6 Best Free Unified Communications Platforms
This article is part of a larger series on Unified Communications.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 1 Free Unified Communications Platform at a Glance
- 2 Microsoft Teams: Best Overall Free Unified Communications Platform
- 3 RingCentral: Best Centralized Communication System
- 4 Webex: Best AI Capabilities for Hybrid Work
- 5 Bitrix24: Best for All-in-one Business Management
- 6 Slack: Best for Team Messaging
- 7 3CX: Best for Social Media Integration
- 8 How We Evaluated the Best Free Unified Communications Platforms
- 9 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- 10 Bottom Line
The best free unified communications (UC) platform provides a budget-friendly way for small businesses to support their basic communication and collaboration needs. It offers a free-forever plan with unlimited access to video meetings, team chat, presence status, cloud storage, and calendar integrations. Monthly paid plans start for as low as $4 per user, which provides a full suite of cloud-based services and integrations.
Based on our expert review, the best free unified communications platforms are as follows:
- Microsoft Teams: Best unified workspace and productivity solution overall
- RingCentral: Best centralized communication system
- Webex: Best artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for hybrid work
- Bitrix24: Best all-in-one business management software
- Slack: Best for a standalone team messaging app
- 3CX: Best for social media integration
Best Free Unified Communications Platforms at a Glance
Free Unified Communications Platforms
Free Plan Limits
Free Plan Inclusions
Paid Plans Monthly Starting Fee
FSB Rating
Max. of 100 users
(billed annually)
4.57 out of 5
7 days of cloud retention and 50-minute video meetings
- 24-hour max. meeting duration
- Team messaging
- Task management
- RingCentral Video: $14.99
- RingCentral MVP: $30
4.49 out of 5
40-minute meetings and local recording
- Public and private chat
- Calendar integrations
- Mobile screen sharing
4.45 out of 5
Free plan lacks screen sharing and video recording
3.83 out of 5
90-day access to message and history
- Audio and video clips
- Team channels
- 10 app integrations
3.66 out of 5
Max. of 10 users
- Live website chat
- Basic call management
- Unlimited video meetings
3.53 out of 5
Take our quiz to find out which free unified communications platform best fits your small business needs.
Which free unified communications platform is right for you?
New to unified communications? Read our guide about unified communications as a service (UCaaS) to discover its key features and how it can enhance your daily workflow.
Microsoft Teams: Best Overall Free Unified Communications Platform
Overall Score: 4.57 / 5
What We Liked
- Cheap monthly plans
- All-in-one workspace platform
- Full Microsoft 365 integration
Where It Falls Behind
- All plans require annual subscriptions
- Steep learning curve
- Integrations unlock at the Business plan
Microsoft Teams Monthly Pricing (per User)*
- Free: Free for 100 attendees, one-hour meeting length, English captions, 5GB cloud storage, unlimited chat, and tasks
- Essentials: $2 for 300 attendees, 30-hour meeting length, and 10GB cloud storage
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $3 for 30 languages for live captions, meeting transcripts, breakout rooms, 1TB cloud storage, and app integrations
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $10 for webinar hosting and desktop version of Microsoft apps
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22 for advanced security, access and data control, and cyberthreat protection
*All paid plans require an annual prepayment.
Microsoft Teams is our best free unified communications as a service platform due to its excellent range of features for collaboration and productivity. It offers everything in its generous free plan—unlimited group meetings, unlimited group chat, file sharing, and cloud storage. It also includes real-time collaboration within Microsoft 365 apps, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—perfect for companies consistently using Microsoft products.
Teams is a popular collaboration choice for businesses needing a team messaging app with built-in video conferencing. This reduces the need for app switching because you can chat, meet, share files, and assign tasks on a single screen. Upgrading to premium plans unlocks desktop versions of Microsoft 365 apps, app integrations, expanded cloud storage, and standard security features.
One major downside of Teams is that many users find it frustrating to navigate. While it looks highly organized, the compartmentalized structure of its sidebar increases the user’s learning curve. If you simply need a team chat app without the extra features, consider Slack. This provider is particularly known for its user-friendly interface, ideal for users across skill levels.
Microsoft Teams Features
Teams Loop components let you create an editable live component (e.g., task list or checklist), which all chat recipients can access and edit. (Source: Microsoft Teams)
- Loop components: In the Teams chat, create a component (e.g., table, task list, or paragraph) where all members can edit inline and view the changes made. This is useful for data collection, brainstorming, decision-making, and progress tracking.
- Priority notifications: Mark messages as important to call your team’s attention or as urgent to trigger recurring notifications every two to 20 minutes.
- Scheduled chat message: Set the delivery of a chat message for a specific date or time to collaborate with your teams with respect to their location and work hours.
Head to our Microsoft Teams review to learn more about its free unified communications platform and premium plans.
