In our childhood, we often saw in sci-fi movies (especially in Star Wars & James Bond movies) that a character is taking out a gadget, pressing some buttons & another person appears on the screen of that gadget & they are talking. It is evident that we are living in the future, that gadget is now smart device in our pockets & Best Video Chat Apps let us talk to someone irrespective of their location.
In times of this pandemic, where meeting in real life has potential risks, video calling apps have been like a boon. Video chat apps for Android that use effective compression algorithms, high-speed internet connectivity & modern gadgets have changed the scenario altogether.
Best Video Chat Apps
1. Google Meet
Google Meet is one of the Best Video Chat Apps for large groups. Calls you make on Google Meet deliver a little to no lag experience. The sound & video quality are also top-notch. Google Meet offers a photo-taking mode & an incorporated family mode where you can doodle, add masks & fun effects while on a call.
Anyone with a Google account can create a video chat session that accommodates nearly 100 people in the call for an hour, and all you need to do is share the link created by the host to start. Get a Google Workspace plan if you want a more overall call experience accommodating larger businesses & schools. Their paid plans support video chat sessions with nearly 500 participants & 100,000 audiences.
Google Meet is the upgraded version of the former Google Duo app but still offers a great experience suitable for your personal life, workplace, & community.
2. WhatsApp
This chat app from Meta is considered the Most Secure Video Chat Apps for Android, with almost 2 billion monthly active users. You can start a chat or video call through WhatsApp to any of your contacts registered on this app. Regarding privacy, WhatsApp is a safe app & offers end-to-end data encryption for all conversations.
Apart from video calling, this app lets you send text messages, GIFs, stickers, & media files easily. A maximum of 32 participants can join a group video call on this app. Recent updates show that WhatsApp will introduce the call links feature to easily join video calls.
It doesn’t offer many video calling features like doodles or effects but can be considered for its ease of use. Generally, it is a free, secure, & simple chatting and video calling app with no intrusive ads upsetting the user experience.
3. Skype
Skype is one of the oldest video chat apps. This free Android video chat app has over 1 billion downloads on the Play Store. Skype is the one that introduced free video chat over the internet. It is a cross-platform application with native apps on most platforms, including Mac & iOS.
The Android app is less efficient than the desktop software but offers many features. You can make video calls to a group of not more than 25 people. It also offers a free text chat where you can send voice & text messages, photos, emojis, etc.
This app comes with Microsoft & Facebook account integration. Furthermore, you can even call regular phone numbers for a nominal fee. This app doesn’t compromise on call quality. Hence it consumes more data compared to other available apps. If your location has slow internet, then you better choose other apps.
4. Facebook Messenger
Facebook Messenger is a trendy app that is trusted by a huge number of users. It is obtainable for free on iOS, Android, & also via any web browser. Facebook Messenger is very user-friendly. You can get connected whenever & however you wish; by sending a text message or sticker or starting a video chat; the choice is all yours.
You can do much more with this app, like making group video calls, sending emojis, voice notes, stickers, & GIFs, capturing photos & videos with fun effects, playing games, etc. Messenger also helps you to monitor chats with other users; you can even make reservations or use it for your business.
5. Viber
Viber is an all-inclusive social application where you can text chat & make video calls with your contacts; you can use end-to-end encryption for text chats, video audio calls, & make calls to landlines & mobile numbers for a lower cost through VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). You can choose any of your contacts with a Viber account for video calls or initiate a group video chat with 39 other participants, which is more than most options.
Viber is a remarkable alternative to Google Meet & WhatsApp, ensuring complete accessibility & privacy for each call you make.
6. Telegram
If you want privacy & speed for all your actions, including file sharing, video calling & social messaging, Telegram is one of the best social & video chat apps you can get. Telegram syncs across all your devices, so you can impeccably carry your social activity from one device to another.
You don’t have to be worried about file limits, & you can easily store your whole chat history without eating up space on your device as it all goes to Telegram’s cloud storage. But the best bit of Telegram is how everything gets encrypted, including video calls.
For video chatting, you can select portrait or landscape mode, start group calls, & select an overlay when browsing other apps on your device.
7. Zoom
Sometimes you don’t have enough time to manage & plan your meetings. This is where Zoom can be useful. Zoom is like Google Meet, except anyone can join the Zoom conference if they have the invite link. Here, no account is needed to participate when joining the conference through the web version.
You can select your video conferencing calls to HD, up to 720p for free, or 1080p for premium accounts. Another excellent feature is the capability to record & save meetings through the app on the Zoom cloud. This way, you can watch, share & download the recordings whenever needed.
8. Microsoft Teams
Suppose you are looking for an app that is professional & suitable enough for team meetings & group chats with a feature to add private groups for family and friends. In that case, Microsoft Teams provides you with all the required tools to keep associations strong, whether for group projects with your colleagues or remotely arranging a get-together with your family & friends.
You can turn any of your group chats to video conference, & if you are not on a call, you can watch all shared content through their dashboard feature.
You can carry out secure conference chats without compromising your data & privacy with any unauthorized person, making Microsoft Teams the most preferred platform for many large corporations.
Honorable Mentions
Apart from the Best Video Chat Apps mentioned in this article, some more video calling apps are also quite famous. Each of them mentioned below has its own community & use, so choose the best one for you.
- Discord (Best for gaming).
- Kik (Best for casual groups).
- Line (Best For in-call effects).
- Signal (Best for being lightweight).
- Houseparty (Best for games).
- IMO (Best for video calls with poor internet connectivity).
- Social Media apps (Snapchat, Instagram, WeChat).
FAQ
Q: What kind of device do I need to make a video call?
A: Any smart device with a front camera & stable internet connectivity can serve the purpose.
Q: Can I use these Best Video Chat Apps for free?
A: Almost all of the apps mentioned in this article are free.
Q: Can I video call some Viber user from Whatsapp?
A: To make a video call, all parties must be registered on a common platform & their device must have the same app.