The 8 Best Video Conferencing Platforms for 2025: Zoom, BigBlueButton, Teams & Google Meet Compared

Choosing the right video conferencing platform isn’t just about clicking a “Start Meeting” button anymore. From virtual classrooms that double as collaboration hubs to full-throttle enterprise meetings juggling thousands of users—each platform brings something different to the table. Whether you’re managing online training in Moodle™, orchestrating corporate webinars, or running hybrid workshops, the comparison matters.

We’ve done the homework for you. This guide compares key players in the video conferencing space—Zoom, BigBlueButton, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet—to help you decide what fits best in your workflow, especially if you’re working within an e-learning or education-driven context.

Quick Overview: Comparing the Best Video Conferencing Tools at a Glance

Before we go elbow-deep into capabilities, here’s a side-by-side video conferencing platforms comparison across the most important features for education and training environments.

Feature	Zoom	BigBlueButton	Microsoft Teams	Google Meet
Screen Share	✓	✓	✓	✓
Breakout Rooms	✓	✓	✓	✓
Whiteboard (Multi-user)	No	✓	✓	No
Polling (Built-in)	✓ (Basic)	✓ (Advanced/Anonymous)	✓	✓ (via Add-on)
Document Upload/Editing	No direct editing	✓ PDF annotation	Limited	✓ with Drive
Learning Analytics Dashboard	✗	✓	✗	✗
Video Quality	HD	Low-Medium-HD configurable	HD	HD
Moodle™ Integration	✓	✓ (Deep)	✓	✓

TIP: If you’re running online sessions via the Moodle™ software, BigBlueButton is already baked into most implementations and offers deep classroom integrations like attendance tracking, grading, and shared notes—all within Moodle™.

Platform Showcase: How Each Video Conferencing Tool Stacks Up

BigBlueButton: Built for Learning

BigBlueButton (BBB) was built specifically for virtual classrooms and it shows. Rather than trying to shoehorn generic meeting functionality into a learning context, BBB wraps its tools around the real needs of educators—visible lesson flow, interactive docs, and student dashboards.

• Multi-user whiteboard layered over slide decks or PDFs
• Breakout rooms that replicate the main environment
• Learning analytics embedded for instructors via the Moodle™ software
• Shared notes and multi-format polls with anonymous replies

That’s the kind of focus that makes it a standout for institutions running blended or remote learning models. If your workflow is based on Moodle™, BigBlueButton instantly feels native—with features like group assignments, stored recordings, and integrated grading. Honestly, separating them would be like peanut butter without jelly.

Zoom: Reliable and Familiar, With a Few Caveats

Zoom has become synonymous with video meetings the same way Google became a verb. It’s intuitive, stable, and good enough for most use cases.

• Robust breakout rooms with pre-assignment support
• Screen sharing with multiple view control
• HD video meetings and crisp audio over most connections

But, if you’re looking for deeper learning tools—like document markup, advanced whiteboards, or LMS-native analytics—Zoom needs plugins or sacrifices. For example, it has a whiteboard—but it’s not collaborative unless you pre-assign controls. And there’s no document editing, so forget about real-time PDF collaboration during a call.

Microsoft Teams: Integrated, But a Little Boxy

Microsoft Teams is a classic example of functionality meeting corporate strategy—and walls. If your organisation lives inside Microsoft 365, it’s a compelling option.

• Breakout room automation
• Whiteboard support via Microsoft Whiteboard (finally multi-user!)
• Chat, file storage and team structures already baked in

But here’s the tricky part: each meeting opens in a pop-up layer, trapping content within its window. You lose peripheral visibility. For live training that requires toggling between shared docs, breakout views, and chats—this slows things down.

Google Meet: Simplicity First, Features Later

Google Meet is fast, intuitive, and tightly bonded with Drive and Classroom if you’re in their ecosystem. It shows up as a sensible “free video conferencing” option for schools or small businesses already using Google Workspace.

• HD video and screen sharing suited for quick meetings and G Suite integration
• Polls and whiteboard available via Jamboard
• Secure links and auto-captions

Here’s the part you might not expect: while it feels like the simpler option, Google Meet has pitfalls. It doesn’t support collaborative annotation directly. Multimedia sharing is clunky. And, while it integrates with Moodle™, deeper classroom control is limited compared to BBB.

Choosing the Right Video Conferencing Platform for 2025

Still with us? Great. Let’s cut through the noise and pinpoint where each of these platforms performs best based on actual usage—not just bullet points.

1. Seamless Moodle™ Integration

Best pick: BigBlueButton

If you’re managing virtual classrooms through Moodle™, BBB is native. No add-ons required. Attendance, grading, breakout activities, even polls sync straight to your course page—and recordings are stored inside the course for seamless replay.

2. Interactive Document Collaboration

Best pick: BigBlueButton & Google Meet (Via Docs)

Zoom and Teams limit you to screen-sharing docs. But BBB allows direct editing and annotation of PDFs live during class—great for teachers walking through concepts. Google Meet allows collaboration inside Google Docs, but editing happens in a separate browser tab, not embedded into the meeting itself.

3. Breakout Room Depth

Best pick: Zoom

Zoom lets you pre-assign members to rooms, broadcast messages, and share files privately. This makes structured small group work much more manageable. BBB comes close, but limits document sharing inside rooms to text.

4. Built-In Polling & Feedback

Best pick: BigBlueButton

Quick polls, instant results, anonymous feedback—BBB streamlines it. The rest? Functional, but heavier to use. Zoom requires preloading polls or launching them manually via host tools. In Google Meet, you’re relying on third-party integrations.

5. Premium vs Free Plans

Best freemium scalability: Google Meet & BBB

Google Meet offers decent free video conferencing for teams under 60 minutes. BigBlueButton can scale flexibly when self-hosted or when managed by providers like us at Pukunui. Zoom and Teams tend to throttle features once you pass the free plan threshold.

6. Video and Audio Quality

All platforms offer HD video calls. But if stable audio over low bandwidth is key (say, for remote areas or limited WiFi zones), BigBlueButton’s configurable quality settings help squeeze consistency out of challenging conditions. Self-hosted solutions can also control encoding parameters for better adaptability.

7. Collaboration Tools and Ecosystem Compatibility

Pick based on your toolset:

• Microsoft Teams: Best for Office 365 organizations
• Google Meet: Great for education teams using Google Classroom
• BBB: Integrated beautifully with Moodle™ software
• Zoom: Plays nice with most tools, but at a price

8. Recording and Archiving

Zoom offers perhaps the most intuitive recording interface with both local and cloud storage—great for rewatching team sessions or compliance tracking. BBB’s premium implementations allow unlimited storage for classroom replays, often linked directly inside Moodle™ dashboard rows. Teams and Meet archive recordings to cloud storage (OneDrive or Drive) and require extra effort to organize access.

FAQs About video conferencing platforms comparison

Which platform is best for video conferencing?

It depends on your needs. For online education, BigBlueButton is best due to its Moodle™ integration. For corporate teams, Microsoft Teams or Zoom might be more suitable. Google Meet is excellent for quick, browser-based meetings within the Google ecosystem.

What video conferencing is better than Zoom?

BigBlueButton outperforms Zoom in learning environments due to its specialized classroom tools. Microsoft Teams offers deeper Office integration. Google Meet is faster and lighter for simple meetings. Zoom excels in reliability and ease of use.

What are the 2 main types of video conferencing systems?

Point-to-point (one-to-one video calls) and multipoint (group conferencing across multiple locations). Platforms like Zoom, Teams, Meet, and BBB all support both types.

Is Zoom better than Teams for video conferencing?

Zoom often delivers a smoother meeting experience with advanced features like breakout rooms and webinar modes. Teams offers stronger chat and file-sharing for Microsoft 365 users. If you’re deep within Microsoft products, stick with Teams. Otherwise, Zoom may offer more flexibility for standalone use.

Final Thoughts and What to Do Next

There isn’t one “best” video conferencing software for 2025. There’s the one that fits your setup best. For Moodle™ educators and online trainers, BigBlueButton’s classroom-first approach often beats general-purpose platforms. Zoom remains popular due to ease of use, while Google Meet and Microsoft Teams cater to existing ecosystem users.

Not sure how to embed one of these platforms into your Moodle™ environment? At Pukunui, we’ve been helping institutions optimise e-learning ecosystems for over two decades. If you’re looking to host BigBlueButton, improve integrations, or simply compare solutions based on your custom LMS, get in touch.

Need help connecting your Moodle™ courses with video conferencing tools? Contact Pukunui today—and let’s build a platform that works for you.