With the focus of working from home and online becoming much more beneficial for businesses, there is no doubt that having an App with reliable Virtual Meeting features is essential. So with that being said, I will suggest some of the best Apps with this in mind. Some you have definitely heard of, others may be a little more obscure.

No.1 Google Chat

Google Chat

AndroidIos

Business

Features:

- Group Chats with up to 150 people

- Video calls with up to 10 people

- Able to call phone numbers worldwide

- Available on multiple platforms and devices

When talking about virtual meetings, how can we not mention Google Hangouts? One of the most accessible Apps available, even being pre-installed on most Android phones. Even if you were to make a Gmail account, you have access to Google Hangouts also.

Thanks to this, Google Hangouts offers a lot of options to contact many different people. For example you can have Group Chats which allow up to 150 people per Group Chat, which is great for larger businesses. You can even have Group Video Calls for up to 10 people at one time.

Not only are those features extremely useful. You can even link your mobile number to make even better use of this App. You can call any number worldwide or even call other Hangouts users for free, link your mobile number to message your mobile contacts or even send them voicemails

Google Hangouts is a great option to host your meetings or to even send messages to your regular contacts. There are plenty of uses for this App especially for those on a budget, as contact with other Hangouts users is entirely free, so why not make the most of it?

Google Chat

No.2  Zoom Cloud Meetings

Zoom Cloud Meetings

AndroidIos

Business

Features:

- High quality video calls

- Collaborate on the go

- Unlimited messaging

- Send and receive phone calls

Zoom Cloud Meeting is probably the most popular App choice on this list and for good reason. Zoom offers so many choices for people wanting to use it for even the most simple reasons. Just having the option to have the highest available quality for your meetings (for free!), should already make this appealing enough.

Other impressive features include being able to collaborate on your phone or on the go. You can edit documents during your meetings or even make use of the whiteboard feature to offer live suggestions to the other people in your meeting. Some specific features however do require a paid subscription. 

Moving away from the Video Meetings, you can use Zoom Cloud Meetings as a Messenger alternative. You can send unlimited messages to other users, including sending photos and files. You can also create both public and private channels if you want to keep up to date with larger groups of people. You can even use this App as another way to make and receive phone calls. There is also the option to send Voicemails which many of you may find super useful.

Zoom Cloud Meetings is a great choice, personally I highly recommend it thanks to the higher quality video calls and the bonus usefulness of being able to create multiple channels to send and receive files instantly.

Zoom Cloud Meetings

No.3  Skype

Skype

AndroidIos

Business

Features:

- Video calls for up to 24 people

- Easy to create group chats

- Send and receive SMS message by linking your phone

- Simple to send photos and videos

Skype was one of the first Apps which popularised video calls and is still a solid choice to this day. While Skype doesn’t offer as many features compared to the other Apps on this article, what it does offer however is simple but still very useful features.

For example while the video quality may not be as high as Zoom or Google Hangouts, you can have video meetings with up to 24 people which offsets the lower quality. You can also create multiple different group chats each with their own categories. Sending and receiving files can be done within these groups too making file transfer super convenient.

As with the other Apps, Skype allows you to link your mobile number to send and receive SMS messages. While you cannot call other mobile numbers, you can still use voice calls for other Skype users if you don't want to have a video call.

Skype may look a little outdated or basic when compared to the other Apps on offer   but the fact it’s still being talked about should give you an indication that it’s still a viable choice. So if you want a super simple and easy to use App, you should definitely give Skype a try.

Skype

No.4 Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams

AndroidIos

Business

Features:

- Group video calls

- Easy to work together on projects

- Cloud storage and file sharing

- Simple to use so ideal for those who aren’t so technologically proficient

Microsoft Teams has oddly been under the radar when compared to some of the other Apps on this list, which is bizarre because it’s made by Microsoft. On the plus side, it’s still a very viable option for you to use. Meetings are incredibly easy to set up. Just send a link to everyone you want to speak to and you are connected.

You can also create permanent groups for certain friends or members, this is extremely handy to keep track of your projects or just to separate certain friend groups. You can communicate in these groups either by text, voice or video calls. Also when in these group calls, each person can edit or update files and even make use of the Microsoft Cloud storage giving everyone a little peace of mind that their work is safe.

One of the features which I really like is how quickly you can make group video calls. While in a video call with another person you can even instantly turn it into a group call by adding other people. This is a great way to get assistance quickly or to make an ideal group channel without waiting for people to accept any invitations.

Microsoft Teams is highly recommended for those of you with more project focussed needs and to those of you who will be sending files on a more constant basis and want that extra security that everything will be saved.

Microsoft Teams

No.5  Webex Meetings

Webex Meetings

AndroidIos

Business

Features:

- Simple to set up meetings

- Link meetings with your calendar

- Customisable video settings

- Share new screen

Webex Meetings is possibly the most obscure App on this list and does have a few issues in regards to the App navigation however it is still a great choice once you get used to how to use this App.

Webex Meetings has very basic features but does them incredibly well. Webex offers a lot of customisable options for when you are in video meetings. Giving you the choice of many different backgrounds as well as different video layouts. My personal favourite feature is the ability to share your screen within the group chat, this is a super useful feature for any business

Webex also seamlessly links to your calendar as well as offering a widget to make sure you know when and where your meetings are taking place, on top of giving you constant reminders.

Definitely the App with the least amount of features to talk about however the option to customise your video settings and to be able to share your screen make this an incredibly useful App and should be on your radar from now on, if it wasn’t already.

I hope this article has made choosing your new Virtual Meeting place much easier. Depending on what you specifically want for your meetings may make this a simple choice but it’s great to know that there are a lot of Apps to pick from. Although I’m sure the Apps with Cloud storage or the Screen Sharing features are the most appealing.

Webex Meetings