Quick answer: For most online English teachers in 2026, Zoom is still the safest default – students know it and its teaching features (whiteboard, annotation, breakout rooms) lead the pack, though free meetings cap at 40 minutes. For 1-to-1 lessons, Google Meet’s free plan is hard to beat: one-to-one calls can run all day. Teams suits business-English students who already live in it, and WhatsApp remains the low-tech fallback. Skype is gone – Microsoft retired it in May 2025.
As an independent online teacher, which platform is best for online teaching?
Which is the most popular and offers the best features for your classes?
Should you offer just one option or multiple ways for students to connect with you for lessons?
Expert online English teacher Louisa Walsh gives you some advice:
When I started English teaching online over ten years ago, Skype was about the only show in town and it remained my go-to for years. Skype has now retired (more on that below), and the choice today is between Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp – plus the dedicated teaching platforms. I’ll list the pros and cons of the free versions and give my verdict on each.
What happened to Skype?
Microsoft retired Skype in May 2025, moving remaining users to the free version of Microsoft Teams. If you taught on Skype for years (as I did), the things we loved about it – click-and-call simplicity, no meeting links, chat history that stuck around between lessons – live on most closely in Teams free and WhatsApp. Your old Skype techniques transfer wholesale: see our refreshed guide to teaching English by video call.
Zoom: still the teacher’s favourite?
Zoom’s take-up since 2020 has made it the platform students everywhere recognise, so as a teacher it’s well worth getting your head around the functionality. To connect, you’ll need to set up an account, learn how to set up meetings and send the meeting link to your students.
Positives:
- lots of functionality: breakout rooms, mute all on entry, whiteboard and annotation options
- record sessions to your computer on the free plan – great for reviewing your own teaching
- familiarity – almost every student has used Zoom at some point
Negatives:
- free meetings are capped at 40 minutes – including 1-to-1 calls – so hour-long lessons need a paid plan or a mid-lesson ‘rejoin break’
- the variety of features can be off-putting until you’ve practised with them
Louisa’s verdict:
Zoom’s functionality makes it ideal for groups or teaching kids, and its popularity makes it hard to ignore. Get on and learn how to use it if you haven’t already – check the current free-plan limits on the Zoom pricing page.
Google Meet: the best free option for 1-to-1 lessons?
Meet has quietly become the strongest free choice for 1-to-1 teachers. It runs in the browser – no install – and anyone with a Google account can host or join with a single link.
Positives:
- free 1-to-1 calls can run up to 24 hours – no 40-minute scramble
- browser-based: students click your link and they’re in, on any device
- excellent live captions, screen share and an in-call chat for corrections
Negatives:
- group calls on the free plan cap at 60 minutes
- fewer teaching extras than Zoom – no breakout rooms or built-in whiteboard on the free tier
Louisa’s verdict:
For 1-to-1 adult lessons, this is now my recommendation for new teachers: free, unlimited lesson length and nothing for the student to install. See the Google Meet product page for current features.
Microsoft Teams: for business-English students?
Popular within companies, Microsoft Teams is where Skype users were moved and where many professionals already spend their working day. Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents can be created and shared within the app for easy collaboration. To connect, you send a meeting link to students.
Positives:
- if your student suggests using it, they are likely to be comfortable with the tech
- chat history is retained between calls – the old Skype revision trick still works here
- free meetings run to 60 minutes (and 1-to-1 calls far longer), so a full lesson fits
Negatives:
- not as popular with students outside the workplace
- the interface feels corporate and takes more setting up than Meet or WhatsApp
Louisa’s verdict:
Perfect when your student is a professional who already uses it at work – my business-English learners often prefer it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t make it your frontline option. Details on the Teams page.
WhatsApp: the low-tech lesson option
Since WhatsApp is predominantly used on a phone, it is not ideal for standard teaching as you can’t easily view material or chats during the lesson – the buttons and screen are mostly too small. WhatsApp is most useful for students on the go or for those without access to a computer/tablet.
Positives:
- very easy to connect – just call and speak via a video call or standard voice call
- popular and easy to use – it can be a great low-tech lesson option
- the chat thread doubles as a permanent record of corrections and vocabulary
Negatives:
- wobbly hand-held phones do not good lessons make!
- it’s near-impossible to use pre-prepared material in the lesson so there are limits on what you can teach
Louisa’s verdict:
A teaching tool of last resort, I only use non-video WhatsApp calls with advanced learners who want conversation practice predominantly. However, if you are using WhatsApp, try to get a stand or inexpensive popsocket to make sure you have a steady hands-free solution at least.
What about ClassIn and dedicated teaching platforms?
Beyond the general video apps sit purpose-built online classrooms such as ClassIn, widely used by online schools across Asia. These bundle an interactive whiteboard, courseware slots, rewards and lesson-management tools into one app. If you join an established online school, you’ll likely be trained on whichever of these they use. For independent teachers they are usually overkill for 1-to-1 adult conversation work – your student has to install and learn the app – but worth exploring if you teach kids or run small groups with lots of visual material.
Feature comparison for teaching
| Platform | Free call limit | Teaching features (free plan) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom | 40 min per meeting | Whiteboard, annotation, breakout rooms, local recording | Groups, kids, students who know it |
| Google Meet | 1-to-1: 24 hrs; groups: 60 min | Browser-based, captions, screen share, chat | 1-to-1 lessons of any length |
| Microsoft Teams | 60 min meetings; longer 1-to-1 | Persistent chat history, Office file sharing | Business-English students |
| No limit | Video/voice calls, permanent chat thread | Conversation practice on the go | |
| ClassIn | Free tier for small classes | Built-in whiteboard, courseware, rewards | Kids and structured group teaching |
Which video platform do students prefer?
The above reviews cover the most popular apps and platforms for online English classes in the UK. Of course, things may be different where you are teaching – in China, WeChat and dedicated classroom apps dominate, and across much of Latin America and India, WhatsApp is the default for everything.
If you are unsure what to offer to begin with, I’d start with Zoom for groups and Google Meet for 1-to-1, due to their widespread use and free-plan fit.
However, I’d also make it clear you do offer English classes on other platforms/apps upon request, so as not to limit your appeal. Then you can learn to use new platforms as you need. Whichever you choose, the craft matters more than the app – our 20-hour Teaching English Online course covers the teaching side, and our Zoom tips for English teachers will get you comfortable with the market leader.
Frequently asked questions
Is the free version of Zoom enough for teaching English?
For 30–40 minute lessons, yes – you get the whiteboard, annotation, screen share and local recording free. The catch is the 40-minute cap on all free meetings: for hour-long lessons you’ll need a paid plan, a quick rejoin halfway, or a switch to Google Meet, whose free 1-to-1 calls are effectively unlimited.
What replaced Skype for online English teaching?
Microsoft retired Skype in May 2025 and moved users to the free version of Microsoft Teams, which keeps the persistent chat that teachers used for corrections. In practice most online English teachers now use Zoom or Google Meet, with Teams strongest among business-English students.
Can you teach English over WhatsApp?
Yes, and in many countries students will suggest it first. It works best for conversation practice with higher-level learners: connecting is instant and the chat thread keeps a permanent record of corrections. Its limits show when you need to share prepared material – screens are small and there’s no proper screen-share workflow from a phone.
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You might also like:
* New to all this? Start with our full guide to teaching English online
* Techniques for great 1-to-1 lessons on any platform: teaching English by video call
* Live online training and workshops for teachers: Spotlight live TESOL courses