18 Feb
Communication has made significant progress since the beginning days of the internet. Whether you want to make a call to your family, increase productivity with coworkers or send a simple text message to a friend on the other side of the world, communication is easier and free. While many apps will help you connect, the costs for some aren’t worth it. As many people find themselves working from home, voice calling needs to be cost-effective and efficient.
Here are the 5 best free tools for calls and messages on your PC:
1. Clariti
Clariti is a free tool that provides users the ability to use it for team communication, including messaging, audio calls and screen-sharing on your PC. It’s a relatively new app that has been steadily gaining popularity among small businesses and the startup community especially in the technology and media markets. The key reason Clariti has been seeing so much of recent success is that it not only brings all your team communication viz. chats, emails, calls, to-dos, documents…in one app, but also automatically links related items in a “Clariti Folder”. Clariti Folders add topic-centric organization to your communications, so you are never lost or waste time searching for information.
2. Viber
Viber is more than a smartphone app; but also works directly on your PC. It’s more than a messaging app as it offers numerous calling and messaging features. You can choose voice or video calls, especially if you need a face-to-face call. Group chats and calls are also possible with Viber. If you insist on expressing yourself, stickers and GIFs will be at your disposal, plus you can create your own for a more customized experience. While many will use this from their smartphone, you can sync it will your PC to transfer all your calls. They offer end-to-end encryption for all your voice and text messages.
3. Skype
Skype is a recognizable name in the world of VoIP software. It offers a free plan that can be perfect for individuals needing it for personal use or a small business that needs to keep up with others. Skype has long been able to allow you to connect to anyone from anywhere. Calls can be made to a person’s mobile phone and their landline. It also allows for sending text messages with end-to-end encryption so you can rest assured your conversations are private. You can use it on a multitude of devices like your PC, tablet, or smartphone.
4. Jitsi
If you’re a small business and need video message services, you may want to consider Jitsi. It’s a free and open-source tool that allows video conferencing for both your smartphone and PC. It allows for live streaming and recording. It’s simple, secure, and scalable for when your business gets bigger.
Google Hangouts is relatively widespread and offers a free plan. It’s easy to use whether you’re talking with one person or a group of people. Some of its great features are voice and video calls, chat, video conferencing, multimedia messaging, events, and live-streaming meetings. You can connect with up to ten people around the world. The free plan does limit you to ten users for a video call or one hundred users for a chat session. It’s excellent for individuals, freelancers, and even small businesses.
Conclusions
Voice calling and messaging has become popular among teams, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and businesses working remotely. Small businesses and startups see a constant need for free tools that provide team messaging and calling features. No matter your need for a free call or team messaging tool for your PC, those mentioned above will help you. Some do have paid plans if you need to scale your business or want more people to chat with. There are more out there but finding one that offers excellent security and protects your data is of utmost importance.
