The Best Free and Paid Conference Call Services
Want to jump straight to the answer? The best conference call service for most people is definitely Nextiva or RingCentral.
A good conference call services allows you to connect with the folks you want, when you want, and how you want.
It doesn’t matter if you need to hop on a quick call with your boss to discuss a client, or if you need to host a 100 person webinar over video — you need the right platform to do it all.
With the rise in popularity of remote work, these tools are more important than ever.
No matter your budget, you’ll find the right solution on this list. Even if you have no budget, I’ve picked out a few free options that you can start using right now.
I’ll show you the best free and paid conference call services on the market today, as well as my methodology for how to rank them.
The Best Conference Call Services
These eight options are a clear cut above the rest:
- Nextiva — Best Conference Call Audio Quality
- RingCentral — Best Video and Phone Conference Call Combo
- GoToMeeting— Best for Upgrading (or Creating) Your Conference Room
- Phone.com — Cheapest Options for Routine Small Conference Calls
- ClickMeeting — Best Tools for Webinars and Presentations
- Zoom— Best for Large Teams
- Google Hangouts — Easiest to Set Up and Invite
- Webex — Best for Team Collaboration
I looked for providers that offered VoIP (voice over internet protocol), which means you can make calls over the internet instead of a landline. This option costs less and is much easier to manage than a traditional phone line.
But which is right for your business? I’ve reviewed each service in detail below to help you compare them.
1. Nextiva — Best Conference Call Audio Quality
- ROCK-SOLID RELIABILITY
- CARRIER-GRADE DATA CENTERS
- VOICE & VIDEO CONFERENCING
- 24/7 SUPPORT
VoIP calling providers often promise crystal-clear HD voice and audio, but VoIP can be susceptible to flagging quality because of heavy usage or even environmental factors out of your control.
If you can’t gamble on conference call audio quality, go with the most reliable VoIP network out there—Nextiva.
See, it’s not just about delivering HD calls when the network isn’t strained. You need uptime reliability, transparent network health insights, and rock-solid quality of service all together. Especially when your conference calls are how your team works together on projects or presents your offerings to potential clients.
Nextiva is a recognizable name in this space. And with that cachet comes technology to match.
With eight points of presence (POPs), you’ll never have to worry about high latency because your VoIP calls are connected to the nearest POP between you and whomever else is on the line with you.
Plus, Nextiva’s infrastructure is carrier grade, meaning its data centers are rated for high availability and built to handle periods of intense usage.
Nextiva even makes sure its network of data centers and POPs are fortified to withstand anything—including natural disasters—and climate controlled to keep the equipment in optimal conditions. So, there’s little that can cause unplanned outages or service interruptions.
But even that can’t guarantee everything will be perfect 100% of the time. Not to worry—Nextiva’s support is also top-notch. Their representatives are available 24/7 and go the extra mile to solve emergent problems or help you get the most out of your VoIP system. They can even walk you through extra steps to take with your own tech stack to ensure even better conference call quality.
For conference calling, there are two pricing plans from Nextiva that will work for you.
If you never need more than 40 people on a conference call, you can get the Professional plan of Nextiva One (that’s their full package of voice, video, and team messaging) for between $21.95/user per month and $27.95/user per month, depending on how many users you need to have access to it.
The Professional plan also has a way to work around that 40-person conferencing limit—video conferences on that tier allow for up to 250 people.
If you just don’t want to worry about running into any limits at all, an upgrade to Enterprise allows for unlimited participants on either form of conferencing. Of course, quality may diminish if your network isn’t up to handle hundreds of people on a single call, so make sure your infrastructure can bear it. Enterprise runs $10 more per user per month than Professional at all scales.
Get the best conference call quality and reliability in the biz—get started with Nextiva today.
2. RingCentral — Best Video and Phone Conference Call Combo
- FREE UP TO 100 PARTICIPANTS
- VIDEO, SCREEN SHARE, & MESSAGING
- VOIP PHONE SERVICE PLANS
- SMALL TO ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS
RingCentral offers video conferencing is included with their paid phone plans. That’s perfect for any work-from-home business.
That’s because they’re also a VoIP phone service. That means you’ll be able to make phone calls with just an Internet connection.
The free plan compares pretty well with the others on the list. While you’re capped at 40 minutes per meeting, you can still have up to 100 participants. That’s great for scrappy startups.
You can easily add-on larger meeting options to your plan if you upgrade to one of their several paid plans that start as low as $19.99/month.
The system offers nearly every calling, collaboration, and mobile feature businesses would want from a phone system. Since it is housed in the cloud, there is no equipment to install, and they take care of all the maintenance and upgrades.
RingCentral also has great enterprise solutions and you can save some money by bundling RingCentral Meetings with a VoIP business phone plan.
Click here to visit RingCentral and get started for free.
3. GoToMeeting — Best for Upgrading (or Creating) Your Conference Room
- FREE 14-DAY TRIAL
- HD VIDEO CONFERENCING
- NO TIME LIMITS FOR MEETINGS
- MOBILE APP AND SLACK INTEGRATION
GoToMeeting offers straightforward, high-quality solutions for small business conference calls without a bunch of distracting features.
One standout feature is their all-in-one hardware and software kit. They’ll send you everything you need to transform any physical room into a smart conference room.
It doesn’t matter if you have a home office or a massive 12-person boardroom. You’ll be able to create a video and phone conferencing solution with all the screens and audio tools you need for your business. That makes it perfect for teams of all sizes.
Unlike some of the other paid conference call solutions on the market, GoToMeeting does not have a basic free plan. However, you can still try it out at no cost with a 14-day trial.
GoToMeeting has three plans:
- Professional — Starting at $14 per month
- Business — Starting at $19 per month
- Enterprise — Custom pricing
The Professional and Business plans can host conference calls with up to 150 and 250 participants, respectively. The Enterprise plan is for up to 3,000 participants.
All plans come with these basic features:
- HD video conferencing
- Screen sharing
- Dial in conference lines
- No limits on meetings
- No time limits for meetings
- Personal meeting rooms
- Business messaging
- Mobile app
- Slack integration
- Salesforce integration
- 24/7 customer support
GoToMeeting also has unlimited recording capabilities and automatic transcriptions of your conference calls.
Performance is where GoToMeeting stands out over the competition. Lots of free and paid conference call services out there fall short with audio quality. But GoToMeeting customers rave about the crystal clear sound and connection of their conference calls.
GoToMeeting does not have some of the more advanced features that we’ve seen from other providers. But, personally, I like the simplicity.
You don’t necessarily need too many bells and whistles to make effective conference calls. Plus, I think the price points for these plans provide a great value for the benefits.
Overall, it’s a great choice for those of you who manage large remote teams or if your team is able to work in a physical location—and want to upgrade your conference room.
Click Here to Try GoToMeeting for Free.
4. Phone.com — Cheapest Options for Routine Small Conference Calls
- BEST VALUE FOR SMALL-SCALE CALLS
- STARTS AT JUST $10.39/USER PER MONTH
- FREE AND UNLIMITED CONFERENCING ON ALL PLANS
- INCLUDES TEXTING & DOZENS OF FEATURES
Phone.com strikes a perfect balance for smaller teams that need always-available voice, video, and messaging. They fill in that much needed “middle-of-the-road” option for most people.
That doesn’t mean they skimp on features though. It’s just that they offer a great balance between value and providing you with the tools you need.
Phone.com starts at $10.39/user per month for its Basic Users plan. In it you get 300 pooled minutes, 1,000 pooled text messages, and video conferencing for up to 10 people.
Take just one step up to the Plus Users plan–$19.99/user per month—and you won’t have to worry about limits at all. There, you get unlimited minutes and text messages, plus video conferencing for up to 25 participants and video recording.
Notice that the participant limits are just for video calls. A lot of teams and companies prefer video conferencing, especially now with more remote workers involved. But if you just need voice conference calling some or most of the time, Phone.com is even more appealing.
On every plan, you get a free conference bridge that can handle up to 500 participants. And, audio conferencing doesn’t eat into your monthly minute limits. So, that means if you’re doing a bunch of inbound and outbound calling, you can settle on the lowest Phone.com pricing plan and be just fine for all of your conferencing needs.
That makes Phone.com a steal for smaller teams—especially ones with team members spread all over the map—who lean more heavily on conference calling than any other voice product.
The Basic Users plan doesn’t skimp on additional features, either. It also comes with:
- Video screen sharing
- Document sharing
- Email notifications for voicemails (transcription only available with Plus Users)
- iOS and Android mobile apps
- HD voice and video
- Call logs
- Call notifications
And that’s just a sampling of the standard features.
You can get started today stress-free because of Phone.com’s 30-day money back guarantee. Don’t wait any longer searching for a conference calling solution, your smaller team has found your perfect fit in Phone.com.
5. ClickMeeting — Best Tools for Webinars and Presentations
- WEBINAR SOLUTION W/ CONFERENCE CALLS
- HIGHLY COLLABORATIVE & ENGAGING
- GOOD FOR ONBOARDING & TRAINING
- PRICES START AT $25/MONTH
ClickMeeting is a bit different from the others on our list. That’s because it’s a webinar solution that gives you a great way to conduct conference calls as well.
It might not seem like a drawback — but it’s actually pretty great if you often hold web events. Not only will you have a way to meet and collaborate with your team, you’ll also have a lead generation engine with webinars.
Their collaboration software is really great for teams and distributed companies. As such, it should stand out to any remote workers out there.
When it comes to conference calls, ClickMeeting’s robust set of presenting and agenda tools allows you to conduct highly engaging, fruitful meetings with your team, clients, customers, and more.
It’s a perfect way to let your team walk away with actionable insights as well as easily onboarding and training new employees.
Since it is more of a webinar tool, it does come with more features geared towards sharing insights. As such, if you’re looking for a pure conference call tool, you might want to look elsewhere.
However, this is still a fantastic tool if you’re looking for a great conference call solution that’s multifaceted and flexible when it comes to your use.
The customization they offer really facilitates viewer interaction with the material a presenter is discussing. Overall, I’d say it’s great for agencies, teachers and other education professionals.
Their webinar solution also integrates with PayPal, allowing customers to purchase access to your webinars easily and securely.
If you need a highly-customizable webinar and collaboration tool, and also need something that goes beyond conference calling, this is the service for you.
Pricing starts at $25 per month and is billed annually. However, it does come with a free 30-day trial to test it out.