With the rapid and devastating spread of the Coronavirus and the mass closure of schools and business, people are turning to virtual communication like never before. Whether you need to stay connected for work or for just for fun, there are a plethora of options out there. Which one is the best? Most people will tend to use FaceTime, Zoom, Google Hangouts, or Skype. What are the merits of each? Is one distinctly better than the others? Or is one better for one specific feature only?
Skype has been around for a while now. It was released in 2003 with a web cam, microphone, and text messaging features and aimed for peer-to-peer communication. Skype is still used by many for peer-to-peer communication, but also for business purposes and teaching/educational purposes. If both parties have Skype, the call is free, but if only one person has Skype, you will need to pay a fee per call. Some criticize Skype for not being very secure. Microsoft plans on phasing out Skype in the near future.
FaceTime is very popular for peer-to-peer because it is easily accessible. It already comes installed on your iPhone or Mac and it is very intuitive to use. It was released in 2010 and has changed a lot since its initial release. In its early days you could not have more than 2 participants. Now, you can have up to 32 people! FaceTime is great for connecting Apple product lovers. It is great for connecting with people but does not offer any other services.
Google Hangouts is very popular for both peer-to-peer and with businesses because it is accessible and easy-to-use. Hangouts was released in 2013 and supports up to 100 participants! If you want to only use the more business-oriented version, you can use Google Meet.
Zoom was released in 2011 and has grown in popularity quickly because it is easy-to-use and like Google Hangouts, it can also support up to 100 participants. Zoom is usually favored over Google Hangouts (although they are very similar) because it has offers a broader range of services. A user or business can pick and chose exactly what features they want or need (and only pay for those features).
Overall, Google Hangouts and Zoom are very similar and rate about the same in terms of overall features and overall use ratings. I prefer Zoom as I think it offers the best options for personal peer-to-peer communication and business communication, group conferencing, recording, and is most accessible across varied devices.
