Free conference calling services are not completely free and traditional conferencing services may save more money for the company in the long run. However, when choosing a conference calling service, a company must determine its budget and usage plans to settle on a discount or full service conferencing provider that will best meet its needs. A company such as FreeConference.com is trying to entice the consumer away from the traditional conferencing services by providing free calling services that may or may not be suitable for every company.

What FreeConference.com offers

FreeConference.com is a conference call service provider that offers three different conferencing tiers: Web Scheduled Premium 800, Web Scheduled Standard, and the Reservationless Standard that are all free, yet charge for toll-free (800) numbers. The free features include no monthly or one-time set-up fee and everyone who calls in on the same dial-in number is able to participate. Users should expect to pay the long-distance rates for the length of the call, except when using the Web Scheduled Premium 800, which allows the conference organizer to pay $.10/minute per caller to receive the toll-free service free of charge. Reservationless Standard does not require Internet access, while the two other services use the Internet for online scheduling only. Keeping in mind that FreeConference.com is just an audio conferencing provider, many of its features could help companies fulfill their conferencing requirements by using normal telephones.

What traditional conferencing services offer

Once traditional conference users set up their corporate accounts with a service such as Intercall or ConferencePlus, they have many more options than the free conference users. For instance, these full service conference providers offer audio, video, web and event conferencing all under one roof, and their customers receive exceptional service and options tailored to fit their needs. Audio conferencing features include operated-assisted calls, polling, recording and streaming for later feedback, and Outlook integration. Of course, these services come with a price that may be out of the range of smaller companies trying to find simpler, yet reliable conferencing solutions.

How companies should choose their teleconferencing services

Companies need to assess their size, budgets and scope in order to find the right conferencing solution. Using the free conferencing services that FreeConference.com offers would be the right choice for a small or medium-sized business that would not need all of the extra features and services provided by the full conferencing providers. In addition, if that company only will use audio conferencing and knows up front that the free conferencing services are not toll-free calls, then this choice would be the best option. On the other hand, a Fortune 500 company should choose a provider such as Intercall or ConferencePlus if they make not only audio, but also frequent web conference calls a quarter in order to achieve economies of scale and meet their volume requirements.

Using free teleconferencing services is the right solution for many small to medium-sized companies looking for a cost-effective way to manage conferencing while avoiding large set-up fees and expensive options.