What is a video conferencing API?

A video conferencing API (Application Programming Interface) is a type of communications API that enables your business to embed video conferencing capabilities into your existing digital properties. Communications APIs provide a standardized framework that allows different software to communicate with one another and share data, giving you a plug-and-play component for video conferencing.

Instead of hiring a team of developers to build a video player, secure it, integrate it with your core business applications, and incorporate it into your digital channels, you simply embed the video API code. This enables you to quickly and effectively scale communications and deliver customized video experiences for your customers across all the channels you use to connect with them.

Key features of video conferencing API integration

When considering which video conferencing API to invest in, you should put serious thought into the features on offer. Here’s a list of the key features you should expect from any high-quality service:

1. Clear and stable video and audio

If a video conferencing service can’t deliver rock-solid video and audio, it’s fundamentally unfit for purpose. Whether you need individual calls, group chats, or large-scale broadcasts, your API of choice should ensure that you never need to worry about quality dips or dropouts, even in the midst of connectivity struggles.

2. Excellent security

Business calls carry private information that can cause major damage if leaked, so it’s vital that proper security measures are in place. A video conferencing service should combine up-to-date end-to-end encryption protocols with full-spectrum regulatory compliance and solid options for controlling user account access.

3. Configurable screen sharing

In one-on-one calls and group calls alike, screen sharing can help clarify confusing points of discussion, share presentations, or allow people dealing with technical issues to show problems they don’t know how to describe. A good video call API will include options for sharing chosen screens or windows in high quality.

4. Reliable call recording

Capturing and storing video calls for future reference is a critical business feature, as those recordings are vital for reviewing performance, making notes, informing training sessions, and keeping compliance records. 

A well-designed video calling API should offer secure and regulation-ready recording storage while ensuring it can be easily accessed by the right people when needed.

5. Broad customizability

For branding purposes, it’s useful to be able to customize video streams with logos and watermarks, as well as add branded elements such as polls or live chat windows.

Using a video integration for a website or app that’s overly rigid with layouts and stream elements regardless of payment tier wastes excellent marketing opportunities.

6. Built-in analytics tools

Regardless of the scale of operation, an API for video conferencing should feature native analytics features. They ought to cover such things as participant actions, call quality, usage patterns, and goal conversions. It should also make these features easy to access through a cohesive and intuitive dashboard.

7. Cross-channel capability

Because video calls often appear upstream or downstream of important user or customer touchpoints, it needs to be easy to set up integrations with relevant systems (such as CRMs or CDPs) and ensure that data flows accordingly. 

This will help your business communicate effectively through video calls and use them to drive engagement elsewhere (social media, your website, your mobile app, etc.).

8. Development options

This feature isn’t of use to every business, but enterprise companies may want to develop their own custom solutions, and it can help for an API to offer a video conference SDK (Software Development Kit). 

A video call SDK provides assets and guides to steer developers in building branded video conferencing apps. Offering a branded app built with a video calling SDK can achieve a better user experience than simply going with a video conferencing API for website integration.

Benefits of using video conferencing APIs 

There are a number of advantages to using video conferencing APIs. From enhanced customer engagement to reduced costs, let’s explore some of the main benefits: 

1. Streamline the video conferencing experience

Consumer interest in video chatting with businesses is on the rise. In fact, the Vonage Global Customer Engagement Report indicates that a whopping 74% of consumers use video chat/call platforms with businesses/service providers.

A video API simplifies that customer experience (CX). Whether customers are using your app, visiting your corporate website or e-commerce platform, or interacting with you via social media, they can initiate a video chat with your business from right where they are. They don't have to navigate their way to your contact page or sign into a third-party video conferencing app. Instead, they have a seamless customer experience. 

2. Enhance customer engagement through face-to-face interactions 

Video conferencing allows your customer-facing teams to get up close and personal with users. Even from a great distance, agents can see what customers see, view them smile, and smile back — all of which can help build personal connections and deliver personalized service.

Using a video conferencing API, your team can provide personalized tutorials, step-by-step remote support, and real-time guidance. 

For example, if a customer is struggling to learn how to use your product, your agent can see what the user is doing wrong and demonstrate how to do it correctly. The agent can walk them through how to install or set up your product, how to customize your software, or how to optimize your solution to get the best possible results.

3. Reduce customer service costs and sales expenses 

Video conferencing can reduce costs in numerous ways. By enabling real-time, personalized support, you can improve customer satisfaction and engagement, reducing your customer attrition rate and the costs associated with finding new customers to replace them.

By improving your first-time resolution rate, video conferencing can also save time and, as a result, money. You can even record video calls and turn them into tutorials for your self-service portal, empowering customers to solve their problems without human intervention. 

Finally, you can reduce travel costs for salespeople and field technicians, who can resolve problems or close deals face-to-face without being in person.

While video conferencing can reduce the cost of customer support, a video API can reduce the cost of video conferencing. Building a customized, multichannel video conferencing experience from scratch is time-consuming and expensive. A video API is a plug-and-play solution that works out of the box, getting you up and running quickly — no developers or programmers needed. 

4. Chat across channels 

A video conferencing API enables your business to embed video anywhere and everywhere you interact with your customers, so they can start a conversation with your business via the channel of their choosing.

When Vonage asked consumers where they prefer to video chat with businesses and service providers, most chose external channels, such as WhatsApp (43%), Zoom (28%), Facebook/Messenger (19%), Google Meet/Duo/Hangouts (20%), and Microsoft (18%). (Source: Vonage Global Customer Engagement Report 2025.)

A video conferencing API enables you to chat across channels and ensures a seamless CX. Your API isn't just integrated into each channel; it's also integrated with your CRM, e-commerce platform, and other databases that store customer data. This means that regardless of which channel your team is using to interact with a customer, they have all the relevant information — including customer profile data, buying history, and customer service call notes — right in front of them, so they can personalize the conversation wherever it happens.

5. Safeguard customer data 

Communications APIs facilitate continuous, secure transactions between business applications, enabling your agents to handle sensitive information and protected customer data without worrying about compromising security or failing to comply with privacy standards.

Your communications vendor can provide a secure network and rich security features built into the API from the ground up. For example, Vonage Verify API enables you to implement two-factor authentication into your communication touchpoints to protect your data against fraud. Customers can verify their identity using SMS, voice, email, and/or WhatsApp, preventing bad actors from gaining unauthorized access.

What are the best video conference API options? 

When choosing a web video conferencing API, you’ll find that there are many services on the market, so it can be hard to know where to start. Since it’s an important decision to make, you don’t want to make a mistake.

To help you decide, here’s an overview of some of the top options on the market, each of which has something to offer:

1. Vonage Video API

Vonage Video API offers a flexible and scalable video solution with Full HD WebRTC and HLS support. 

It's designed to provide high-quality video streaming with robust encryption, making it a great fit whether you’re working on small projects or need an enterprise-scale implementation. 

And, with advanced features ranging from granular real-time and post-call analytics to spatial audio, you can proceed with confidence that you have everything you need to succeed.

Strengths:

• Customizable video and security options

• Robust archiving and session tracking

• Cross-platform compatibility

Pricing: From $0.00395 per participant, per minute

2. Agora.io

Agora.io offers a platform for real-time interactions. Whether you're looking to create video, voice, or messaging functionality, this API supports seamless communication. The network's global reach ensures that calls remain stable and consistent, and its SDKs allow for broad personalization.

Strengths:

• Low-latency video and audio

• Easy integration with tweakable SDKs

• Efficient scaling across regions

Pricing: Paid plans start at $3.99 per 1000 minutes for video calling and $0.59 per 1000 minutes for broadcast streaming, with 10000 free minutes per month

3. Daily.co

Daily.co is intuitive and flexible, making it easy to quickly integrate video conferencing API features and start making customizations when needed. With HD video, automated transcripts, and scalability, it’s designed for organizations looking for straightforward yet adaptable solutions.

Strengths:

• Developer-friendly flexibility

• Support for HD video and scalable live streaming

• Simple pre-built components for rapid setup

Pricing: Video calling starts at $0.004 per minute, per participant but goes down to $0.0015 at scale, with 10000 free minutes per month

4. CometChat

CometChat offers a comprehensive solution that brings text, audio, and video functionality together. Its user-friendly design and clear documentation allow developers to get going with minimal hassle, making this API a robust option for building smooth chat and video experiences across various devices.

Strengths:

• Cohesive text, voice, and video communication

• Intuitive design with ready-made components

• Reliable operation across multiple platforms

Pricing: Video calling starts at $0.003 per minute, per participant

5. MirrorFly

MirrorFly is about control and customization, allowing developers to fine-tune their video conferencing setups. Since it can be self-hosted with tweakable source code, it’s a fair choice for enterprises seeking to design their own stable custom communications infrastructure.

Strengths:

• Customizability and adaptability

• Control over SDKs and source code

• Privacy-focused video calling

Pricing: Starts at $0.08 per user, per month for up to 5000 active users

6. EnableX

EnableX boasts a strong feature set (including live streaming and breakout rooms) and a secure service at an affordable price, making it a decent fit for industries that want compliance at scale without tremendous cost. 

Strengths:

• A respectable selection of video conference options

• Excellent compliance for all industry types

• Interactive tools (including whiteboards)

Pricing: $0.004 per minute per participant for sessions with up to 50 participants

8. Zoom Video SDK

Zoom is a familiar service in video communication, and its video conferencing SDK makes it easy for developers to embed Zoom into their apps. As you might expect, it’s effective for large calls covering events such as webinars or demonstrations, operating well at scale in varied conditions.

Strengths:

• High participant limits for large virtual events

• Easy screen sharing and real-time interactions

• Tried-and-tested infrastructure

Pricing: starts at $0.31 per user per minute, with 10000 free minutes per month

Keep in mind that most video conferencing APIs offer free trials, so don’t leap into paying for anything before you need to. Take advantage of those trials to see how different services suit your business, then take the plunge once you’re confident you’ve found the right one for you.

Get started with Vonage Video API

Whatever your intentions with video conferencing, Vonage Video API has what you’re looking for. Drop in high-quality video calling with a ready-made integration, set up an app with Vonage Video Express, or build a fully customized video experience. It’s up to you.

Any implementation will grant outstanding video API features with superb call quality, reliability, and security, giving you a video service you can trust. And with the Advanced Insights API at your disposal, you can dig deep with data analysis and figure out how to optimize the quality of your service and user experience.

So, if you’re interested in seeing how exceptional video conferencing can support your business, try Vonage Video API today.