10 Best Conference Calling Services

Google Meet is a videoconferencing software that enables user-friendly conference calls. It’s included with Google Workspace’s paid plans, but any Google account user can create and schedule conference calls for free directly through the Google Meet webpage.

Features

I found Google Meet to be the most user-friendly conference call tool—for setup, dial-in and meeting management. It’s also great for teams that want hybrid meetings combining video and dial-in participants.

Initiating or creating a conference call with Google Meet is incredibly easy. You can start an instant meeting with one click or schedule one for later. Google provides you with a one-click access link that you can easily email to participants. Each meeting has dial-in phone numbers for over 70 countries, which is a helpful feature for geographically distributed teams. The meeting host controls are intuitive, enabling captions and easy attendee management with simple controls.

Google Meet lets you dial out to call participants directly from the meeting

Pricing

Google Meet’s free offering is an exceptional value and likely all you need, whether you host frequent conference calls or occasional ones. While the free plan hosts 100 participants, meetings are capped at one hour and only include basic collaboration features.

If you plan to host calls that exceed one hour, Google Workspace’s Business Starter plan expands to a 24-hour time limit and adds whiteboards—a good feature for team collaboration for video participants. If audio clarity is a major priority for you, the $14.40 per month Business Standard plan adds background noise cancellation.

Customer Service

Google Workspace’s Standard support package lets you submit ticket requests, with a typical response time of four hours, through your preferred channel—phone, email or chat. You can upgrade to Enhanced support for one-hour response times, but I don’t think it’s necessary in most cases.

Google Meet also has a large active community forum and a knowledge base with dozens of helpful articles.

Reputation

As a popular videoconferencing provider, Google Meet has many reviews on sites such as G2 and Gartner. The platform earns exceptional ratings from users who appreciate its ease of use, free offering and audio quality, while some complain about Meet’s lack of collaboration features.

Learn more: Read our full Google Meet review.

FreeConferenceCall.com lets you host meetings that participants can join by phone, video or a blend. You have to sign up to create an account, but once you do, it’s easy to create instant meetings or schedule them for later.

Features

When you schedule conference calls for later using FreeConferenceCall.com, you can customize aspects of the invite email, including the subject, date/time and description. The 1,000-participant capacity is remarkable—a number that most alternatives, such as Google, can’t match—even on paid plans. During meetings, hosts have access to basic collaboration tools such as screen sharing, drawing and virtual backgrounds.

Once you create a FreeConferenceCall account, you receive a custom dial-in number that works for all your calls. While some alternative conference calling platforms require the host to have an internet connection, FreeConferenceCall lets the host dial in by phone over landline or internet—just like a participant.

Each FreeConferenceCall meeting includes personal dial-in numbers for attendees to join your call

Pricing

For most companies, FreeConferenceCall.com’s free plan is all you’ll need. With a personal meeting number that makes it easy to host calls for up to 1,000 people, it’s a good option whether you’re looking for video, audio or hybrid calls.

FreeConferenceCall also offers a paid plan that costs $79 annually. The main value of this plan is that when users dial into the conference call, they don’t have to enter the five-digit access code, as they do with the free plan. I don’t think the benefits are worth the price; the free version offers better value.

Customer Service

FreeConferenceCall.com offers weak customer support. You can submit a ticket or email, but it may take a day or two to receive a reply. The provider’s website claims to provide 24/7 support, but when I tried chatting with an agent, no one was available. The service does not offer live phone support.

Reputation

As a lesser-known meeting platform, FreeConferenceCall.com has relatively few reviews on sites such as GetApp and Software Advice. However, its reviews are generally more positive than the market average. Customers appreciate the service’s price and easy meeting setup, but they complain that the call interface can make it difficult to use its advanced features.

While RingCentral’s VoIP phone system includes conference calling, it also offers video-meeting software that works great for conference calls.

Features

With RingCentral, you can host audio-only, video-only or blended calls where participants can dial in from desktop or mobile, including landline numbers that don’t need an internet connection. The free plan even lets you host unlimited conference calls, with up to 100 participants for video and 1,000 participants for audio conferencing.

RingCentral is ideal for collaboration. Participants can draw on whiteboards or take notes together, which work great for company meetings or educational purposes. You can use RingCentral to record verbal information that you’ll need to refer back to, and RingCentral will transcribe a meeting using AI. The AI transcription is accurate and distinguishes speakers, providing a thorough record for post-call reviews.

Another cool thing about RingCentral video is that the app includes team chat—even on the free plan. If you’re looking for a team collaboration platform for messaging and conference calling, RingCentral can provide a free, basic alternative to Slack or Zoom.

You can take notes, view transcripts and invite participants to dial in to RingCentral meetings

Pricing

The Video Pro plan is free—and an excellent value considering its 100-participant capacity and team collaboration features. Most companies hosting conference calls for occasional, collaborative or casual purposes won’t need anything more.

Learn more:RingCentral Pricing

However, the main advantage of upgrading to the $10 monthly Video Pro+ plan is its encrypted meetings and CRM integrations. If you use conference calls for sensitive data—such as HIPAA-compliant health discussions, finance or law—you may benefit from upgrading meeting hosts to the Pro+ plan.

Customer Service

RingCentral offers 24/7 chat and phone support to all users—even on the free plan, as long as you’re logged in to your account. I used the chat option and reached a helpful representative immediately.

Reputation

While RingCentral’s unified communications platform is well-known, its video and audio conferencing tools aren’t as popular—leading to relatively few ratings on sites such as Software Advice and G2. Its ratings on review sites are about average—nothing spectacular—with customers praising the live transcription accuracy but complaining about occasionally getting kicked from meetings randomly.

Microsoft Teams is a complete team collaboration platform that supports conference calls through its video meetings feature. However, this dial-in functionality is only included on paid plans. It’s worth the cost for companies that will take advantage of not only the robust call transcription but also other collaboration features such as team chat and file storage.

Features

When you use Microsoft Teams for audio conferencing, you also get many other features: team chat, video meetings, tons of cloud storage for recordings and transcripts, Microsoft Office apps and a custom business email. While these features offer value for those seeking a full business communication suite, they’re overkill for companies that just make the occasional conference call.

However, Teams’ conference-call functionality is excellent. It’s easy to host impromptu meetings or schedule them on the calendar, and if you choose to enable video, participants can take live annotations and draw on whiteboards during meetings. Further, you can translate the live captions into 30 languages in real time, a valuable feature for those who often host meetings with a multilingual audience.

You can store transcripts for as many meetings as you want. Considering the large amount of storage that each user gets, Teams also works well for companies that need to log each call’s recording or transcript.

Microsoft Teams offers real-time audio transcriptions during video meetings and conference calls

Pricing

Microsoft Teams includes audio conferencing as a $2.50-per-month add-on to its 365 Business plans, which begin at $7.20 monthly per user. Thus, the starting cost for a month-to-month commitment is $9.70 monthly per user. This rate pays not only for audio conferencing but also the team-collaboration features listed above—which is overkill and a wasted cost for many companies.

If you only host occasional conference calls or don’t need many stored recordings, a free conference-calling service such as FreeConferenceCall.com or Google Meet will probably provide much better value.

However, the $9.70 monthly price for Microsoft Teams may be worth it if you need encrypted meetings, multilingual captions or long-term records of conference call transcripts and recordings.

Customer Service

Microsoft Teams offers 24/7 phone and web support for all users. You also have access to a knowledge base of articles and guides.

Reputation

As a popular team communication app, Microsoft Teams has many reviews and above-average ratings on sites such as G2 and Gartner. Users appreciate that the app is a one-stop hub for their communication needs, but some complain about random mishaps that occasionally prevent participants from joining a meeting or call.

ClickMeeting is primarily a webinar platform for virtual events and meetings, but the software also supports dial-in functionality for conference calls. This means you can create a hybrid event, combining unique webinar features with audio-only audience participation.

Features

With ClickMeeting, you can send invitations by email or SMS, with a dial-in number that allows participants to join directly from the invite. Leading up to your event, you can send automated reminders and create tickets that let you collect payment. You can also live stream events and easily share recordings on social media platforms. Post-event, you can send participants certificates of attendance and thank-you emails. These promotional tools are unique to ClickMeeting and unlock unique use cases if you want your conference call to be more of an official virtual event.

ClickMeeting also offers unique analytics tools to provide you with more feedback about your events. You can connect event pages to Google Analytics to see how attendees found them. You can also elicit audience feedback with surveys and feedback sheets. These features help you improve how you market and host your audio-only event.

ClickMeeting conferences let you chat, share screens and toggle recordings with one click

Pricing

ClickMeeting starts at $32 monthly per user, making it the most expensive conference-calling solution on our list, especially because that price tag only supports 25 attendees. If you want larger audience sizes, the price tag can quickly eclipse $100.

Considering its expense, ClickMeeting is only a suitable conference-calling software for companies that want to host virtual events with conference-calling functionality. You’re paying for the advanced promotional features and analytics. If you want basic audio-only conference calls without much else, you’re better off with a free alternative.

Customer Service

ClickMeeting offers multilingual live chat support seven days a week during main business hours. The ClickMeeting help center also offers a self-service chatbot and knowledge base with guides.

Reputation

ClickMeeting has a slightly below-average number of reviews on sites such as G2 and Capterra, and most of its reviews come from customers using it as webinar software. It earns average ratings among customers, many of whom say the unique marketing tools have helped them reach new audiences.

Learn more: Read our full ClickMeeting review.

While Dialpad is known for its VoIP phone system, it also offers a video-meeting platform that works great for conference calls.

Features

Dialpad’s free version lets you host meetings for up to 45 minutes with 10 participants, who can join by video or audio. Each meeting you set up has a dial-in number that’s easy to share by text or email. I hosted Dialpad meetings by phone and had no issues connecting, and I was impressed with the crystal-clear audio. While this free version lacks AI tools, it supports unlimited recordings.

The paid Business plan offers the strongest AI-based video meetings of any provider. During the meeting, you have accurate transcription and captions. Post-meeting, Dialpad AI generates action items and summaries with highlights, which you can share, text or email to participants. These features help participants remain organized post-call and can help catch up those who had to miss the conference.

Using the whiteboard and dial-in functionality with Dialpad

Pricing

The Dialpad Meetings Free plan does the job with simple conference calls—using video, audio or a blend. However, the meetings have a lower capacity and shorter time limit than free alternatives such as RingCentral or Google Meet. On the plus side, Dialpad’s audio and video quality are excellent.

At $20 monthly per user, Dialpad’s Business plan is more expensive than many paid alternatives, including RingCentral’s paid plan. The main advantage of Dialpad is its AI-generated summaries, action items and other unique features such as custom dial-in numbers. If you want post-meeting summaries, Dialpad’s paid plan is worth it. However, if you only want live captions and transcription, RingCentral and Microsoft Teams are better-value alternatives.

Customer Service

Dialpad offers 24/7 chat support to both free and paid users, plus access to the active community forum and knowledge base of articles. Phone service is available 24/7 for paid users on the Business plan.

Reputation

Dialpad Meetings has many reviews on sites such as Software Advice and G2, indicating its popularity. Even better, customers generally rate the system slightly higher than average. Users love the clean and user-friendly interface but complain about the small participant capacity on the paid plan.

Webex offers conference calling through its videoconferencing product, Webex Meet, and its cloud phone system, Webex Call. Using Webex Meet saves a few dollars per month and has a much larger capacity, while Webex Call includes a full phone system but costs more and limits you to six participants on a call.

Features

Using Webex Meet, you can set up conference calls using the videoconference tool’s dial-in option. When you send the invite email, recipients receive dial-in codes for 56 countries and can join with video or audio. All meetings and recordings are encrypted, with HIPAA-compliant data storage, providing excellent security for companies discussing sensitive data such as personal health information.

Webex conference calls use AI for live captions in four languages, with post-meeting transcripts and summaries. Finally, the Webex Meet app also supports a pretty solid internal team chat platform. If you want not just conference calling but internal team collaboration with video and chat, Webex is a strong choice.

A Webex meeting with engagement features like chat and the whiteboard

Pricing

Unfortunately, Webex does not offer a free plan for conference calls, since the Webex Free plan includes video only—no audio. For conference calls with audio dial-in, plans begin at $14.50 monthly per user. Even worse, Webex meetings use toll-based dial-in numbers, which may incur additional costs for those dialing in. Overall, it’s much pricier than alternatives such as Microsoft Teams and certainly the free options such as Google Meet and FreeConferenceCall.com.

We recommend Webex only if you prioritize meeting encryption or want a team collaboration app with chat. Otherwise, you’re better off going for a free alternative.

Customer Service

All paid Webex Meet plans include 24/7 support by chat, phone or ticket submission. Webex also offers an active community forum and self-help knowledge base with guides.

Reputation

Webex is popular for its videoconferencing platform and phone system, so it has a higher number of reviews on sites such as TrustRadius and G2 but average ratings. Users note the excellent audio quality and ease when scheduling a meeting, but they complain that it’s more expensive than alternatives.

Learn more: Read our full Webex Meetings review.

While you may know Zoom best for its video meetings, the software can also host phone-based conference calls for up to 300 participants. Every paid Zoom Workplace plan—the Pro and Business tiers—includes toll-based dial-in numbers that let you host conference calls.

Features

While it is costlier than other options, Zoom makes it easy to set up conference calls and invite participants by email. As the host, you can mix audio- and video-based participants, allowing team collaboration with features including whiteboards and notes. Zoom also integrates with CRM platforms such as Salesforce and HubSpot, enabling you to sync conference call activity, participation and transcripts with customer data.

Zoom’s Workplace plans include not just conference calls but the full Zoom app—which bundles other collaboration features such as team chat and document co-editing. It’s a complete internal collaboration platform—so it’s not the best option if you’re seeking conference calls only.

In addition to conference calling and video, Zoom offers a complete team collaboration platform with team chat

Pricing

Since the free plan doesn’t support audio dial-in, Zoom’s cheapest option for conference calling is the Pro plan, which costs $15.99 monthly per user. Further, Zoom only supports toll-based dial-in numbers, which add additional fees for the user dialing in and quickly escalates the price.

In most cases, Zoom plans are not a cost-effective option for conference calling, especially compared with some of the free options ranked higher on our list. Zoom is only a worthwhile conference-calling option for companies that already pay for Zoom Workplace or those who want a complete internal collaboration app with team chat.

Customer Service

Zoom offers ticket and live-chat support to users on the Pro plan, plus access to Zoom’s Help Center, which includes a knowledge base of articles and an active community. The Business plan, costing $21.99 monthly, adds live phone support.

Reputation

As one of the best-known videoconferencing platforms, Zoom Workplace has an incredibly high number of reviews on sites such as GetApp and Capterra. Overall, it has above-average ratings, and customers appreciate the dashboard’s intuitive feel and easy setup. However, some users mention occasional connection glitches and dropped calls.

Learn more: Read our full Zoom review.

Vast Conference is designed for video and audio conferences, so it’s the most feature-rich conference calling platform on our list, enabling an unlimited number of conference calls that users can join from over 70 countries.

Features

The app’s conference call interface is pleasant to look at, letting you send one-click invite links through email or text. Through the app, you can watch the participant count as callers dial in, helping you know when to begin the meeting.

The call dashboard displays each user, with host controls that let you mute and unmute participants, plus the option to view when participants have questions. Attendees can use their dial pad to indicate that they have questions, which populates the “Questions” section of their row on the host’s dashboard. This lets the host mute and unmute participants based on who wants to speak, leading to more organized Q&A sessions.

During conferences, you can play prerecorded audio files, such as music, clips and broadcasts. This helps with training sessions, onboarding calls and other conferences that involve announcements. Vast Conference’s analytics record every call’s time, duration and attendance, providing excellent logs.

The Vast Conference call dashboard lets hosts see who’s on the call, manage questions and mute or unmute participants

Pricing

Vast Conference’s pricing plans begin at $16.49 monthly per user, hosting just 10 participants. Higher-tier plans, such as the Standard and Professional, increase the meeting capacity up to 250 or more.

The platform’s expensive monthly cost is only worth it if you host frequent conference calls that heavily utilize audience engagement. If your conferences often have a back-and-forth between the host and participants, such as Q&As, you’ll benefit from Vast Conference’s host dashboard. But in most cases, especially if you just want basic conference calling functionality, you’ll save money by going with a free option such as Google Meet or FreeConferenceCall.com.

Customer Service

Vast Conference offers live support through phone and chat Monday through Friday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT. You can also message the support staff anytime, and they’ll respond within one business day. You can also access a self-service knowledge base with video guides.

Reputation

Vast Conference has a very low number of reviews on sites such as Capterra and Software Advice, suggesting that its usage is low. Customers appreciate the app’s ease of use but complain about the expense and low capacity.

GoTo Meeting is a video-conferencing platform that also works well for dial-in conference calls for up to 250 participants. You can also dial out to five participants for each meeting. Since GoTo includes a solid breadth of collaboration features such as captions and AI summaries, it’s a great tool for blending video and audio conferences.

Features

Each GoTo session generates a dial-in conference line that lets you invite up to 250 participants to your meeting, with no time limit. Every invite you send out includes a join link and dial-in number, enabling both modalities.

Each user on your account gets a personal meeting room for anytime meetings—a great option for impromptu conference calls. During meetings, hosts can access real-time captions, draw figures and take notes. After meetings, you have access to AI-generated summaries and transcripts. These features help you host a large number of meetings in a short time span because they let you refer back to key information without having to remember it.

While some alternative platforms let you, as the host, receive a dial-out from the meeting software, GoTo Meeting can automatically dial out five call participants when the event begins. This feature helps ensure that all participants join the meeting on time.

GoTo Connect Meetings let you host up to 250 participants by video or audio dial-in

Pricing

Starting at $14 monthly per user, GoTo Meeting is among the higher-priced options on our list. Its engagement features such as annotations and drawing are the main things that separate it from free plans, but cheaper options such as Microsoft Teams and Dialpad also have these features.

GoTo Meeting’s price is only worth it if you place a high priority on the dial-out feature to ensure you get participants on the line when the call begins. Otherwise, you’re better off going for free software.

Customer Service

GoTo provides 24/7 live support by phone and chat, making it one of the more responsive providers on our list. I’ve reached out to GoTo through chat and phone and reached a customer-service rep easily both times.

Reputation

GoTo Meeting has a massive number of reviews on sites such as G2 and Software Advice, suggesting strong popularity for video and audio conferencing. Overall, the software receives average ratings from users. Customers state that the platform is easy to use and offers a very reliable connection, but some complain that it feels basic and lacks advanced features.

Learn more: Read our full GoTo Meeting review.