The cost of web conferencing continues to decline as it becomes more widely used. Prices are very competitive across the industry and pricing plans are similar among vendors. These are the most popular ones:

Per Minute

Also know as “on-demand” or “pay-per-use” plans, you simply pay for the minutes you use. Prices vary but are typically around $0.20 per minute per participant. For example, an hour-long conference for 5 participants at this rate would total $60 ($0.20 × 5 × 60).

Subscription

Also know as “flat-rate” plans, you pay a monthly or yearly fee per “seat” or “user” to hold unlimited meetings up to a maximum number of participants. Again, rates and participant limits vary, but a typical fee is $50/month, or $40/month based on an annual subscription for 15 participants. Obviously, a monthly or yearly subscription is more cost-effective than a per-minute plan if you hold even a few web conferences.

Enterprise Licenses

Many vendors offer corporate licenses so that everyone in your organization can hold unlimited web conferences at a fixed price. In some cases, the web conferencing software can be “branded” to look like an in-house solution. Enterprise license prices are typically negotiated on a caseby-case basis.

Special Services and Options

Most web conferencing vendors provide additional services and options. For example, they may offer event planning and management services for large-scale web seminars, operator-assisted conference services, recording and archive hosting and other support services. In some cases, these services are included in other plans. Usually, they are additional.

In general, the more you use web conferencing, the lower the price and the more influence and flexibility you have with the vendor on the price.