Random Video Chat — to Pay or Not to Pay?
Random video chats are websites that connect strangers allowing them to communicate on a variety of topics.
Most of them offer communication in video format, although there are analogs with text chats or those that combine both options at the discretion of the user.
Some of the first services in this segment were Omegle and Chatroulette.
These two websites laid the foundation for random video chats and became the ideological inspiration for hundreds of developers.
As a result, today, we see a huge number of chats with strangers. There are both free (most) and paid.
This article will show whether it is worth paying for such communication, and what additional features a user can get for the money.
And, of course, we’ll talk about a few free web services that you should pay attention to.
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Paid features of web-chats: are they worth the money?
As a rule, the basic functionality of random chat roulettes is available for free.
You can chat with random users, switch them, and in some cases, even set search parameters (gender, age, geolocation, etc.). As for the paid features, these include the following:
- removing any ads from the website to avoid distraction during communication;
- removal of restrictions on the number of new connections per day (if any are available on the website);
- flexible search settings that include geography, gender, interests of the interlocutor;
- use of chat rooms with strangers – chats where a whole group of people can communicate at the same time.
It is up to you to decide whether these functions are worth paying the money. We shall say, today, it is easy to find websites that offer such features for free. But there are some nuances.
Many random free video chats have a serious drawback – poor moderation or its complete absence. Someone calls it their advantage. After all, there are no restrictions on communication. Others are sure that this is the road to nowhere. Such freedom collects the most dubious users on free websites – from young children to exhibitionists.
Most of us know that this is what once destroyed super popular Chatroulette. After a rapid take-off, it experienced an equally rapid failure.
Although the resource still works, there is no trace of its former glory. And therefore, paid access with careful moderation is justified.
By the way, many video chats with strangers offer a trial period. You can try all the functions of the website for free and decide whether you are willing to pay for them.
One example of this approach is CooMeet random video chat. Here you can set the search parameters by gender and communicate only with girls or exclusively with guys.
CooMeet launched a user-friendly iOS app, so owners of Apple smartphones may prefer this option.
If you are one of those who are not ready to pay, we offer you a list of free video chat rooms where you can talk with strangers without spending a cent.
Five web-chats with strangers without a required paid subscription
Despite the regular development of new online video chats, we can name a few leaders that have not been losing ground for years.
These are proven resources with a large and active audience. And many of them provide the same features for free, for which others require money.
Omegle
This is the first and perhaps the most popular free chat roulette. The website has a simple, minimalistic interface and is not overloaded with settings.
Here you can select a text or video chat, as well as specify the language of communication.
That is, if you specify English, the system will connect you only with English-speaking users. No registration is required. Today, Omegle is the most popular video chat with strangers in the USA.
Chatroulette.com
Although the website has seen better times, it is still popular. Mainly due to the fact that everyone heard about the resource.
The principle of operation and even the design is very similar to Omegle. Registration is also not necessary, and you can use the website for free and without restrictions.
But Chatroulette still has problems with moderation.
Chatrandom
This is another free chat website that does not require registration. Among the important functions, it is worth highlighting the opportunity to choose the country of the interlocutor. Thus, you noticeably simplify your search if you want to find a person for a subsequent meeting in the real world. By the way, in the summer of 2019, Chatrandom quickly surpassed Chatroulette in terms of the number of users online.
Bazoocam
The website was launched in 2011 and quickly gathered a large audience, especially in Europe. It has a simple and user-friendly interface that has not changed since its launch.
But this in no way affects user convenience. And vice versa. Many people love Bazoocam for just that.
Videochat USA
Compared to the most popular analogs, the resource is not so popular. But the developers are sure that the quality of the audience is more important than its quantity.
Therefore, there is a very thorough moderation. You will not find any nudity and inadequate people here. And this is undoubtedly a plus, especially for free chat.
Most likely, the functions that these websites offer are quite sufficient for you. You will not have to register and pay for access.
If you’ve never used video chats before, try the free ones. They will at least give an understanding of how random video chats work.
And then, you will decide for yourself whether it is worth paying for additional functionality.
Be sure to see what exactly the website offers you for an extra charge. After all, those can be completely trivial things that are not worth paying the money.
Although, if you want to support developers financially, this is a completely different matter.
Any development and support of the website cost money, sometimes the expenses are quite significant.
