The Best Conference Call Service Providers for Your Business: Top 4

Best known for its virtual phone service, RingCentral is one of the industry’s most popular communication and collaboration tools. This all-in-one software solution comes with all the features a team of any size might need to stay connected and organized – from business and toll-free phone numbers to call recording, custom integration, and audio and video conferencing. RingCentral’s cloud-based software is available to users located in the US, Europe, and Asia. The system is extremely reliable, completely secure, and competitively priced. 

Features

RingCentral offers conference calling features both as part of its voice-over-IP-based communications software and as a standalone service. For this review, we’ll focus on the latter. 

RingCentral Meetings, as this provider’s conference calling software is known, comes with plenty of useful features. These include one-on-one and group conference calls with HD-quality voice and video, user- and company-level settings, the ability to join meetings by telephone dial-in, screen sharing, whiteboarding, annotation, reporting, 24/7 customer support, and more. It doesn’t matter if you run a startup, a growing company, or a large enterprise, as businesses of all sizes can benefit from RingCentral’s conference calling options.

It’s also worth noting that this conference call service provider lets its users start and join meetings from computers, room systems, mobile phones, and telephone devices. To ensure that your conference call meetings are completely private, RingCentral employs the industry’s standard security measures such as SSL/TLS encryption and secure web access.

Price

RingCentral Meetings offers three tiers of service.

Conveniently named the Free plan, RingCentral’s first-tier option won’t cost you anything. This package is meant for teams that are just starting out. It includes conference calls with up to 100 participants, unlimited one-on-one conference call meetings, 40-minute group meetings, private and group chat, desktop and application sharing, team messaging and collaboration, Outlook integration for one-click scheduling, whiteboarding, and annotation. 

Priced at $14.99 per user per month, RingCentral’s Essentials plan is best suited for a growing business. This package includes everything from the Free plan plus unlimited group meetings, basic reporting, round-the-clock customer service, call me and call out features, and 1,000 outbound minutes of regular wired phone calls.

The Advanced conference meeting plan was created with large enterprises in mind. It will set you back $19.99 per user each month. This package comes with everything from the first two tiers plus real-time dashboard reporting, 2,500 outbound local PSTN minutes, and a service-level agreement with RingCentral.

Customer Support

RingCentral’s conference calling service is easy to use and manage, but the company makes sure that its customers get all the assistance they may need. Options to get questions answered include visiting the provider’s FAQ page; getting in touch with support agents via phone, live chat, or social media; and filing a support case.

Only the Essentials and Advanced plans come with 24/7 phone support. Those who opt for RingCentral’s free video conference service can get in touch with support agents from 5 a.m. until 6 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday. Non-English customer support is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Central Europe time.

Verdict

RingCentral Meetings stands out for its affordability, ease of use, and a wide selection of conference calling features. The cloud-based architecture means you don’t need to worry about installation, maintenance, or upgrades. The provider’s free plan compares well with other options on our list, and so do its enterprise solutions. However, for the best value on unlimited conferencing services, we recommend bundling RingCentral Meetings with the company’s VoIP business phone plan.

Launched in 2008, Vast Conference has quickly become one of the best international conference call service providers. Unlike competitors that provide a full suite of communication services, Vast focuses on phone and video conferencing only. This allows the company to offer a top-notch product: an easy-to-use platform across all devices, multiple service offerings, and competitive four-tiered pricing. Vast Conference’s conference calling service is web-based, and the company caters to businesses of all sizes.

Features

What makes Vast Conference stand out from the competition is that it offers two types of conferencing services: reservationless instant calls and operator-moderated conference calls. 

With the reservationless option, you can hold impromptu calls or schedule them for any time. The participants won’t have to install the software to attend – they need only the conference line, access code, and the time of the call. Given that Vast’s service comes with HD video conferencing and screen sharing, conference calls can easily be turned into online meetings. 

Other useful features of Vast’s reservationless meetings include custom greetings, call recording, detailed reporting, messaging, file transfers, and integration with Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office365, and Google Calendar.

Operator-moderated (or operator-assisted) calls are a good choice for companies and organizations that frequently host formal conference calls with hundreds of participants. Think of public companies that hold annual or quarterly video or phone conference calls with investors. If you opt for this service, you’ll be assigned an event specialist (one of Vast Conference’s operators) who will be there to help you prepare and host a conference call. Given that event specialists will be there for you before, during, and after your conference call, you can count on them to set up the call’s flow and itinerary, greet and introduce the speakers, and manage Q&A sessions. After the conference call, you’ll receive an attendee list, a recording of the session, and even a transcript upon request.

Price

As one of the best conference call service options, Vast Conference offers four pricing tiers – three standard packages and a customizable option. There is no free plan. However, each plan comes with a 14-day free trial period.

The Essentials plan is priced at $14.99 per user per month if billed monthly ($11.99 if you opt for annual billing). It’s meant for a maximum of 10 participants and lets you host unlimited interactive online meetings and conference calls. Additionally, Vast Conference’s first-tier plan comes with 1 GB per user of cloud recording.

The Standard plan costs $19.99 per user if billed monthly ($15.99 with the 20% annual billing discount). With this package, you can host unlimited interactive meetings, conference calls, and events with up to 100 participants. The Standard plan also offers unlimited cloud recording and the option to invite meeting attendees from around the world using Vast Conference’s international conferencing numbers and local country dial-in toll-free options.

If you opt for Vast’s Professional plan, you’ll pay $39.99 per user (or $31.99 with the annual subscription discount). The provider’s third tier lets you invite up to 250 participants. It’s optimized for large online events such as group training and all-hands meetings. 

As one of the best conference calling service providers, Vast Conference also offers an Enterprise option. This plan is meant for large, high-volume clients who need custom solutions. 

Customer Support

You’ll find multiple ways to answer questions and resolve problems with Vast. The company offers a comprehensive support page with plenty of helpful articles and video tutorials. You can also get in touch with the company’s customer service representatives by phone, email, and live chat. All plans include 24/7 assistance. 

Verdict

Vast Conference lacks a free plan, but the company stands out for its affordable packages, 14-day free trial, and 20% discount for annual subscriptions. The company specializes in robust and secure conference call services, and that focus is reflected in its feature-rich plans and high-quality web-based platform. Thanks to its operator-assisted and instant call options, Vast Conference is able to offer the right type of service to businesses of all sizes.

Although Zoom hasn’t been in the conference call service game for as long as its competitors, this California-based company has quickly established itself as a worldwide leader in communications. Thanks to its easy-to-use interface, competitive pricing, fast installation, and many features, Zoom was one of the first communication tools managers around the world thought of when the COVID-19 pandemic made working from home essential.

Features

Unlike most conference call service providers, which offer video conferencing as just one of their features, Zoom specializes in providing a reliable, flexible, and easy-to-use video conference calling system. Depending on the Zoom meeting plan you sign up for, the platform can accommodate up to 1,000 video participants in a single meeting.

Some of the provider’s remarkable features include mobile meetings, cross-platform messaging, file-sharing, collaboration-enabled conference rooms, calendar synchronization, call recordings, and call transcripts. 

In addition to standard video conferencing, call recording, and IM messaging capabilities, Zoom offers features that can help bring your team together and reach your target audience. The platform’s webinar services let you conduct marketing events, while the Zoom Rooms feature makes collaborating with co-workers much easier. The software also integrates smoothly with dozens of business apps as you conduct mobile meetings and stream calls to social media.

Price

Zoom has a limited free video conferencing plan plus three paid solutions.

Best suited for private meetings, Zoom’s Basic plan is free to use with no strings attached. It lets you host a call with up to 100 participants and conduct unlimited one-on-one meetings and 40-minute group meetings. The Basic plan includes screen sharing, virtual backgrounds, private and group chat, whiteboarding and annotation, and local recording.

The Zoom Pro plan is priced at $14.99 per user per month. If you pay a year at a time, Zoom will give you a $30 discount. Created with small teams in mind, this plan lets you host video conference calls with up to 100 participants, conduct unlimited group meetings, stream your calls on social media, and store video conference recordings on 1 GB of cloud space. 

Best suited for small and medium-sized businesses, Zoom’s Business plan comes with a monthly fee of $19.99 per license – with a minimum of 10 licenses. Customers who opt for annual billing can save up to $400. This plan comes with everything included in the first two tiers plus a few advanced features. These include the ability to conduct meetings with up to 300 participants, single sign-on, company branding, managed domains, and cloud recording transcripts. 

As one of the best video conference call service options, Zoom’s Enterprise solution starts at $19.99 per license per month – for a minimum of 100 licenses. Users get access to a dedicated customer support agent, receive unlimited cloud storage, and can host meetings with up to 1,000 participants.

Customer Support

Options to get in touch with Zoom’s support agents and technical engineers include live chat, phone, and service tickets through the site’s support page. Customer service is available around the clock, even on public holidays. To top it off, this video conferencing service provider also has a comprehensive help page with detailed answers to frequently asked questions. 

Verdict

As one of the best free conference call service options, Zoom is well-known for its user-friendly platform, broad functionality, generous free plan, and reasonably priced paid services. However, this provider also has a few disadvantages. In addition to below-average audio quality, security issues are frequently cited as the provider’s biggest drawback. Zoom says that it has resolved these issues in recent months.