Searching for the best video chat apps on the market so you can keep in touch with your family when you move away for college? Or perhaps you’re setting up your own business and want to get a sense of the video conferencing apps that could be best for your team. Regardless of why you need a list of the top video call applications in 2024, there is something out there suited for your specific needs. We’ve reached a point when the options are endless and all of them more or less perform just as efficiently but do help to understand what sets each platform apart.
Some have simplistic features that are easier to learn while others have been designed with a more professional focus in mind. Depending on what you need the app for there are many alternatives that might suit your needs.
Image: Microsoft Teams
Settling on the Best Video Chat Apps Available in 2024
Texting, calling, emailing—there are many ways to communicate with those in your life, but there is something distinctly convenient about using video conferencing apps to make your interaction more personal and detailed. Some of the top video calling apps take away the impersonal nature of other digital forms of communication and give us a face to go with the voice, even when you communicate with someone you’ve never met before.
Not only do they add a human element to the interaction, but many of them also provide a way to add more details with screen sharing, allow us to take turns speaking, help get all of our reactions in one place, and most importantly, they keep us more engaged than a text or email ever could.
Their versatility is something to appreciate and considering how they’re becoming a common element in a large majority of work settings, it won’t hurt to familiarize yourself with the best apps available for video calling.
1. Zoom
Available on: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS
Free version: Available; 40-minute time limit
Paid Plan: Pro plan for 1-9 users is $12.49 USD per month per user and the Business plan for 10-250 users is $18.32 USD per month per user.
Zoom was one of the biggest winners of the pandemic and despite some initial struggles with security issues, the app has established itself as one of the best video chat apps around. The app’s free plan is more than sufficient for users who need to set up meetings occasionally but don’t have a need for an elaborate messaging system, although there is a team chat available as well. Zoom meetings are exceptionally easy to set up and features like screen sharing and whiteboard make it very versatile as well.
Zoom even allows users to create up to 50 breakout rooms in a single meeting so if you’re someone who has the need to break down groups into smaller teams, you can have up to 100 members on call and then divide them with ease. If you need to extend the time limit further, then a simple personal Pro plan might be of good use to you. It also comes with additional cloud storage if that’s of importance to you. Because the app does a little bit of everything and doesn’t gate-keep essential features, it is one of the top video call apps to have on hand.
2. Webex
Available on: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, web
Free version: Available; 40-minute time limit
Paid Plan: The Webex Meet plan is $14.50 USD per user/month and the Webex Suite for 10-250 users is priced at $25 USD per user/month.
Cisco Webex has had a long and reliable history of being a tech provider, allowing you to have a comprehensive kit of tools at your disposal, albeit at a price. The video quality with Webex is one of the best among video chatting apps. The app is better suited for professional settings and has all the necessary features like screen sharing, whiteboard, local meeting recordings, breakout rooms, etc. The Closed Caption and post-meeting transcript on the paid plans are quite useful and help exceptionally with team meetings, although it is only available in a few languages. From our experience, these features are much more efficient and accurate compared to other platforms that offer transcripts, which is our main reason for recommending this app.
3. Microsoft Teams
Available on: Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android
Free version: Available; 60-minute time limit for group meetings
Paid Plan: The Microsoft Teams plan starts at $4 USD per user/month. Microsoft 365 Business Basic with access to starter Microsoft apps is priced at $6.00 USD per user/month. Finally, Microsoft 365 Business Standard costs $12.50 USD per user/month.
When it comes to the best video conferencing apps for organizations, Teams is one of the most worthwhile alternatives for a comprehensive suite of services. It’s one of the best apps for video calling during work for quick discussions about projects and while the incoming call notification has become something of an instant nightmare for many, that has more to do with how many organizations have adopted Microsoft Teams as their chosen platform. It has all the video calling features mentioned in the other apps but its groups and chats that come in tow make the platform more useful.
The app is easy to navigate and while the side panel can start to feel cluttered at times, it doesn’t get too cumbersome. The direct integration of OneDrive and all the Microsoft 365 apps is extremely convenient and makes it a significantly more comprehensive tool to use for internal communication at any organization.
Image: Discord
4. Discord
Available on: Android, iOS, Linux, WindowsOS, MacOS, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network
Free version: Available
Paid Plan: Discord Nitro Basic is priced at $2.99 USD per month and Discord Nitro is priced at $9.99 per month.
Not all video chat apps are designed strictly for boring work conversations and business deals. Discord is one of the best video chat apps on the market when it comes to gaming and finding a community. If you want to build your own community of players who enjoy similar games or set up servers where you can game with your friends, Discord is the right service for you. The app has its own app and website and is quite seamlessly integrated with other apps to create a single space to chat about everything your online life involves.
Most use it to communicate with their teammates during and after games but you can also create private servers to hold conversations about anything you want—the sky’s the limit. Creating and joining servers and channels is quite easy and you can streamline all your online groups quite effortlessly, however, the user interface is not for the faint-hearted. The dashboard can feel extremely cluttered to the uninitiated but you’ll quickly learn to navigate around the platform.
5. WhatsApp (also Telegram)
Available on: Android, iOS, Linux, WindowsOS, MacOS, iPadOS, Wear OS
Free version: Available
Paid Plan: Available for Businesses that want the marketing feature
Meta has a strong hold on its varied audiences through its many platforms and unsurprisingly, WhatsApp has quickly become one of the most popular messaging services for users to keep in touch with their loved ones. The platform is constantly updating and adding to its new features but that isn’t why we have it on the list of the best video chat apps. Due to the large number of users who are on the app, it is the easiest way to call a contact or make a group call with your friends and family. The video quality isn’t perfect and adding in more contacts to the call can be quite the ordeal, but it provides a very instantaneous way of staying in touch with those around.
When you already have the app on your device to text your contacts, it helps to have the service double up and help you switch to video chatting as well. Telegram is a good alternative to WhatsApp, but from our experience, not as many people use the app, which defeats the purpose of using it.
All in all, these may be some of the top video call apps, but they aren’t the only ones on the market. Wire is a great service for those who want a really secure messenger service and BOTIM is an app that is popular for reaching users in the UAE as internet calling is more restricted in the region. Depending on your needs, there are a huge variety of video conferencing apps out there that you could use to make your life easier.
