RingCentral Meetings vs. Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
RingCentral Meetings
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
RingCentral Meetings is an HD video conferencing and screen sharing solution that lets the user host unlimited video conference calls and share content while meeting and collaborating with anyone, any time, on any device. RingCentral Meetings helps boost business efficiency and customer engagement without costly and time-consuming travel.
$19.99
Per Month Per User
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
Skype for Business was an online messaging and conferencing tool, now superseded by Microsoft Teams.N/A
Pricing
RingCentral MeetingsSkype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
Meetings
$19.99
Per Month Per User
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
RingCentral MeetingsSkype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
RingCentral MeetingsSkype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Considered Both Products
RingCentral Meetings
Chose RingCentral Meetings
We chose [RingCentral] Meetings because its integrated with our phones and makes it user friendly being all on one platform for our company. Meetings are streamlined with calendar events linked, all contacts are integrated, and it's easy to add someone who is outside of the …
Chose RingCentral Meetings
Ring Central is a more comprehensive and streamlined solution compared to the other options out there. Additionally, it seems to be more reliable and has less breakdown or issues as well. It allows you to do many of the same capabilities as the other rival products out there, …
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

No answer on this topic

Features
RingCentral MeetingsSkype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Product A and Product B
RingCentral Meetings
7.7
21 Ratings
3% below category average
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
8.0
195 Ratings
1% above category average
High quality audio8.021 Ratings9.1191 Ratings
High quality video8.021 Ratings9.0185 Ratings
Low bandwidth requirements7.320 Ratings5.0181 Ratings
Mobile support7.319 Ratings9.0146 Ratings
Screen Sharing
Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Product A and Product B
RingCentral Meetings
7.0
21 Ratings
12% below category average
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
7.0
191 Ratings
12% below category average
Desktop sharing7.321 Ratings9.0191 Ratings
Whiteboards6.717 Ratings5.0120 Ratings
Online Meetings / Events
Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Product A and Product B
RingCentral Meetings
7.5
21 Ratings
8% below category average
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
9.3
188 Ratings
13% above category average
Calendar integration8.720 Ratings10.0174 Ratings
Meeting initiation8.021 Ratings9.5182 Ratings
Integrates with social media5.711 Ratings8.182 Ratings
Record meetings / events8.319 Ratings9.0143 Ratings
Slideshows7.013 Ratings10.0115 Ratings
Online Events Collaboration
Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
RingCentral Meetings
7.6
19 Ratings
6% below category average
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
7.5
173 Ratings
7% below category average
Live chat8.019 Ratings8.5171 Ratings
Audience polling7.311 Ratings7.094 Ratings
Q&A7.310 Ratings7.094 Ratings
Online Events Security
Comparison of Online Events Security features of Product A and Product B
RingCentral Meetings
6.5
19 Ratings
21% below category average
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
6.9
156 Ratings
15% below category average
User authentication7.316 Ratings9.0142 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions5.517 Ratings8.5148 Ratings
Confidential attendee list6.713 Ratings3.1109 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
RingCentral Meetings
6.4
3 Ratings
16% below category average
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
7.8
1 Ratings
3% above category average
Video conferencing6.52 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Audio conferencing6.52 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Video screen sharing5.02 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Instant messaging7.73 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
RingCentral MeetingsSkype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Small Businesses
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Score 7.4 out of 10
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Score 7.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
JioMeet
JioMeet
Score 9.7 out of 10
JioMeet
JioMeet
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Webex Meetings
Webex Meetings
Score 8.6 out of 10
Webex Meetings
Webex Meetings
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
RingCentral MeetingsSkype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
7.7
(21 ratings)
8.4
(198 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(2 ratings)
9.0
(7 ratings)
Usability
7.7
(15 ratings)
9.0
(14 ratings)
Support Rating
7.8
(11 ratings)
8.5
(40 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
RingCentral MeetingsSkype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
RingCentral
I would recommend RingCentral for any business that looking to make the jump to Voice over IP and also want business essentials like video meetings all in one app. RingCentral Meetings integrates very well with its other communication tools which makes it very easy for a business to manage their communications in a single platform. The only scenario I see where RingCentral Meetings not being a good fit is if a business will be using video meetings as a marketing tool where they need extra marketing features like lead form captures and notification emails to be sent out.
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Discontinued Products
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams is a remote/virtual team collaboration tool must have...especially if you already use Microsoft tools. Of course, since it now part of an MS 365 subscription, it really doesn't make sense to use anything else. It is easy to use and just works. I'm not sure how anyone who works with digital files/documents and needs to work with other people doing similar work can be effective without such a tool. Of course, there are a number of alternatives like Zoom or Webex, but why pay or use another separate tool if you don't need to. :-)
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Pros
RingCentral
  • Screen sharing is wonderful in [RingCentral] Meetings. It makes presenting easy.
  • Being able to mute and turn off cameras when necessary is a nice feature too.
  • Switching from the computer to the cell phone when on the go is a nice benefit.
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Discontinued Products
  • Instant messaging to anyone who we know only by name/email. Even if they're offline, they get the message in missed convos and a notification automatically goes to them via Outlook mail. All conversations are saved and accessible via Outlook.
  • Video and voice calls are a norm in the WFH scenario, and an average employee has around 4-5 calls a day. Skype gives notifications for upcoming meetings, allows easy scheduling via outlook calendar, and its audio/video quality [is] reasonably good compared to the amount of data it consumes.
  • Status availabilities - in the WFH scenario, you could be off for lunch, out of office, busy, sharing screens - and might not want to be disturbed. Skype allows you to do that, and in case you're off, ensures that you know that you have missed messages.
  • Screen sharing - we have to share screens at least once or twice a day with a coworker when working on some issues/features, and Skype easily lets us do that. One of the best things about Skype is that the screen can be shared without being on a video/voice call - which is of immense advantage because oftentimes, you could prefer sharing the screen, while it [is] too noisy to talk.
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Cons
RingCentral
  • Screen share functionality is rather limited in capability. Screen takeover functions seem limited to desktop devices (view-only for mobile device users)
  • Interface feels a bit clunky. Workable for advanced technical users, but a bit confusing for older senior-level executives
  • Integration with existing RingCentral software. Jumping between RingCentral meetings and telephone feels wrong, they should be integrated into one application for the business user with a standalone application for non-subscribers who wish to join the meeting
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Discontinued Products
  • Connection issues can be hard to diagnose when they come up(as some knowledge of server information may be needed to reestablish as the connection troubleshooting options on the sky are not as user-friendly as the rest of the platform.
  • Some issues setting up camera/sound could use more info on troubleshooting options with playback sound, video, etc.
  • Statuses sometimes are unreliable and do not display correctly .
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Likelihood to Renew
RingCentral
We are grandfathered into an unlimited toll-free minutes plan with RingCentral, so as long as we have them as a VoIP provider, we get Meetings free. If they ever start to charge us for using meetings as well, we'll drop that part in a second and switch to Skype for Business, which we currently have as well part of our Office 365 package.
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Discontinued Products
The software is simple to install and configure. It is rather simple to explain for correct use. It is possible to profile users for the different functions offered. It is integrated quite completely with Outlook and with Active Directory security. It performs all communication functions well with one or more interlocutors and the possibility of granting control of your computer is convenient.
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Usability
RingCentral
The interface is easy to understand for a wide variety of user experience levels. The only real negative are the links included in meetings being in a format that first opens a browser before launching the RingCentral Meeting app, and as mentioned previously, this may be a platform-specific issue for macOS.
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Discontinued Products
Very easy to use. Even though Microsoft Teams has a lot of features and integrations, as a user I feel completely comfortable on finding what I need, getting information about the app extensions and using them. It's a very comprehensive tool, intuitive design and does not make me feel tired to be using it. I am glad with the current experience.
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Support Rating
RingCentral
RingCentral is a great tool for everyone interested in making animations. The thing that appealed to us most about it is that it is very simple to use and works with much perfection. Like lip-synchronization goes so well with the character as soon as we add voice-over in it. Also, we can add characters and scenes without any hardship. We highly recommend this software.
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Discontinued Products
I have only had to reach out to the Support team at Skype for Business once with an issue, and I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged by the quickness and thoroughness of their response. The wait time was short and my question was dealt with politely and clearly, so I would say the support team has it together.
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Implementation Rating
RingCentral
No answers on this topic
Discontinued Products
Skpe for business is utilized company wide in regards to my company. Everyone not only uses it, but uses it often. It is an effective way of communicating. It also integrates very nicely with outlook and all conversation history is pushed to a folder within the outlook system. We also have it so that if someone misses a message, they are sent an email reminder saying that there is a message that went unread.
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Alternatives Considered
RingCentral
As a consulting company, we often have to adapt to our customers' needs in communication - which can mean using whatever system they're already on. Most of the time, they come around to preferring RingCentral Meetings over whatever they're using, and we've found it's a great value for us since it's already included in our RingCentral subscription, and runs on Mac, Windows, and Mobile devices. Despite the big drawback of needing to install the app locally and not having an in-browser solution for guests, it's lightweight, intuitive interface makes it an easy conferencing tool to adopt.
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Discontinued Products
For the below reason I will always choose this app over its competitors: Better audio and video quality, Little to no disconnections or freezing when on a call/video conference Integrates well with mailbox/ calendar/ one drive, and SharePoint is easy to use
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Return on Investment
RingCentral
  • It has had a positive impact. We replaced an archaic solution with a more modern, streamlined version or product. Like anything else, it has its downfalls and isn't perfect, but overall it's been a good product and has outshined its predecessors like Zoom and Skype.
  • It also has an integrated office phone feature which has been great as our phones are essentially our laptops. It cut down on those costs and in general freed up space on our desks since we didn't have to have them anymore and everything is on our computer now.
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Discontinued Products
  • Skype for Business has enabled a migration in part away from fixed line telephony and introduced the user to mobile working with a headset which cannot be overstated as being a game changer.
  • Being able to schedule Skype for Business meetings through Outlook has meant meetings with colleagues without a meeting room has been a great enabler.
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ScreenShots