ZOOM Alternatives VERY Friendly to Non-Techies, No Time Limit?

February 5, 2021 4:09 PM

I am looking, essentially, for the features of Zoom Premium for free - without intending piracy. I'm looking for a very tech-friendly, no-account, video conference service with no time limit (with phone number call-in being a great optional plus). I know this is a big space so am wondering if people have any recommendations?
posted by metabaroque to Technology (8 answers total)

Best answer: You may have to narrow down which features you're looking for specifically and which you can deal without? My first suggestion would be Jitsi Meet. Won't do a lot of screenshare stuff but otherwise ticks your boxes, I think? It was one of the ones I tried out with my library. Otherwise you might want to check out this reasonably up to date but hard to read sheet on Wikipedia that can give you the specs and you can pick what you need.
posted by jessamyn at 4:24 PM on February 5, 2021 [3 favorites]

Skype has a limit of 24 hours, but that seems pretty reasonable.
posted by oceano at 4:42 PM on February 5, 2021 [2 favorites]

I use Google Meet for most of my social life these days. It works fine.

I'm not sure how strict "no account" is. It seems to require an account for the scheduler but no one else.

Edit: I may be wrong about that.
posted by mark k at 6:28 PM on February 5, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Seconding Jitsi Meet. It will absolutely do screenshare stuff (either desktop or single window), plus text chat, no time limits, end-to-end crypto, lobbies, passwords, and legible meeting URLs.
posted by sourcequench at 7:29 PM on February 5, 2021 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: mark k: I'm not sure how strict "no account" is. It seems to require an account for the scheduler but no one else.

Appreciate it, but your suspicion is correct; you have to have an account if you're not originating from a Google Apps account.

Jessamyn, thank you -- I think I'm probably going to try Jitsi Meet. I am actually just looking for video hosting for a online family reunion, so screensharing probably won't be necessary.

Thank you everyone!
posted by metabaroque at 8:10 PM on February 5, 2021

I've had some success with Free Conference in terms of having the ability for people to dial in (those who don't have computers or who do but don't know how to click on a link!). The host needs to sign up, but none of the attendees need do more than click on a link. Completely unlimited in terms of time, however the downside is that the free version only allows 5 people to join with video.
posted by car01 at 2:27 AM on February 6, 2021

Whereby is free for up to 4 people, and fits the bill in terms of being easy to use and no account required (except for the person who creates the meeting).
posted by wesleyac at 12:01 AM on February 7, 2021

Whereby's free tier now allows meetings of up to 50 people, and breakout rooms. (Note that 2-person meetings can have unlimited duration but meetings of 3+ people are limited to 45 minutes.)
posted by brainwane at 3:31 AM on April 28, 2021