Cisco Webex Meetings review By Darcy French

Cisco Webex Meetings provides businesses with a powerful video-conferencing platform that is easy to use and packed with features. It is best suited to large companies requiring a comprehensive video conferencing solution. It is also one of the most expensive video conferencing platforms available. These factors might deter some small- and medium-sized businesses.

In this Cisco Webex Meetings review, we ask whether it is the best video conferencing software for businesses and consider which companies might want to use the platform for their teleconferencing needs.

Plans and pricing

Cisco offers four tiered packages for its video conferencing software. The basic package is free and includes unlimited meetings of up to 100 participants, end-to-end encryption for calls, and the full suite of in-call features. 

When billed annually, the paid plans begin with the Starter package at $13.50 host/month. This package adds basic administrator controls, cloud storage, and personalized customer support. The Plus package costs $17.95 host/month and provides businesses with advanced analytics and 24/7 customer support. 

Cisco’s premier package, the Business package, costs $26.95 host/month. This plan doubles the capacity of meetings from 100 to 200, increases cloud storage, and offers brand customization options among other features. When billed monthly, these prices increase to $14.95 (Starter), $19.95 (Plus), and $29.95 (Business).

Larger businesses can also inquire into enterprise and webcasting options by contacting the Cisco sales team.

Cisco’s scaled pricing model means businesses can tailor the product to their individual needs. (Image credit: Cisco)

Features and utilities

In both the free and premium plans, Cisco offers the full suite of standard video conferencing features. These include screen sharing, call scheduling, calendar app integration, and file sharing. Cisco Webex Meetings also enables users to create in-call polls and run Q&A sessions for participants. These are useful inclusions that make the platform highly participatory, and a reliable choice for businesses that organize webinars or large video meetings.

Additionally, the premium plans offer more advanced features such as MP4 call recording, custom links for calls, and encrypted cloud storage of data. Another feature that stood out was the ability to access participant information (such as their organization or position) directly from the call. This makes it easy to know who is in the meeting and is ideal for mid- and large-sized businesses.

For administrators, the premium plans enable a high degree of control over users’ accounts and the features available within calls. The Plus and Business options include an administrative portal that provides data-driven insights on how and when employees are using the platform, and also offers analytics and troubleshooting advice.