One of our goals at 4GENetwork is to assist churches, ministries, and leaders in serving their people. We know you are in the middle of making difficult choices as you lead and minister through the COVID-19 crisis. We are praying for you!
People are more isolated than ever due to the quarantines and sheltering in place orders. Fortunately, we live in an era where technology offers some great tools for connecting. There are several video chat apps available and it can be overwhelming choosing which ones meet your needs. With the hope of helping you with this, we’ve put together a list of the most common apps.
Apps for Smaller Groups (2-50 people)
Platform: Apple IOS, Android, Windows PC, Mac
Group size: up to 4 people
Cost: Free
Platform: Apple IOS, Mac
Group size: up to 32
Cost: Free
Platform: Apple IOS, Android, Windows PC, Chrome, Mac
Group size: up to 50
Cost: Free
Platform: Apple IOS, Android, Windows PC, Chrome, Mac
Group size: up to 8
Cost: Free
Platform: Apple IOS, Android, Windows PC, Chrome, Mac
Group size: up to 10
Cost: Free
Platform: Apple IOS, Android, Windows PC, Chrome, Mac
Group size: up to 6
Cost: Free
Platform: Apple IOS, Android, Chrome, Mac
Group size: up to 8
Cost: Free
Apps for Larger Groups (Over 50 People)
Google Hangouts for GSuite (nonprofit or business)
Platform: Apple IOS, Android, Windows PC, Chrome, Mac
Group size: up to 250
Cost: starts at Free (depends on your GSuite Account)*
*From Google: Starting this week, Google will begin rolling out free access to our advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities to all G Suite and G Suite for Education customers globally including:
Larger meetings, for up to 250 participants per call
Live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain
The ability to record meetings and save them to Google Drive
Platform: Apple IOS, Android, Windows PC, Firefox, Chrome, Mac
Group size: up to 1000 participants (depending on plan - see below)
Cost: starts at Free (depends on your plan)**
Basic plan: Free for 40 minute meeting with up to 100 participants
Pro plan: $14.99/month with up to 100 participants and 24-hour meeting
Go to https://zoom.us/pricing for more info and other plans
**3-18-20 update: Techsoup (for nonprofits & churches; it’s free to join) is currently offering Zoom at a discount rate https://www.techsoup.org/zoom
Platform: Apple IOS, Android, Windows, Linux, Mac
Group size: up to 1000 participants*
Costs: starts at Free (uses a pay what you can model)*
Go to https://www.freeconferencecall.com/features for pricing and features explanation
We hope this list is a good resource for you. We’re here if you need assistance.