailed analytics
4.6CE scoreG2 4.5 · 56,370 reviewsCapterra 4.6Founded 2011Verified July 16, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Free | Free |
| Pro | $16.99 | $14.16 |
| Business | $21.99 | $18.33 |
| Business Plus | $29 | $24.50 |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | |
Anyone who would sooner not buy a meeting app at all. Meet is not sold on its own: it comes inside Google Workspace, so a seat taken for Gmail and Drive already carries the calls, and its listed price shows an intro rate for year one before the standard one lands.
Critical gapPerformance issues noted with multiple browser tabs open.
Plan table and expert take
Google Meet: expert take
Cheaper than it looks for anyone already on Workspace, and pointless bought alone, because Meet is not sold separately. The Business Starter seat carries the calls, though the listed rate is an intro price that resets to standard after year one.
Where Google Meet holds up
- Seamless integration with Google Calendar, Gmail, and Drive
- Browser-based access requires no software installation for guests
- Real-time translated captions in multiple languages (paid plans)
- Robust security features inherited from Google's global network
- Generous free plan with 60-minute meetings for up to 100 people
4.7CE scoreG2 4.6 · 47,972 reviewsCapterra 4.5Founded 2017Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Business Starter | $8.40 | $7 |
| Business Standard | $16.80 | $14 |
| Business Plus | $26.40 | $22 |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | |
People who would send a three-minute recording rather than book another call. Loom is async video, not a meeting room: the free Starter tier holds 25 videos capped at five minutes each, and the AI summaries are locked to the dearest Business plan.
Critical gapThe platform experiences intermittent session freezing and lacks file attachments.
Plan table and expert take
Loom: expert take
Cheaper than a meeting tool for teams that would rather send a recording than hold a call, since Loom is async video. The free Starter tier holds 25 clips capped at five minutes each, and the AI summaries wait until the $24 Business + AI plan.
Where Loom holds up
- Instant sharing via link; no rendering or upload wait time
- Generous free plan with up to 25 videos/user and 5-min limit
- AI-powered summaries, titles, and chapter generation
- Interactive features: viewer comments and emoji reactions
- Robust integrations with Slack, Jira, Notion, and more
4.8CE scoreG2 4.7 · 2,396 reviewsCapterra 4.7Founded 2016Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | Free |
| Business | $18 | $15 |
| Business + AI | $24 | $20 |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | |
People who live inside a scheduler and want the call to open from the booking. Cal Video is built into Cal.com's open-source scheduler, whose pricing page leads with no usage limits on the free tier, though the site lists annual prices, not a monthly rate.
Critical gapIntermittent public booking endpoint failures persist during high-load scenarios.
Plan table and expert take
Cal.com (Cal Video): expert take
Effectively free for anyone already scheduling in Cal.com, where the call is a built-in feature, not a line item. Paid tiers exist for teams, the $16 Teams plan and up, but the site lists annual prices only, so a true monthly rate is not on show.
Where Cal.com (Cal Video) holds up
- Open-source core allows for deep customization and self-hosting
- White-labeling on Team plan for a fully branded client experience
- API-first design enables embedding scheduling into any product
- Built-in Cal Video simplifies workflow; no third-party app needed
- Extensive app store for integrations beyond standard calendars
4.8CE scoreG2 4.7 · 153 reviewsCapterra 4.6Founded 2021Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | Free | Free |
| Teams | $16 | $12 |
| Organizations | $37.33 | $28 |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | |
Teams reluctant to open a second app just for a quick call. A Slack Huddle is a feature of the chat seat, not a product you buy: the free plan allows only 1:1 huddles, and even paid plans cap a huddle at 50 people.
Critical gapThe free tier imposes strict historical data retention limits, forcing paid upgrades for long-term project documentation access.
Plan table and expert take
Slack: expert take
Free for anyone already paying for Slack, since a Huddle is part of the chat seat, not a separate buy. The free plan allows only 1:1 huddles; group calls start on the $8.75 Pro plan, and even paid tiers cap a huddle at 50 people.
Where Slack holds up
- Start video huddles directly within any channel or DM
- Live video, screen sharing, and drawing tools in one lightweight interface
- Persistent huddle thread keeps notes and links organized post-call
- Deep integration with your existing Slack workspace and workflows
- Multi-person screen sharing allows for collaborative presentations
4.6CE scoreG2 4.5 · 39,011 reviewsCapterra 4.7Founded 2013Verified July 16, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Pro | $8.75 | $7.25 |
| Business+ | $18 | $15 |
| Enterprise+ | Contact sales | |
Regulated, hardware-heavy shops already running Cisco gear. Webex leans on Cisco's security stack from the free tier up and pairs naturally with Cisco room hardware, while international dial-in is metered on minutes above the Webex Suite plan.
Critical gapThe platform requires significant administrative oversight during initial deployment.
Plan table and expert take
Webex by Cisco: expert take
The $14.50 Webex Meet plan sits at the cheap end of the paid field, and even the free tier carries Cisco's advanced security stack. The catch sits above it: international dial-in is metered by the minute beyond the $25 Webex Suite.
Where Webex by Cisco holds up
- End-to-end encryption by default, even on the free plan
- Advanced AI noise removal and voice optimization features
- Seamless integration with Cisco hardware (desk devices, room systems)
- Real-time translation into 100+ languages on paid plans
- Comprehensive suite includes calling, messaging, and polling
4.4CE scoreG2 4.3 · 633 reviewsCapterra 4.4Founded 1995Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Webex Free | Free | Free |
| Webex Meet | $14.50 | $12 |
| Webex Suite | $25 | $22.50 |
| Webex Enterprise | Contact sales | |
Businesses replacing an office phone system, where video tags along with the calling plan. RingCentral leads with telephony and meters toll-free minutes and SMS by tier, while its AI Receptionist is an add-on on every plan rather than an included feature.
Critical gapInitial interface latency requires significant technical onboarding for standard deployments.
Plan table and expert take
RingCentral: expert take
The $30 Core plan buys a phone system with video attached, not the other way round. Toll-free minutes and SMS are metered by tier, the AI Receptionist is an add-on on every plan, and buyers report surprise compliance fees on the bill.
Where RingCentral holds up
- Competitive pricing from $30/mo
- Strong user ratings (4.1/5 on G2)
- 15 key features including Business Phone and Video Meetings
- Multiple pricing tiers (3 plans) to match different needs
- AI-powered features built in
4.2CE scoreG2 4.1 · 198 reviewsCapterra 4.3Founded 1999Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Core | $30 | $20 |
| Advanced | $35 | $25 |
| Ultra | $45 | $35 |
| Customer Engagement Bundle | Contact sales | |
Buyers who want a room that just opens. GoTo Meeting bills per organizer, so attendees never add to the seat count, it prints its Professional and Business tiers plainly, and AI summaries already ship on the entry plan.
Critical gapThe legacy interface architecture causes significant navigation friction during high-frequency meeting workflows for new users.
Plan table and expert take
GoTo Meeting: expert take
Cheaper for a crowd than seat-priced rivals, because GoTo Meeting bills per organizer and attendees join free. The $14 Professional plan covers one host and a small room; the $19 Business plan lifts the ceiling, which still stops at 250 people.
Where GoTo Meeting holds up
- Commuter Mode saves mobile data with an audio-only option
- Smart Meeting Assistant provides automated transcripts and notes
- No download required for attendees; join instantly from a browser
- Drawing tools allow real-time annotation on a shared screen
- Strong security with risk-based authentication and encryption
4.3CE scoreG2 4.2 · 20,893 reviewsCapterra 4.4Founded 2004Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | $14 | $12 |
| Business | $19 | $16 |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | |
Sales and support teams that want AI calling, messaging and video on one line. Dialpad rings up four separate product lines, Connect, Support, Sell and an AI agent, in one checkout, so needing more than one compounds the bill; the entry Standard plan caps video at 10 people.
Critical gapSupport access is restricted to users on higher-tier paid subscription plans.
Plan table and expert take
Dialpad: expert take
The $27 Standard plan is one of four price lines sharing a checkout: Connect, Support, Sell and an AI agent, so teams needing more than one compound the bill. Standard also caps a video meeting at 10 people, low for a product sold on AI calling.
Where Dialpad holds up
- Real-time AI transcription and coaching in live video meetings
- Unified app for voice, video, messaging, and contact center
- Vi (Voice Intelligence) provides post-meeting summaries with action items
- Carrier-grade network ensures high voice and video call quality
- Integrates natively with Google Workspace, Salesforce, and Zendesk
4.5CE scoreG2 4.4 · 4,162 reviewsCapterra 4.3Founded 2012Verified July 16, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $27 | $15 |
| Pro | $35 | $25 |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | |
| Support Essentials | $95 | $80 |
| Support Advanced | $135 | $115 |
| Support Premium | $170 | $150 |
| Support Enterprise | Contact sales | |
| Sell Essentials | $49 | $39 |
| Sell Advanced | $110 | $95 |
| Sell Premium | $170 | $150 |
| Sell Enterprise | Contact sales | |
| Dialpad AI Agent | Contact sales | |
Below the line sit the apps that no longer exist. Their prices are kept for the record; their scores are zero.
Around is discontinued. Miro folded its floating-bubble calls into its own board after the acquisition, and the app no longer runs on its own. The listing stays for the record.
Plan table and expert take
Around: expert take
Around is discontinued. Miro folded its floating-bubble calls into its board after buying the team, and the standalone app no longer runs. The price stays on the record for reference only.
Where Around holds up
- Floating video bubbles don't obscure your screen
- AI-powered noise cancellation (EchoTerminator)
- Auto-zoom and framing keeps faces centered
- Minimalist UI designed for collaboration, not just calls
- Lightweight CPU usage compared to competitors
4.5CE scoreG2 4.4 · 95 reviewsCapterra 4.3Founded 2020Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
Vowel has shut down. Its AI meeting notes went offline when the team left to join Zapier, and the domain no longer resolves. The prices below are historical.
Critical gapThe platform currently lacks offline recording support for unstable network environments.
Plan table and expert take
Vowel: expert take
Vowel has shut down. Its AI meeting notes went dark when the team left for Zapier, and the domain no longer resolves. The last known prices remain here only for the record.
Where Vowel holds up
- Instantly searchable meeting library with universal search
- AI-powered meeting summaries and action items are auto-generated
- Collaborative, time-stamped notes directly within the meeting
- Create and share video clips of key moments from any meeting
- Generous free plan includes transcription and unlimited 1:1 meetings
4.6CE scoreCapterra 4.5Founded 2020Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Business | $16.49 | Not published |
Butter is discontinued. The workshop and facilitation tool has shut down; its old plans remain here only for reference.
Critical gapThe platform requires constant connectivity and lacks offline agenda editing.
Plan table and expert take
Butter: expert take
Butter is gone: the workshop and facilitation tool is discontinued. Its old plans are kept for reference, nothing more.
Where Butter holds up
- Built-in agenda with time tracking keeps workshops on schedule
- Pre-set breakout rooms with unique tools for each group
- Interactive flashcards, polls, and soundboards engage participants
- Session recaps automatically summarize notes, polls, and chat
- Miro and Mural integrations are embedded directly in the session
4.8CE scoreG2 4.7 · 20 reviewsCapterra 4.6Founded 2021Verified July 8, 2026
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free |
| Basic | $18 | $18 |
| Pro | $30 | $30 |
| Business | $59 | $59 |
04 / 07
Compare any two video apps: plans, host limits and our score
vs
What the records say
For 6 seats, Whereby bills $65.94 / mo and Demio bills $378 / mo, $312.06 / mo between them.
Demio carries 1 of the 4 capability columns on the record; Whereby shows 0.
Users side with Whereby: 4.6 on G2 against 4.4 for Demio.
Whereby runs a free tier to start on; Demio does not.
Both publish every tier they sell.
Pick Whereby for: Teams who never want to make a guest install anything.
Pick Demio for: Marketing teams running polished, on-brand webinars with registration and follow-up.
Whereby
CE 91 · G2 4.6Published plans, US$/mo
FreeFree
Pro$10.99
Business$13.99
Team of 6$65.94 / mo
Verified July 8, 2026
Demio
CE 91 · G2 4.4Published plans, US$/mo
Starter$63
Growth$117
PremiumNot published
Team of 6$378 / mo
Verified July 16, 2026
Both price lists on the category axis
Whereby
Demio
Where they differ
Only Whereby has on the record
- $0 tier
Only Demio has on the record
- Webinar mode
05 / 07
Video questions: Zoom after 40 minutes, free tiers, paying twice
Does Zoom cost money after 40 minutes?
On the free Basic plan, the call ends at 40 minutes once three or more people join, and you restart it. A paid Pro seat removes the cap and raises the meeting length, so the 40-minute wall is really a free-tier limit, not a per-call charge. One-to-one calls on the free plan run longer than the group limit.
Is Google video conferencing free?
Meet is free for a personal Google account, with group calls capped around 60 minutes. For business use it is not sold on its own: Meet comes inside Google Workspace, so the price you pay is the Workspace seat, and the meeting length and participant ceiling rise with the plan. The pricing page shows an intro rate across its first twelve months before the standard one.
Can you run team video calls without paying twice?
Often, yes. If your team already pays for Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or a paid Slack plan, the call is bundled in: Meet, Teams and Huddles ride on seats you own. Paying again for Zoom or Webex on top only makes sense when you need something the suite seat lacks, like a large webinar or per-room recording. Check the bundle first.
Is any video conferencing free with no time limit?
Self-hosted Jitsi is the closest: it is open source, free to run, and puts no clock on a meeting. Most hosted free tiers cut a group call short instead, Zoom at 40 minutes, Whereby at 45, Webex at 40 and Livestorm at 20. Google Meet allows about 60 minutes on a personal account. A no-limit free call usually means running the server yourself.
Is video conferencing billed per host, per user or per minute?
All three, depending on the app. Meeting tools charge per user seat. Webinar platforms charge per host, and GoTo Meeting per organizer, so attendees stay free. Whereby also bills per host with guests free. Developer APIs like Daily charge per participant-minute, and Livestorm sells attendee credits. Two entry prices can mean completely different things until you know the unit.
Does video conferencing have hidden fees?
The add-ons are where the bill grows. Zoom charges extra for cloud storage past 10 GB and for meetings above 100 people. Whereby's Business plan needs a minimum of three hosts. RingCentral meters toll-free minutes and SMS by tier and sells its AI Receptionist as an add-on. Livestorm's attendee credits expire after twelve months, so a surplus is money burned.
What does a free video conferencing plan not include?
Usually recording, real meeting length and scale. Free tiers cap a group call by the clock and by headcount, hold back cloud recording, and gate webinars, transcription and admin controls behind a paid seat. Riverside stamps a watermark on every free export. Trialling the app on a free plan is sensible; a real business meeting tends to outgrow it.
What is the cheapest way to hold video calls for a small team?
Use the suite you already pay for. Meet, Teams and Slack Huddles come with seats a small team probably already holds. Failing that, a free tier covers short calls, and the cheapest standalone paid plans start near $4 a month. If you have the skills to host it, Jitsi runs free on hardware you manage yourself, with no per-person charge at all.
Do I still need Zoom if I already pay for Microsoft Teams?
For internal meetings, usually not. Teams comes with the Microsoft 365 bundle most offices already own, and it covers calls, chat and screen sharing. Zoom earns its own line when external guests find it easier to join, when you run large webinars, or if you want its recording and room hardware. Otherwise you would be paying twice for the same call.
What is the difference between a video meeting app and a webinar platform?
A meeting app is built for two-way calls and prices per seat. A webinar platform is built for one-to-many broadcasts with registration and follow-up, and prices per host or per attendee. Livestorm and Demio sit in the webinar camp; Demio's price even scales with the room size. Using a meeting app for a large webinar tends to hit a participant ceiling fast.
Which of these tools are for recording, not live meetings?
Two are not meeting apps at all. Loom records async screen-and-camera videos you send by link instead of holding a call. Riverside is a remote studio that captures each guest's track locally for podcasts and interviews. Both show up in a video-conferencing search, but neither is where you would host a live team meeting.
Check what video conferencing you already pay for
Before pricing a standalone meeting app, read your other invoices. If you run Google Workspace, Meet is already in every seat, and it is not sold separately anyway. If you run Microsoft 365, Teams is a line in the bundle rather than a purchase, and the standalone Essentials tier leaves out the Office apps. If your team lives in Slack, a Huddle is part of the chat seat, capped at 50 people but free of a second bill.
That is the first cut in this market: not which app wins, but which call you have already bought. A paid meeting product earns its place only when the bundled one runs short, on room size, recording, webinars or a compliance requirement the suite seat will not meet.
Video conferencing prices measure different units
The apps here do not count the same thing, so the entry figures are not comparable. Meeting tools bill per user. Webinar platforms like Demio bill per host and room size, and Livestorm by attendee credits that expire after a year. GoTo Meeting bills per organizer, so attendees never add to the count. Daily meters each participant-minute against a rate card, with a free monthly allowance underneath.
A single figure can therefore stand for a seat, a host, an organizer, a viewer or a minute. Match the unit to how your team actually meets before you call a price cheap or dear.
The verdict on video conferencing appsSigned review · Updated
Before paying for meetings, check what your office suite already includes: bundled calls carry most teams further than they expect. Pay only for the ceiling you actually hit, rooms, recording or webinars, and price those as add-ons, not as reasons to jump two tiers.
Generous free tiers, sharp cutoffs. Both are true on this market. Add-ons count. An app that lists them openly ends up above one that mentions them after the demo.
MethodEvery price on this page is read from the vendor's own pricing page: 57 plans across nineteen vendors, last verified .
DisclosureCollection is tool-assisted; every verdict is written and signed by a human analyst.
06 / 07
Not sure which? Answer one, take a shortlist.Pick the line that sounds like your team. Each one opens the vendor built for it.
Teams who never want to make a guest install anythingWherebyMarketing teams running polished, on-brand webinars with registration and follow-upDemioOrganizations already invested in Microsoft 365, where Teams is a line they own rather than a purchaseMicrosoft TeamsTeams unwilling to pay a per-seat fee for a call at allJitsi MeetEngineering teams that do not want a meeting app, only video inside their own productDailyPodcasters and video creators recording studio-grade interviews with remote guestsRiverside.fmStill weighing it? Answer 5 questions, take a shortlist.
07 / 07
Read next: cost guides for video conferencing apps, plus related categories
Cost guidesWhereby cost guideDemio cost guideMicrosoft Teams cost guideJitsi Meet cost guideDaily cost guideRelated categoriesProject ManagementCRMCustomer SupportHR & People OpsAnalytics & BICompare two vendorsWhereby vs DemioDemio vs Microsoft TeamsMicrosoft Teams vs Jitsi MeetJitsi Meet vs DailyDaily vs Riverside.fmRiverside.fm vs LivestormStill unsureAnswer 5 questions → a shortlistAll categories
How this review is made. Prices are read from vendor pricing pages and re-checked on the dates shown against each product. Condition columns reflect the feature set recorded on the vendor’s own pages on that date. ComparEdge sells no video conferencing apps and takes no vendor payment for placement. Where a vendor publishes nothing, this page says so rather than estimating. Ranking is by transparency score: pricing transparency 60%, user satisfaction 40%. What a product can do is shown in the condition columns and carries no weight in the number.