If you’re not an iPhone owner, but still want to get in on the smartphone action, that’s okay! There are plenty of great Android phones. That said, Apple’s experience in mobile software gives the company the edge in many areas, and video chatting is one of them. FaceTime, iOS’s native video app, is a program that has been polished to a shine, and it’s quickly becoming a generic verb like Xerox. You don’t video chat someone, you FaceTime them. With an Android phone, though, you can’t. So, what should you do? That’s what’s great about the open marketplace of ideas that is the Google Play store. If you need an Android alternative to FaceTime, you have not one, but several, to choose from. We took the leading candidates for a test drive to compare them with each other, taking into account price, reliability, restrictions, and features. Developers are constantly improving the experience, too, so you can expect the apps in this feature to see new services and better stability the longer they’re offered. Although it’s easy to stick with Google Chat, there’s certainly a lot to be gained from experimenting with other Android FaceTime alternatives, depending on what friends, family, and co-workers are using. We unreservedly recommend the apps on this list. For more full-featured tools for businesses, you should check out our roundup of the best video conferencing software.
Recommended by Our Editors
With video and audio calling features, Google Chat on Gmail has replaced Google Hangouts as Google’s out-of-the-box FaceTime alternative, and it’s a pretty good video-chatting and texting tool. One of the best things about it is that it’s cross-platform and linked to your Google ID. So, not only does Chat work great on every Android phone, but you can also take it to your desktop—even your Linux or Mac desktop. Gmail’s native chat apps have had several different identities over the years (including Google+, but let’s not talk about that), and the team has refined it a lot during that time.Chat offers simple person-to-person connections on Android as well as iOS. One advantage that Hangouts has over FaceTime is its data latency management. Apple recommends using FaceTime while connected to a wireless internet connection; Chat handles standard cellular data rates much better. In addition, voice calls to other Chat users are completely free.If you own an Android phone, you should also have a Google account—it’s the key to all of the company’s many services, including Chat. Keeping your address book in order lets you merge all your message streams into one easy-to-follow feed.Alternatively, Google Meet is Google’s more professional video conferencing app and is potentially a better option for teams.
Google Chat Review
When you think about video chat services, Skype is the gray-haired grandfather that still manages to hang on. First released in 2003, the system shared a back end with music-sharing system Kazaa (remember music-sharing systems?). It grew steadily until 2011, when it was acquired by Microsoft to replace Windows Live Messenger. Obviously, that makes it the default messaging client for Windows phones, but the Android versions are quite solid.Early versions of Skype for Android weren’t well-integrated with your mobile device’s address book, making adding contacts a chore. In 2014, the 5.0 update finally brought it into harmony with the Android ecosystem, letting it access your existing contents. This simple change rocketed Skype into the upper echelon of Android video chat services.Skype’s video chat services work in a variety of bandwidth situations, and keeps a constant monitor of a call’s quality. You are able to score the call afterwards, and depending on what hardware you are using to make the video call, the video can be transmitted in HD.Basic Skype accounts are free and give you unlimited, one-on-one video chat across any supported platform. Skype used to charge a subscription fee for multi-user video chats, but now group chats are included in the basic service. It still charges for calls to phone users outside the Skype service, either by the minute or a monthly subscription.
If you’re looking for a full-service FaceTime alternative for Android, and you have friends willing to jump ship, check out Tango. The app debuted in 2009, and unlike the other offerings on this list, Android is Tango’s primary platform. Although there are builds for iOS and Windows phones, Google’s OS is its native element. That means that hardware optimization is at its peak, leading to a smoother user experience and better call quality.On a Wi-Fi device, you can interact with any of Tango’s 200 million users without needing a cellular connection. The service supports voice calls, video calls, text, and image chat. Accounts are free, and the signup process is quick and painless. If you want to try and get your friends onboard with you, Tango lets you send text messages and emails to your friends to try and get them to sign up for the service. As long as everyone you want to talk to is using Tango, it’s a solid all-purpose communication tool. Note that, unlike other services, Tango’s video chats are strictly one-on-one affairs.Tango’s developers present their app as not only as a communication tool, but as a full-fledged social network, too. That means a public profile and news feed, games, stickers, and other bells and whistles. If you’re looking for something that does video calls like FaceTime, but offers a whole lot more, Tango might be your jam.
Viber began as a text and audio messaging app, but the dev team quickly realized that it would need to add features to compete in a crowded marketplace. First, the crew added audio chat, and then, in 2014, introduced video-chat functionality.One of Viber’s best aspects is its clean and intuitive design. Whereas Skype and Hangouts seem like desktop legacy apps that awkwardly transitioned to mobile experiences, Viber was built from the ground up with your phone screen in mind. In 2013, Viber received a desktop app, but the company’s clear focus is still on mobile.Viber’s biggest weakness is that it has no way to communicate with users outside of its service. Unlike other platforms that utilize SMS protocol, Viber doesn’t let you you send messages to contacts who aren’t Viber users. Hopefully, Viber fixes this issue; the service has more than 280 million users around the world, so it’s not a niche product.
Viber (for Android) Review
WhatsApp is a massively popular messaging app across the world. There’s a reason why Meta (formerly Facebook) was so eager to acquire it. If you aren’t sure what other messaging apps that friends, family, or strangers may have access to at any given moment, WhatsApp is a safe bet.WhatsApp on Android lets you start voice and video calls. You just need a phone number and a contact list. Video calls support up to 32 people, and the new Communities feature gives you tools for managing larger groups.Video calls can feel even more intimate than voice calls, so privacy is key. Fortunately, WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption turned on by default, plus self-destruct messages.
WhatsApp Review
It doesn’t get better than this. Zoom Meetings is our Editors’ Choice pick for video conferencing tools. Our review praises its “stellar performance at a reasonable price.” Anyone working from home is already probably pretty used to hopping on a Zoom call multiple times per day from their computer. Fortunately, Zoom Meeting is also available on Android as Zoom Cloud Meetings. It’s easy to use, offers a generous free account, and offers stellar performance.In addition to our exhaustive review of Zoom Meeting, we have written a handy guide to getting started with the services, Top Zoom Tips for Better Video Conferencing.If you are just getting started with Zoom Meeting, the other thing you’ll want to know is how to lock down your meetings so that you can stop people from Zoom-bombing, or filling your video conference with spam, porn, or worse. For that, you should read How to Prevent Zoom-Bombing.
Zoom Meetings Review
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