Best Free Video Calling Apps and Software: Limits Compared

The best free video calling app is usually the one the other person already has. Every app here needs both sides to be on it, or one side to send a link the other can open. For family and friends that is often WhatsApp. For a group of people you do not know well, a meeting link from Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Jitsi Meet saves collecting phone numbers.

We took the figures below from each maker’s own help page, product page or store listing: how many people fit on a call, how long a free call can run, what you need to get started and which devices it works on. Half of the ten apps this article listed in 2019 have since closed or turned into something else.

Free video calling apps compared

“None stated” means the maker’s page gives no time limit. It is not a promise that calls can run for ever.

All ten are free to install. Of the nine on Google Play, only Viber and LINE carry an ads label, and only Google Meet and Jitsi Meet show no in-app purchases.

For family and friends

WhatsApp. Its help page for Android is blunt: a video call takes 32 active people and no more. A phone number is all you need to sign up, and the listing says calls are end-to-end encrypted. The same help page warns that the quality of a group call depends on the person with the weakest connection, which matters when one of you is on a poor network.

FaceTime. This is Apple’s own app on the iPhone, iPad and Mac, and Apple’s guide gives a limit of 32 people on a Group FaceTime call. The other end no longer has to be an Apple device. Someone with an iPhone on iOS 15 or later creates a link. A person on Android or Windows opens it in Chrome or Edge, types a name and waits to be let in, with no login. Screen sharing and SharePlay do not work in the browser, and Apple says FaceTime links are not supported in mainland China. The steps are on Apple’s page for Android and Windows users.

Signal. Group calls take up to 50 people, according to its listing. Signal is run by a non-profit that says it is funded by donations, and its Google Play page carries no ads label. The desktop apps only work once Signal is set up on your phone.

Telegram. Its FAQ says any call can be turned into a group call with up to 200 participants, protected by end-to-end encryption.

Viber and LINE. Both were on the 2019 list and both are still going. Viber’s listing gives 60 people for a group video call, on mobile or desktop. LINE has the highest ceiling here: its help centre says up to 500 people can join a voice or video call, though a phone screen shows six of them at a time.

WeChat and Messenger. WeChat’s listing gives nine people for a group video call. Messenger’s help page says you can video call one person or a group and puts no number on it. On a computer, Meta now sends people to facebook.com/messages in a browser, because its Messenger desktop apps for Mac and Windows are no longer available.

For meetings and bigger groups

Google Meet. This is what Google Duo became. A meeting on a personal Google account holds up to 100 people. Google’s help page says that without a subscription, a meeting hosted on a computer can run for 24 hours one to one, and for 60 minutes with three or more people. Everyone gets a warning at 50 minutes. You sign in with a Google Account to use meetings.

Zoom. The free plan allows as many meetings as you like with up to 100 people, each one capped at 40 minutes. The host signs in. Zoom’s own page says participants can join without an account.

Microsoft Teams. Teams took over from Skype. In the free version for personal use, Microsoft’s support page says you can create meetings of up to 100 participants for up to 60 minutes. Its comparison of plans shows that recording a meeting is not part of the free version.

Jitsi Meet. Jitsi is open source and free. Its listing says there are no artificial limits on the number of people, with server power and bandwidth as the only ceiling. Guests need no account and no app: they open the link in a browser. There is one catch on the public site, meet.jit.si. Jitsi’s handbook says the first person into a room is asked to sign in with a Google, Facebook or GitHub account, or to wait for someone who has.

Android to iPhone

Every app in the table except FaceTime has an Android app and an iPhone app, so any of them works between the two. WhatsApp is the usual answer where both people have it. If the Android owner does not want another account, a FaceTime link from the iPhone owner opens in Chrome.

Without an account or phone number

Three of these let the other person join with no account at all: a FaceTime link, a Zoom meeting and a Jitsi Meet room. The person who starts the call still needs something. That is an Apple device for FaceTime, a Zoom account for Zoom, and a Google, Facebook or GitHub sign-in for the public Jitsi site.

If the problem is only the phone number, Messenger’s listing says it needs none, since it finds people through Facebook. Google Meet meetings run on a Google Account.

What happened to the old list

• Skype: closed. Microsoft announced that it would retire Skype in May 2025 in favour of Teams, and skype.com now forwards to the Teams site. The Teams listing says Skype chats and contacts carry over.
• Google Hangouts: closed. Google moved its users to Google Chat and said Hangouts would stop being accessible from November 2022. Its Google Play page is gone.
• Google Duo: merged into Google Meet. Google renamed the Duo app, and Duo’s Google Play page is now the Meet listing.
• ICQ: closed. Its website shows one notice, saying the service has stopped working.
• Tango: still on Google Play, but as a live-streaming app for watching creators and chatting with strangers, rated Mature 17+. It is no longer a tool for calling your family.

LINE, Viber, WeChat, FaceTime and WhatsApp are the five that survive, and all are covered above.

Which one to pick

• Family and friends: WhatsApp, because they are probably on it already. 32 people, and no time limit stated.
• Everyone has an iPhone: FaceTime.
• A group call that has to run past an hour for free: Jitsi Meet, or one of the messaging apps. Google Meet and Teams stop at 60 minutes, and Zoom at 40.
• A meeting with people outside your contacts: Google Meet, or Zoom if they are expecting a Zoom link.
• Privacy comes first: Signal. It is non-profit, carries no ads label, and its listing says it cannot listen to your calls.

If you only need voice at the push of a button, our guide to walkie-talkie apps covers that.

Quick answers

Which free video calling app works between Android and iPhone?

WhatsApp, Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Telegram, Viber, LINE and Jitsi Meet all have apps for both. An iPhone owner can also send a FaceTime link that opens in Chrome on Android.

Is there a free video calling app without registration?

For the person joining, yes. A Jitsi Meet room, a Zoom meeting and a FaceTime link can each be joined with no account. The person who starts the call has to sign in or own an Apple device.

Which free video conferencing software has no time limit?

Jitsi Meet, whose own site says you can use it all day, every day, for free. Free group meetings end at 60 minutes on Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, and at 40 minutes on Zoom.

Is Skype still available?

No. Microsoft retired Skype in May 2025 and pointed its users to Microsoft Teams. The skype.com address now opens the Teams site.

How many people can join a WhatsApp video call?

32. WhatsApp’s help page for Android gives that as the most who can be active on one video call.