Conference Calling on the Cheap

Sometimes it’s hard to determine the cheapest conference calling rates. It takes some careful comparison as conference calling rates vary from flat fees, to charges by minute per user, and some offer the cheapest rates of all - free. Reading the fine print is important, and there is much variation in features, some of which firms may or may not need.

One of the conference calling vendors that seems to offer some of the cheapest rates offers, among other options, audio calling that requires no reservation. These are the cheapest rates for conference calling. Available 24 hours seven days a week, its flat rate options vary according to the number of participants. For 10 participants on an unlimited number of conference calls for the month the charge is $50. Increasing the participants to 20 increases the monthly charge to $75. 50 ports maximum is a $150 charge per month, while 100 ports is $250. This vendor can accommodate up to 1000 participants.

This vendor offers dial out conference calling services that start at $50 an hour. These can be assisted by an operator if needed. These video conferences can be offered to participants anywhere in the world, the IP network is high performance, with IP and ISDN connectivity.

The continental US calls are $50, while calls including Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico and Canada are $90. UK calls are $75, while European calls range from $100-$200 depending on the country. The cheapest rate for conferencing calling that includes the Caribbean are $200, Latin and South America $150, and the Pacific Rim calls vary, with the cheapest of these conferencing calling rates at $125 and the costliest $275.

Another of the vendors purporting to offer the cheapest conference calling rates has a monthly $19.99 rate for 500 minutes. Beyond 500 minutes the rate is 3.9 cents a minute.

This vendor offers a conference call calculator online.  A prospective conference calling firm enters the number of participants, the length of the conference call(s) and the number of calls expected each month. We indicated 50 participants for one hour and 5 meetings a month. The variations in conference calling rates for this level of activity indicated, not surprisingly, that this vendor was the cheapest, at a cost of $117 a month, as compared with three other vendors that charge between $300 and $3000+.