The 5 Best Microsoft Teams Alternatives for Virtual Team Meetings

Looking for a virtual team meeting software but don't want to use Microsoft Teams? Check out these alternatives!

Microsoft Teams is an excellent tool for video conferencing and team collaboration, but there are other potential freemium apps to consider. Teams doesn't offer free access to crucial video conferencing features like scheduling, recording, or joining via the phone.

Additionally, you or your client may prefer Google cloud tools over Office 365 subscriptions due to compliance or cost limitations. These Microsoft Teams alternatives provide essential services for free, or you can sign up for freemium plans.

1. Zoom—One of the Leading Microsoft Teams Alternatives

Many small businesses, enterprises, and freelancing professionals rely on Zoom as a trusted team collaboration solution. According to Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Meeting Solutions in 2020, Zoom is the market leader.

The Key Features of Zoom

• Zoom offers you virtual conferencing through various communication modes like chat, phone, and video calls.
• You can also record the team collaboration session to review key discussion points later.
• Zoom also offers a development platform to aspiring developers. Developers can utilize APIs and SDKs from Zoom.

Advantages of Zoom

• Zoom allows uninterrupted video and audio calls for up to 40 minutes for free.
• Zoom enables you to reach more audiences by live streaming webinars or meetings on Facebook.
• You can reach up to 10,000 virtual attendees through Zoom meetings and webinars.
• The app also easily integrates with Google Calendar.

Zoom Meetings for Free

• Individual professionals, freelancers, and a small team can get the free Personal Meeting tier of Zoom meetings.
• Up to 100 participants can join in a Zoom meeting for up to 40 minutes.
• You can also enjoy one-to-one unlimited Zoom meetings for free.

Download: Zoom (Free)

Related: How Much Does Zoom Cost to Use?

2. Google Meet

Google Meet is a virtual collaboration and meeting tool that comes with Google Workspace. Unlike Microsoft Teams, Google Meet is freely available to all whether you are a Google Workspace subscriber or not.

The Most Significant Features of Google Meet

• Google Meet is a fully cloud-based and lightweight web app available in Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, Android, and iPhone.
• You can join a meeting instantly by using options like meeting links, meeting codes, Gmail, meeting invites, and Google Calendar events.
• You can share the screen with the participants to present reports, data or show any bug.
• The virtual meeting host can remove or mute participants.

Google Meet Upper Hands

• Advanced level integration with many Google Workspace apps like Google Docs, Google Jamboard, Google Calendar, etc.
• Google Workspace subscribers can join a meeting by dialing a phone number even if they do not have Internet connectivity.
• Google Meet comes with anti-abuse features to keep team or client meetings compliant with professional meeting protocols.
• Google Meet data transfer during communication or at rest is end-to-end encrypted.

Google Meet Core Services for Free

• If you are a freelancer or gig worker, then Google Meet is the perfect tool for your visual collaboration needs.
• You can host meetings for up to 60 minutes with 100 participants.
• Google’s speech recognition technology offers real-time captions during video conferencing.

3. Discord

Developers, gamers, and streamers have long been using Discord as a communication platform. The app offers a highly-secured environment for discrete discussions and brainstorming. Multiple access verification protocols make this platform virtually invincible to hacking threats.

Related: What Do These Popular Video Messaging Services Know About You?

The Key Features of Discord

• You can create specific channels in your Discord server to separate voice from texts.
• You can communicate with up to 99 Discord users on the voice channels.
• On video channels, you can connect up to 50 Discord users.
• Discord server introduces a push-to-talk feature to mitigate ambiance noise during team meetings.
• Discord allows screen sharing only from voice and video channels. Users can choose which screen to share.

The Advantages of Discord

• Discord integration with Droplr makes file sharing during team collaboration more effortless and intuitive.
• You can see a preview of shared images, screenshots, and GIFs on your Discord server.
• Discord also allows advanced integrations with third-party apps through Zappier.
• No one can access your space on the Discord server until you send an invite link to a Discord user.
• Discord has a built-in community for collaboration, brainstorming, and streaming.

Use Discord Server for Free

• Discord is an entirely free platform for team engagement and communication.
• You can create your Discord server and invite other team members to connect with you for free.

Download: Discord (Free)

4. Cisco Webex Teams

Cisco Webex Teams is the perfect team collaboration tool that increases work from home productivity. Professionals can accomplish many tasks through one tool while communicating with the team members.

The Top Features of Cisco Webex Teams

• Webex Teams include screen sharing, HD video, and HD audio during virtual conferences that support 1000 team members.
• With a premium subscription, you can get a dedicated business calling system and phone number.
• The Cisco Webex Teams also allows text messaging, whiteboard activities, and collaboration with secure file-sharing.
• You can record a meeting and then get instant transcripts for future reference.

Cisco Webex Teams Benefits

• You can start or join a meeting from various devices like smartphones, desktop app, or the web browser of your choice.
• You can begin concurrent one-to-one and one-to-many secured chats.
• Webex Teams can easily sync with calendars like Microsoft and Google.

Cisco Webex Teams Free Services

• The core team collaboration service is free for one user. Therefore thousands of freelancers and individuals prefer Webex Teams.
• Virtual team meetings can last for up to 50 minutes.
• At a time, 100 team members can join the meeting.
• Other attractions of the free plan are fullscreen video, desktop & mobile screen sharing, virtual backgrounds, save recordings on computers, etc.

Download: Cisco Webex Teams (Free)

Related: Unique Team Video Chat Apps for Remote Working and Work-At-Home Offices

5. Rocket.Chat

Individual entrepreneurs or freelancers can cut down team communication and project collaboration expenses by subscribing to Rocket.Chat. The app also features a customer connect option from the same platform.

The Key Features of Rocket.Chat

• The engagement dashboard enables you to know how the team members are utilizing Rocket.Chat app.
• You can create a room in the app to cater to the multi-user direct messaging system.
• Connect with your team using audio calls, video calls, messaging, and share device screens.
• For easy announcements and notifications, use @username tagging.

Rocket.Chat Advantages

• You can sort and filter conversations depending on alphabetical order or last activity.
• Microsoft Translator integration allows you to mitigate external and internal communication gaps.
• The app comes with advanced security features along with two-factor authentication.

Use Rocket.Chat for Free

• The Self-Managed Community tier subscription is free and suits freelancers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs.
• You get to keep unlimited Rocket.Chat app-based messaging history.
• Your team gets omnichannel essential services along with real-time chat support for your customers.
• You can manually set user permissions and securely invite guest users to a meeting.

Download: Rocket.Chat (Free)

Try These Microsoft Teams Alternatives to Experience Next-Gen Virtual Meetings

There is rarely any one-size-fits-all communication solution for businesses, freelancers, and individual entrepreneurs. The best thing you can do is try out any or all of the above apps to discover which one suits your team's collaboration style.

Additionally, the above-mentioned key features, pros, and pricing models of the featured apps will help you choose the right tool for your team.

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