Mar 14, 2026

Best Zoom Alternatives in 2026 (For Meetings, Webinars & Scheduling)

Zoom fatigue is real, but most people aren’t actually looking to escape video calls — they’re looking for something simpler, cheaper, or better suited to how their team actually works. Some want tighter Microsoft or Google integration. Some want no account required. Some have given up on synchronous video altogether.

Here are 9 Zoom alternatives worth knowing about — plus a note on the scheduling layer that most people ignore until it becomes a problem.

1. Google Meet

The obvious choice if your team runs on Google Workspace. Meet lives inside Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs — so there’s no separate app to manage, no link to dig up. Video quality is solid, captions are built in, and meetings with up to 100 participants are free.

It doesn’t have Zoom’s depth on webinars or breakout rooms (paid plans get more features), but for everyday internal meetings it’s hard to beat the friction-free experience if everyone’s already in Google’s ecosystem.

Best for: Google Workspace users who want meetings that just work.

Pricing: Free for up to 60 minutes with up to 100 participants. Longer meetings and more features require Google Workspace (from $6/user/month).

2. Microsoft Teams

Teams is more than a video tool — it’s a collaboration hub with chat, file storage, project channels, and meetings all in one place. If your organization runs on Microsoft 365, it’s already included. Video quality is good, recording and transcription are built in, and meetings integrate tightly with Outlook calendar.

The tradeoff: Teams is heavyweight. The interface takes some learning, and it’s overkill if all you need is a video call button. For organizations already deep in the Microsoft stack, it’s a natural default.

Best for: Organizations on Microsoft 365 who want one platform for communication and collaboration.

Pricing: Included with Microsoft 365 plans (from $6/user/month). Free tier available with limitations.

3. Whereby

Whereby gives you a permanent room with a custom URL — no downloads, no accounts for guests, just click the link and you’re in. That’s its whole pitch, and it delivers. The interface is minimal, the browser experience is clean, and you can embed meetings directly into your product or website.

It’s not trying to compete with Zoom on features. There’s no recording on the free plan, no breakout rooms on lower tiers, and it tops out at 100 participants. But for client calls and small teams who want the lowest-friction experience possible, it’s excellent.

Best for: Client-facing teams, freelancers, and small teams who want a permanent room with no friction.

Pricing: Free for 1 room, up to 100 participants (45-minute limit). Pro from $6.99/month.

4. Around

Around puts a different spin on video calls — participants appear as small floating circles rather than a full-screen grid. It’s built for working sessions where people are actually doing things together, not just talking. Shared spaces stay open passively, so you can drop in and out.

It’s very much a product-design statement rather than a utility play. Some teams love it; others find the unconventional layout distracting. Worth trying if you run a small team that does a lot of ambient co-working.

Best for: Small remote teams who want a more casual, always-available presence rather than formal scheduled calls.

Pricing: Free for small teams. Paid plans from $8/user/month.

5. Loom (async video)

Loom is not a meeting replacement — it’s a meeting elimination tool. Record your screen, your face, or both, share the link, and let people watch when it suits them. Viewers can leave timestamped comments and react without scheduling a call. Loom works best for things that don’t need live discussion: demos, walkthroughs, status updates, feedback on work.

If half your meetings are actually “let me show you something,” Loom can cut a significant chunk of your calendar. It won’t replace everything, but it’s one of the most practical tools on this list for reducing Zoom fatigue.

Best for: Developers, managers, and designers who want to communicate visually without scheduling a call.

Pricing: Free for up to 25 videos (5-minute limit each). Starter from $12.50/user/month.

6. Discord

Discord started in gaming and has expanded into a general-purpose voice and video platform. Servers give you persistent channels — voice channels you can drop into without scheduling, text channels alongside video, and screen sharing baked in. For teams that want always-available voice channels and informal communication, it’s genuinely good.

The interface assumes some familiarity and can feel cluttered at first. It’s also not designed for external meetings with clients or partners — Discord is better for internal teams who want a real-time presence layer.

Best for: Internal teams — especially technical or creative ones — who want low-ceremony voice/video alongside text chat.

Pricing: Free. Nitro from $9.99/month adds higher quality video and upload limits.

7. Webex (Cisco)

Webex has been around since before Zoom existed, and it shows in both its feature depth and its complexity. It handles large webinars, enterprise-grade security, and government compliance requirements that consumer-grade tools can’t touch. AI-powered transcription, noise cancellation, and meeting summaries are included at paid tiers.

For most small teams or startups, it’s more than you need and the pricing reflects that. For enterprises with strict security requirements or very large events, it’s one of the more capable options.

Best for: Enterprise teams with security, compliance, or large webinar requirements.

Pricing: Free for meetings up to 40 minutes, 100 participants. Paid plans from $14.50/user/month.

8. Jitsi Meet

Jitsi is free, open-source, and requires no account to use. Open a browser, create a room, share the link — that’s it. You can self-host it if you need full data control. Video quality is reasonable, screen sharing works, and it supports basic features like chat and hand-raising.

The tradeoff is reliability. The public instance at meet.jit.si can be inconsistent at high load, and the experience degrades with larger groups. For small groups who need something quick and private with no tracking, it’s hard to argue with free and open source.

Best for: Privacy-focused teams and developers who want no-account video calls or a self-hosted option.

Pricing: Free (open source). Self-hosting requires your own infrastructure.

9. Slack Huddles

If your team uses Slack, Huddles gives you one-click voice and video from any channel or DM. No scheduling, no link — just tap the headphones icon and you’re in. It’s designed for quick, unplanned conversations, not formal meetings.

Huddles support screen sharing and multi-participant video on paid plans. They won’t replace a structured weekly all-hands, but they eliminate a lot of the “do you have five minutes?” messages that turn into unnecessary calendar invites.

Best for: Slack-heavy teams who want spontaneous voice/video without leaving their main communication tool.

Pricing: Included with Slack paid plans (from $7.25/user/month). Basic audio only on the free tier.

On scheduling the meeting in the first place

Switching video tools fixes the call itself. It doesn’t fix the back-and-forth that happens before it — the “does Tuesday work for you?” threads, the timezone confusion, the invite that never got sent.

Carly handles that layer. It’s an AI scheduling assistant that reads your calendar and coordinates meetings in plain language over email or chat — no booking links required, no manual availability sharing. Once the time is set, the calendar invite (with your preferred video link) gets sent automatically. Whatever video platform you choose, the scheduling friction doesn’t have to come with it.

Comparison at a glance

Tool	Best for	Free tier	Account for guests
Google Meet	Google Workspace teams	Yes (60 min)	No
Microsoft Teams	Microsoft 365 orgs	Yes (limited)	No
Whereby	Client calls, minimal friction	Yes (45 min)	No
Around	Small team co-working	Yes	No
Loom	Async video, fewer meetings	Yes (25 videos)	No
Discord	Internal teams, informal	Yes	No
Webex	Enterprise, large webinars	Yes (40 min)	No
Jitsi	Open source, no-account	Yes	No
Slack Huddles	Quick calls inside Slack	Paid plans only	No