Thinking of going virtual? In this list, we’ve gathered the major online meeting platforms together in order to give you an idea of their individual strengths as well as some insight into what makes each of them different. Technology is making things possible today that were impossible just a few short years ago. All the best to you as you venture into online virtual meetings. Google Hangouts Not as formal as Google’s other option, Meet, Hangouts gives you everything you need in a more casual format. What we like about this is that you have the option to use the app in a pretty robust way. Outside of that, we think business people might want something a little more sophisticated. Zoom The current talk of the town, Zoom gives you everything you could ever want in both personal and business settings. Plus there is a free and a paid option. We advise you to check this one out first because there is a reason so many people like it. FaceTime Apple’s FaceTime, like Hangouts, is great for person-to-person meetings and personal matters. It's worth mentioning but we just don’t think it is going to meet the needs of business or law. Skype One of the oldest names in the game, Skype is a good option because it offers both text and video conferencing options that are second to none. This makes it the most versatile and robust for personal and business communication. That said, it’s probably not the best thing for large audiences that require input and interaction from many different people. Zoom does a great job with that, but Skype wasn’t really built for that purpose. Google Meet The grown-up version of Hangouts, Google Meet is the search engine giant’s answer to Zoom and we like it. The only problem is that you might have an issue getting others to adopt it if they’re already using the aforementioned competitor service. There is also some wonkiness about managing meetings that Google needs to iron out before this is truly ready for prime time. Webex A veteran of the video meeting and teleconferencing game, Webex seems to be stuck in that glory age rather than today. Even so, it is a solid choice because what it does, it does really well. Great for small to large meetings, the only problem we have with Webex is that it can get pretty expensive depending on the size of your meeting. Slack Slack is great for text and small meetings of less than 15 people. What Slack really excels at is productivity coordination and interoffice communication. If you’re looking for a video meeting platform that can host 15 or fewer participants, Slack has you covered. Whether for business or meeting with friends, live streaming video meetings are the future. Luckily for us, there are many options - free and paid - for video meeting services; it really just depends on what your business or personal needs are.

7 Video Meeting Platforms

Thinking of going virtual?  In this list, we’ve gathered the major online meeting platforms together in order to give you an idea of their individual strengths as well as some insight into what makes each of them different. Technology is making things possible today that were impossible just a few short years ago.  All the best to you as you venture into online virtual meetings.

Google Hangouts

Not as formal as Google’s other option, Meet, Hangouts gives you everything you need in a more casual format. What we like about this is that you have the option to use the app in a pretty robust way. Outside of that, we think business people might want something a little more sophisticated.

Zoom

Our personal favorite, Zoom gives you everything you could ever want in both personal and business settings. Plus there is a free and a paid option. We advise you to check this one out first because there is a reason so many people like it.

FaceTime

Apple’s FaceTime, like Hangouts, is great for person-to-person meetings and personal matters. It’s worth mentioning but we just don’t think it is going to meet the robust needs of business or formal legal meetings. 

Skype

Skype is a good option because it offers both text and video conferencing options that are second to none. This makes it the most versatile and robust for personal and business communication. That said, it’s probably not the best thing for large audiences that require input and interaction from many different people. Zoom does a great job with that, but Skype wasn’t really built for that purpose.

Google Meet

The grown-up version of Hangouts, Google Meet is the search engine giant’s answer to Zoom and we like it. The only problem is that you might have an issue getting others to adopt it if they’re already using the aforementioned competitor service. There is also some wonkiness about managing meetings that Google needs to iron out before this is truly ready for prime time.

Webex

A veteran of the video meeting and teleconferencing offerings, Webex is a solid choice because what it does, it does really well. Great for small to large meetings, the only problem we have with Webex is that it can get pretty expensive depending on the size of your meeting.

Slack

Slack is great for text and small meetings of less than 15 people. What Slack really excels at is productivity coordination and interoffice communication. If you’re looking for a video meeting platform that can host 15 or fewer participants, Slack has you covered.

Whether for quick business meetings or lengthy hearings, live streaming video meetings are the future. Luckily for us, there are many options – free and paid – for video meeting services; it really just depends on what your business needs are.

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  1. This article was updated June 28, 2020 with additional information on Google Meet.

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