Top Affordable Web Conferencing Tools for Small Businesses

According to US government data, small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs, make up 99 per cent of the companies in the US. Still, a number of business software providers do not properly consider the unique needs of companies in this market. They build solutions aimed at much larger companies, and sell them at prices that are simply unaffordable for smaller enterprises.

However, there are many tools in the market that are not only of very high quality, but have solutions that take a small business’s needs into consideration--and for a very affordable price (or even free!). If you own or work for a small business and want to find one of these tools for web conferencing, here are our top picks.

1. omNovia - Great tool that requires no software installations--it is completely browser-based. So this is perfect for those companies that don’t have any IT employees and need an easy-to-use solution.  It’s also easy for your attendees as all they have to do to attend a meeting is click on a link. Another advantage of omNovia is that users can hold very small meetings with only two participants or large webinars with up to 5,000 attendees. All data sent through the tool benefit from end-to-end security, so all information shared is completely safe. Users can also record their web conference and replay it later exactly as it happened on the day. This tool is also affordable, at $49 per month (or $441 yearly) for 25 seats.

2. AnyMeeting (Read review) - One of the best web conferencing tools in the market, and it’s completely free. Meeting rooms are sponsored by ads, but they are not intrusive at all. AnyMeeting allows for up to 200 attendees at a time, so it’s great for companies looking to host small webinars, and it also comes with screen sharing and application sharing. It’s also a highly interactive tool that lets meeting hosts create polls and surveys. If social media is important for your company, then AnyMeeting could prove to be the best choice for you as it comes with social media integration. It’s a reliable and secure web conferencing tool that really delivers.

3. My WebEvent - Perfect tool for businesses that don’t need to web conference regularly, as it offers very affordable day passes, which start at $19.95. Users get not only the ability to meet online, but also enjoy screen sharing, application sharing and chat. Another useful feature is the ability to upload presentations in advance, so you can have your meeting completely ready by the time it starts, without having to wait for screen sharing to start. My WebEvent also supports video conferencing, so if you just want to hold a one-off video conference, this is a very feasible choice.

4. Voxwire - This application includes both video and web conferencing. Like omNovia, it’s completely browser-based, so there are no installations necessary. This application works quickly, so there are no delays when screen or application sharing (though video did lag a little during testing). In addition, voice comes through clearly.If you want to collaborate during your meeting, the application also comes with a whiteboard which lets users draw shapes, type text, and annotate on images and presentations. For only $19.99 per month, it’s possible to purchase a license that allows for meetings with up to 10 people.

5. ShowDocument - As the name implies, this is not only a web conferencing application, but it’s also an online collaboration tool. It has a free version, which allows for up to 3 online collaboration participants (but no web conferencing), 30-minute sessions and 10 MB of storage. The free package is perfect small collaboration jobs. If you want video and web conferencing, for only $29.99 per month, you get an unlimited number of participants, unlimited session time and unlimited storage. This tool is also fantastic if you need to chat in a foreign language, as it comes with a translator that lets you choose the language you want to chat in, and it instantly translates all incoming text. While the translation isn’t perfect, it’s good enough for you to know what is being said.