Around
Clockwise
| Feature | Around | Clockwise |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10.99/mo | Free / from $6.75/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | remote-teams, quick-standups, pair-programming, distributed-teams | engineering-teams, remote-teams, managers, knowledge-workers |
| Founded | 2020 | 2016 |
| Floating Video | ✓ | ✗ |
| Auto Leveling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Noise Cancellation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Screen Sharing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reactions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Virtual Backgrounds | ✓ | ✗ |
| Focus Time | ✗ | ✓ |
| Smart Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| Meeting Optimization | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
| Slack Integration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Calendar Sync | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Around Pros
- Lightweight and fast
- Minimal floating interface
- Good noise cancellation
- Reduces meeting fatigue
✗ Around Cons
- Limited features vs Zoom
- Smaller user base
- No recording on free
✓ Clockwise Pros
- Creates Focus Time automatically
- AI resolves scheduling conflicts
- Team-wide schedule optimization
- Integrates with Google/Outlook calendars
✗ Clockwise Cons
- Requires team adoption for best results
- Can over-optimize meeting moves
- Limited value for individuals alone
The Verdict
Around is built for remote teams and quick standups, with a focus on floating-video and auto-leveling. Clockwise targets engineering teams and remote teams and leads with focus-time and smart-scheduling.
Pricing is close: Clockwise starts at $6.75/mo versus $10.99/mo for Around — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for remote teams — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.