5 Best Group Voice Chat App To Try In 2021

Best Group Voice Chat Apps

Here are five of the most notable apps you definitely need to try in 2021.

1. Echo

Echo is a group voice chat app with a difference. Aimed specifically at teams, it’s more like a workplace app such as Slack, only built with voice in mind. Another way to think of it would be as a Discord group voice chat, but aimed at the business and teams market.

Rather than having to speak live, users can communicate asynchronously by recording and sending one another messages. For situations in which listening to voice messages isn’t appropriate, built-in speech recognition transcribes these messages so that they can be read.

In a world in which communication can break down in teams that are working remotely, possibly even across different time zones, Echo is a communication game-changer.

👍🏼 Pros:

Offers a unique, team-focused twist on voice chat online by allowing you to send considered, researched messages that can be listened to at the leisure of the recipient.
Helps cut down on the endless Zoom meetings that have become an inescapable part of modern remote working.
Lets you send messages to individual teammates or create public and private channels.

👎🏼 Cons:

Currently available on Mac only. (Although that will change in the future.)

Platforms supported: macOS

Price: Free tier available. Standard version for teams of all sizes and with added functionality is $5 per month per person, paid annually.

2. Skype

For many people, Skype was their introduction to making video and voice calls over the internet. While it wasn’t the first such service, it arrived at a time when broadband was starting to become ubiquitous, as were computers with microphones and webcams.

Boasting tens of millions of users on a monthly basis, sometimes even climbing to north of 100 million users, Skype remains the go-to choice for many. In terms of free group voice chat, Skype offers up to 50 people on a video or audio group call. Dialling in is easy, the interface is straightforward, and it’s possible to drop links or attachments into the group app.

👍🏼 Pros:

Cross-platform software means no proprietary hardware required.
Group call notifications work well for larger groups.
Allows you to ring cell and landline numbers, alongside other Skype accounts.
Skype-to-Skype voice messaging, video, file transfers, and instant messages are encrypted.

👎🏼 Cons:

Group video calls are subject to a usage limit of 100 hours per month, no more than 10 hours per day, and four hours per individual video call. (Although, to be fair, this should be sufficient for 99 percent of users.)

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS

Price: Free to call Skype users, cell/landline calls vary.

3. FaceTime

Apple’s FaceTime video and voice calling service arrived on iOS in 2010, before expanding to the Mac one year later. It works primarily with the front-facing cameras on devices created by Apple, and comes as standard on all desktop and laptop Macs, iPhones, iPads, and — in audio form only — Apple Watch. This means that there is no need to install additional software in order to be able to make or receive FaceTime calls.

On the plus-side, that equals a lower barrier to entry when it comes to using FaceTime, which is baked into Apple’s operating system. On the downside, FaceTime works only with Apple devices, being Apple’s proprietary solution. That means no calls to your Windows or Android-owning friends or colleagues. Calls can support up to 32 people.

👍🏼 Pros:

Comes installed on all compatible Apple devices.
Allows to you to easily toggle between audio and video when on a call.
All calls boast end-to-end encryption.

👎🏼 Cons:

32 people on a call is still a larger number, but smaller than some rival services.
Only available for Apple users.

Platforms supported: macOS, iOS, watchOS

Price: Free

4. WhatsApp

Since it burst onto the scene in 2009, WhatsApp hasn’t slowed down when it comes to establishing itself as one of the world’s leading messaging apps. While initially focused exclusively on text-based chat, WhatsApp added voice and video calling, followed by group voice and video calling, a few years down the line. The fact that it’s baked into a messaging app makes it extremely useful, since — unlike, for instance, Skype — you’re probably using it for more than just making calls.

Although other chat apps offer text-based chat as well, few do it close to as well as WhatsApp, making this a compellingly comprehensive solution. Make no mistake: this is a top tier best group voice chat. WhatsApp’s big advantage is ubiquity: It’s a cross-platform service that’s got a user base of more than 2 billion users around the world. WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, continues to add features all the time in order to stay competitive. However, it currently offers only a maximum of eight people on a group call.

👍🏼 Pros:

Cross-platform software means no proprietary hardware required.
Being baked into a text messaging app increases its usefulness.
All calls boast end-to-end encryption.

👎🏼 Cons:

Recent concerns about metadata sharing with Facebook has left some concerned.
Eight people on a group call is anemic by the standards of many rival apps.

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, KaiOS, Android, iOS

Price: Free

5. Zoom

Probably no group voice chat app benefited more from the pandemic in terms of word-of-mouth than Zoom. Launched initially in 2021, Zoom is all about the large group calls, whether audio or video. It offers neat features like the ability to subdivide your group calls into Breakout Rooms where necessary.

It also supports a mind boggling number of participants on calls — maxing out at 1,000 participants concurrently, with a 30-hour time restriction, for the highest paid tier. The biggest downside for many is that its free tier (which still allows up to 100 participants) only runs for 40-minute calls as standard. To remove these limits, you’ll need to get a paid plan. Nonetheless, this has been a major success as a free group voice chat service.

👍🏼 Pros:

Cross-platform software means no proprietary hardware required.
Supports up to 1,000 participants concurrently.
Setting up a call is easy and requires users only to click a link to join.
All calls boast end-to-end encryption.

👎🏼 Cons:

Has been victim to Zoombombing, in which uninvited guests crash Zoom calls they haven’t been invited to.
40-minute time limit on free calls.

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS

Price: Free tier available. Paid tiers start at $14.99 per month.

Conclusion: It’s all about the group voice chat apps

Communication is important. Particularly at a time when most people are working from home, unable to see friends and colleagues with any regularity, it’s more apparent than ever just how important it is. Hopefully by checking out some of the group voice chat apps listed here, you’ll be able to take advantage of some of the best group voice chat tools around.

Group Voice Chat - FAQs

How do group voice chat apps work?

The exact format varies depending on the app. But typically you download the app, make an account, select the person or people you want to call, and connect over the internet.

How do you make a group call?

It varies depending on the app. However, as this has become a more popular feature with time (and bandwidth), most voice call apps make it very easy to select and call groups of people.