User Review
( votes)
Microsoft Teams is available for use on any device. The app allows users to create teams, organisation-wide channels, share files, schedule meetings, call others, and more.
It is included in the Microsoft 365 Business Standard package and integrates seamlessly with Office apps or other business apps like Trello, Evernote, SurveyMonkey, Google Analytics, etc.
Microsoft Teams’ pricing packages for business start from $5/user/month to $12/user/month.
Signing up is free, and users are instant offered 10GB of team file storage plus 2GB per person for personal storage. The premium version offers exclusive features and 1TB storages per user. The Calendar feature that comes with the premium version offers users the flexibility to schedule meetings within teams or with external parties.
Plan |
Number of participants |
Price/ User/ Month (USD) |
Microsoft Teams |
? |
Free |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
250 |
$5 |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
250 |
$12.50 |
2. Skype
First released in 2003, Skype is considered to be one of the pioneers in online communication. Today, Skype is a member of the Microsoft extended family and has more than 40 million people using it daily.
What makes Skype a preferred means of collaboration by many corporations is because it is practically free. It is free to use skype to call or do video conferencing with up to 50 people. Plus, users have the complete freedom to chat, have audio or video calls via any device of their choice, including via Xbox One console and smartwatches.
Skype also offers Skype credits for users to purchase to call or send SMS messages to non-Skype users anywhere in the world.
3. Cisco Webex
Before Zoom, Cisco Webex was a video conferencing tool favoured by many. There have been significant modifications in the free version, which now offers up to 100 participants in each meeting and unlimited meeting (previously users only had 40 minutes max per meeting).
For teams that only need basic conferencing features such as HD video call, file sharing, screen sharing, interactive whiteboards, controls for meeting hosts, then the free version is more than enough.
However, paid plans of Webex offer extensive support, the ability to customise meeting links, additional cloud storage, and many added exclusive features are also worth considering.
Pricing starts from $13.50/ host/ month for small teams (maximum 50 participants per meeting) up to $26.95/ host/ month for businesses (maximum 200 participants per meeting plus 10GB of cloud storage, branding and customisations and many more).
Plan |
Number of participants |
Price/ User/ Month (USD) |
Free |
100 |
Free |
Starter |
50 |
$13.50 |
Plus |
100 |
$17.95 |
Business |
200 |
$26.95 |
4. GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting is a product of LogMeIn Inc., a SaaS and cloud-based collaboration platforms provider. GoToMeeting offers extensive online collaboration features suitable for today’s mobile workforce.
Plans for GoToMeeting starts at $12/ organiser/ month, which allows hosting 150 participants per meeting, or up 3,000 participants per meeting for the Enterprise plan.
GoToMeeting has received multiple awards including the “Best Productivity App” by Appy Awards in 2016, and the “Best Collaboration Solution” by Codie Awards 2016 and 2017.
Useful features that businesses and event organisers may need are the meeting diagnostic reports (which details meeting performance) and downloadable admin reports (which allow management to keep track of updates in GoTo solutions).
Plan |
Number of participants |
Price/ User/ Month (USD) |
Professional |
150 |
$12 |
Business |
250 |
$16 |
Enterprise |
3,000 |
Upon request |
5. Join.me
Join.me is also a product of LogMeIn. Join.me’s Lite package starts at $10/ host/ month, which is suitable for small businesses with limited budgets. However, this plan might be quite “light” as it only offers a maximum number of 5 participants per meeting and no webcam streams. On the plus side, the screen sharing, unlimited calls, and personalised links are still available.
The Business plan is priced at $30/ host/ month, which allows companies to have access to 1TB cloud storage and host up to 250 participants per meeting. What’s more, this plan offers integration with Salesforce, which allows users to start meetings directly from Salesforce.
Plan |
Number of participants |
Price/ User/ Month (USD) |
3 |
Free |
|
Lite |
5 |
$10 |
Pro |
250 |
$20 |
Business |
2501 |
$30 |
This is part 1 of a two part series. Stay tuned by subscribing to TRG Newsletter today!