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.
| BlueJeans Meetings not available after 5/1/2021 |
Canvas Conferences (BigBlueButton) | Google Meet | Zoom | Zoom Webinars | Zoom for Health | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended use | Small-to-medium discussion classes, staff meetings | Small-to-medium classes focused on materials, where everything is integrated in a single Canvas environment | Backup option for other services (only free option for alumni and retirees) | Staff meetings, training sessions under 300 people | Town halls, classes over 300 or professional conferences | Patient/provider meetings, medical center meetings, research collaboration with PHI |
| Integrates with Canvas | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Maximum connections | 200 | 100 | 250 until 9/1; then 100 | 300 | 500–10,000 | 300 |
| HIPAA compliant for use with PHI | Yes | No | No | No | Yes for Zoom Health. No for Zoom at U-M. | Yes |
| Option to allow only U-M authenticated users to join | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Screen share capability | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Host, co-host panelist | Yes |
| Q&A option | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Chat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual backgrounds | No | No | No | Yes | Host, co-host panelist | Yes |
| Download recordings | Yes, for 180 days | No | Yes | Yes, for 180 days | Yes, for 180 days | Cloud recording disabled for HIPAA - Local recordings only |
| Annotate screen share | Yes; Current speaker | Yes; Presenter and participants | No | Yes; Presenter and participants | Yes; Presenter only | Yes |
| Whiteboard | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in polling | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Raise hand | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Breakout rooms | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Max participants seen on screen | 25 | 12 | 16 | 49 | Host and panelist(s) | 49 |
| Compatible with high-end room systems | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auto Captioning | No | No | Yes Captions cannot be downloaded |
Yes Transcripts can be automatically downloaded. |
Yes Transcripts can be automatically downloaded. |
No |
| Supports real-time CART captioning | No | No Inline CART support |
No | Yes Captions can be downloaded |
Yes | Yes |
| ASL interpreter support (multiple pinned screens) | No | Unknown | No | Yes | Unknown | Yes |
| Screen reader accessible | Partly | No | Mostly | Mostly | Mostly | Mostly |
Functionality varies by product.