Table of contents:
- Houseparty (up to 8 people)
- Google Hangouts (up to 10 people)
- Skype (up to 10 people)
- Zoom (up to 100 people)
- Jitsi (unlimited people)
Since quarantine was mandatory in a large number of countries, the search for applications to make group video calls has exploded exponentially. This is because WhatsApp and Instagram, two of the most popular applications in this period of confinement, limit the number of participants to 2 or 4 in the best of cases. The good news is that there are many applications that allow groups of more than 4 people. This time we have compiled some of these applications compatible with both Android and iPhone and iOS in general.
index of contents
Houseparty (up to 8 people)
Houseparty has been the star application in this preventive quarantine due to the coronavirus. Today it has more than 10 million downloads, partly due to its ease of use and the maximum number of participants, up to 8 in total.
Its main attraction is its greatest asset: it has dozens of mini-games that we can play from the mobile screen. Card games, music, chance… It is true that its content is in English, so we will have to use a translator.
Google Hangouts (up to 10 people)
Even though the tool has taken a backseat to apps like Google Duo, Hangouts is still one of the best apps for making group video calls with more than 4 people. By integrating with Google services, only one Gmail account will be enough to log into the service, so we will not have to create a new account.
The greatest advantage of Hangouts is precisely its conversation algorithm, thanks to which the application displays the image of those who speak or make a sound. Also the maximum number of participants, up to 150 people and 10 in its free version. It also supports the sending of status messages, photos, emojis, stickers and animated GIFs.
Skype (up to 10 people)
Skype could not be missing from this list. It is true that the consumption of the application is not optimized in most systems where it is available (iOS, macOS, Android…), but today it is still the queen application of group video calls. We can also resort to its Lite version, which demands with a lower expenditure of resources.
With a maximum limit of up to 24 people in the paid version and 10 in the free version of Skype, it supports the sending of stickers and animated GIFs. It has a system of mentions (@ user1, @ user2…) to create conversation threads and a compression algorithm that allows optimizing the quality of video and audio.
Zoom (up to 100 people)
Yes, you read that correctly, 100 people. This popular desktop client is especially well known in business environments. Its free version has a maximum call limit of 40 minutes if we make a group video call. There is no time limit for 1: 1 video calls.
It has an application for Android and iOS, yes, but its operation sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. Low audio, frequent crashes, constant interruptions of audio and video … It is worth saying that these problems are not found in the version for desktop systems, such as Windows and macOS.
Jitsi (unlimited people)
Probably the best and simplest alternative of all. Not only because it does not have a limit of people participating, which is already an achievement, but because of its simplicity. Unlike the rest of the tools, Jitsi does not require registration or user accounts, it will be enough to access the web through this link, grant it the necessary permissions and share the group link for others to participate.
Like Zoom, it has an application for Android and iOS, but its stability leaves a lot to be desired. The best thing is to always use the web version, which is open source.
Other news about… Android, iOS, iPhone
