Conference Calling refers to telephone calls where several people talk to each other at the same time. Conference Calling services include Audio Conferencing and Video Conferencing, it is also referred to as teleconferencing.
Conference Calls are made possible through a Conference Bridge which is an equipment that links all the phone lines together, callers can connect to the conference call by calling the phone number which connects to the conference bridge.
Conference Call Service Providers provide and maintain conference bridges and phone lines for conference calling access. The service providers can also dial connect participants and introduce them to each other, provide question and answer information, enable and disable features and more. Conference Call mobile apps are also offered by most service providers.
Conference Calling Services for Business
Conference Calling is essential for businesses for remote meetings between employees, employers, clients, business partners and other people. Conference calls are necessary during client meetings, sales presentations, project meetings, board meetings, training sessions, interviews and more.
Voice and Video Conference Calling enables effective communication for businesses quickly and at lower costs than it would cost to bring people from different locations to have meetings thereby saving time and increasing productivity.
Conference Calls are also used by businesses to report their quarterly results to their shareholders and stock analysts. This allows for calls from analysts and shareholders who have questions.
Conference Calling has advanced from the traditional voice only calls to web conferences where users can share presentations and documents with themselves while explaining exactly what the documents mean simultaneously.
Free Conference Calling Services
Free conference call services allow users initiate and host conference calls at no extra charge than the cost of the telephone call, the service providers are usually paid by the phone company based on a revenue sharing agreement.
Free Conference calls most times do not have as good sound quality as their paid counterparts do, customers usually complain of background noises when using the services.
Best Free Conference Calling Service Providers
Free conference calling has been made easily accessible with the advent of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone call services, all you need is a fast and reliable internet connection and you’re good to go. Here are the best free conference calling service providers currently based on expert reviews, the list is arranged in no particular order.
- Skype
- Google+ Hangouts
- FreeBridge
- Rehuddle
- Free Conference Calling
- OpenVoice
- SendHub
1. Skype
Skype is the most popular free voice conferencing and video conferencing service, it is used by small businesses, medium and large enterprises for communication between staff, clients and business owners across several locations.
Skype provides good security features and its free service can host a video conference call for a maximum of 25 people. Skype also provides instant messaging and free voice calls. Skype provides iPhone, Android, Desktop and Web conference call apps.
2. Google+ Hangouts
Google+ has nearly faded into obscurity but one of the things it was famous for was its free teleconference services for both voice and video calls called Google+ Hangouts. All you need is a Google+ account and a fast internet connection, it is compatible with all devices as it is web based and the call and video quality is very good.
Google+ Hangouts also let users live stream video conferences to an unlimited number of users.
3. FreeBridge
FreeBridge is another free conference calling solution which provides support for as many as 100 people simultaneously which is very impressive considering only few conference calling services allow above 50 users on a single conference call.
FreeBridge helps businesses save time and money, increase efficiency and productivity.
4. Rehuddle
Rehuddie is a flexible, easy to use conference call service, to use it, you just need to register, create a group name, dial the conference call number you’re provided with type in the extension you’re given and ask all the participants of the call to do the same.
5. Free Conference Calling
Free Conference Calling provides conference call services that can connect up to one thousand people and gives users comprehensive reports on conference calls they have made on their account dashboard which is good for monitoring participation during business calls.
6. OpenVoice
Open Voice provides services for as much as 500 people, it is easy to use and allows users create specific call groups, has a mobile app for easy access and provides reports on calls along with other nice features.
7. SendHub
SendHub is an easy to use, price friendly and flexible conference call service. It is suitable for small businesses and midsize companies. SendHub has several big companies as clients and provide top notch features such as auto voice to text transcription and more.
Best Paid Conference Calling Service Providers
Businesses need far more features and scale than free conference calling services can provide, therefore they have to pay for the extra features they need, there are a number of paid conference call service providers, this is a list of the best based on expert reviews and are arranged in no particular order.
- Vast Conference
- Infinite Conferencing
- WebEx
- InterCall
- RingCentral
- Arkadin
- Budget Conferencing
- Zip Conferencing
- AT Conference
- ConferenceCalls
1. Vast Conference
Vast Conference is ranked among the topmost conference calling services because of its high quality, ease of use and good customer support. It is mainly a teleconferencing service and provides crisp, clear calls with several call management features namely:
- Attendant Dial Out
- Call Continuation
- Call Host Dial Out
- Call Recording & Replay
- Customizable Greeting
- Customizable Phone Numbers
- Document Sharing
- Lecture Mode
- Live Chat
- Microsoft Outlook Integration
- Post Conference Report
- Social Media Sharing
- Survey Capabilities
- Tutorials
- Up to 300 Participants
- VoIP
2. Infinite Conferencing
Infinite Conferencing software provides reliable, qualitative and easy to use voice and web conferencing services to small businesses with top features and competitive pricing. The service also provides an easy switch from voice conferencing to web conferencing.
Infinite Conferencing offers several features including:
- Attendee Dial Out
- Call Continuation
- Call Recording & Replay
- Document Sharing
- File Sharing
- Good customer service
- Greeting Customization
- Host Dial Out
- Lecture Mode
- MS Outlook Integration
- Phone Number Customization
- Polling & Handraising
- Reporting
- Social Media Sharing
- Up to 100 Participants
Infinite Conferencing provides customer support through phone, email, live chat and tutorials available on their website.
3. WebEx
WebEx is a very user friendly conference calling service, it is powered by Cisco and also provides online meeting and webinar services. Conference calling is sold as an added service by WebEX but is still an excellent choice for conference calls.
WebEx provides interactive tools, reporting tools, toll free numbers and many more features such as:
- Call Continuation
- Call Recording & Replay
- Document Sharing
- Greeting Customization
- Host Dial Out
- MS Outlook Integration
- Phone Number Customization
- Post Conference Reporting
- Up to 100 Participants
- User Reports
4. InterCall
InterCall is a top conferencing service provider for seamless collaboratoion between employers, employees and clients in different locations. It is a reliable conferencing service and provides many good features including:
- Call Recording & Replay
- Detailed Reports
- File Sharing
- Greeting Customization
- Host Dial Out
- Operator-Assisted Calls
- Outlook Integration
- Phone Number Customization
- Up to 125 Participants
Intercall provides customer support through phone calls, emails, live chat and tutorials on their website.
5. RingCentral
RingCentral is a big name in the VoIP industry with several leading VoIP services for small, medium and large businesses. It also provides conference call services with its RingCentral Office product, the service is available as a desktop software, Iphone app, Android app and cloud app.
RingCentral is known for easy to use quality services, its conference calling features include:
- Call Continuation
- Call Recording & Replay
- Conference Reports
- Customized Greeting
- Document Sharing
- Outlook Support
- Social Media Sharing
- Up to 1000 Participants
6. Arkadin
Arkadin provides feature rich conferencing solutions that are user friendly and easy to use. The service offers interactive features for audio and video conferencing.
Arkadin Conference Calls are of high quality and provide an efficient communications solution for your company, its features include:
- Call Recording & Replay
- Conference & User Reports
- Customizable Greetings
- Customizable Phone Numbers
- File Sharing
- MS Outlook Support
- Operator-Assisted Calls
- Up to 75 Participants
7. Budget Conferencing
Budget Conferencing provides outstanding conference calling solutions for small businesses, midsize companies and large enterprises. It also provides many good conferencing tools albeir at an extra cost, its features include:
- Call Recording
- Detailed Reporting
- File Sharing
- Host Dial Out
- Lecture Mode
- Operator-Assisted Calls
- Outlook Integration
- Social Media Sharing
- Up to 300 Participants
8. Zip Conferencing
Zip Conferencing provides good conference call services for businesses of all types, it offers plentiful customer support options and an easy to use interface. Zip conferencing provides a wide variety of video and audio conferencing features but is a bit more pricey than the other services. Its features include:
- Call Quality
- Call Recording & Replay
- Customized Greeting
- Document Sharing
- Outlook Integration
- Post Conference Reports
- Tutorials
- Up to 300 Participants
- User Reports
9. AT Conference
AT Conference provides basic conference call services suitable for small businesses running on a tight budget, it is based on a pay per use model.
AT Conference has the most important features for any conference call and supports both local and international conference calling. Its features include:
- Call Recording & Replay
- Conference Call Reports
- File Sharing
- Greeting Customizations
- Host Dial Out
- Lecture Mode
- Operator-Assisted Calls
- Outlook Integration
- Unlimited Participants
AT Conference provides phone support, live chat and online tutorials to users.
10. ConferenceCalls
ConferenceCalls is a small business conference call service with a maximum of fifty participants at a time, it provides good audio quality and is quite easy to use however, it lacks some features offered by other top conference calling providers. Its features include:
- Call Recording & Replay
- Comprehensive Reporting
- File Sharing
- Host Dial Out
- Lecture Mode
- Phone & Email Support
- Tutorials
- Up to 50 Participants