Google Meet Versus Zoom: Which Video Conferencing Tool is Best?

In the age of remote work, virtual meetings, team collaboration, and virtual interviews, choosing the right video conferencing tool is crucial.

Google Meet and Zoom are two leading meeting tools, which you couldn’t ignore (even if you want to).

During the pandemic, Zoom became the leading video conferencing software. 300 million people use Zoom every day. Google is constantly pushing out new features to keep up with Zoom, which reflects in their numbers: Google Meet currently serves 100 million daily users.

In this post, I reveal the Google Meet versus Zoom battle from a productivity perspective. By the end of this post, you’ll walk away with actionable advice on how to choose the right video conferencing platform for your needs.

Let’s get started.

Google Meet Versus Zoom: Overview

Before we dive into the Google Meet versus Zoom battle, it’s useful to know that these video communication tools have slightly different yet overlapping niches.

Google Meet was officially launched in 2017 as part of Google Workspace. The goal was to complement Google Hangouts, but finally, it resulted in a total replacement.

Zoom dates back to 2011 when a former Cisco employee founded the now world’s largest video communication platform.

While Google Meet works as part of the Google ecosystem, Zoom actively established partnerships with top-notch companies and raised funding from different sources until it became the ultimate video conferencing software.

When one mentions Google Meet, you instantly associate it with Google, and when you hear about Zoom, you may think about the pandemic or a specific meeting. Don’t you?

The main difference between Google Meet and Zoom is that Google Meet is part of Google Workspace—it gives you a more holistic, yet less niched-down experience than Zoom.

Google Meet Versus Zoom: The Battle

Meeting management

Google Meet:

Google Meet has no desktop app. You can conveniently schedule a meeting in your browser or on mobile.

The simplest way, however, is to schedule a meeting in your Google Calendar: create an event, select the video conferencing option, then choose Google Meet. You can enable screen sharing and live chat for the participants if you want to.

Select participants from your Gmail contacts, and they’ll receive the invitation link, plus your meeting will populate their calendars.

On the meeting:

• Control participants’ access to share their screens, use the chat, and more.
• Set up a built-in virtual background or blur your background if you don’t want to showcase your home.
• Record your meeting on Google Drive.
• Use the chat function to exchange information with the group (Google Meet doesn’t support sending messages to individuals).
• Conduct a meeting poll with the invitees.
• Open a whiteboard (Google Jamboard) and collaborate with participants.
• Share your screen and start a presentation.
• Bring your experience to the next level with plugins.
• Go live on Youtube or Facebook.

Zoom:

You can schedule a Zoom meeting from the desktop app, web app, or even from your Google Calendar. You can use your personal meeting ID or generate a specific one for a single meeting. Zoom then will create an event in your calendar.

On the scheduling page:

• Set up the topic, time, and duration of the meeting (you can schedule a recurring meeting as well).
• Set up a waiting room or allow participants to join anytime.
• You may want to have Zoom automatically record the meeting upon launch (useful if you don’t show up in the meeting).
• Set alternative hosts who can manage the meeting (they need a paid Zoom license).

You can specify things in granular details, but setting up your Zoom client properly will preserve all those settings.

On the meeting:

• Control participants’ access to unmute themselves, start a video, share their screen, and a lot more.
• Set up a built-in virtual background or blur your background if you don’t want to showcase your home.
• Record the meeting to the Zoom cloud or on your computer.
• Open the chat and send messages to specific participants or the whole group.
• Create a meeting poll, let participants vote anonymously, then share the results.
• Open a whiteboard and collaborate with participants.
• Share your screen and start a presentation.
• Go live on Facebook or Youtube.
• Bring your Zoom experience to the next level with Zoom apps.

Integrations

Google Meet:

Google Meet integrates with third-party apps via plugins or individual integrations. Some popular integrations include Calendly, Miro, Microsoft Outlook, and Slack. Google Meet also integrates seamlessly with other Google tools, such as Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Gmail.

If you want more, connect Google Meet to 5,000+ apps via Zapier.

Zoom:

There’re currently 2,269 apps in the Zoom App Marketplace including Asana, Miro, Calendly, Jira, Confluence, and Trello. With Zapier, you can connect Zoom with 5,000+ apps.

If you don’t yet have a task manager app, read this article to quickly find your favorite one.

Security

Google Meet:

Google Meet adheres to the same robust security measures as Google does.

• Your data in Google Meet is encrypted in transit, and your recordings stored on Google Drive are encrypted as well.
• Participants without a calendar invitation cannot enter your meetings unless you give them access.
• The host can control participants’ rights before and during a meeting.
• Google has a 2-step verification in place to keep your account secure (optional).

Zoom:

There’ve been some security issues in the past, but Zoom has made strict security measures to address those issues since the pandemic.

The first layer of security is the 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard Zoom is using.

The second layer of security is in your hands. As a host, you can:

• Use a passcode to protect your meeting
• Enable a waiting room for invitees
• Secure a meeting with end-to-end encryption
• Expel participants or only allow participants to join from a given domain
• Control the access of participants during the meeting

User-friendliness

Google Meet:

Google Meet is a minimalist-looking video conferencing tool. There’s no desktop app or behind-the-scenes settings panel. You can schedule your meeting within the Google platform.

If you’re already deeply immersed in Google Workspace, you’ll have no trouble with Google Meet. Plus, you can take advantage of the Google tools within the same ecosystem.

• Schedule a meeting with ease right from Gmail or your calendar (there’s no need for third-party apps and integrations).
• Why not record your meetings on Google Drive if you’re already using it for your business?
• Use a professional Gmail address without ads (comes with paid plans along with Google Meet advanced functions).

Zoom:

Zoom has an easy-to-use interface. You can schedule a meeting with ease even from your calendar. The Zoom web client, however, has lots of granularities, which make it a bit cumbersome to use.

Once you deal with the settings upfront, however, you can sit back and have Zoom do the heavy lifting for you.

Participants can join from their web browsers, Zoom desktop apps, or phones. The Zoom web client has limited functionality, so I recommend using the desktop app.

Here’re some basic settings I use in the web client (see Settings » Meeting tab)

• Allow participants to share their screens: by default, Zoom doesn’t allow participants to share their screens, and you should manually give them access to every meeting.
• Enable to show a “Join from your browser” link for participants: this comes handy when you often meet with people not having a Zoom account (then Zoom won’t direct them to download the Zoom app).
• Turn off the waiting room: if you don’t want to admit participants individually, you can disable the waiting room.
• Allow live streaming of meetings: make sure that you enable streaming your meeting on Facebook and Youtube if you want.

Google Meet Versus Zoom: Pricing

Google Meet limits its free plan by 100 participants and puts a 60-minute time limit on individual meetings. If you want to upgrade your experience, Google Meet Starter Plan begins at $6/mo (per user), while Zoom Pro currently starts at $15/mo (per user).

With a free Zoom account, you can host unlimited meetings with 100 participants per meeting and with a 40-minute meeting duration. (Zoom currently introduced a 40-minute time limit for 1:1 meetings on their free plan.)

Google Meet Starter Plan offers a 24-hour meeting duration, 30GB storage place on Google Drive, plus you’ll get a professional email address. Polling and breakout rooms, however, are only available in the Standard Plan and above. Live streaming is available in Enterprise editions.

With a Zoom Pro account, you’ll get a 30-hour individual meeting duration, 5 GB storage place to record your meetings, and get access to polling, co-hosting, live streaming, and user management.

Google Meet Pros and Cons

Pros

• Part of the Google Workspace (a big advantage)
• Budget-friendly (especially for webinars)
• Easy-to-use interface
• Large storage space on Google Drive

Cons:

• No desktop app
• Limited admin controls
• Minor crashing issues (personal experience)—although they can be cured
• No live streaming beyond the enterprise edition

Zoom Pros and Cons

Pros

• Wide range of native integrations
• Advanced admin control and granularity
• Easy-to-use interface
• Awesome help center

Cons:

• Limited free plan
• Cumbersome setting details in the web client
• Expensive add-ons
• Poor video quality on the free plan

Questions to ask when choosing the right video conferencing tool

You may want to ask these questions to bring an end to the Google Meet versus Zoom battle in your head:

• Are you willing to pay for video conferencing software? What’s your budget?
• Are you already heavily invested (and immersed) in the Google ecosystem?
• Do you want to use your video conferencing tool for larger audiences?
• How often do you want to record your meetings? (Video recordings can quickly eat up your storage place.)
• Which tools do you want your video communication tool to integrate with? Is there a native integration available?

Google Meet versus Zoom: who’s the winner?

If you’re already working in Google Workspace and don’t want to bother with granular functions, Google Meet will be your best option.

If you, however, want a more niched-down, comprehensive video conferencing tool and have the budget, go with Zoom.

Zoom recently introduced Zoom Mail Client and Calendar Client to bring your communication into one place. You can connect your Gmail or Microsoft 365 account to Zoom and see your emails and events in a centralized place within the Zoom app. Time will tell, but this single feature may elevate Zoom from the Google Meet versus Zoom battle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Zoom shutting down after 40 minutes?

Zoom currently introduced a 40-minute time limit for 1:1 meetings on their free plan. If you want longer meetings, you should upgrade to Zoom Pro.

Is Google Meet safer than Zoom?

There’ve been some security issues with Zoom in the past, but they’ve placed strict measures to address those issues. Zoom, just like Google Meet, has multiple levels of security to keep your data safe.

Is there a time limit on Google Meet?

Google Meet has a 60-minute time limit for individual meetings. If you want more, you should upgrade to the Starter Plan, which comes with a 24-hour meeting duration.

What are the pros and cons of Google Meet?

Google Meet has an edge over Zoom in its pricing, simplicity, and connectedness to Google Workspace. On the other side, Google Meet lacks some advanced functions, it has no desktop app, and fewer native integrations.