Zoom vs Google Meet 2026: Price, Free Plan & Which to Choose
Zoom vs Google Meet compared: free plans, prices, platforms and licenses from official pages checked October 22, 2026.
•2 min read•Team Chat, Meetings & Phone
Verdict:Google Meet is the more convenient starting point for a free group call that needs to run beyond Zoom Basic's time limit. Both free plans support up to 100 participants, but Zoom Basic limits a meeting to 40 minutes and Meet allows 60 minutes for group meetings. For a recurring appointment, that difference matters more than an extra cosmetic feature. Recording is a separate decision. Zoom's plan comparison lists local recording for Basic and cloud recording on paid plans. Meet treats recording and transcripts as premium features in eligible Google plans. Do not assume a free meeting link includes a cloud recording. Choose the surrounding workflow as well as the call. Zoom Workplace brings chat, whiteboards, notes and scheduling into its app. Meet fits meetings into Google Workspace and is designed for browser and mobile access. Zoom Pro is listed at $14.16 per user per month with annual billing or $16.99 monthly; Meet's paid capabilities depend on the Workspace or Google One subscription. Check the exact plan before paying. Neither product is a self-hosted server. For that requirement, Jitsi Meet and BigBlueButton below deserve a separate technical evaluation.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom | Free (Basic plan: meetings up to 40 minutes and 100 participants, 3 AI meeting summaries a month, 5 clips of up to 2 minutes); paid from $14.16 per user/month, billed annually (Pro; $16.99 billed monthly) | Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Video Meetings | Docs only |
| Google Meet | Free (Free plan: up to 100 participants and 60 minutes per group meeting) | Web, iOS, Android | Video Meetings | Docs only |
| Jitsi Meet | Free (free; meetings on meet.jit.si limited to 95 minutes from October 9, 2026) | Web browser, Self-hosted | Video Meetings | Docs only |
| BigBlueButton | Free (Free to self-host; commercial hosting is sold by third parties and bigbluebutton.org lists no prices) | Self-hosted, Web browser | Video Meetings | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Zoom vs Google Meet side by side
| Compared | Zoom | Google Meet |
|---|---|---|
| Free meeting length | Up to 40 minutes | Up to 60 minutes per group meeting |
| Free participants | Up to 100 | Up to 100 |
| Paid from | $14.16 per user per month billed annually (Pro); $16.99 monthly | No standalone price; larger meetings come with certain Google One and Workspace plans |
| Recording workflow (Zoom, Google Meet) | Basic lists local recording; paid plans add cloud recording | Recording and transcripts are premium features in eligible plans |
| Collaboration workflow (Zoom, Google Meet) | Zoom Workplace bundles chat, whiteboards, notes and scheduling | Meet connects video meetings with Google Workspace collaboration |
| Joining a meeting (Zoom, Google Meet) | Participants can join from supported desktop, phone and tablet clients | Join from the browser or mobile apps; hosts can share a meeting link |
| Platforms | Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
Choose Zoom if
- You need local recording on the Basic plan or cloud recording on an eligible paid plan.
- You prefer Zoom Workplace chat, whiteboards and notes alongside meetings.
- You want supported desktop clients including Linux.
Choose Google Meet if
- Your free group meetings need up to 60 minutes.
- You already use Google Workspace and want meetings in that workflow.
- You mostly join from a browser or mobile app and can check premium recording eligibility.
Free alternatives to consider
- Jitsi Meet: Free (free; meetings on meet.jit.si limited to 95 minutes from October 9, 2026). Apache-2.0 (open source).
- BigBlueButton: Free (Free to self-host; commercial hosting is sold by third parties and bigbluebutton.org lists no prices). LGPL-3.0 (open source).
More options
Limits of this review
This is a dated documentation review. It does not measure performance, migration fidelity, security or support quality. Verify current regional availability, billing period and account limits before choosing.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Zoom vs Google Meet uses the vendors' own pricing, license and platform pages, checked October 22, 2026. It is a documentation-based comparison, not hands-on testing.