Table S1. A summary of the available platforms meeting our selection criteria for smaller, seminar-based teaching.
| Platform | Plan type | Cost per month ($) | Cost per month (£) | Cost per month (€) | Capacity | Accessibility | Safety (E2E encryption) | Screen sharing | Take over screen | Record/storage-cloud | Maximum duration | Additional features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blizz by TeamViewer | Company | 14.00 | 11.30 | 12.68 | 300 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Unlimited | 50+ free local dial-in numbers, participant recording, team chat |
| BlueJeans | Meeting standard | 9.99 | 8.06 | 9.05 | 50 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 hours | Unlimited | Smart meeting, video, web, mobile features, unlimited 1:1 meetings, unlimited group meetings |
| Meeting Pro | 13.99 | 11.29 | 12.67 | 75 | 25 hours | |||||||
| Cisco Webex Meetings | Free | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 100 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Unlimited | Unlimited meetings, call-in for audio, unlimited messaging and file sharing |
| Starter | 14.25 per host | 11.50 per host | 12.91 per host | 50 | 5 GB | Application/file sharing, MP4 meeting recordings, customizable room link, integrations with other applications, administrative feature controls | ||||||
| Plus | 19.25 per host | 15.53 per host | 17.43 per host | 100 | 5 GB | Customizable WebEx URL, assign alternate hosts, allow others to schedule meetings on behalf of the host, analytics and troubleshooting | ||||||
| Click Meeting | Live and automated plans priced on attendees | 42.93 or 52.75 based on features | 35.00 or 43.00 based on features | 39.70 or 48.78 | 50 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 hours / 2 GB | Unlimited | Both live and automated have whiteboard, questions and answers, polls and surveys, private chat, real time chat translation, chat moderation, google analytics integration, custom branding, invitations, and payment options. Automated also has automatic follow-up email, certificates of attendance, and auto-streaming, auto-publishing of recordings to social media, YouTube, and Dropbox |
| Cyberlink U | Meeting Pro50 | 29.90 | 24.14 | 27.07 | 50 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 24 hours | Professional look webcam, analyze meeting data, monitor activity |
| Meeting Pro100 | 49.99 | 40.36 | 45.26 | 100 | Yes | 24 hours | ||||||
| Webinar Pro100 | 49.99 | 40.36 | 45.26 | 100 | 2 GB | 8 hours | ||||||
| ezTalks Webinars | Standard | 31.00 | 25.03 | 28.07 | 50 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2 GB | Unlimited | 50 participants, 500/month recording online views, live webinars |
| Pro | 40.00 | 32.30 | 36.22 | 100 | 4 GB | Redirect attendees, live webinars, on-demand webinars, Facebook and YouTube live, 2,000/month recording online views, 25 presenters | ||||||
| ezTalks Meetings | Starter | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 100 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | MP4 local recording | 40 mins | Unlimited meetings, interactive whiteboard, 24/7 support, outlook plugins, vote and polling |
| Standard | 13.00 | 10.50 | 11.77 | 100 | 2 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited meetings, interactive whiteboard, 24/7 support, outlook plugins, vote and polling, 500 recording online views per month | |||||
| Pro | 39.00 | 31.51 | 35.30 | 200 | 4 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited meetings, interactive whiteboard, 24/7 support, outlook plugins, vote and polling, 1,000 recording online views per month | |||||
| FreeConference | Plus | 24.99 | 20.19 | 22.62 | 50 web, 1,000 call | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 12 hours | Toll-free and international dial numbers (500 min/month), audio recording, smart summaries |
| Pro | 34.99 | 28.27 | 31.67 | 100 web, 1,000 call | Toll-free and international dial numbers (1,000 min/month), audio recording, smart summaries | |||||||
| GlobalMeet | Basic meeting | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ≤125 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Microsoft outlook calendar integration |
| GoToMeeting | Professional | 14.00 | 11.30 | 12.67 | 150 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Unlimited | Admin reports, diagnostic reports, single sign-on |
| Business | 19.00 | 15.33 | 17.19 | 250 | ||||||||
| Lifesize Meeting | Standard | 16.95 | 13.68 | 15.33 | 100 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Unlimited | 24 hours | ≥1 host |
| Microsoft Teams† | Office 365 A1 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 250 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Unlimited | Background blur, scheduled meetings, create assignments, gradebook tracks student performance and progress, chat with file sharing, collaboration on Office documents, OneDrive storage, usage reporting and 24/7 customer support |
| UberConference | Business | 20.00 | 16.15 | 18.09 | 100 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Unlimited | 5 hours | Unlimited conferences, call in numbers, call recording |
| VEEDEEO | Team | 14.35 per user billed annually or 18.23 per user billed monthly (both with a minimum of 2 users) | 11.58 per user billed annually or 14.71 per user billed monthly (both with a minimum of 2 users) | 12.99 per user billed annually or 16.50 per user billed monthly (both with a minimum of 2 users) | 30 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 1 GB | Unlimited | Calendar scheduling, collaboration tools, lock room, layout control, permanent virtual room link |
| 38.63 per meeting room with unlimited users | 31.18 per meeting room with unlimited users | 35.00 per meeting room with unlimited users | ||||||||||
| WebinarJam* | Basic | 41.58 | 33.5 | 37.54 | 500 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2 hours | Flexible scheduling, attendee spotlight, flexible scheduling, page builder, e-mail and SMS system, polls and surveys, handouts, pre-recorded videos, drawing board, active offers and bidding, paid webinars, live chat |
†, free for the duration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; *, annual payment.