They’ve been around for years, but these days, video chat apps have become absolutely essential. They let you connect in a much warmer way than a text or a phone call, because there’s nothing like seeing the other person and chatting face-to-face. Many messaging apps now have integrated video chat, while other apps have been developed exclusively for this purpose. Do you know which one is best for you?
In today’s article, we’re going to compare the most popular video chat apps for PC and mobile devices. We hope it helps you to choose the best app to meet your needs. Let’s have a look!
- Available for: Android, iOS, Windows Mobile.
- What you need: A smartphone with a SIM card.
- Contact info it needs: Your contact’s phone number.
- Types of calls: Audio and video.
- Group chats?: Yes.
Messenger
- Available for: Android, iOS, Windows Mobile.
- What you need: A Facebook account.
- Contact info it needs: Your contact’s Facebook account.
- Types of calls: Audio and video.
- Group chats?: Yes.
FaceTime
- Available for: iOS or MacOS.
- What you need: iPhone or Mac with Apple ID.
- Contact info it needs: Your contact’s email address or Apple ID.
- Types of calls: Audio and video.
- Group chats?: Yes.
Zoom
- Available for: PC, Mac, Android, iOS.
- What you need: A registered Zoom account.
- Contact info it needs: Meeting ID, Zoom account, meeting URL.
- Types of calls: Audio and video.
- Group chats?: Yes.
Skype
- Available for: PC, Mac, Android, iOS.
- What you need: A Microsoft account or Skype account.
- Contact info it needs: Skype user ID.
- Types of calls: Audio and video.
- Group chats?: Yes.
Google Duo
- Available for: PC, Mac, Android, iOS.
- What you need: A Google account.
- Contact info it needs: Your contact’s Google account.
- Types of calls: Audio and video.
- Group chats?: No.
Which video chat app is the most reliable?
One of the most important qualities of any video chat app is a stable connection that won’t crash. Unfortunately, it’s common for these apps to have perfect video quality but be out-of-sync with your internet connection, so they lag, drop calls or constantly freeze.
All of the above-mentioned apps offer decent stability; that is, you can have video chats without significant glitches where audio or video are concerned. Google Duo and FaceTime definitely stand out as the most stable, because regardless of whether you’re using Wi-Fi or your phone’s data plan, they are incredibly smooth.
Skype is also reliable, and we have never found it to freeze. That said, its smooth connection is due basically to its inferior video quality. Similarly, Messenger has significantly lower video quality than the rest of the apps, especially in group chats. The least-reliable option is WhatsApp, because it can sometimes freeze for a few seconds. That said, its performance is still more than satisfactory.
The best: Google Duo (Android and Windows) and FaceTime (iOS, MacOS).
Which video chat app is the best to use on my phone?
Since it’s so convenient, you’ll probably want to use your phone for video chats. Although the above category already gives you an idea of the best app for phones, there’s one factor that it doesn’t consider: what happens when you’re not connected to Wi-Fi? Unless you have an unlimited data plan, you need to be sure that a video chat won’t eat through all your data. That’s why it’s also important to determine which app consumes the least data.
After testing the apps on our list, we found that they use, on average, 10 MB per minute during video chats. Some are very data-hungry, such as WhatsApp, which uses 20 MB, while others are more moderate consumers and therefore more advisable for phones. Again, this is the case of Google Duo and FaceTime, which use 7 MB and 4.5 MB, respectively. That’s why we recommend both for video chats using your phone’s data plan.
The best: Google Duo (Android and Windows) and FaceTime (iOS, MacOS)
Which app is the best for group chats?
This time the answer is easy, because it only depends on how many people you want to invite to your video chat. Below are the numbers of participants allowed by each app.
- WhatsApp- eight participants.
- Messenger- 50 participants.
- FaceTime- 33 participants.
- Zoom- 100 participants in the free version, 1,000 in the paid version.
- Skype- 50 participants.
- Google Duo- It doesn’t allow group calls.
As you can see, most of these video chat apps make it possible to have group chats. Again, one of the best options is FaceTime because it allows a large number of participants and is very reliable. The only drawback is that you and your contacts need to be Apple users. Otherwise, Messenger and Skype are your best bets, because both are reliable and smoother than WhatsApp. Finally, we recommend Zoom for group chats, classes, and conferences.
Which video chat app is the most secure?
Another key point when having video chats is to make sure the app doesn’t have security holes and your data won’t be intercepted by third parties.
Among the apps we’ve mentioned, the safest is definitely WhatsApp, because your entire conversation is encrypted on both devices using the Signal Protocol system from Open Peer. Another standout is Google Duo, which uses the same encryption system to prevent potential hackers from stealing your data.
Messenger, on the other hand, is a safe app, but if you want 100% encrypted conversations, you have to activate Secret Conversations mode. Finally, we don’t recommend using Zoom for video calls about any important or personal matters, or if you’re planning to share confidential data. This app has run into some serious security issues, and although it has gotten much better, it still has a lot of room for improvement.
The best: WhatsApp and Google Duo.
Which app is the best for video chats with filters?
Filters are one of the most in-demand features because they make video chats so much fun. By adding real-time effects to our conversations, they can lighten up the mood when we’re chatting with family and friends. We looked at the apps on this list to find the best video chat filters, and only three have them: Google Duo, Skype, and Messenger.
Google Duo offers lots of original, creative filters that will make you the center of attention, for example, a dinosaur, a flower, or an adorable cat. Skype also has a decent number of video filters: you can add hearts or floating teddy bears, or distort your face in funny ways. Finally, Messenger deserves special mention, because this app has a huge collection of filters that are constantly updated. For this reason, we consider Messenger to be the best of the main video chat apps when it comes to filters.
The best: Messenger.
Which video chat app should I choose?
There is no quick answer to this question. To choose the best video chat app, you need to stop and consider the kind of video conferencing you want to do (calling your parents, a virtual conference, a meetup with a group of friends, etc.). Then it’s important to think about the device you’ll be using for the video chat (desktop, laptop, phone, tablet, etc.), and finally, the kind of connection you’ll be using (cable, Wi-Fi, phone data plan, etc.). This will make it easier to identify the perfect app to enjoy your video chats to the fullest.
Where can I download the most popular video chat apps?
Once you’ve decided which video chat apps to use, it’s important to download them from their official websites, Google Play, the App Store, or a trusted website. Below you can find the links to download all of the video chat apps we have analyzed in this article. All of these downloads are verified and completely safe, so don’t be afraid to install them on your device.
- WhatsApp for Android
- WhatsApp for iOS
Messenger
- Messenger for PC
- Messenger for Android
- Messenger for iOS
FaceTime
- FaceTime for Mac
- FaceTime for iOS
Zoom
- Zoom for PC
.png){kind=logo}
- Zoom for Android
- Zoom for iOS
Skype
- Skype for PC
- Skype for Android
- Skype for iOS
Google Duo
- Google Duo for Android
- Google Duo for iOS
Don’t forget to keep your device secure by updating your video chat app regularly to fix any security holes it might have.
We hope you’ve found our comparison of the best video chat apps useful. Do you use an app that isn’t on our list? Tell us about it in the comments section!
Epic fails in Zoom and other Videoconferencing Apps
READ MORE