6 Best Zoom Competitors & Alternatives for Businesses
Explore the top Zoom alternatives like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and more. Compare features, pricing, and find the best video conferencing tool for your business.
Zoom isn’t just for video calls anymore — it’s been stealthily moving into new ventures and now includes among its suite of products Zoom IQ, an AI-powered sales enablement platform, and Zoom Workplace, a bundled productivity platform.
This means it’s now in the same league as products like Google Workspace and Microsoft Teams in terms of functionality and market share.
So if you, like many other CEOs and heads of finance, are involved in a software cost-cutting project, you now have access to more user-friendly and multi-purpose solutions for remote team collaboration than ever before — which can complicate the tool-selection process.
So, use the data on unique features and pricing in this guide, alongside our expert recommendations, to select the right video conferencing tool for your team and budget.
Plus, you’ll see how Vendr uses internal pricing data and expert contract negotiation to cut your workload and save you money.
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What to consider when choosing a video conferencing solution
If video call quality and in-call collaboration tools are what matter most to you, Zoom still delivers, but not more so than platforms like Webex Meetings or Microsoft Teams.
While Zoom used to outperform competitors with call quality and ease of use, those competitors leveled the playing field by improving their products and making them part of a bundled suite of workplace productivity tools designed for dispersed teams.
This means video conferencing has undergone drastic changes in the last few years, with more platforms increasingly looking to incorporate workspace productivity and AI features.
As such, Zoom now has a wider range of unique selling points that potential buyers may not be aware of, like:
- An automated AI assistant that’s useful for both in-person and remote calls, although it has this in common with many of its competitors
- Virtual whiteboard and visitor check-in tool for remote collaboration
- To-be-launched “digital twins” feature that uses AI to act as an asynchronous avatar for business leaders
- Slack integration, which many of its competitors also have
So how should this impact your buying decision?
“Bundling, longer-term agreements, signing longer-term contracts, and using your growth and competition as bargaining points are the biggest levers with Zoom,” says Vendr’s principal SaaS consultant Tyler Garwood.
Because Zoom has recently updated its product and increased prices significantly, Tyler also recommends including “cap lock language” in your contract that limits future price increases.
“It's also important to note that their fiscal calendar ends in January,” says Tyler, “so negotiating prices at the end of April, July, and October could get you better deals.”
Alongside consulting our in-depth Zoom pricing buyer guide for more procurement and community insights, take a look at this at-a-glance comparison table to see how Zoom stacks up against its competitors.
6 top Zoom competitors & alternatives
Our 6 top Zoom competitors are as follows:
- Google Meet
- Microsoft Teams
- GoTo Meeting
- Webex Meetings
- Zoho Meeting
- Jitsi Meet
Google Meet
Google Meet is a user-friendly video conferencing solution that comes as part of Google Workspace and integrates Slack.
Key features
- Connects with Google Calendar and Gmail to generate meeting links automatically
- Integrates with Google Drive for easy file sharing during meetings
- High-quality live captions during meetings
- Now includes a Google Workspace AI-powered assistant called Gemini that can generate a custom background for meetings
Who it’s for
Google Meet makes sense for companies already utilizing Chrome and Google Workspace, or who are interested in using Google Workspace for remote productivity and project management. Users say it also works just as well for Android as it does for Apple iOS, making it versatile across mobile devices and laptops as well.
Unique selling points and things to consider
If accessibility and shareability is essential for your teams, you’ll appreciate how well Google Meet does live in-meeting captions and transcripts.
Its user-friendliness also makes it perfect for setting up a quick meeting from anywhere, so it's ideal for fast-moving start-ups that need flexible and affordable productivity tools for brainstorming, creating, or strategizing remotely. And, according to our Q1 2024 report, Google products are also among our top ten suppliers based on renewal volume.
Google Workspace pricing breakdown
Google Workspace includes multiple tools, such as Meet, Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Sheets. Business Standard is $12 USD per user per month, while Business Plus is $18 USD. Both have Gemini available as an add-on for $20 USD per user per month.
Standard offers 2 TB of storage per user with 150 participant video meetings and recordings.
Plus offers 5 TB of storage, 500 participant video meetings, and enhanced security and management controls.
- Deals handled: 726
- Unique purchasers: 426
- Average savings: 17%
Learn more about Google pricing and negotiation strategies with our Buyer Guide.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a bundled productivity solution designed for remote and hybrid organizations. It integrates high-quality video conferencing software with the Office 365 suite, making it best suited to companies already working with Microsoft products.
Key features
- Built-in tool for meeting notes which shares notes automatically with participants after the call
- Automated transcriptions you can share after video conferences
- In-meeting collaboration features for team chat, doodling, and writing, and a whiteboard tool
- Will integrate with Microsoft’s yet-to-be-launched AI assistant Copilot
Who it’s for
While Microsoft Teams has a powerful chat app you can use in and outside of calls, some of those tools won’t work with callers outside your organization. That makes it ideal for an entirely remote organization, where communication during and outside of meetings needs to be seamless. Teams also makes more sense for companies that use Microsoft Office 365 instead of Google Workspace for collaboration.
Unique selling points and things to consider
Because not all of Teams’s features work for anyone outside of your organization, Microsoft Teams may not be for you if your business works frequently with freelancers and contractors.
Also note that Teams and Microsoft Office are told separately, which means you can use it as a standalone option, but it also means you’ll be paying a bit more to use it as an add-on to Microsoft Office. You can also negotiate a better Teams contract when you work with a Vendr expert.
Microsoft Teams and 365 pricing breakdown
Microsoft Teams Essentials is $4 USD per user per month. It includes unlimited group meetings for up to 30 hours and 300 participants, 10 GB of storage per user, multiple engagement features, and recordings with transcripts and live captions.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic is $6 USD per user per month. It includes Teams and other services and apps, such as OneDrive, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as 1 TB of cloud per user.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard is $12.50 USD per user per month. It includes desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook; webinars; video editing and design tools; and Microsoft Loop.
All plans have Copilot available as an add-on for $30 USD per user per month with an annual subscription.
- Deals handled: 592
- Unique purchasers: 312
- Average savings: 9%
Learn more about Microsoft pricing and negotiation strategies with our Buyer Guide.
GoTo
GoTo is a video conferencing platform that offers most of the same features as Zoom, including text chat during video calls, mobile apps, breakout rooms, and dial-in features. One key difference: Users have access to call recordings with any paid plan.
Key features
- Unlimited cloud storage for all calls with a Business plan or higher
- Chat, Q&A, and AI meeting assistant available
- Unlimited cloud storage for meeting recordings
Who it’s for
Due to its unlimited cloud storage and access to call recordings, GoTo is a great option for companies that want to ensure that meetings are recorded for educational or training purposes.
Unique selling points and things to consider
The fact that GoTo isn’t a major player in a competitive market puts you at an advantage if you want to negotiate a budget-friendly software contract. However, video and audio quality has also been known to lag on slower networks, possibly making it a less scalable option for remote teams with freelancers.
GoTo Meeting pricing breakdown
GoTo Meeting Professional’s standard pricing is $14 USD per user per month. It allows up to 150 meeting participants and includes multiple engagement and access features.
Business’s standard pricing is $19 USD per user per month. It allows up to 250 meeting participants and includes unlimited recordings, AI meeting summaries, and multiple other features.
- Deals handled: 275
- Unique purchasers: 159
- Average savings: 21%
Learn more about GoTo pricing and negotiation strategies with our Buyer Guide.
Webex Meetings
A Cisco Webex product that’s been improving for the last few years, Webex Meetings is a video conferencing platform that users say outperforms Zoom in terms of high video call quality, meeting capacity, and pricing.
Key features
- Similar interface to Zoom
- Unlimited whiteboards for team collaboration
- Unlimited short video sharing via its video messaging tool Vidcast
Who it’s for
With a similar interface and basic features, Webex Meetings is best for startups and businesses on a tight budget who still need robust video calling for remote collaboration.
Unique selling points and things to consider
While some users have said that Webex may offer more security than Zoom when it comes to unwanted third-party intrusions into video calls, upon closer inspection, you’ll find both platforms offer comparable security features. It also has an in-meeting AI assistant and is moving into offering more workspace-related productivity apps like its competitors.
Webex Meetings pricing breakdown
Webex Meet is $12 per user per month. It includes AI Assistant, meeting length up to 24 hours, up to 200 attendees, 10 GB of meeting recordings, closed captions, and engagement features.
Webex Suite is $22.50 USD per user per month. It includes a business phone number with calls to any location, conference calling, and voicemail.
- Deals handled: 26
- Unique purchasers: 16
- Average savings: 32%
Zoho Meeting
Zoho Meeting is a standalone video conferencing software that allows you to host unlimited meetings and webinars. You can also integrate it with products from Zoho Office, such as Zoho CRM, which allows you to host meetings straight from your CRM account.
Key features
- Unlimited webinar hosting available with free plan
- Dedicated mobile apps for both Android and iPhone
- Locked meetings feature for an extra layer of security
Who it’s for
With its unlimited webinar feature that allows you to host up to 100 attendees for up to 60 minutes, Zoho Meeting is a solid option for companies looking to leverage webinars as part of their marketing efforts. With a free plan, you’ll get access to webinar reporting, analytics, and many of the same in-meeting features you’ll find with Zoom.
Unique selling points and things to consider
One of the drawbacks with Zoho Meeting is that you won’t have access to tools like breakout rooms with the free version — you can only purchase it as an add-on. Also note that Zoho doesn’t offer as many third-party integrations as competitors like Zoom and Google Meet because it prefers to connect users to its own in-house tools.
Zoho Meeting pricing breakdown
Zoho Meeting pricing plans vary based on your required number of participants. If you select 100 participants, Standard is $6 USD per host per month. It includes 5 GB of meeting recordings per host, two co-hosts, meetings of up to 24 hours, multiple engagement features, and co-branding.
Professional is $10 USD per host per month. It includes recording transcripts, meeting keynotes, multiple co-hosts, and a custom domain.
- Deals handled: 98
- Unique purchasers: 59
Jitsi Meet
Jitsi Meet is an open-source video conferencing platform that allows access to the video source code, which users can edit code for their own projects. This means more security researchers can identify bugs and contribute to software patching.
Key features
- Free Chrome extension allows you to set up meetings directly from your calendar
- Integrated into the 8x8 Meetings app so users can embed video meetings into apps and websites
- Easy to start and book meetings from anywhere with a URL share
Who it’s for
Jitsi is perfect for small, agile teams who need free video conferencing software and don’t need integrated workplace productivity solutions. And because you can use it to create your own secure meetings embedded on your own website, it’s a good idea for companies that prioritize security.
Unique selling points and things to consider
Jitsi has also launched Jitsi as a Service (JaaS), a paid service that includes a free plan for up to 25 active monthly users. With this service, developers, businesses, and organizations can design more highly tailored and branded video experiences using Jitsi’s customizable source code.
Jitsi pricing breakdown
Jitsi costs $99 USD per month for up to 300 active users, with Standard $499 USD for up to 1,500 active users.
It includes up to 100 participants per meeting, engagement features, and customizable UI, with premium features like recording, live streaming to YouTube, and transcription based on per-minute usage.
Save on video conferencing software with Vendr
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