{"question": "best video conferencing software for small businesses", "category": "video-conferencing-software", "category_name": "video conferencing software", "audience": "small-businesses", "audience_name": "small businesses", "engine": "Claude (Anthropic) with web search", "model": "claude-opus-5", "asked_at": "2026-10-06T22:57:41Z", "permalink": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/video-conferencing-software-small-businesses-2026-10-06", "question_page": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/video-conferencing-software/small-businesses", "brands_named": [{"position": 1, "brand": "Google", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 2, "brand": "Google Meet", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 3, "brand": "Google Workspace", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 4, "brand": "Microsoft", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 5, "brand": "Microsoft Teams", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 6, "brand": "Microsoft 365", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 7, "brand": "Microsoft 365 Business", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 8, "brand": "Slack", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 9, "brand": "Zoom", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 10, "brand": "Cisco Webex", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 11, "brand": "Webex", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 12, "brand": "Zoho", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 13, "brand": "Zoho Meeting", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 14, "brand": "Zoho CRM", "label": "mentioned"}], "sources_cited": [{"url": "https://www.techradar.com/news/best-video-conferencing-software", "domain": "techradar.com", "source_type": "review"}, {"url": "https://crm.org/news/best-video-conferencing-software", "domain": "crm.org", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://costbench.com/compare/zoom-vs-google-meet/", "domain": "costbench.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://costbench.com/compare/google-meet-vs-microsoft-teams/", "domain": "costbench.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://costbench.com/best/best-video-conferencing-tools-2026/", "domain": "costbench.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://zoho.com/meeting/best-video-conferencing-software.html", "domain": "zoho.com", "source_type": "other"}], "answer_text": "## My picks, in order\n\n**1. Google Meet (via Google Workspace)** - The best default for most small businesses. Business Starter runs ~$7/user/month and you get Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Calendar bundled in, so you're not paying for a standalone meeting tool. Nothing to install - it runs in the browser, which matters a lot when clients join your calls. The free tier allows 60-minute meetings if you're not ready to pay.\n\n**2. Microsoft Teams** - The pick if you already use Office. Teams Essentials is the cheapest real entry point (~$4/user/month) with 30-hour meetings, and Microsoft 365 Business Basic at ~$6 adds 300-participant meetings plus 1TB of OneDrive per person. It's chat + files + meetings in one place, so it replaces Slack too. The tradeoff is that it's heavier and clunkier than Meet for quick external calls.\n\n**3. Zoom** - Still the best pure meeting experience: most reliable on bad connections, best webinar and breakout-room tooling, and the one platform every client already knows how to join. Pro is ~$13/user/month, Business ~$18, but budget $18-25 realistically once add-ons stack up. Worth it if meetings *are* your business - sales demos, coaching, client-facing work.\n\n**", "answer_truncated": true, "measurement": "One answer from one engine on one date. Not a ranking and not a claim about the world; brands the engine did not name are not recorded.", "limitation": "Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.", "alerts": {"name": "Answer Watch Pro", "price_usd": 79, "period": "month", "gets": "daily change alerts for up to 5 brands in what one AI answer engine says, history, CSV export. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included", "url": "https://bikoosh.com/answers"}}