With remote work now common, video chat software has become a core business tool. Teams depend on it for meetings, client calls, and collaboration, so small issues like poor call quality or confusing controls can quickly slow work down.
The problem is that most video chat platforms look similar on the surface. The differences only show up once you start using them for real meetings, larger calls, or day-to-day team communication.
To sort through the options, we tested popular video chat tools in real business scenarios, including one-on-one calls, team meetings, and larger group sessions. This helped us see which platforms are easy to use, which ones scale well, and which features actually matter in practice.
In this guide, we’ll share the best video chat software for small businesses and explain what each option does best, so you can choose the right tool without trial and error.
Quick Picks: The Top 5 Video Chat Software
In a hurry? Here’s a quick overview of the top 5 video chat software:
| Software | Best For | Starting Price | Free Version | |
| 🥇 | RingCentral | Video team collaboration | $30/mo | ✅ |
| 🥈 | Zoom | Large video calls | $13.33/mo | ✅ |
| 🥉 | GoToMeeting | Recording video meetings | $12/mo | ✅ |
| 4 | Nextiva | Nextiva business phone users | $15/user/mo | ❌ |
| 5 | Microsoft Teams | Microsoft 365 users | $22/user/mo | ✅ |
What Kind of Video Chat Software is Right for You?
Video chat software and video calling apps are synonymous with social media applications like FaceTime, Google Duo, WhatsApp, Viber, and Facebook Messenger.
While these social networking video chat platforms are fine for random video chats with family and friends, you may require more professional tools and functionality to support your business.
When choosing the right video chat software, it helps to know if you need a dedicated video-first platform (like Zoom) or a complete business phone system that includes video (like RingCentral).
Regardless of which type you choose, the best tools will have a variety of features to make business communication much easier:
- Real-time live video chat for team meetings
- Collaboration, screen sharing, and file sharing tools
- Screen recording for reviewing meetings later
- Transcription services to improve team accessibility
- Integrations to simply make calls from the software you’re already using
- Group video and one-on-one live video meetings
How We Chose the Best Video Chat Platforms
At WPBeginner, the software we showcase is chosen by a dedicated team with over 17 years of experience in WordPress, SEO, web hosting, eCommerce, and online marketing. Our experts thoroughly review each tool and consider multiple factors, including ease of use, features, reliability, pricing, and more, to ensure it’s the best solution for our readers.
To learn more, see our complete editorial process.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the best video chat software.
1. RingCentral
RingCentral offers one of the best video conferencing software for small businesses. They have some of the most feature-rich video chat software in the market.
You’ll find features like video call scheduling, screen sharing, whiteboard, annotations, live chat text messaging, breakout rooms, meeting recording, and much more. For a closer look at RingCentral’s features, you can check out our detailed RingCentral review.
The RingCentral video software integrates with dozens of other tools you’re already using in your business, like Slack, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace (G Suite), and more. These integrations let you launch video conference calls directly from these third-party platforms.
There’s also a RingCentral app that lets you create or join video meetings on Apple iPhones or iPads, as well as Android devices. This makes it easy to video chat from anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection.
The video chat software is optimized to run on all modern web browsers with minimal setup. This means you’ll spend less time on technical tasks and more time on your video chats and meetings.
If you’re already using the RingCentral platform for your business phone system, then adding this tool to your communication workflow is simple.
Pricing: RingCentral offers free video chat for up to 100 users per call. Your call duration can be up to 50 minutes.
You can upgrade to a premium video plan starting at $30 per month. This gives you unlimited 24-hour video meetings for up to 200 participants and more advanced features.
2. Zoom
Zoom is one of the most popular video chat apps in the world. This tool has seen significant growth since the start of the pandemic. It’s known for being easy to use and for taking only a few clicks to host your own Zoom meeting with bundled instant messaging.
Plus, it’s cross-platform compatible. You can host video chats across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices, no matter if you’re using an Android phone, Apple (iOS), Windows, Mac, or Linux.
Their primary focus is on helping teams collaborate by holding video meetings quickly and easily. It also allows you to enable two-factor authentication to ensure your online meetings are kept secure and private.
In addition, you’ll find other unique features like the ability to run live polls, annotate your videos, add whiteboarding, screen sharing, collaborative note-taking, AI-powered meeting summaries, searchable transcripts, and more.
Note: Our team uses Zoom for internal meetings and video calls, where participants can join via video or audio only. Our team leads have Pro plans that extend meeting lengths beyond 40 minutes.
Pricing: Zoom offers a free version with up to 100 participants and a 40-minute time limit. Paid plans start at $13.33 per month and offer support for up to 100 members, 30-hour meeting duration, and additional collaboration tools.
3. GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting is a popular video conference app for small businesses on the go. It’s very versatile and offers video chat, video conferencing, and even screen sharing.
One standout feature is the user-friendly mobile apps for Android and iOS. Both of these mobile apps let you start and create virtual meetings on the go with ease.
Video call quality is very high, no matter how your team chooses to connect to the call.
Beyond the mobile features, there’s support for meeting recording and transcription, end-to-end encryption, integrated scheduling, and HIPAA compliance support for businesses in the medical space.
GoToMeeting also has a family of other products, like GoToWebinar for running live webinars, and GoToConnect for your business phone.
Pricing: GoToMeeting starts at $12 per month, for up to 150 meeting participants. Plans scale up depending on how many users you need to support. Higher-level plans increase the participant limit to 250 and give you more admin features.
4. Nextiva
Nextiva is one of the best business phone system providers in the market. They’ve recently added video conference software to their list of offerings.
The platform is fully cloud-based and includes a desktop and mobile app. The audio and video quality are incredibly high, so there is no glitching or lag during important meetings.
It’s not the most feature-rich video chat software, but it does include useful features like screen sharing, file sharing, live streaming, and webinar support.
If you’re already using Nextiva as your business VoIP phone, then it’s easy to add video conferencing and screen-sharing features to the way your business communicates. To learn more, see our complete Nextiva review.
Pricing: Nextiva video conferencing starts at $15 per month per user, billed annually. This allows you to have unlimited meeting time and up to 250 participants.
5. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a popular video conferencing app for businesses that use the Microsoft Office 365 ecosystem.
You can easily host virtual face-to-face video meetings in a couple of clicks. If your business already uses Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), you likely already have access to Teams at no extra cost.
It’s also well-suited for large businesses, since you’ll find additional features that let you set up video meetings for up to 10,000 members, and host webinars for your team or the public.
This tool has a wide range of features to enhance your video meetings, including screen sharing, call recording, live captioning, and live group chat during video calls.
Mobile, desktop, and Bluetooth conferencing headsets can be used to join in on any call.
Pricing: Microsoft Teams starts at $22 per user per month, offering unlimited group calls for up to 30 hours and up to 300 participants.
6. Google Meet / Google Workspace
Google Meet is a video chat software that’s part of the Google Workspace platform (formerly G Suite).
If you already have a Google account, then this will integrate seamlessly with your other tools like Google Calendar, Chrome, Google Forms, Gmail, and more.
It’s designed specifically for small business owners and is an enhanced version of Google Hangouts. The goal of this high-quality video chat software is to help you interact with third-party clients and customers simply.
It has a fully web-based interface, meaning your clients do not need to download or install any external software to join a meeting. This makes it one of the most accessible tools for client calls.
Pricing: Google Meet is entirely free to use. You can sign up for Google Workspace Business Starter, which starts at $6 per user per month and includes additional video chat features.
7. Ooma Meetings
Ooma is a popular business VOIP phone provider that offers high-quality, one-to-one and team video conferencing solutions.
It offers standard features like live HD video chat, host muting, and a meet now link for instant virtual meetings.
One unique feature of this tool is that multiple people can share their screens simultaneously. This lets your virtual teams collaborate easily and share information faster.
You can have up to 25 users on the same video call across mobile, desktop, and within their browsers.
There’s also an in-depth virtual meeting manager, so you can easily plan and manage your video calls across your entire business.
Pricing: Ooma Meetings is available with the Ooma Office Pro plan that starts at $24.95 per month.
Disclaimer: We also considered solutions such as Zoho Meeting, Cisco Webex, Jitsi, Dialpad Meetings, and others. But we decided not to include them in this list to make it easier for you to choose from only the top options.
Which is the Best Video Chat Software (Expert Pick)?
All of the popular video chat software mentioned above will help you hold interactive video chats with your team members and clients. However, you still need the best tool for your needs.
If you want video chat software that handles all your digital and business communication needs, RingCentral is a great choice.
If you’re looking for a standalone video chat service that’s simple to use and can be scaled, then Zoom is a great choice.
GoToMeeting and Microsoft Teams are both great options, and they allow video chatting across multiple platforms and devices.
Video Chat Software FAQs
We’ve helped thousands of small business owners find the best video chat software for their needs. Based on our experience, here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about video chat apps.
What do you need for video chats?
To host or join a video chat, you need the following basic requirements:
- A desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet, or mobile phone.
- A webcam, microphone, and speakers, which already come with most modern laptops and mobile devices.
- A high-speed internet connection.
- An account with a video chat platform.
What is the most used video chat app?
According to Statista data, Zoom has held the top spot as the leading video conferencing software, with over 57% of the worldwide market share.
What’s the best free video calling app?
In our opinion, RingCentral is the best free video calling app. You can host unlimited 50-minute video meetings for up to 100 participants. Plus, it comes with professional features such as a whiteboard, collaborative notes, AI-powered meeting transcriptions, and more.
If you’re looking for an alternative, Zoom is another great free video calling app. You can have up to 100 participants and 40-minute meeting durations.
We hope this article has helped you find the best video chat apps for your small business. You may also want to read our list of the best live chat software and the best push notification software for WordPress.
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Moinuddin Waheed
There used to be a time when Skype was the market player. Then came the era of work from home and remote work culture.
Many new softwares started taking the centerstage.
I have used zoom, Google meets and Skype.
They are quite good and popular.
Microsoft team is very popular amongst corporate world.
I have also used Amazon chime the exclusive chat software for Amazon employees while working at Amazon.
Really appreciate the efforts to make the detailed guide.