ITS offers a variety of conferencing options for all faculty, staff, and students to use at no cost. Use this resource to help make a decision about which tool to use based on the set of features you need.
| Zoom | Zoom Webinars | Microsoft Teams | Google Meet | Canvas Conferences (BigBlueButton) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended use | Classes, staff meetings, training sessions under 300 people. | Town halls, classes over 300 or professional conferences. | Collaboration, persistent chat, group calls, remote learning, class discussions, Town Halls | Small-to-medium discussion classes, staff meetings. (Only free option for alumni and retirees.) | Small-to-medium classes focused on materials, where everything is integrated in a single Canvas environment. |
| Integrates with Canvas | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Maximum connections | 300 | 500–10,000 | 300 | 100 | 100 |
| HIPAA compliant for use with PHI | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Option to allow only U-M authenticated users to join | Yes | Yes | Yes Non-UM users will be put in the lobby (waiting room). |
Yes | Yes |
| Screen share capability | Yes | Host, co-host panelist. | Yes Organizer and Presenter (not Attendee). |
Yes | Yes |
| Q&A option | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Chat | Yes | Yes | Yes Persistent (before & after meeting) |
Yes | Yes |
| Virtual backgrounds | Yes | Host, co-host panelist. | Yes | Yes | No |
| Download recordings | Yes, for 180 days. | Yes, for 180 days. | Yes Recordings are automatically stored and do not expire. |
No. Temporary recordings available and saved for 30 days to share. No downloads, no external sharing (only U-M users). | No |
| Annotate screen share | Yes; Presenter and participants. | Yes; Presenter only. | Only on the Whiteboard. | No | Yes; Presenter and participants. |
| Whiteboard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in polling | Yes | Yes | Yes Using the Microsoft Forms app. |
No | Yes |
| Raise hand | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Breakout rooms | Yes | No | Yes (As of December 2020 version.) |
No | Yes |
| Max participants seen on screen | 49 | Host and panelist(s) | 49 | 49 | 12 |
| Compatible with high-end room systems | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Auto Captioning | Yes Transcripts can be automatically downloaded. |
Yes Transcripts can be automatically downloaded. |
Yes Captions cannot be downloaded or recorded. |
Yes Captions cannot be downloaded or recorded. |
No |
| Supports real-time CART captioning | Yes Captions can be downloaded. |
Yes | No | No | No Inline CART support. |
| ASL interpreter support (multiple pinned screens) | Yes | Unknown | Yes Using Dynamic View (As of December 2020 version.) |
No | Unknown |
| Screen reader accessible | Mostly | Mostly | Yes | Mostly | No |
Functionality varies by product.