RingCentral Video vs Twist

Superior video calling functionalities
Unlimited file storage—great for online backup
2000+ integrations with Zapier
Employees in the office using RingCentral Video to have a video call with remote co-workers

Team collaboration is a skill. While it’s important to be able to work independently and manage your own workload, companies have more success when employees band together and work as one unit.  

But teamwork is looking a little different in the modern business world. More companies are creating flexible working environments and encouraging their employees to work remotely or on the go. While this generally increases employee engagement—and therefore boosts retention—it can also cause significant changes to the workflow.  

When employees aren’t sharing a workspace they need to find others ways to collaborate. It isn’t as simple as walking over to a colleague’s desk and having a quick chat. As such, communication tools such as RingCentral Video and Twist are becoming increasingly popular.

Instant messaging, file storage, and task management functions make communicating in real-time feel natural, even through a screen. 

But, as the demand for chat apps continues to grow, as does the competition. Which is the better communication tool: RingCentral Video or Twist? And how do they both shape up in comparison to other popular rivals?

RingCentral Video vs Twist comparison: An overview

RingCentral Video and Twist are both team chat apps with free plans. They are built with a focus on fast and efficient team communication, and help teams communicate with the following functionalities:

  • Direct messages
  • Threaded conversations
  • Video calling 
  • Screen sharing
  • Video chats 

While they can both be used for free, RingCentral Video and Twist also offer paid plans which upgrade users to a variety of additional features. However, in terms of pricing, it’s clear that one offers more for less. Let's look at them both in a little more detail.

Remote workers having a group video meeting via RingCentral Video by RingCentral

Twist

Twist markets itself as an alternative to better-known collaboration software, with better pricing. Owned by Doist, it’s aimed at teams that prioritize focused work, structured communication, and company-wide transparency.

Twist pricing starts at $5 per month. It also offers a free trial, which is often seen as a benefit. However, free trials can be misleading. Most commonly, they suck in users and make them realize that the free plan isn’t enough. Twist’s free plan has a number of restrictions, such as:

  • Limited integrations
  • A searchable archive of only one month 
  • Limited file storage

Twist is all about getting down to business. It markets itself as “distraction free”, which is great for small teams looking for simple and effective collaboration software without sugar coating. But, is Twist too simple?

Employee using his laptop to access RingCentral Video by RingCentral

RingCentral Video

RingCentral Video is provided by RingCentral and offers free video meetings with built-in team messaging. It focuses on being smart, private, and secure, and enables teams to take meetings to the next level. 

RingCentral Video pricing is the same as Twist, with its paid plan starting at  $5 per month. But RingCentral Video has the edge as, unlike Twist, it doesn’t offer a free trial. This is because the free plan has more than enough to offer. This includes:

  • 2000+ integrations with Zapier
  • Easily searchable message history 
  • Unlimited file storage—great for online backup and businesses that generate a lot of content 

RingCentral Video is also favorable because it works as well on a mobile device as a computer. From Android to iOS and Mac to HP, RingCentral Video is a great collaboration tool for teams both big and small.

With 400,000+ companies all around the world using RingCentral Video, it smoothly combines practicality and style, to perfect team chats and boost internal communications. And it does it all for free.

RingCentral Video vs Twist: Messaging

Employee using RingCentral Video by RingCentral on both laptop and mobile devices

Messaging is a key part of teamwork. It’s essential for colleagues working both in the same office and in separate workplaces. Collaboration is much faster and more efficient when you can:

  • Send an instant message to a group or direct message to a colleague
  • See that they’ve read it; and
  • Receive a response within minutes

RingCentral Video and Twist both have instant messaging functions. These can be used to collaborate between team members and ping messages back and forth. 

However, RingCentral Video’s messaging app gives you more for less. While Twist’s free plan has many limitations, RingCentral Video provides lots of free functionalities, as shown in the table:

A comparison between RingCentral Video and Twist in terms of messaging functionalities
RingCentral Video Twist
Emojis? Yes Yes
Unlimited teams? Yes No
Gifs? Yes Yes, with extension
File storage Yes No

It’s important for companies to use the best possible messaging services available. Communication is the core of a company, and team messaging ensures it’s fast, professional, and reliable.

RingCentral Video’s superior messaging features not only make team collaboration more efficient, but they also make it more enjoyable. Sharing and exchanging funny gifs, emojis, images or videos boosts teamwork and helps employees to create more positive relationships with one another. When your employees love what they do, you’ll improve in the following areas:

Retention

When employees love what they do, they’ll stick around for longer. This means less time spent on recruitment and onboarding processes, and more time on what matters. Employees that are loyal to your company and who enjoy being there act as your own promoters and create better relationships with customers and clients. 

Teams that exchange jokes and have a laugh are more likely to work better together and enjoy what they do.

Remote employee using RingCentral Video to have a conversation with his teammate via video call

Company culture

Company culture is important, whether employees share a workspace or work in different locations. A positive company culture keeps employees happy, creates a good reputation, and helps a business beat its competitors. 

RingCentral Video’s messaging app helps with this as it encourages employees to have fun, friendly, and professional relationships. When employees are able to message freely and less formally they will make stronger connections, which then feeds back into the workflow. 

A space where colleagues can send each other emojis and gifs helps improve internal communications and develops professional yet comfortable relationships. When employees look forward to messaging each other, team communication goes to a new level.

RingCentral Video vs Twist: Video calls

Work-from-home employee joining a group video call using RingCentral Video

Video calling is an important aspect of teamwork. Teams communicate better when they can easily hop on a call and see each other in person. While messaging is great for more straightforward communications, video calls help to get a greater understanding of what someone is trying to say. An important part of many business interactions is reading body language and listening to the tone of their voice. Collaboration is much faster when you can:

  • Jump on a call
  • Explain your thoughts out loud; and
  • Receive an instant verbal response

When it comes to video conferencing and calling, how do RingCentral Video and Twist differ?

A comparison between RingCentral Video and Twist in terms of video conferencing and calling
RingCentral Video Twist
Screen sharing? Yes No
Video conferencing? Yes No
In-built video calling? Yes No

The main difference between RingCentral Video and Twist when it comes to video calls is that Twist doesn’t have the function built in. This means that you have to use the appear.in integration—or Zapier—to enable video calls.  

Differently, RingCentral Video by RingCentral already has video calling built in, making life that little bit simpler. RingCentral Video’s superior video calling functionalities help take businesses to the next level. When teams regularly use video calls, a company improves in the following areas:

Customer service

When employees are regularly communicating with one another face to face, they develop better social skills. As a result, they become better at communicating with customers and clients, and know how to vocalize certain areas about the business.

Video calls can also be used for promotional means, through web calls or by uploading clips onto social media channels. Employees that are good at communicating via video call and express themselves well represent the company positively and make people want to connect with their services.

Customer service representative using RingCentral Video to communicate with clients

Remote working

Remote working is becoming increasingly popular. When employees work from anywhere, video calling becomes a great way to keep everyone connected either within or outside business hours, and ensures that group projects don’t fall behind. Employees who regularly use video chats become more confident at expressing their thoughts and opinions.   

A company that supports its employees to work from anywhere is more desirable. People want to know that their employer trusts them to get the work done when not under constant supervision.

RingCentral Video vs Twist: Storage

Website Redesign Team using RingCentral Video by RingCentral for file sharing and file storage

Storage might not be the first thing teams look for when they choose their collaboration tools. But it should be a consideration. Being able to share files is a basic requirement when teams collaborate and there’s nothing more frustrating than regularly running out of space.

Collaboration and project management are much easier when you can:

  • Send loads of files
  • Receive loads of files; and 
  • Search through your entire message history 

RingCentral Video and Twist are very different when it comes to storage:

A comparison between RingCentral Video and Twist in terms of storage
RingCentral Video Twist
File storage Unlimited 5GB
Searchable message history? Unlimited Limited to one month
File annotation Yes No

While RingCentral Video offers unlimited storage for its free users, Twist only offers 5GB, which means that users will be restricted very quickly. Twist also restricts its free users from accessing message history, meaning that users can’t look back over the archive of different threaded conversations when they need to fact check or find an accidentally deleted file. File annotation is also not supported. 

File sharing is one of the most important parts of collaboration. Every member of the team needs to be on the same page, which requires them to have access to all relevant documents. With RingCentral Video, file sharing is simple and straightforward, and users have all the space they need. When this is the case, the following areas are improved:

Organization

Collaboration is all about being organized. When a project is shared across numerous employees, departments, and even countries, it’s important for everyone to have access to the relevant information. 

Employees that are able to share as many files as they need to, become more organized and teamwork is more efficient. With RingCentral Video, file annotation allows all users to make live edits, while also keeping a record of the original version of the document.

Task management

Plenty of storage helps with task management. When there are a number of different employees working on the same project, it’s important for managers to keep an eye on all areas of the process.

When managers can easily receive documents and files without running out of space, they can track every area of the process. Whether it’s spreadsheets, screenshots, images, or videos, RingCentral Video’s generous storage ensures that managers know what’s going on at every stage.

RingCentral Video vs Twist: Integrations

RingCentral Video integrations

When a user chooses a messaging app, they normally don’t want to use it as an isolated tool. The best team chat apps work seamlessly alongside your other apps and tools, whether these are third party apps, project management systems, or open source apps. 

Collaboration is much easier when you can:

  • Sync with lots of apps
  • Connect notifications; and 
  • Use the same account information for numerous apps

When it comes to integrations, RingCentral Video and Twist differ greatly:

A comparison between RingCentral Video and Twist in terms of app integrations
RingCentral Video Twist
Integrated team calendar? Yes No
Integrated task management Unlimited No
Number of integrations Unlimited 5 maximum

While Twist’s free version has restrictions on integrations, with RingCentral Video you can easily connect to all the apps you need, such as Dropbox, Trello, and Asana. You can also use Zapier to instantly connect and pull notifications and alerts from these apps right into your RingCentral Video chat. Want that next vital video conference to appear on the team calendars of all team members? With RingCentral Video, it’s no problem.  

Smooth integration means your apps collaborate with one another and work together to create the best team communication experience. RingCentral Video understands how important this is, and makes integration a priority. When integration is done right, companies can improve in the following areas:

Recruitment

Recruitment is an important area for any company. Hiring the right people creates a strong team and creates a positive working atmosphere. However, recruitment can also be time consuming. 

Using a collaboration tool with unlimited integrations like RingCentral Video means that you can automate some of your recruitment tasks and use chatbots to screen candidates. You can also sync your LinkedIn account and Google Drive, and receive notifications via the app, saving time and resources. 

Hiring managers using RingCentral Video to conduct an online interview

Audits

There comes a time in every employer’s life when they have to conduct an audit or compliance review. In fact, these times will come about often because audits should occur regularly. How can RingCentral Video help? 

RingCentral Video’s generous integrations with SaaS solutions such as Kanban, Github, and more mean that auditing doesn’t have to take forever. When apps are seamlessly connected with a messaging API like RingCentral Video, all information is secure, confidential, and easily controlled. And, with online backup services, you never need to worry about losing the wrong file.

RingCentral Video vs Twist: Live support

Agent using RingCentral Video for live support

Every app user wants to know that they can get support when they need it—not only within business hours. They also want to know of different payment options for paid plans. The best providers communicate with their users quickly and clearly, and provide them with options.

Collaboration is much easier when you can:

  • Contact a support team
  • Receive an answer quickly; and 
  • Know the option is always there

But how do RingCentral Video and Twist shape up in terms of support?

A comparison between RingCentral Video and Twist in terms of live support
RingCentral Video Twist
Live support? 24/7 Business hours
Payment options Billed annually or monthly Billed monthly

The table shows that RingCentral Video users have more support and payment options than Twist users. RingCentral, RingCentral Video’s parent company, provides 24/7 support to all users to ensure that all matters are resolved quickly and efficiently. This means more time working and less time twiddling your thumbs waiting for a response. 

For paid plan users, RingCentral Video also has the option to be billed annually and to be billed monthly. When you choose annual you could save up to 38%--so this is a useful option to be aware of. 

When companies enjoy flexible payment options and free and fast support, they are able to improve in the following areas:

Recruitment

Recruitment is an important area for any company. Hiring the right people creates a strong team and creates a positive working atmosphere. However, recruitment can also be time consuming. 

Using a collaboration tool with unlimited integrations like RingCentral Video means that you can automate some of your recruitment tasks and use chatbots to screen candidates. You can also sync your LinkedIn account and Google Drive, and receive notifications via the app, saving time and resources. 

Hiring managers using RingCentral Video to conduct an online interview

Audits

There comes a time in every employer’s life when they have to conduct an audit or compliance review. In fact, these times will come about often because audits should occur regularly. How can RingCentral Video help? 

RingCentral Video’s generous integrations with SaaS solutions such as Kanban, Github, and more mean that auditing doesn’t have to take forever. When apps are seamlessly connected with a messaging API like RingCentral Video, all information is secure, confidential, and easily controlled. And, with online backup services, you never need to worry about losing the wrong file.

RingCentral Video vs Twist: Integrations

RingCentral Video integrations

When a user chooses a messaging app, they normally don’t want to use it as an isolated tool. The best team chat apps work seamlessly alongside your other apps and tools, whether these are third party apps, project management systems, or open source apps. 

Collaboration is much easier when you can:

  • Sync with lots of apps
  • Connect notifications; and 
  • Use the same account information for numerous apps

When it comes to integrations, RingCentral Video and Twist differ greatly:

A comparison between RingCentral Video and Twist in terms of app integrations
RingCentral Video Twist
Integrated team calendar? Yes No
Integrated task management Unlimited No
Number of integrations Unlimited 5 maximum

While Twist’s free version has restrictions on integrations, with RingCentral Video you can easily connect to all the apps you need, such as Dropbox, Trello, and Asana. You can also use Zapier to instantly connect and pull notifications and alerts from these apps right into your RingCentral Video chat. Want that next vital video conference to appear on the team calendars of all team members? With RingCentral Video, it’s no problem.  

Smooth integration means your apps collaborate with one another and work together to create the best team communication experience. RingCentral Video understands how important this is, and makes integration a priority. When integration is done right, companies can improve in the following areas:

Business growth

Small teams might start using a collaboration tool that fits their needs right now. However, collaboration software and chat apps that are built for small businesses might not fulfill their needs in later years.

While Twist is adequate for small teams, you’re restricted if you want to grow. RingCentral Video is great for businesses with big dreams. The support from RingCentral ensures that teams feel comfortable and protected in case anything goes wrong. Teams know they can always contact RingCentral if they have any queries or concerns, and can add additional features when they might be needed. 

Additionally, flexible payment options might mean saving money. This can then be put to good use in another area. Whether it’s more money spent on recruitment, software, or marketing, saving money is never something to complain about.

Team using RingCentral Video to collaborate on a task

And the winner is… RingCentral Video

High quality video meetings

When it comes to video meetings, RingCentral Video is the way to go. While Twist might support the very basic functions, RingCentral Video takes video calls to a new level, ensuring that quality isn’t disturbed. 

With RingCentral Video, all calls take place in HD. Plus, the noise reducing function allows users to lower their distracting background noise. So, whether your video conference is taking place in the office or at home, all users can be heard crisp and clear. 

RingCentral Video video calls can also be recorded and saved for a later date; making them great for webinars or social media content. And, unlike many alternatives, calls aren’t cut off at 40 minutes. They can last as long as you like. You can’t rush top collaboration.

With RingCentral Video, video calls aren’t simply a means to an end. They’re a spectacular and professional event that teams enjoy, building employee confidence and helping to form meaningful connections. 

The ability to work from anywhere

Manager using RingCentral Video to work remotely

Sure, Twist helps keep teams connected. But, with RingCentral Video, team connection feels totally natural. With seamless integrations and mighty storage, teams can work from a number of different workspaces without finding communication difficult in the slightest. And, with RingCentral Video, users can switch seamlessly between Android and iOS devices, allowing for greater flexibility.

Team communication has never been easier than with RingCentral Video. While many employees continue to work from the same office, a collaboration tool such as RingCentral Video that connects users across the globe will never be a bad thing. 

When employees are great at team communication, business opportunities continue to grow. Business trips, travel, and remote working all become possible when employees are less restricted by their workplace. 

Superior task management

Team communication is a lot about task management. While Twist helps unlock email inboxes and allows teams to chat amongst themselves, it simply doesn’t tie in everything a team needs to stay connected. RingCentral Video, on the other hand, offers a range of functionalities that ensure task management is always up to scratch. 

With RingCentral Video, users are provided with all the tools they need to plan, connect, and organize. RingCentral Video’s integrated calendar allows users to stay on the same page and have full visibility of all events. Task management features are built right into your team communication platform, allowing you to assign tasks and attach notes and files. And, color coding and personalization helps tailor the app to your organizational tastes.

Task management isn’t just about messaging. With RingCentral Video, you get complete transparency over all your team’s activities, making it the best way to collaborate. It’s the hardest working task management software out there.

Choose RingCentral Video

RingCentral Video’s all-in-one app works on any device

Sure, there’s nothing wrong with Twist…if you don’t particularly enjoy video calls. But, for teams who use video calls regularly to communicate (and you really should) RingCentral Video is the more sophisticated choice.

Find out more about RingCentral Video by checking out our demos or contacting our sales team.