Facebook Portal Video Calling Device

If you can’t be there, feel there with Portal

3.0•1 review•

3 followers

If you can’t be there, feel there with Portal

3.0•1 review•

3 followers

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Camera apps

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Video and Voice calling

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Physical Products

Facebook Portal is a brand of smart displays developed in 2018 by Facebook, Inc. The product line consists of four models (Portal, Portal Plus, Portal Mini, and Portal TV) that provide video chat via Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, augmented by a camera that can automatically zoom and track people's movements.

The Best Facebook Portal Video Calling Device Alternatives

The best Facebook Portal Video Calling Device alternatives are Facebook Messenger, Echo Show, AIWatchfulCompanion, The Meeting Owl, and tonari.

Facebook Messenger

3.0 ·

Choose Facebook Messenger if...

✓you want video calls without buying new hardware
✓you need chatting without a phone number
✓you want bots and alert-style notifications

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Echo Show

Choose Echo Show if...

✓you want Alexa smart home control plus calling
✓you prefer voice-first routines, timers, and media
✓you want one screen for everyday household tasks

See details ↓

AIWatchfulCompanion

5.0 ·

Choose AIWatchfulCompanion if...

✓you want monitoring alerts for kids or seniors
✓you need real-time alerts plus video check-ins
✓you want to use existing devices, not dedicated hardware

See details ↓

The Meeting Owl

Choose The Meeting Owl if...

✓you run hybrid meetings in a conference room
✓you need 360-degree room capture and speaker focus
✓you need hardware that works across meeting platforms

See details ↓

tonari

Choose tonari if...

✓you need enterprise-grade immersive telepresence rooms
✓you want life-size presence and true eye contact
✓you need ultra-low latency for distributed offices

See details ↓

What to Consider

Facebook Portal helped popularize the idea of a living-room-friendly video calling device—an always-ready screen that makes staying in touch feel effortless. But the alternatives landscape quickly branches out: software-first options like Facebook Messenger replicate much of the calling experience without adding hardware, while smart displays like Echo Show wrap video chat into a broader Alexa-powered home hub. There are also niche, purpose-built paths—AIWatchfulCompanion shifts the focus from conversation to caregiving-style monitoring and alerts, Meeting Owl targets 360° room capture for hybrid work, and tonari goes premium with enterprise-grade telepresence.

In evaluating alternatives to Facebook Portal, we looked at whether you need dedicated hardware or can use existing devices, which calling/messaging ecosystems each option supports, and how reliably they run day to day. We also weighed “video calling as the core job” versus broader smart-home utility, plus specialized requirements like monitoring/alerts, cross-platform meeting compatibility, and the ability to scale from a single household to teams or enterprise deployments.

Facebook Messenger

Hang out anytime, anywhere

3.0 · 2 reviews

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If the goal is Portal-style communication without adding another device to the home, Facebook Messenger is the most straightforward swap. It delivers video calls, voice calls, and messaging across phones, tablets, and desktops, making it easier to reach people wherever they already are rather than anchoring conversations to a dedicated screen.

Messenger also stands out when you want an identity that isn’t strictly phone-number-based, which can be helpful for connecting with communities or contacts without sharing a number. Beyond person-to-person chat, it doubles as a utility channel for automated notifications and bots, which turns it into more than just a calling app.

Compared with Facebook Portal’s appliance-like simplicity, Messenger trades the “always-on living room” feel for flexibility and portability. It’s best when convenience means fewer devices, faster access, and more ways to communicate from the screens you already use.

Best for

Best for people who want Portal-like calling and messaging without buying dedicated hardware.

Standout features

✓Runs on phones, tablets, and desktops
✓Video and voice calling plus messaging
✓Account use without relying on phone number
✓Bot-friendly channel for automated alerts

Echo Show

Amazon Echo now has a screen

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Echo Show is built around Alexa first, with video calling as one part of a broader smart-display experience. That makes it a stronger alternative to Facebook Portal for households that want a central place for voice control, media, and quick visual info—not just a device that mainly shines during calls.

Because it functions as an ambient home hub, it’s useful throughout the day for routines, timers, reminders, and smart home commands, even when nobody is on a video chat. The always-available screen and voice interface can reduce friction compared with reaching for a phone or opening an app.

Portal tends to feel like a purpose-built calling appliance, while Echo Show fits better when “do everything” beats “do one thing extremely well.” If the home already runs on Alexa, it’s the most seamless way to combine calling with everyday household utility.

Best for

Ideal for Alexa households that want a do-it-all smart display with calling included.

Standout features

✓Alexa voice assistant built in
✓Smart home control and routines
✓Hands-free timers, reminders, and media
✓Video calling on a home display

AIWatchfulCompanion

AI Caregiver to assist in caring for your loved ones

5.0 · 7 reviews

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AIWatchfulCompanion reframes the problem from “better video calls” to “better peace of mind.” Instead of centering on a living-room calling screen like Facebook Portal, it focuses on monitoring scenarios where alerts and check-ins matter—such as keeping an eye on elderly parents, kids, or other at-risk situations.

The key advantage is its real-time, AI-driven approach: it’s designed to detect concerning events and surface notifications, then let families follow up with a video check-in when needed. That’s a fundamentally different value proposition than Portal’s emphasis on making casual calls feel more natural.

It also fits setups where buying and placing dedicated hardware in every room isn’t realistic. By leaning on existing devices, it can be easier to deploy across locations, particularly for caregivers managing multiple households or monitoring contexts.

Best for

Best for caregivers and families who prioritize monitoring alerts and quick video check-ins.

Standout features

✓AI-driven monitoring and alerting
✓Real-time notifications for potential issues
✓Video check-ins when alerts trigger
✓Works without dedicated new hardware

The Meeting Owl

Intelligent 360°All-in-One Video Conferencing Hardware

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The Meeting Owl is purpose-built for group settings where a single camera angle fails. While Facebook Portal targets home and family calls, Meeting Owl is designed for conference rooms and classrooms, capturing the whole space so remote attendees can follow the room’s dynamics.

Its 360-degree camera approach is especially useful for hybrid meetings, where participants speak from different parts of the room and side conversations can be hard to track on a standard front-facing camera. By focusing on room coverage and speaker visibility, it aims to make in-room presence legible to remote teammates.

Another practical advantage is platform flexibility: it’s intended to work with whatever video conferencing service a team already uses. For organizations that don’t want communication hardware tied to a single messaging ecosystem, it’s a more neutral, meeting-centric alternative.

Best for

Ideal for teams running hybrid meetings from shared rooms or classrooms.

Standout features

✓360-degree room video capture
✓Optimized for hybrid conference rooms
✓Works across major conferencing platforms
✓Designed for multi-speaker group settings

tonari

life-sized video portals: be together in-person, anywhere.

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tonari sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from a consumer device like Facebook Portal: it’s enterprise telepresence designed for “feels like being there” interactions. Rather than a small screen for casual calls, it targets life-sized, high-fidelity presence that supports serious collaboration between offices.

The emphasis is on immersion—natural eye contact, low latency, and a sense of co-location that typical home video calling setups struggle to deliver. That difference matters for executive alignment, design reviews, training, and operational coordination where communication nuance is valuable.

Portal is a great fit for simple household calling, but tonari is the better alternative when quality and realism justify dedicated spaces and higher investment. It’s a purpose-built choice for organizations that want video to function more like a doorway between locations than a window on a screen.