Tool comparison for remote meetings and conference calls

Not sure which conferencing tool to use for online meetings or calls? Use the table below to choose a tool based on your needs.

See also:

Care must be exercised to manage and protect privacy during meetings held remotely. Whether you are the host or a participant, take note of these policies for enhancing confidentiality:

	Microsoft Teams Recommended tool for meetings, chats, internal phone calls	WebEx Recommended tool for online teaching, learning, and meetings	Bongo virtual classrooms Recommended tool for online teaching and learning	Skype for Business Recommended tool for external phone calls	Zoom Recommended tool for online teaching, learning, and meetings
Overview	A platform that provides a shared workspace to chat, share/edit files, and host video/audio meetings. The maximum number of users depends on the feature you're using. See Microsoft's guide on Teams limits for more information.	A live presentation and collaboration tool that shares audio, video, and presentations in a virtual class or meeting room. A standard WebEx licence includes 1000 seat Meeting room Webinar licence Cloud storage	A virtual meeting space allowing you to engage with students (individually or in groups). A maximum of 150 users can be invited to a virtual meeting and only 10 webcams can be active at a time.	An enterprise communication platform which includes IM, audio, video, screen sharing, and meeting capabilities. A maximum of 300 users can be added to a Skype for Business online meeting.	A cloud-based peer-to-peer software platform used for teleconferencing, telecommuting, distance education, and social interactions. A standard Pro license includes: 300 seats meeting rooms (Larger size meeting by request) Unlimited time Cloud storage A Basic license includes: 100 seat room 40 minute limit Local storage
Recommended use	By default, recorded Teams meetings can be edited and downloaded by all Team members. To restrict access, update the video permissions in Microsoft Stream and select the ‘Owner’ checkbox next to your Team name. Read our how-to article on how to restrict video permissions in Microsoft Stream. Recording training sessions Video meetings Group audio calls	Online teaching Graduate thesis defense Online classrooms Meetings Small webinars Team collaboration space for teaching and learning Recording lectures	Online teaching	Video meetings Group audio calls	Meetings Webinars Online teaching Graduate thesis defense Online classrooms Small Webinars Team collaboration space for teaching and learning Recording lectures
Support resources	See IST’s Microsoft Teams knowledge base articles and Microsoft’s what’s new in Microsoft Teams	See the WebEx knowledge base articles and the WebEx tool comparison chart You can also email rt-ist-itms-collab@rt.uwaterloo.ca (with WebEx in the subject line)	See the Keep Learning page on Bongo and IST’s Bongo knowledge base articles You can also email learnhelp@uwaterloo.ca or call 519-888-4567 ext. 41744	See the Skype for Business knowledge base articles	See IST's Zoom knowledge base articles You can also email rt-ist-itms-collab@rt.uwaterloo.ca (with Zoom in the subject line)
Features	Breakout rooms Audio conferencing Video conferencing Screen sharing All Teams users have access to set up a Teams meeting Ability to download meeting attendance reports Channel calendar All meeting attendees can share audio/video.	Q&A Automatic hand raise gesture) detection Breakout rooms Screen sharing Classroom feedback Polling Participant chat Co-hosting Virtual meeting rooms with optional recordings Telephone call-ins Lobby room Live caption Transcription Video streaming to YouTube, Facebook etc. Guests	Q&A Breakout rooms Polling Attendance log Chat Upload files and presentations Annotations	Audio conferencing Video conferencing Screen sharing Incoming/outgoing calls as University of Waterloo phone extension	Chat Media/file share Raise hand Screen sharing Whiteboard Polling Q&A Breakout rooms Classroom feedback Participant chat Co-hosting Virtual meeting rooms with optional recordings Telephone call-ins Lobby room Live caption Transcription Video streaming to YouTube, Facebook etc. Guests
Supported Operating Systems	Windows Mac Linux iOS Android	Windows Mac Linux iOS Android	Accessed via LEARN	Windows Mac iOS Android	Windows Mac Linux iOS Android For details about supported systems, go to https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-requirements-for-Windows-macOS-and-Linux .
Key advantage(s)	Can join from web app Closed captioning (ease of use is best here) Hand raising is ordered	Meetings is a full featured application: Can join from web app Can access a large global network with better bandwidth/traffic management Use closed captions Hand raising is ordered Integrates with LEARN	Breakout rooms can be timed Fully integrated with LEARN courses	Provides telephone function	Meetings is a full featured application: Can join from web app Use closed captions Hand raising is ordered Integrates with LEARN
Key disadvantage(s)	Private Channels are difficult to manage as the membership needs to be manually maintained.	N/A	No automatic video transcription No waiting lobby room Saves whiteboard pages as separate PNGs as part of recording Will not play video or audio add-ins on PowerPoints	Lacks many modern meeting room features	N/A

Not sure which conferencing tool to use for online meetings or calls? Use the table below to choose a tool based on your needs.

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