Around
RingCentral
| Feature | Around | RingCentral |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10.99/mo | From $30/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | remote-teams, quick-standups, pair-programming, distributed-teams | enterprises, mid-market-companies, distributed-teams, contact-centers |
| Founded | 2020 | 1999 |
| Floating Video | ✓ | ✗ |
| Auto Leveling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Noise Cancellation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Screen Sharing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reactions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Virtual Backgrounds | ✓ | ✗ |
| Business Phone | ✗ | ✓ |
| Video Meetings | ✗ | ✓ |
| Team Messaging | ✗ | ✓ |
| Contact Center | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
| Integrations Marketplace | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ RingCentral Pros
- Complete UCaaS solution
- Extensive integrations marketplace
- Reliable enterprise-grade platform
- Global coverage
✗ RingCentral Cons
- Expensive for small teams
- Feature overload for simple needs
- Contract lock-in common
The Verdict
Around is built for remote teams and quick standups, with a focus on floating-video and auto-leveling. RingCentral targets enterprises and mid market companies and leads with business-phone and video-meetings.
On pricing, Around is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $10.99/mo compared to $30/mo for RingCentral. That $19.009999999999998/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Around has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. RingCentral requires a paid subscription from day one.
Both tools are a solid fit for distributed 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.