Working from home? All the best Zoom alternatives to download

Are you lucky enough to be working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic? If the answer is yes, then you’ve probably been using Zoom to handle your video conferencing needs. While everyone has been using Zoom, it doesn’t mean that it’s the best choice. As you may have heard, there have been concerns regarding various leaks, accounts sold on the dark web, and attracting malware attacks.

So if you need to work from home during this time, but don’t feel comfortable using Zoom anymore, then that’s fine. Here are some alternatives to Zoom that you should try.

Jitsi

Jitsi is a collection of free and open-source multiplatform voice, videoconferencing, and instant messaging for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Android. It has such features as call transfer, auto-reconnect, call recording, conference calls, encrypted password storage with a master password, encryption for instant messaging and calls, and group video support. 

If you’re curious about using the group conference function, then head to meet.jit.si for more information.

Skype

Skype is as tried, true, and free as ever. It has a new feature called “Skype Meet Now”, which can have a meeting up to 50 users at a time. The bonus is that you don’t need an account to use it, just a link to click on. The downside is that it doesn’t have any major bells and whistles that a paid meeting service would. Still, it’s free and Skype has been around for a while. 

Google Hangouts

In terms of Zoom alternative, Google Hangouts is probably the strongest competitor. The free version of Google Hangouts allows for 150 users to connect to a call, provided that they have a Google account. If you’re willing to shell out the cash for the paid version of Hangouts, then the world really opens up to you.

With the paid version of Google Hangouts, you can have 250 participants to a call, hold presentations, record meetings, and easily send links to those outside of your company should it be needed.

Discord

If you’re a gamer, then chances are that you’ve probably used Discord before. This free communication app gives you an encrypted chat, message, and video calls. You can also set up dedicated servers, which can be like Slack’s rooms, that can also host video and text chats as well. So if you need to divide up teams, then this is easy and intuitive to use. Discord can host 50 people and the app is available on most browsers and devices.