Best video chat apps in 2023 - Chuyên Trang Chia Sẻ Kiến Thức Thời Trang Mới Nhất

With one of the best video chat apps at your disposal, face-to-face interaction can easily become a thing of the past. There are plenty of reasons why you can’t always be in the same room as other people, especially since COVID-19 and other diseases still a threat to a lot of people.

Video chat apps can give you a virtual presence at physical events you can’t attend. Heck the magic of the internet means you don’t even have to be in the same time zone. Video chat apps bridge the gaps, and keep you connected with the people that matter — all without having to leave the house.

But which app is the right one for you? There are plenty of them, and choosing the correct one can be tricky. Luckily we’ve rounded up all the best options available, to help you figure out which of the best video apps is the right choice for you.

The best video chat apps you can download today

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Zoom video call

(Image credit: Zoom)

1. Zoom Meeting

Best all-around video chat and conferencing app

Specifications

Works with:

iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Web

Maximum free users:

Time limit for 3 or more

Today’s Best Deals

Get Zoom

Reasons to buy

Good for friends and colleagues alike

Comprehensive feature set

Works on all platforms

Reasons to avoid

–

Free tier imposes time limits for 3 or more people

The pandemic proved to be a big deal for Zoom, cementing its position as the de facto video chat app for a lot of people and businesses — and with good reason. Zoom’s extensive feature set and extensive platform support has made it a popular choice across the world. Whether you’re on desktop, mobile, or prefer a web client, Zoom offers something for you.

Screen sharing, encryption, and live annotations all come a standard with Zoom, regardless of whether you pay or not. But while a simple one-on-one chat doesn’t have any restrictions, having more than three people in a meeting restricts free users to a 40-minute time limit. If you want un restricted access for up to 100 people, you’ll need to pay $15 a month for the Pro tier, while the pricier Business tier raises that cap even higher.

Zoom suffered from a number of high-profile security issues in the early days of the pandemic, but things have since changed for the better. Calls are protected by end-to-end encryption, there are new privacy-focussed notifications, and an updated privacy policy makes it clear who can save and share meetings recordings. You can read more about the app’s issues, and measures that have been taken to rectify them, on our Zoom security issues (opens in new tab) page

Skype video call on laptop

(Image credit: Skype)

2. Skype

Best easy-to-use multiplatform video chat

Specifications

Works with:

iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Web, Xbox

Maximum free users:

Today’s Best Deals

Check Amazon

Get Skype

Reasons to buy

Max 50 people allowed on video call

Supports international call and text

Available on all platforms

Reasons to avoid

–

Business tier costs money

Skype has been in the video chat business for a very long time, and still offers a robust set of features for up to 50 people at a time. It also costs absolutely nothing to use, and is available on just about every device you might need to use.

What’s more Skype is well known for being able to connect to landlines and basic cell phones, and supports both international calling and texting. You do have to pay for this, but it’s especially useful for keeping in touch with friends and family several countries away.

Skype offers a lot of common features too, including screen sharing, live transcription, and in some cases real-time translation of in-chat audio.

google duo call on tablet

(Image credit: Google)

3. Google Duo

Best video chat for Android users

Specifications

Works with:

iOS, Android, Windows and Mac via web

Maximum free users:

Today’s Best Deals

Get Google Duo

Reasons to buy

Preinstalled on most new Android phones

Easy and fun to use

Completely free

Reasons to avoid

–

32 person limit is smaller than most

While Apple has had Facetime for years, Google’s Android operating system lacked its own native equivalent. Instead people had to rely on third party apps that were downloaded from the Play Store, and hope their friends were willing to sign up as well.

Thankfully Duo came along to address that problem, with a video chat app that is remarkably easy to use and accessible within Android’s native phone app. What’s more, Duo supports a lot of fun features, including the ability to record and send video messages that let you connect with friends and family — even if they’re not available at that exact moment.

Duo is even available on iOS, so you can keep in touch with your iPhone-toting friends without having to buy an Apple device for Facetime access. And it even has the same 32 person limit as Facetime, so they don’t have much of an excuse to stay away.

Discord video chatting

(Image credit: Discord)

4. Discord

Best video chat for gamers

Specifications

Works with:

iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Web

Maximum free users:

25 on video call; 50 while streaming

Today’s Best Deals

Get Discord

Reasons to buy

Great for gaming

Robust PC and mobile apps

Reasons to avoid

–

Lacks more work-friendly features

Gamers already know Discord as a great resource for connecting with their friends over text, but did you know Discord supports video chat, too? Additionally, because it allows for streaming in the app itself, it’s a great way to play some games with friends, by streaming one user’s screen content to the rest of the group.

In fact, the Tom’s Guide staff did exactly that multiple times during the COVID lockdowns, with one user sharing Quiplash from their PC’s display to the rest of us playing along by phone. Thankfully, Discord has even gone so far as to raise its Go Live built-in streaming service from a maximum of 10 people to 50 people temporarily.

If you upgrade to Nitro, which costs $10 per month, you can raise the streaming quality to 1080p/60 fps, up from a max of 720p/30 fps for the free tier.

facetime calls on videos

(Image credit: Vincenzo Pinto/Getty Images)

5. FaceTime

Best video chat app for iPhone users

Specifications

Works with:

iOS, Mac

Maxmium free users:

Today’s Best Deals

Get FaceTime

Reasons to buy

Supports up to 32 people on a video call

Built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac

FaceTime Audio makes voice calls easy, too

SharePlay lets you watch or listen to streamed content with other callers

Reasons to avoid

–

Android and Windows will only get limited access va a web browser

It’s no surprise that FaceTime should appear on this list of the best video chat apps. Apple’s software wasn’t the first in video chatting, but it was the one that started it all for mobile users, and led the industry toward making video chat easier and more accessible.

Today, FaceTime is preinstalled on all Apple hardware and supports a number of really fun and useful features, from cute Animojis, Memojis and stickers to allowing up to 32 people on a single call. And because FaceTime also has a voice call component — FaceTime Audio — you can easily route calls over data or Wi-Fi whenever you like, where your conversations will sound infinitely better than they do over your cellular provider’s voice network.

The only downside to FaceTime is of course that you’ll only get the full experience on Apple hardware, including iPhones and Macs. Android and Windows users can join in calls from a web browser, but they can’t actually host them. Still it’s better than being completely locked out, as was the case before.

facebook messenger video calls

(Image credit: Facebook)

6. Facebook Messenger

Best cross-platform FaceTime alternative

Specifications

Works with:

iOS, Android, Windows and Mac via web

Maximum free users:

Today’s Best Deals

Check Amazon

Get Facebook Messenger

Reasons to buy

Accessible with every Facebook account

Available on web and phone

Max 50 people allowed on video call

Reasons to avoid

–

Lacks more work-friendly features

The beauty of using Facebook Messenger for video chat is that you’re probably already signed up to use it. As long as you have a Facebook account and the Facebook Messenger mobile or web app, you can start video chatting with your Facebook friends right now. Even if you had a Facebook account at one time and have since deactivated it, you can still use Messenger.

Just tap the little video camera icon in the upper-right corner of the screen, and you can start a call with an individual or chat group. And just like Skype, up to 50 people can be present on a Facebook Messenger video call at the same time — a good sight greater than the maximum 32 video chatters supported by Apple’s FaceTime and Google Duo.

Plus, even while you video chat, you can still use Facebook Messenger’s myriad other functions, like sending chat messages, stickers and so on.

Whatsapp video calling

(Image credit: WhatsApp)

7. WhatsApp

Another cross-platform video calling solution

Specifications

Works with:

iOS, Android

Maximum free users:

Today’s Best Deals

Check Amazon

Get WhatsApp

Reasons to buy

End-to-end encrypted

50-person group calls

Reasons to avoid

–

Desktop calls require an active phone connection

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging alternatives on smartphones today, both because you can join with only a phone number and because many of your friends and family are probably already using it.

Up until recently, WhatsApp’s video calling feature wasn’t the most robust out there. But that changed once the max participant limit was raised to 50, thanks to an integration with Facebook Messenger’s new Rooms feature.

WhatsApp video calls are also end-to-end encrypted, just like chat messages. In other words, you’ll never have to worry about any of your conversations being intercepted by nefarious interlopers.

Previously video calling was also only available on mobile devices, but recently that changed. It is possible to make and receive video calls through WhatsApp’s desktop client. Everything works exactly the same way, the only difference if you’re using a desktop instead of a mobile device.

Microsoft Teams group video call

(Image credit: Microsoft)

8. Microsoft Teams

Like Skype, but more professional

Specifications

Works with:

Android, iOS, Web, Windows

Maximum free users :

100

Today’s Best Deals

View at Amazon

View at Udemy

Reasons to buy

Free and paid plans

Office integration

100 person group calls on free tier

Reasons to avoid

–

Primarily for business use

While primarily aimed at businesses and professionals, there’s still a Microsoft Teams can offer. Especially if you ever plan on getting together in particularly large groups. The free tier lets you have up to 100 people in a call, which should be more than enough for even the largest of family reunions.

Unlike Microsoft-owned Skype, Teams also comes with some professional tools that you may still find useful talking with other. Tools like screensharing, background blur, and noise-suppression software powered by Teams’ own AI. It even connects to Office, and is included in an Office 365 plan, in case that’s ever relevant outside of the office.

While Teams does have a reputation for being a bit messy, it’s usually the professional tier that comes out worse for wear. But if you plan on just using Teams as a video chat app, then you don’t need to worry about that too much.

How to choose the best video chat app for you

Because all of the best video chat apps have free tiers, you shouldn’t be worried about trying different ones to find something you like. After all the riskiest thing you might have to do is install the software and make a new account.

But if you want to know where to start, the best advice is to take stock of what you need this app for. If you’re just looking to chat on your phone alone, Duo, FaceTime or one of Facebook’s offerings will suffice.

However, if you and your friends use a number of devices to connect — phones, tablets, computers and so on — or your need is more professional or collaborative, we recommend leaning toward Teams, Zoom, Skype or Discord. These apps are available on every platform, and even though some of them offer paid tiers, you likely won’t need to use them. Especially if your head count is small enough, or the length of time you plan to chat is relatively short.

The paid tiers will come with fancier features in many cases, but the free versions are already pretty feature-rich. At the very least you’ll have access to all the basic features you need to chat with other people.

Ultimately, you’ll probably end up on whatever video chat app your friends and family already prefer using — that’s the way these things tend to go. But if you’re all in the mood for a replacement, one of the options in this list will hopefully suffice.