Best Zoom Alternatives for 2025 With Enhanced Privacy Features

January 21, 2025 By Christine Margret No Comments 7 minutes

Get the best Zoom alternative for your needs! Virtual conferencing helps you connect with your team, but not everything can be done over a video call. Extra features like chat, file sharing, audio calls, and calendar integration are essential for smooth workflows. As someone who collaborates with teams across different departments, I’ve tested many video conferencing tools to find what works best. In this article, I’m sharing my top 5 reliable Zoom alternatives. Whether you need a free option, a robust enterprise solution, or a simple app for video chats, there’s something here for you!

Note: Remember, using a VPN with Zoom helps keep your video calls private and secure. It encrypts your internet traffic, hides your real IP address, and makes it harder for hackers to access your data—especially on public Wi-Fi. It’s like creating a secure tunnel for your communication. FastestVPN is the best choice, available with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Try it Risk-free. 

Zoom Alternatives- Why Do You Need One?

Zoom lets you connect with anyone, anywhere—but why look for alternatives?

For starters, the app you use might depend on your needs or the community you’re connecting with. For example, Discord is a better choice for gamers who want to chat with other players.

Plus, Zoom has faced some security issues in the past. While it’s improved since the days of Zoombombing and data privacy concerns, it’s still a good idea to explore other options—just to be safe.

The 5 Best Zoom Alternatives

If Zoom’s limited features aren’t meeting your needs for virtual meetings, here are some great alternatives to explore.

1. Discord: Perfect for building and managing communities.
2. Jitsi: A simple, lightweight video conferencing solution.
3. Slack: Ideal for impromptu meetings within team chats.
4. Google Meet: Best suited for Google Workspace users.
5. Microsoft Teams: Perfect for those using Microsoft 365.

Also check out our most secure messaging apps list.

 Comparison Of The Best Zoom Alternative 2025 

Check out a detailed comparison of the best Zoom alternatives at a glance:

The Best Zoom Alternative- Full Review 

Picking the right video conferencing software isn’t as simple as it seems. You can’t just download any app and expect it to meet your needs.

There are important factors to think about when choosing a tool that fits your team’s and project’s requirements. Here’s a look at some top-rated Zoom alternatives, along with their key features, to help you get the best value for your time and money.

1. Discord

Discord is one of the apps that successfully bridges the gap between two very different worlds—business and gaming. Over time, it has expanded and evolved to attract a wider audience. The app allows you to communicate and collaborate with your team through server channels using features like text messaging, video calls, voice calls, and file and screen sharing.

Overall, Discord stands out as a top Zoom alternative, especially if you’re looking for excellent audio performance. In fact, I find that voice communication is where Discord truly excels. For example, the online lessons I attended on Zoom can’t compare to Discord, particularly when it comes to sound quality. The Krisp noise suppression feature made a huge difference, offering clear, crisp audio that enhanced my experience.

Pros:

• Affordable (starting at $2.99 per month)
• Unlimited video calls
• Great audio quality.

Cons:

• Susceptible to occasional downtime
• The free version has a 25 MB limit for file uploads. 

Features:

• Chatting 
• Video conferencing
• Custom emoji 
• Control notifications
• Custom role permissions

Pricing:

• Free Forever: For a personal account
• Basic: $2.99/month per user
• Nitro: $9.99/month per user.

2. Jitsi 

Jitsi Meet stands out from other video conferencing apps in a few ways. It’s entirely free and doesn’t require you to create an account, which is a big plus for small businesses and startups searching for alternatives to Zoom.

However, for users who need more advanced features, it might not be enough. One significant limitation is that meetings are capped at 50 participants, with no option to upgrade to a paid plan for more capacity or additional features.

Pros:

• Free, simple, and secure
• No time limits on meetings
• No login or download needed.

Cons:

• The platform doesn’t offer dedicated support.
• Occasionally, there may be a dip in video quality.
• It has a limit of 50 participants per meeting.

Features:

• End-to-end encryption for user privacy.
• Password-protected meetings.
• Screen sharing.
• Live presentation streaming.
• Integrated chat for group and individual conversations within meetings.

Pricing:

• A free personal account
• JaaS Basic: $99 per month for 300 MAU
• JaaS Standard: $499 per month for 1,500 MAU
• JaaS Business: $999 per month for 3,000 MAU
• JaaS Enterprise: Custom plan for businesses with more users.

3. Slack 

As Slack puts it, “it’s a tool where work happens.” If you’ve been using Slack for a while, you’d likely agree. One of its standout features, Slack Huddles, is perfect for one-on-one meetings. You can also create meeting notes within Huddles to stay organized.

This tool excels at keeping your entire team aligned, offering features like team chat, file sharing, audio calls, and more.

Pros:

• Remote collaboration
• Flexible pricing plans
• Real-time messaging and instant feedback
• File sharing and integration of tech resources.

Cons:

• Privacy concerns with social networking services
• Security measures and data breaches
• Learning curve and information overload.

Features:

• Google Calendar Integration
• Gmail Integration
• Google Drive Integration
• Live Captions
• Gemini Assistant
• Custom Backgrounds.

Pricing:

• A free personal account
• Pro Acc: $8.75/month per user
• Slack Business+: $15/month per user
• Enterprise Grid: Contact sales for pricing.

4. Google Meet

Pros:

•  Simple to join or start meetings with just a few clicks.
•  Enables seamless communication from the comfort of home.
• Ensures successful and smooth online meetings.
• A valuable addition to virtual communication tools.
•  Offers good pricing, suitable for businesses.

Cons:

• Interruptions make it challenging to revisit and complete conversations.
• Poor connection often results in freezes and dropped calls.
• Captions are frequently inaccurate and fail to function properly.
• Clicking the wrong tab can unexpectedly end the session.

Features:

• Meeting recording
• Breakout rooms
• Live meeting transcription
• Screen sharing
• In-call chat.

Pricing:

• Free for 1-hour meetings with up to 100 participants.
• Paid plans start at $6/month per user (billed annually) with Google Workspace Business Starter.
• Gemini for Workspace add-on available starting at $24/user/month.

5. Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a comprehensive solution for video conferencing, team chats, phone calls, file sharing, and other essential tools for daily work communication. Its AI-powered features, like meeting notes and reply suggestions, further streamline productivity.

This platform is ideal for remote teams, offering the ability to start instant meetings without waiting for calendar invites to be accepted. One standout feature is the use of avatars and immersive spaces, which makes meetings more engaging and interactive.

Pros:

• All-in-one collaboration and communication
• Seamless integration with Microsoft 365
• Free 60-minute meetings with up to 100 participants.

Cons:

• The platform lacks flexibility.
• There is a significant inconsistency in online meeting experiences.
• The platform has complex and confusing file structures.

Features:

• Third-Party Integrations
• Meeting Countdown Timer
• Built-in AI
• Post-meeting automated summaries. 

Pricing:

• Microsoft Teams Free Plan 
• Microsoft Teams Essentials: $4.00 per user/month
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6.00 per user/month
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50 per user/month.

Conclusion- Best Zoom Alternative

Clear communication is key to any team’s success. Choosing the right communication tool will significantly influence how your team collaborates. Check out our list of tools to help you find the best Zoom alternatives. Try out a few options based on your needs to discover which one works best for your team.

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