Zoom v/s Google Meet: Which one is better?
As COVID-19 cases continue to surge, more and more people are rushing to handle most of their jobs from the safety of their homes. The situation has spiked the usage of virtual meeting platforms, but picking the right tool can get difficult. This is why we have compared two leading meeting apps - Zoom and Google Meet. Let's see how they match up.
Zoom for meetings with up to 1,000 participants
With more than 200 million daily active users, Zoom is one of the most popular video-conferencing products on the block right now. It is simple to use but equipped with a range of collaborative tools - like screen sharing and recording, team chats, file sharing, searchable history - and audio-video controls, like backgrounds, for an ideal virtual meeting experience with up to 1,000 participants.
Google Meet for G Suite customers
Meanwhile, Google Meet is a part of Google's G Suite for businesses rather than a standalone product like Zoom. The cloud-based video-conferencing service has been raking up 2+ million users daily, thanks to features like support for up to 250 participants per call, live meeting streaming for up to 100,000 viewers, mute reminders, and the ability to save calls to Google Drive.
Google Meet has an upper hand in security
Google Meet looks like a better candidate than Zoom, which has been marred by issues ranging from Zoom-bombings, storing data in China to sending information to Facebook. The company is making changes to upgrade the security of its service and fix issues, but for now, Google Meet's controversy-free run, security and encryption, which meets various compliance certifications, is the way to go.
How much you'd have to pay for Zoom
With Zoom, you get a free tier that offers 40 minutes of group-calling with up to 100 participants. If you want to extend that limit and add more participants or business/enterprise-focused features, there are three types of monthly tiers - $14.99, $19.99 for at least 10 hosts, and $19.99 for at least 100 hosts. You can pick the one, according to your team's size.
Meanwhile, here's the price structure for Google Meet
For accessing Meet, you would have to take a G Suite subscription. The basic plan starts at Rs. 125/month/user and provides 30GB of Drive storage, calling with up to 100 participants, and several G Suite apps. A Rs. 672/month/user plan adds unlimited storage and 150 participants, while a Rs. 1,650 plan includes calling with 250 people, enhanced security and management options in the package.
