Best Video Conferencing Tools for Small Teams (2026)
Markus Maila, CTO & Co-founderChoosing the right video conferencing tool can make or break your small team's productivity. With dozens of platforms competing for attention, it helps to know which ones actually deliver on reliability, call quality, and value. We reviewed seven of the most popular options and evaluated them on the criteria that matter most: audio and video quality, free plan generosity, participant limits, recording capabilities, integrations, and ease of setup. Here is what we found.
What to look for in a video conferencing tool
Before jumping into individual reviews, here are the key criteria we used to evaluate each platform.
Audio and video quality: This is the foundation of any conferencing tool. Look for platforms that deliver stable HD video, clear audio, and reliable performance even when bandwidth is limited. Adaptive bitrate streaming, noise suppression, and echo cancellation are features that separate good tools from great ones.
Free plan limits: Most tools offer a free tier, but the restrictions vary widely. Pay attention to meeting duration caps, participant limits, and feature lockouts. A free plan that cuts you off at 40 minutes can be frustrating for teams that rely on longer discussions.
Participant caps: Small teams today often grow quickly, and you may also need to host external guests, clients, or collaborators. Make sure the platform supports enough participants for your current needs and near-term growth.
Recording and playback: The ability to record meetings is essential for documentation, onboarding, and async collaboration. Some tools include cloud recording for free, while others lock it behind paid tiers or limit storage.
Integrations: Your conferencing tool should connect with the apps your team already uses, including calendars, project management tools, messaging platforms, and file storage. Native integrations reduce friction and keep workflows smooth.
Ease of setup: Small teams often lack dedicated IT support. The best tools let you start a meeting in seconds with minimal configuration, ideally without requiring participants to install software.
1. Zoom: best overall for reliability and ecosystem
Zoom remains the default choice for video conferencing, and for good reason. Its infrastructure is built for scale and reliability, delivering consistently high audio and video quality across a wide range of network conditions. For small teams that need a tool they can count on for every meeting, Zoom is hard to beat.
The platform's ecosystem is one of its strongest advantages. Zoom Marketplace offers thousands of integrations, from Slack and Notion to Salesforce and HubSpot. The Zoom Rooms hardware ecosystem is mature if you ever need to outfit a physical meeting space. Breakout rooms, polls, whiteboards, and waiting rooms give meeting hosts fine-grained control over the experience.
The free plan is functional but comes with the well-known 40-minute limit on group meetings. For small teams that meet frequently, this restriction gets old fast. Zoom Pro at $13.33/user/month (billed annually) removes the cap and adds cloud recording with 5 GB of storage. Zoom Business at $21.99/user/month unlocks additional branding and admin controls.
Zoom pairs well with Menutes for teams that want AI-powered transcription and meeting summaries. While Zoom does offer its own AI Companion features on paid plans, Menutes works across platforms and provides structured meeting minutes, decisions, and action items. If you use Zoom as your primary conferencing tool, adding Menutes gives you detailed, shareable documentation from every call.
2. Google Meet: best for Google Workspace teams
If your team already lives in Google Workspace, Google Meet is the natural choice. It integrates seamlessly with Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and Google Drive, making it effortless to schedule, join, and follow up on meetings without switching contexts.
Meet's simplicity is a genuine strength. There is nothing to install for participants since everything runs in the browser. Links are easy to share and joining is instant. The interface is clean and distraction-free, which keeps meetings focused. Google has steadily improved video quality and added features like noise cancellation, automatic live captions, and adaptive layouts.
The free plan allows meetings of up to 60 minutes with up to 100 participants, which is more generous than Zoom's 40-minute cap. However, recording is only available on paid Google Workspace plans starting at $7/user/month for Business Starter (which still does not include recording). You need Business Standard at $14/user/month for cloud recording. This can be a sticking point for small teams that want to capture meetings without upgrading.
For transcription and meeting notes, Google Meet has introduced some AI summarization features within Workspace, but they are limited in scope and language coverage. Menutes provides a more comprehensive alternative, delivering structured meeting minutes with speaker identification and action items from your Google Meet calls. Since Menutes supports 50+ languages, it is especially useful for international teams using Google Workspace across multiple offices.
3. Microsoft Teams: best for Microsoft 365 organizations
Microsoft Teams is the conferencing tool of choice for organizations already invested in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. It combines video meetings with persistent chat, file sharing, and deep integration with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and OneDrive. For teams that rely on Microsoft's productivity suite, the unified experience is a major advantage.
Teams handles video calls reliably, with features like background blur, custom backgrounds, Together Mode, and breakout rooms. The platform supports up to 300 participants on standard plans and scales to 1,000 for large events. Screen sharing, co-authoring documents during calls, and meeting chat threads create a cohesive collaboration experience.
The free version of Teams allows group meetings up to 60 minutes with up to 100 participants and includes 5 GB of team storage. Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $6/user/month extends meetings to 30 hours and adds meeting recordings with transcription. Business Standard at $12.50/user/month adds desktop Office apps and additional features.
Teams can feel heavy for small teams that do not need the full Microsoft 365 suite. Setup and administration are more complex than simpler tools like Google Meet or Whereby. However, if your team already uses Outlook and OneDrive, the integration payoff is significant. For meeting documentation, pairing Teams with Menutes gives you detailed, structured summaries that go beyond the basic transcription Microsoft includes. Menutes captures decisions and action items in a format that is ready to share with stakeholders.
4. Webex: best for enterprise security
Cisco Webex has long been the go-to for organizations where security and compliance are non-negotiable. It offers end-to-end encryption, FedRAMP authorization, HIPAA compliance options, and granular admin controls that satisfy even the most demanding IT security teams.
Beyond security, Webex delivers solid call quality with AI-powered noise removal, gesture recognition for reactions, and real-time translation for over 100 languages. The meeting experience is polished, with features like immersive share (embedding your video into your presentation) and stage view for managing how participants appear on screen.
Webex offers a free plan with meetings up to 40 minutes and 100 participants, similar to Zoom's free tier. Webex Starter at $14.50/user/month extends meeting duration and adds 5 GB of cloud recording storage. Business at $25/user/month adds more storage, analytics, and customization options.
For small teams, Webex can feel like overkill. The interface is more complex than lighter alternatives, and the admin console reflects its enterprise heritage. However, if your small team operates in a regulated industry (healthcare, finance, government), Webex's compliance certifications can save you from lengthy security reviews. Menutes complements Webex nicely by providing AI meeting minutes that your team can review, edit, and distribute. Since Webex's built-in transcription is primarily English-focused on standard plans, Menutes fills the gap for multilingual teams that need summaries in their preferred language.
5. Around: best for lightweight async-friendly meetings
Around takes a deliberately different approach to video conferencing. Instead of recreating the conference room experience, it optimizes for the way modern distributed teams actually work: short, focused calls interspersed with async collaboration. Its floating bubble interface keeps video calls unobtrusive, letting you continue working in other apps while staying connected.
The auto-mute and noise cancellation features are standout. Around suppresses keyboard typing, background conversations, and echo automatically, so you can skip the "you're on mute" dance. The small, circular video bubbles consume minimal screen real estate, which feels refreshing compared to the full-screen takeover of traditional video tools.
Around was acquired by Miro in 2023, and the platform has since been integrated more closely with Miro's collaboration suite. While this adds whiteboarding and visual collaboration capabilities, it also means Around's standalone future is tied to Miro's product roadmap. The free plan supports meetings of up to 45 minutes, and paid plans start at $9/user/month with longer meetings and additional features.
For teams that value quick huddles over formal meetings, Around's design philosophy is appealing. It encourages shorter, more frequent check-ins rather than hour-long scheduled calls. Adding Menutes to the mix means even your quick 10-minute standups get documented with action items and key decisions, without anyone needing to take manual notes.
6. Whereby: best for embedded and browser-based meetings
Whereby's core selling point is simplicity. There is nothing to download, no accounts required for guests, and meetings happen entirely in the browser. You get a permanent meeting room URL that you can share with anyone, making it ideal for teams that frequently host external participants like clients, freelancers, or candidates.
The browser-based approach works surprisingly well. Video and audio quality are solid, and the interface is minimal and intuitive. Whereby also offers an API for embedding video calls directly into your own product or website, which makes it popular among SaaS companies and healthcare platforms that need white-label video conferencing.
Whereby's free plan includes one meeting room with up to 100 participants, which is generous for basic use. Pro at $8.99/host/month adds more rooms, recording, and custom branding. Business at $11.99/host/month adds the embeddable API and additional customization. Note that pricing is per host, not per participant, which is cost-effective for teams where only a few people initiate meetings.
The trade-off is that Whereby lacks some advanced features you find in Zoom or Teams, such as breakout rooms, polls, or deep calendar integrations. For small teams that prioritize ease of use and a frictionless guest experience over feature depth, Whereby is an excellent fit. Since Whereby does not include built-in transcription or meeting notes, pairing it with Menutes gives you complete meeting documentation, including transcripts, summaries, and action items, from every browser-based call.
7. Discord: best free option for informal teams
Discord may seem like an unconventional choice for a business conferencing tool, but for small, informal teams, it offers a compelling combination of features at no cost. Voice channels let team members drop in and out of conversations naturally, simulating the open-door environment of a physical office. Screen sharing, video calls, and text chat all work together in a single workspace.
The always-on voice channel concept is Discord's killer feature for distributed teams. Instead of scheduling a meeting, team members join a voice channel when they want to collaborate. This reduces the overhead of formal meetings and encourages spontaneous communication. Discord also supports up to 25 simultaneous video streams in a server and screen sharing at up to 4K resolution on paid plans.
Discord's free plan is remarkably generous. You get unlimited voice and video calls, screen sharing, file uploads up to 25 MB, and up to 500,000 members per server. Discord Nitro at $9.99/month (per user, not per server) adds higher video quality, larger file uploads, and custom emoji. For team use, there is no per-seat business plan since the core product is free.
The obvious downside is professionalism. Discord's gaming heritage means it may not make the right impression for client-facing meetings or formal presentations. There are no calendar integrations, no meeting scheduling, and no recording built in. It is best suited for internal team communication where informality is a feature, not a bug. For teams using Discord as their primary communication platform, Menutes can still capture and transcribe any meeting by recording system audio. This means even your impromptu Discord huddles can be documented with structured notes and action items.
Feature comparison table
Here is a side-by-side comparison of the seven video conferencing tools across key decision criteria for small teams.
| Tool | Best For | Free Plan | Max Participants | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom | Reliability and ecosystem | 40 min group limit | 100 (free), 300 (paid) | Cloud (paid), local (free) |
| Google Meet | Google Workspace teams | 60 min, 100 participants | 100 (free), 500 (paid) | Cloud (Business Standard+) |
| Microsoft Teams | Microsoft 365 organizations | 60 min, 100 participants | 100 (free), 300 (paid) | Cloud (Business Basic+) |
| Webex | Enterprise security | 40 min, 100 participants | 100 (free), 1,000 (paid) | Cloud (Starter+) |
| Around | Lightweight async meetings | 45 min meetings | Up to 20 | Paid plans only |
| Whereby | Browser-based, no downloads | 1 room, 100 participants | 100 (free), 200 (paid) | Pro plan and above |
| Discord | Informal teams, free use | Unlimited calls | 25 video, unlimited voice | Not built in |
How to choose the right video conferencing tool for your team
The best tool depends on your team's existing workflow, budget, and communication style. Here is a quick decision framework.
You already use Google Workspace: Go with Google Meet. The integration is seamless, and the free plan is generous enough for most small teams.
You already use Microsoft 365: Go with Microsoft Teams. The unified experience with Outlook, OneDrive, and Office apps creates real productivity gains.
You need maximum reliability and features: Go with Zoom. Its ecosystem is the deepest, and it handles edge cases (poor connections, large meetings, breakout rooms) better than most.
You work in a regulated industry: Go with Webex. Its compliance certifications and encryption capabilities reduce security review friction.
Your team prefers quick huddles over scheduled meetings: Go with Around. Its lightweight design encourages natural, async-friendly communication.
You host lots of external guests or clients: Go with Whereby. The no-download, browser-based experience removes friction for anyone joining from outside your organization.
You want maximum value on a zero budget: Go with Discord. The free plan is unmatched for internal team communication, though it is not ideal for formal or client-facing settings.
Regardless of which platform you choose, Menutes works with all of them. It captures audio from any video conferencing tool and produces structured meeting minutes with decisions, action items, and speaker identification. This means you can standardize your meeting documentation workflow across platforms, even if different teams or projects use different conferencing tools. You get consistent, searchable meeting records without being locked into one vendor's ecosystem.
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