Conference Call Comparison: How Does Callbridge Measure Up?

A cursory Google search for the term “conference call software” will quickly show you just how many online conference calling services there are. Even if we just take the first page of results, there aren’t many business professionals out there who have the time or energy to create a conference call comparison that takes into account things like price, feature list, participant limits, and customer service.

So in the interest of saving your valuable time and energy, Callbridge decided to do just that: create a conference call comparison blog article that breaks down the similarities and differences between Callbridge and some other well-known conference calling companies.

Callbridge vs. Amazon Chime

It’s no secret that Amazon has quickly grown to become a tech superpower in these last few years, but how does their conferencing software stack up? It’s free basic plan lacks a lot of important features like the ability to schedule meetings or provide dial-in numbers, so we will only talk about their Pro plan for the purpose of this comparison.

The Similarities: The Amazon Pro plan offers many useful features that Callbridge does, and it also includes a 30-day trial to use its full version. Both Callbridge and Chime have a max participant limit of 100 people, and mobile apps to help you conference on the go.

The Differences: Now that Amazon Prime has moved to a pay-as-you-go subscription plan, it could cost more or less than Callbridge’s monthly fee of $34.99 per host depending on how you use it. Unfortunately, it also lacks a lot of Callbridge’s unique flagship features: Youtube streaming, searchable auto-transcriptions, video recording, extra security features, and personalization options like custom greetings, and more.

The Verdict: If you’re looking for a conference calling service on a budget without Callbridge’s extra features and controls, Amazon Chime is a safe choice. If you choose to go with Amazon Chime, there’s one other thing you should keep in mind: like Google, Amazon has their hands in a lot of different projects, so no one really knows exactly how much time and energy they are putting into their conferencing software.

Callbridge vs. Zoom

Zoom is a fairly strong option for a conferencing software, and is one of the only conference calling services that also has its own annual user conference, called Zoomtopia. It has several plans and options, but its higher price points put some of its best features out of reach for a business that doesn’t have the budget of a large-scale enterprise.

The Similarities: Both Callbridge and Zoom have a range of different features for every business need, and a strong support section that includes a phone line, an email, and a support website.

The Differences: If you want to access features like custom branding and recording transcripts, be prepared to pay. $19.99 per host doesn’t sound like a lot to pay, but Zoom also requires you to have at least 10 hosts to qualify for its “small & medium business” plan. Its largest plan does include a 200-participants limit on conference calls, but at that level, Zoom requires you to have at least 100 hosts.

The Verdict: If you represent a multinational corporation that would like the idea of a dedicated customer success manager and access to “executive business reviews”, Zoom might be the perfect choice for you. For everyone else, Callbridge’s modest fee will let you do just about everything that Zoom is capable of, for less.

Callbridge vs. Join.Me

Join.Me is a nifty little conferencing tool that prides itself on simplicity. It doesn’t try to confuse you with too many technical details right off the bat, and I found that its website was pretty easy to navigate.

The Similarities: Both Callbridge and Join.Me allow for screen sharing, audio & video conferencing, and a the use of a clickable link to get participants into your meeting. Its business plan is also similar in cost to Callbridge’s, at $36.

The Differences: To Join.Me’s credit, its business plan includes a lot of things that a business would need, including screen sharing, mobile apps, and presenter swap. Where Callbridge excels is in the areas of custom branding, security features, searchable auto-transcripts, and customer service phone support. It is also worth noting that Join.Me’s $13 Lite plan doesn’t include any webcams or the ability to schedule meetings in advance, which is strange.

The Verdict: You can get a lot more for your money by going with Callbridge if you are a small to medium sized business. Although Callbridge and Join.Me are similar in many ways, Callbridge includes many features that Join.Me does not. I will admit, however, that Join.Me’s custom background feature is an interesting one!

Callbridge vs. WebEx

Cisco WebEx is one of the larger conference calling platform out there, boasting a few different plans to suit your needs. It technically offers a few different products like WebEx Teams and WebEx Calling, but I will only be referring to its main offering, WebEx Meetings, for this article.

The Similarities: Both WebEx and Callbridge offer free trial of their complete service; 25 days and 30 days respectively. They both include a range of features for almost any meeting situation, and a well-maintained blog.

The Differences: WebEx has made the interesting decision to include all of their features on every paid plan, making the main differentiator the amount of seats that each plan has access to. In terms of their feature list itself, there is a lot of overlap between Callbridge and WebEx, with both platforms having one or two features that the other doesn’t have. Callbridge’s automatic transcription and AI-assisted search could save you time rooting through old information, while WebEx’s remote desktop control could save you time explaining to your participants what you want them to do.

The Verdict: WebEx has some interesting things going for it, but it is much pricier than Callbridge, at $49 per month for a capacity of 25 people. If remote desktop control isn’t something that you are explicitly interested in, Callbridge presents a competitive option in terms of features at a price that is much cheaper.

Callbridge Is Still Your Best Bet For High-Quality Phone & Web Conferencing

With so many conference calling services out there, it can be hard to decide which platform to go with. Hopefully this article has helped you decide, or at least saved you some time.

If your business is looking to increase its online meeting capabilities, and take advantage of Callbridge’s main differentiators like AI-assisted searchable transcriptions and the ability to conference from any device without downloads, consider trying Callbridge free for 30 days.