{"id":36123,"date":"2017-04-07T15:53:34","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T14:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loopup.com\/resource-center\/\/conferencing-costs-when-free-isnt-free\/"},"modified":"2021-08-06T16:49:56","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T15:49:56","slug":"conferencing-costs-when-free-isnt-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loopup.com\/us\/resource-center\/blog\/conferencing-costs-when-free-isnt-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Conferencing costs: when free isn’t free"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting something at a low cost is great. Something for free? Even better. However, when it comes to conference call services,\u00a0that ‘free’ offering may\u00a0actually come with a hefty price tag you weren’t expecting.<\/p>\n

Free conferencing, simply put, means no upfront service fee for users connecting\u00a0multiple call lines into one meeting. You get the convenience of joining people\u00a0across long distances, different regions or devices, without having to commit a regular budget or getting tied into a contract.<\/p>\n

With so many providers offering free conference call services, the appeal is understandable. But take a closer look. While\u00a0you may not see an\u00a0invoice at the end of each month from\u00a0your\u00a0conferencing vendor, you’re still paying for the call.<\/p>\n

Someone has to pay for the call<\/h4>\n

For example, in the United Kingdom, free services usually require you to use non-geographic 0844 dial-in numbers. Dialing in from\u00a0a landline (fixed-line) or mobile to these numbers\u00a0isn’t cheap \u2013 businesses typically pay 5.8 pence per minute to their fixed-line service provider. This means you’ll\u00a0actually be paying the phone company far more than you’d\u00a0be paying a conferencing provider!<\/p>\n

Costs also shoot up for users who\u00a0join free conference services from their\u00a0mobile phones. The combination of dialing in\u00a0and service charges for dialing an\u00a00844 number, for instance, will come in around 40 pence per minute.\u00a0Not many companies will want to regularly pass that cost on to their\u00a0meeting guests.<\/p>\n

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Good rule to abide by: when something looks too good to be true…well, you know the rest.<\/p>\n

If you’re interested in more on the subject, check out our previous posts:<\/p>\n