5 Whereby alternatives for browser-based meetings

If you’ve been looking for an alternative to Zoom, you’ve probably come across Whereby. Where Zoom feels clunky with download and installation requirements, Whereby is a video conferencing tool you can access through your browser.

When you send or receive a Whereby meeting link, all you need to do is click and your meeting just happens, in a space that’s private, easy to use, and nice to look at.  

With Whereby, or any browser-based video conferencing tool, your meeting is about the meeting — not the software. But here's the thing: While Whereby makes it easier to have meetings, it doesn’t have enough features to help you plan that meeting or take action after it’s over. And sometimes even the in-meeting experience on Whereby can be a little lacklustre. 

So if you’re looking for a video conferencing tool that’s just as easy to use as Whereby, we put together a short list of browser-based options that are easy to use in a remote environment.

But first...

Whereby pros and cons

Pros:

✅ No downloads required

✅ Unlimited one-on-one meetings on free plan

✅ Simple, easy-to-use interface with option for company branding

✅ Breakout rooms

✅ Integrations with Miro, YouTube, and more

Cons:

❌ No integrated agendas or meeting transcription

❌ Recording only available on a paid plan (and only meeting owners can record)

❌ No shared notes or action items

❌ No video clipping and sharing

❌ No way to mark key moments in meetings to come back to

The main issue with Whereby

Without meeting planning tools and post-meeting "knowledge capture," Whereby doesn’t maximize meeting productivity. 

And with remote work now firmly a part of our lives, the Zooms and Wherebys of the world are no longer enough. The truth is, it’s not harder to work with your team at a distance—it’s just that you need better collaboration tools for organizing the tasks you agreed to during your meetings.

Here are the best Whereby alternatives for browser-based meetings.

1. Vowel

Vowel isn't just another video conferencing tool. It's a meeting OS that gives you everything you need to plan, host, act on, and revisit meetings. There's nothing to download and no need to cobble together different tools.

Vowel combines standard video call features with agendas, live transcription, collaborative notes, instant recordings, meeting recaps, and more. And yes, there are emojis, hand-raises, and comments! Vowel is also SOC2 Type II compliant — this certification proves its ongoing commitment to protecting customer data and confidentiality in video meetings.

During your meeting, anyone can turn on recording to enable live transcription and bookmark key moments. And anyone can contribute to shared notes and assign action items. After your meeting, the recording is instantly available alongside notes — and fully searchable via the transcript. 

Free plan? Yes! Vowel has a "free forever" plan that includes meeting recordings, transcription, and collaboration features. Meetings are capped at 40 minutes on the free plan.

Recording and transcription limits: Unlimited — you can still record and transcribe any meeting on the free plan, but you can only access the transcription/recording in Vowel for 7 days after the meeting takes place. In the Business plan, you can access past recordings and transcripts as far back as you want.

Top features:

• One-click recording and live transcription

• AI-powered meeting summaries

• Collaborative agendas and meeting notes

• Universal search across all your past meeting content

• Talk-time tracking and other inclusivity features

• Clip creation and sharing

Best for:

• Capturing customer feedback and sharing relevant clips with internal teams

• Planning your next product sprint with real-time notes and action items

• Keeping on top of action items for one-on-ones and other recurring meetings

• Remembering who agreed to do what at your last weekly team meeting

Is it better than Whereby? Yes — Vowel is just as beautiful and intuitive as Whereby, but with the tools you need to prepare and act on your meetings.

2. Google Meet 

If you don’t use Zoom, you probably use Google Meet. Most people use Google Meet as their video conferencing tool because they’re already using Google Workspace, and it’s the default link sent to attendees when they’re scheduling a Google Calendar meeting. 

Free plan? Yes, but you can’t record meetings and you can’t get transcripts without an add-on. 

Recording and transcription limits You can only record your meetings with Google Meet on the Business Standard plan for $12/month. Google Meet doesn’t have transcription available without add-ons like Tactiq, Scribe.ai, or Colibri.ai. 

Top features:

• Google Calendar integration

• Unlimited one-on-one meeting time with free version

• Android and iOS app

• Digital whiteboard (paid version)

Best for: Google Meet is best used for ad hoc chats without an agenda or casual/catch-up calls with teammates. If your workplace uses Google Chat instead of Slack, you might hop on a Google Meet if you need quick clarification on something discussed in a chat. 

Is it better than Whereby? Google Meet is … fine. But you’ll probably enjoy Whereby’s interface and video/audio quality a lot more. It’s also just as easy to send and access a Whereby link as it is a Google Meet link. 

3. RingCentral Video 

RingCentral’s video conferencing platform is a good one-click meeting option for teams looking to pay nothing for a lot of in-meeting features. It's not as intuitive or aesthetically appealing as Whereby, but it gets the job done. 

Free plan? Yes, and it’s not bad. The free version will give you 24 hours of meeting time for up to 100 participants.

Recording and transcription limits: RingCentral Video’s standard plan saves recordings, but only for seven days — and even then, you can only save 10 hours of total recording time. You’ll need to pay $15.99 per user per month for 100 hours saved for a year.

RingCentral Video saves meeting transcripts, but you’ll need to mark them up after the meeting to note any important moments, add action items, and edit for clarity. 

Top features:

• One-click join without an app

• Automatic sync with Outlook, iCal, and Google Calendar 

• Auto-follow camera settings to follow your movements during presentations

Best for: RingCentral Video is useful for large town hall meetings with a lot of participants, when you don’t want to pay anything or worry about meeting time limits.

Is it better than Whereby? One G2 reviewer said it best: “The UI and interface overall seem to be built by a developer first and not a designer.” RingCentral isn’t as smooth as Whereby, and the software can be a little buggy. 

4. Brave Talk 

Brave Talk is a browser-based video conferencing tool … but you need to download the Brave browser to use it (and so does anyone you invite to a Brave Talk meeting). The upside, however, is enhanced privacy and security features. 

Free plan? Yes, the free version of Brave Talk gives you an unlimited number of calls without time limits for up to four people. 

Recording and transcription limits: You can record meetings for $7 per user per month, but no amount of money will get you a transcription.

Top features:

• Blocks trackers, cross-site cookie tracking, fingerprinting, etc.

• See everything that’s been blocked

• Google Calendar integration

Best for: Use Brave Talk if you need secret-agent-level privacy? Or, as one YouTuber noted, use Brave Talk if you don’t know about Jitsi. 

Is it better than Whereby? Brave Talk’s privacy features go beyond Whereby's. But if simplicity and accessibility is what you’re looking for, Whereby is what you want.

5. Dialpad Meetings

Dialpad is known for their business phone system, but they also have a browser-based video conferencing product. When you upgrade to Dialpad’s full app, you gain access to messaging and collaboration tools.

Free plan? Yes, but the free plan limits you to 45-minute meetings and a maximum of 10 participants. 

Recording and transcription limits: Dialpad’s free plan comes with audio call recording (no video), but you’ll need to upgrade to a $20 per user per month plan for transcriptions. Audio recordings have to be downloaded as MP3 files after your meeting.

Top features:

• Slack, Google Calendar, Outlook, Salesforce, and Hubspot integrations

• Miro whiteboard integration (requires Miro account to save board)

• High-quality text transcription (paid version)

Best for: Dialpad is for sales teams. Known primarily for their phone system, it's meant for sales teams or customer service teams who make a lot of calls — these are the users who will best be able to leverage Dialpad’s full suite of features. 

Is it better than Whereby? Whereas Dialpad is a business phone service first, Whereby was built for simple, browser-based video conferencing. If you don’t need a system for sales teams or customer service staff, Whereby is a more intuitive option.  

What’s the best Whereby alternative for remote teams?

The video conferencing space is full of solutions that make it easy to have a meeting where you can see and hear each other.

Whereby is a great tool for simple video conferencing. But if you want to have more productive meetings, sign up for Vowel.

You'll get one-click live transcription and recording (even on a free plan!), plus collaborative agendas + notes, AI-powered summaries, action items, and more to make all your meetings more productive.