Around
Cisco Webex
| Feature | Around | Cisco Webex |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10/mo | Free / from $14.5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | remote-teams, hybrid-teams, developers, creative-teams | enterprise, government, healthcare, large-organizations |
| Founded | 2019 | 1995 |
| Floating Bubbles | ✓ | ✗ |
| Noise Cancellation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Auto Leveling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Screen Sharing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reactions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Meeting Notes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video Meetings | ✗ | ✓ |
| Messaging | ✗ | ✓ |
| Calling | ✗ | ✓ |
| Whiteboarding | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Assistant | ✗ | ✓ |
| Webinars | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Around Pros
- Minimal screen footprint with floating video bubbles
- Excellent AI noise cancellation
- Auto-equalizes audio levels between participants
- Designed for casual always-on collaboration
✗ Around Cons
- Limited features for formal presentations
- Smaller user base than major platforms
- No recording on free plan
✓ Cisco Webex Pros
- Enterprise-grade security
- High-quality video
- AI features
- Hardware ecosystem
✗ Cisco Webex Cons
- Complex interface
- Expensive
- Smaller ecosystem
The Verdict
Around is built for remote teams and hybrid teams, with a focus on floating-bubbles and noise-cancellation. Cisco Webex targets enterprise and government and leads with video-meetings and messaging.
Pricing is close: Around starts at $10/mo versus $14.5/mo for Cisco Webex — 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.
Feature-wise, Around offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Cisco Webex takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
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.