Sending emails can be quick and convenient. But not anything can beat the power of face to face meetings. Actually, face-to-face meetings are 34 times more successful than email communication.
There are employees working remotely, traveling, and enjoying schedules. So the need for more personal conversation can only be achieved through the video conferencing conference. Luckily, there is a huge market with numerous options for different types of video conferencing software.
From those, the best option depends on various factors like the number of employees you have, your budget, and any special features you might need. This article provides you with the seven best virtual meeting platforms & software to help you decide which one will best suit your needs.
Why use a Virtual Meeting Platform?
There are three key reasons to use a virtual meeting platform.
- The pandemic forced us to shift immediately from hybrid to online collaboration. So, the company lost its ability to bring people together physically to the office. This made the companies rapidly use virtual online meeting platforms and software.
- Several studies show that remote teams can be more productive with the right tools. Virtual online meetings help companies to access talent worldwide without any restrictions on location.
- The younger, digital-native employees are grown up entertaining, learning, and collaborating online. They expect the same effortless experience with workplace technology.
What to Look for in a Virtual Meeting Platform?
Below are the main factors to consider before you choose the best virtual meeting platforms & software.
- Features
It is a must to understand the features and limitations. Those include high-quality video conferencing, screen sharing, chat and messaging, etc. Make sure you can share documents and present slides and also have the ability to engage with the other content. Ultimately, these help in improving teamwork and productivity.
- Pricing and Plans
You must evaluate the price levels and membership options that are offered by the best virtual meeting platforms & software. Also, consider the features and benefits that are included in the plan and compare them to see whether they meet your specific needs.
- Security and Privacy
In virtual meetings, sensitive and confidential information is often shared. So, it is important to ensure security and privacy, which helps maintain the confidentiality of communications. This is also to prevent any unauthorized access to your confidential information.
- Recording and Transcription
Check for features like recording and transcription, which allow you to review and refer to after your meeting ends. This helps you to have a detailed record of the discussions, decisions, and other things that are discussed in the meeting. The audio transcription helps automatically record the audio of a meeting or a webinar, which you record to the cloud into a copy text. This is to be displayed in the video itself or downloaded separately.
- Reliability and Stability
The factors reliability and stability are the two important factors that ensure an effortless, effective, and productive virtual meeting. These refer to the steady performance of the best virtual meeting platforms & software without any disturbances or technical glitches. Those include terminated servers and load balancing mechanisms to ensure continuous service even during peak usage.
Best Virtual Online Meeting Platforms & Software
Below are some of the handpicked best virtual online meeting platforms & software.
1. Google Meet
The Google Meet is the best for in-meeting collaboration. It will be a great experience to use Google Meet as an online meeting platform. This software has in-meeting features like raising your hands virtually if you want to ask questions or speak about something. You can do this without disturbing the current speaker. Also, Google Meet offers the best virtual meeting platforms & software by mimicking a real-life boardroom experience.
While hosting the meetings, you can also present slides and invite a co-host to participate in the presentation with you. For brainstorming sessions, the tool allows you to start a jam with Google Jamboard within the meeting and collaborate with a virtual whiteboard. If you are a moderator, you could break rooms during the meeting, select participants, and ease intensive discussion in smaller groups.
Google Meet Best Features
- It helps to collect feedback in real-time using polls.
- You can use attendance reports to track who attended the meeting and how long they were present.
- The Google Meet host management features include bulk admission of participants or removal of participants.
- You can also change your background, which helps in creating a professional environment during meetings.
Google Meet Pricing
Depending on your Google Workspace edition, you will get access to the Google Meet features.
- Business Starter: 2 dollars per month per user
- Business Standard: 9 dollars per month per user
- Business Plan: 17 dollars per month per user
- Enterprise: Usage Pricing
Google Meet Limitations
There is no option available to organize chat conversations during long meetings.
Read Also –Top 4 Alternatives to GetResponse: Leading CRM Applications
2. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams will be the best virtual meeting platform & software, especially for those who are deep into the Microsoft network. While testing the tool, you can enjoy how it makes creative collaborations a breeze. This is because of the Microsoft Whiteboards, which let you visually brainstorm and develop ideas as you host meetings.
An additional useful feature of Microsoft Teams is that you can make instant workbook editing during meetings with Excel Live. This software helps collaborate on spreadsheets and analyze data in real-time. If a team member speaks or presents, the others can send quick reactions like thumbs-up or clapping emoji, which helps the speaker understand others’ feelings.
Microsoft Teams Best Features
- You can have a chat-based workspace that supports both group and individual messaging
- This software includes cloud-based telephony for voice calling, which allows you to make voice calls directly within the platform
- In addition to the audio-only calls, Microsoft Teams offers you the ability ot conduct virtual meetings via video conferencing
- The premium version of Microsoft Teams comprises access to AI tools that can automatically generate meeting notes and action items.
Microsoft Pricing
- Microsoft Teams Essentials: 1 dollar per month per user
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: 2 dollars per month per user
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard: 10 dollars per month per user
Microsoft Teams Limitations
The user interface could be simpler and easily understandable
3. Zoom
Zoom is the best virtual meeting platform & software and has been a favorite for many people for years. The multi-speaker view in Zoom allows you to focus on those who are actively participating in the conversation. The color choices and the AI-assisted custom virtual backgrounds in Zoom add a fun and personal touch. This makes your meeting more enjoyable.
One unique feature of this Zoom is the centralized view. You can easily access the meeting recordings and AI companion to quickly find the important details in the meeting notes.
Zoom Best Features
- You can manage your schedules effectively using integrated chat, phone, email, and many more
- It allows to attach pre-reads to the meeting invites and chats with attendees earlier
- With this best virtual meeting platform & software, you can collaborate and share resources during the meeting
- Also, you can pick up right from where you left off with chat channels that stay active before, during, and after meetings
Zoom Pricing
- Basic: Free
- Pro:14.99 dollars per month per user
- Business:21.99 per month per user
- Business Plan: 26.99 per month per user
- Enterprise: Usage Pricing
Zoom Limitations
High-quality audio and video meetings could use more bandwidth, which slows down other online activities
4. Cisco WebEx
The real-time translation feature of this best virtual meeting platform & software supports 100+ languages and makes meetings more complete for your multilingual team.
An additional feature that stands out is the built-in noise removal technology. How noisy the environment can be, it won’t interfere with the meeting. You can be at any place, like a busy café or an airport, and your audio quality will remain clear and professional.
Cisco WebEx Best Features
- This allows you to create polls, Q&A which helps in making the team more engaging
- You can send in-meeting reactions by just using finger gestures
- You can create and analyze the notes automatically with WebEx assistant
Cisco WebEx Pricing
- WebEx Free
- WebEx Meet: 12 dollars per month per user
- WebEx Suite: 22 dollars per month per user
- WebEx Enterprise: Usage Pricing
Cisco WebEx Limitations
There is no option available to log in directly from the web browser without installing the desktop app
5. Slack
Slack is the best virtual meeting platform & software for async communication. However, it also allows real-time video chat with its huddles feature. Huddles start as an audio-only conversation, which makes it easy to jump into quick and informal discussions. Simply turn on the video and share your screen if you need a deeper conversation.
You can also enjoy the colorful backgrounds, which add fun and a happy vibe to your meetings. This best virtual meeting platform & software also simplifies document management. After the session ends, any links, documents, and messages shared during a huddle are automatically saved. This makes it simple to revisit and refer to important details in the future.
Slack Best Features
- With Slack, you can communicate using reactions, effects, and GIFs during any team meetings
- This allows you to share notes, links, and files that are related to the discussion on a dedicated message thread
- You can start audio and video meetings in a Slack channel or through DMs
- You can make use of the live captions available in English
Slack Pricing
- Slack Free
- Pro: 8.75 dollars per month per user
- Business +:15 dollars per month per user
- Enterprise Grid: Usage pricing
Slack Limitations
Some formal meeting elements like agendas and participant rules are missing
6. GoTo Meeting
GoTo Meeting is the best virtual meeting platform & software because of its ability to keep confidential meeting passwords protected. It has excellent privacy control, and the conversations remain private. Also, the Meeting Lock feature is especially useful. This places the guests in the waiting room until you are ready to admit them into the meeting. With this, you will get full control over who is joining the meeting.
Also, GoTo Meeting offers the flexibility of using the fully functional mobile app to join and conduct team meetings on the go. You can join the meetings without the need to download the GoTo app.
GoTo Best Features
- This allows you to communicate with the team members or clients using the integrated chat
- You can create automated meeting recordings and transcripts with the best virtual meeting platforms & software
- With GoTo Meeting software, you can customize meetings to add a personal touch to the virtual meetings
- This virtual meeting software allows to you test and preview the webcam before you join a meeting
GoTo Meeting Pricing
- Professional:12 dollars per organizer per month (annual billing)
- Business:16 dollars per organizer per month (annual billing)
- Enterprise: Usage Pricing
GoTo Meeting Limitation
There is an occasional lag in the audio and video quality
To Summarize
Virtual meeting software is the foundation for communication and collaboration for any hybrid and remote teams. There are plenty of options in the virtual meeting market with a unique approach to hosting live meetings. From those, choosing the best virtual online meeting platforms & software is all about matching your needs and preferences.
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