Best video conferencing services of 2020

ClickMeeting specifically targets those users who need to conduct webinars and other presentations online. That means you should skip on by if you want software for phone calls or video conferences, but it’s perfect for the more specialist side of webinar casting. Look past the intricate exterior, and it’s relatively easy to set up a webinar to people you know or even by selling your skills via PayPal integration. The addition of polls, Q&A sessions, a whiteboard, as well as screen-sharing means the process can be just as interactive as a face-to-face seminar too. 
ClickMeeting isn’t cheap if you want the full set of features or the ability to invite hundreds of attendees, but it’s worth it if you’re serious about offering webinars. 

Microsoft’s foray into video conferencing is pretty good, with Microsoft Teams doing everything a business could need, albeit at a price. It offers the ability to conduct meetings with up to a whopping 10,000 participants, with full Microsoft 365 integration, ensuring you can easily schedule meetings, send out invites, and more. It’s the little things that soon add up for Microsoft Teams too, like captioning support, the ability to blur your background, and excellent mobile apps support as well as desktop apps. 
Microsoft Teams is available for free with limitations, but businesses should expect to fork out extra to get the features they need. That’s where the service can get expensive though, because ideally, you need to have a Microsoft 365 business or the enterprise plan to get the most from it and that can be expensive on a per user basis. As an all-in-one solution though, it’s quite appealing. Being able to discuss then immediately edit documents is sure to be helpful during an important meeting. 

GoToMeeting offers a lot of features that other video conferencing software provides. That includes screen sharing, meeting recordings and transcriptions, and HD video recording. It’s a little simplistic in places and lacks certain advanced features like improved note-taking, but it has one massive advantage. It’s incredibly easy to set up a meeting right from your smartphone. For at-home use, this is a big plus.
If you don’t want to be restricted to making conference calls from your desktop, this is an ideal solution. It’s reasonably well priced too, and can accommodate a healthy number of participants. For real flexibility, it’s a great way of making video conference calls. 

Entirely free, Google Hangouts has a lot going for it when it comes to social calls. Almost everyone has a Google account, and it’s super simple to set up a Hangouts session. When it comes to regular chats, you can arrange meetings with up to 150 participants, but you’re limited to a video call with only up to 10 people. That’s only really going to be an issue for the biggest of families though. You can also use the service through your browser as well as via apps, so you don’t have to worry about novice users being confused about what to do next. 
Unless you invest in an official business account, the free option isn’t a good choice for businesses or those trying to complete collaborative tasks together, but it’s still a valuable service for when you need something free and effective. 

Bluejeans feels like a service tackling video conferencing from a different perspective to most. On the one hand, it doesn’t just offer HD video, it also provides crystal-clear Dolby Vision sound, which is much improved over the competition. Yet it lacks features like background blur, something that you’d almost think would be standard by now. Some users have reported issues with latency too, but when the results come through, they look and sound great. 
For a business meeting, tone and inflection can be everything, so it’s useful to have such great Dolby Vision support. Elsewhere, Bluejeans has valuable security features, extensive support for various apps and browsers, and well-priced plans. The cheapest plan offers up to 50 participants, for instance, while still allowing for unlimited meetings and five hours of recording. It might not be perfect, but it’s undoubtedly useful, and an intuitive admin interface makes it all the better for less tech-savvy businesses. 

As an incentive for trying out the service, Intermedia AnyMeeting has a lot of content available for free, allowing for up to 4 HD video participants along with 200 phone or web participants. With Pro options like the ability to record meetings, notes, transcripts, and custom branding, all available for free until 2021, it’s an unbeatable service even on the free plan. There’s integration with Google services, Slack, and others too, so you can quickly work on things collaboratively via the platform. 
The only downside? It’s not the most intuitive of systems. Intermedia AnyMeeting has the features, but it can be a little clunky to get things done, so you might all need a some time to settle into getting used to how to use it. 

Zoho Meeting is immediately intuitive and welcoming to use, which is great if you’re not super tech-savvy. It’s also ideal for setting up a video conference session, or arranging a webinar, making it great for a multitude of uses. We’re big fans of how it double checks if you want people to join the call, and how everything is encrypted through SSL and 128-bit AES encryption protocols for added safety. 
Lack of advanced integration with third-party services (although some are catered for), along with no shared whiteboards, is a missed opportunity. Still, for some, this will be far from a big issue compared to superior security. The sheer simplicity in using the product is undoubtedly a welcome change compared to others too.