The Whereby Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Whereby in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Whereby
The Insider’s Guide
Browser-based video meetings with permanent room links
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among team communication apps, read from Whereby’s own pages.
Made by Whereby AS · checked Oct 6, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Whereby’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Whereby’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 6, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 8 of the 33 other team communication apps we grade
Whereby is a browser-based video calling service founded in Norway. Whereby Meetings gives each host permanent room links that guests open without an account or a download, with screen sharing, chat, breakout groups and recording. A separate product, Whereby Embedded, is an API and SDK for building video calls into other websites and apps.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Whereby, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Guests open your room URL in a browser with no account and nothing to download.
- 1
Best for client calls from one link, with nothing to install
Whereby gives you a permanent room link that guests open in a browser with no account and no download.
- 2
Paid plans start at $10.99 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $10.99 per month for 1 host, billed monthly ($109.90 billed annually).
- 3
There is a free plan
1 host, 1 room URL, up to 4 attendees per meeting and meetings limited to 30 minutes.
- 4
It runs on 2 platforms
Web and iOS.
- 5
Rooms that run in the browser
Calls run in desktop and mobile browsers over WebRTC with no download needed, and guests join a fixed room URL without creating an account.
- 6
Collaboration during calls
Screen sharing, live chat with reactions and file sharing, breakout groups, and embedded Miro boards and Google Docs for working together.
- 7
Recording
The Pro plan lists unlimited recording, and the Meetings plan comparison lists local recording, which saves a call to your own device.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 8 of 33
That is against the other team communication apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Whereby you would be making video calls. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Whereby at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $10.99 per month for 1 host, billed monthly ($109.90 billed annually)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial of the Business plan
- Runs on
- Web, iOS
- Made by
- Whereby AS, since 2013
- Category
- Team Communication
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
- Store rating
- 4.7 on the App Store, 3,632 ratings
The report card
Best for client calls from one link, with nothing to install
Whereby gives you a permanent room link that guests open in a browser with no account and no download. The free plan stops at 4 attendees and 30 minutes, Pro is $10.99 a month for one host, and Business needs at least 3 hosts. There's no Android or desktop app, screen sharing and recording need a computer, and Whereby's own about page says its engineers have worked only on the separate Embedded API since 2023.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Pro is $10.99 a month for one host, $109.90 if you pay for the year, and Business is $13.99 a host with a minimum of three. You pay per host, not per guest, but it's above the $7 this category typically starts at. |
| Free plan and trial | C | The free plan is more of a sample: 1 host, 1 room URL, 4 attendees a meeting and 30 minutes on the clock. There's a 14-day trial of Business if you want to see the real thing. |
| Features | C | Around the fixed room link sit screen sharing, chat with reactions, breakout groups, recording, locked rooms and embedded Miro boards. Two catches: end-to-end encryption covers small peer-to-peer rooms only, and the about page says engineering has worked solely on Embedded since 2023. |
| Ease of use | B | 4.67 from about 3,600 App Store ratings, just under our A line. Guests open your room URL in a browser with no account and nothing to download. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | The browser and an iPhone app. There's no Android app and no desktop app, and screen sharing and recording work on a computer only. Miro, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Trello, Outlook and Slack connect, and the Embedded API is sold separately. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Whereby is for
- Fits if you're a consultant, coach or therapist meeting clients in one fixed room
- Works for calls where guests shouldn't have to make an account or download anything
Who it is not for
- Tight if you're staying free, with 1 room, 4 attendees a meeting and a 30-minute limit
- Skip it if your team is on Android or wants a desktop app, as there's neither and screen sharing only works on computers
- Not for you if you want channels and messaging between calls, because this is a video meeting tool
- Pricey if you're a pair who want Business features, as it needs at least 3 hosts at $13.99 each
- Watch out: end-to-end encryption covers small peer-to-peer rooms only, and engineering has focused on Embedded since 2023
Good to know
Good for
- Consultants, coaches and therapists who meet clients in one fixed room
- Guests who should join from a browser without an account or download
- Small teams that want simple per-host pricing
- Product teams adding video calls through the separate Embedded API
Worth knowing
- The Free plan allows 1 host, 4 attendees per meeting and 30-minute meetings; Business requires at least 3 hosts.
- There is an iOS app but no Android or desktop app; Android users join in Chrome, and screen sharing and recording work only on computers.
- End-to-end encryption is listed only for small peer-to-peer rooms.
- The about page says product and engineering have focused entirely on Whereby Embedded, the API product, since 2023.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$10.99
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Whereby has a free plan. Paid plans start at $10.99 per month for 1 host, billed monthly ($109.90 billed annually).
Free
$0
1 host, 1 room URL, 4 attendees per meeting and meetings of up to 30 minutes.
Pro
$10.99
per month, billed monthly ($109.90 billed annually)
For one host: 3 room URLs, 100 attendees per meeting, no time limit, custom branding and unlimited recording.
Business
$13.99
per host / month, billed monthly ($139.90 billed annually)
Minimum 3 hosts. Unlimited room URLs, 200 attendees per meeting, shared and Flex rooms, and a custom subdomain.
The free plan
1 host, 1 room URL, up to 4 attendees per meeting and meetings limited to 30 minutes.
Trying it first
14-day free trial of the Business plan
Read from whereby.com on Oct 6, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Save 17% with annual billing
The pricing page lists a 17% saving on annual plans: Pro is $109.90 billed annually against $10.99 a month, and Business is $139.90 per host against $13.99 a month.
Stated on whereby.comNonprofit
20% off Pro and Business for nonprofits
Registered nonprofits and charities can claim 20% off monthly or annual Whereby Meetings Pro and Business plans by emailing support, per a 2023 Whereby announcement.
Stated on whereby.com
How its prices have moved
- Apr 13, 2026Pro: $8.99 per month, billed monthly → $10.99 per month, billed monthlyThe archived copy of 13 April 2026 gives the monthly price of Pro as $10.99; the copy before it that we read, of 15 February 2026, gives $8.99. The price changed between the two.
- Apr 13, 2026Business: $11.99 per host / month, billed monthly → $13.99 per host / month, billed monthlyThe archived copy of 13 April 2026 gives the monthly price of Business as $13.99 per host; the copy before it that we read, of 15 February 2026, gives $11.99. The price changed between the two.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
2
Places it runs: Web and iOS
Browser-based video meetings with permanent room links. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, noise cancellation, whiteboard, video calls, file sharing.
Around the fixed room link sit screen sharing, chat with reactions, breakout groups, recording, locked rooms and embedded Miro boards.
- Rooms that run in the browser
- Calls run in desktop and mobile browsers over WebRTC with no download needed, and guests join a fixed room URL without creating an account.
- Collaboration during calls
- Screen sharing, live chat with reactions and file sharing, breakout groups, and embedded Miro boards and Google Docs for working together.
- Recording
- The Pro plan lists unlimited recording, and the Meetings plan comparison lists local recording, which saves a call to your own device.
- Room controls
- Rooms can be locked so the host decides who joins, with background effects and noise reduction in calls and a custom waiting room on the plan comparison.
- Branding and shared rooms
- Pro adds custom room colors, logos and backgrounds. Business adds a custom subdomain, shared rooms, and Flex rooms that run without a licensed host present.
- Whereby Embedded API
- A separately priced API and SDK for adding video calls to your own product: free to test, then $9.99 a month plus usage, with 2,000 participant minutes included.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
What it works with
- Miro
- Google Docs
- Google Calendar
- Trello
- YouTube
- Outlook
- Slack
Who makes Whereby
Whereby is made by Whereby AS, a Norwegian company with a fully remote team that began in 2013 as appear.in, an intern project inside the telecom company Telenor. It sells paid plans for Whereby Meetings and usage-based plans for Whereby Embedded, its video-call API for other apps.
- Founded
- 2013whereby.com
- Based
- Måløy, Norwaywhereby.com
- Ownership
- Privately held. Privately held. Its About page says it was spun out of Telenor in 2017 to new owners, Videonor, and its careers page says its main investors are a local family office in Måløy.whereby.com
- Funding
- Raised $12 million from Point Nine, the SaaStr fund and more than 20 angel investors, as TechCrunch reported in March 2021. Its own careers page says its main investors are a local family office in Måløy.techcrunch.comwhereby.com
- Founders and leaders
- Howard Wu, CEOwhereby.com
- Lately
- Whereby SDK & Product Updates July 2026 · Aug 4, 2026
- Whereby SDK & Product Updates June 2026 · Jul 2, 2026
- New: Get Feedback on Your Call Quality with Session Ratings⭐️ · Apr 29, 2026
- Whereby Partners with Assuric to Strengthen Secure, Compliant Virtual Care · Apr 20, 2026
Read on Oct 6, 2026 from the company’s own pages and from news reports. What is not stated there is left out.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
8/33
Other team communication apps it is graded above
Whereby's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 8 of the 33 other team communication apps we grade, and level with 11.
It stands best on ease of use (B, above 24 of 33) and worst on free plan and trial (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $10.99 a month, against a middle price of $7 for the category: 18 of the 28 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 8 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 34 team communication apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Whereby’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 2 of 33
- CFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 33
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 33
- BEase of useAbove 24 of 33
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 1 of 33
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 31 team communication apps. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Whereby is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Whereby you would be making video calls. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 14 of the 33 other team communication apps grade higher. It costs $131.88 a year.
What you could not
- Video calls.
- Audio cleaned up live as you speak.
- An endless canvas that stays smooth with hundreds of things on it.
- Storing and serving files for other people.
- A real app for iOS. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, Miro, Google Docs and Google Calendar among them, and has an API.
- Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations.
What this rests on. Whereby’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Zoom, Google Meet, Jitsi Meet, Webex and Microsoft Teams
The 5 tools Whereby is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.6GPA
Zoom
Free plan · from $14.16/mo
Video meetings bundled with team chat, phone and AI notes.
- Only Zoom lists macOS, Windows, Linux and Android apps.
- Only Zoom lists a browser extension.
- Whereby also covers noise cancellation and file sharing.
- 2.8GPA
Google Meet
Free plan · from $7/mo
Browser-based video meetings included with Google Workspace.
- Only Google Meet lists an Android app.
- Whereby also covers whiteboard and file sharing.
- Google Meet also covers meeting notes and transcription.
- 3.0GPA
Jitsi Meet
Free
Free, open-source video meetings you can self-host.
- Only Jitsi Meet lists macOS, Windows, Linux and Android apps.
- Jitsi Meet is open source, self-hostable and end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Whereby also covers noise cancellation, whiteboard and file sharing.
- 2.8GPA
Webex
Free plan · from $12/mo
Cisco's app for video meetings, messaging and calling.
- Only Webex lists macOS, Windows, Linux and Android apps.
- Webex also covers screen recording and team chat.
- 3.0GPA
Microsoft Teams
Free plan · from $4.00/mo
Chat, video meetings and calling tied into Microsoft 365.
- Only Microsoft Teams lists macOS, Windows and Android apps.
- Microsoft Teams also covers transcription and team chat.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
16
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Whereby free?
Whereby has a free plan. 1 host, 1 room URL, up to 4 attendees per meeting and meetings limited to 30 minutes.
How much does Whereby cost?
Whereby lists 3 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Whereby work on?
Whereby is available on Web and iOS.
Does Whereby offer any discounts?
Whereby publicly lists the following: Save 17% with annual billing; 20% off Pro and Business for nonprofits.
How is Whereby rated?
Whereby's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3,632 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 6, 2026.
Does Whereby have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. Whereby is listed for Web and iOS.
Does Whereby have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. Whereby is listed for Web and iOS.
Is Whereby open source?
Whereby is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 6, 2026.
Does Whereby have an API?
Yes. Whereby offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Whereby integrate with?
Whereby's listing names Miro, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Trello, YouTube, Outlook and Slack.
Does Whereby have a free trial?
Yes. 14-day free trial of the Business plan.
Who makes Whereby?
Whereby is made by a company of the same name. Privately held.
What are the alternatives to Whereby?
The closest alternatives to Whereby in our directory are Zoom, Google Meet, Jitsi Meet, Webex and Microsoft Teams.
How does Whereby compare with other team communication apps?
Whereby's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 8 of the 33 other team communication apps we grade, and level with 11.
Is Whereby good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Whereby C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $10.99 a month, against a middle price of $7 for the category: 18 of the 28 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Whereby?
To replace Whereby you would be making video calls. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Whereby’s own pages on Oct 6, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Whereby's own pages on 6 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-06-15.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Whereby AS. Prices change, so check whereby.com before you buy.
- whereby.com/information/meetings/pricing
- whereby.com
- whereby.com/information/meetings
- whereby.com/information/features
- whereby.com/information/embedded/pricing
- whereby.com/information/about-us/
- whereby.com/information/tos
- support.whereby.com/en/articles/4647170
- apps.apple.com/us/app/whereby-video-meetings/id878583078
- whereby.com/blog/how-were-helping-non-profits-stay-connected-for-less/
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Whereby, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/whereby
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Whereby: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/whereby
Know someone choosing between team communication apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/whereby/guide
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See our other guides
The best-graded team communication apps after Whereby, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Team Communication Insider's GuideEvery one of the 34 team communication apps we grade, compared
- Discord Insider's GuideFree text, voice and video chat built around servers3.6 GPA
- Pumble Insider's GuideTeam chat with unlimited message history on the free plan3.6 GPA
- Zoho Cliq Insider's GuideTeam chat, calls and meetings from the Zoho suite3.4 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Whereby’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Whereby is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Whereby AS. Prices and plans change: check whereby.com before you buy.