With their distinct features and offerings, both Zoom and Google Meet have become market leaders. Still, some people are confused about which app would give them a better distant-learning and meeting experience. To do away with this confusion, here we have come up with Google Meet Vs. Zoom. A quick comparison between the two will help you make the right judgment.
Google Meet Vs. Zoom: Which One is Better?
Instant Start in Google Meets
Though both Zoom and Google Meet have all the adequate tools to connect with the employees and co-workers through video conferencing, Google Meets is readily available to anybody for an hour-long conference if the user has a G-suite account. In contrast, Zoom offers packages wherein you need to gather a group of 10, 100, 500 people (according to the plan you choose).
Google Meet will come up with free plans, and Zoom already has. There are many other similar comparative features. Here is Zoom Vs. Google Meet for you to make the right decision.
Zoom Vs. Google Meet: Availability in Different Devices
Because video conferences these days are not confined to laptops or desktops alone. Both Zoom, as well as Google Meet, is available for IOS and Android phones.
You can access Google Meet directly through Chrome, and for that, you do not need any extra plug-ins. To start a meeting in Google, all you need to do is to visit meet.google.com.
If you need to participate in the scheduled meeting, you can visit a link in your browser, whereas, in Zoom, you cannot host a meeting through browsers but can join it via browsers. You can use plug-ins for the browsers like Mozilla or Firefox to schedule your meeting.
Zoom Vs. Google Meet: Limit of Participants and Meeting Time
Google Meet free plans are in the offing, but Zoom is currently offering a basic plan for free. The free version of Zoom is available. But, free versions of both Google Meet and Zoom have certain limitations. On the one hand, Google Meet offers a meeting limit of just an hour to the free users (if you are using Google meet, you will get 60 minutes if yours is a free version). On the other hand, Zoom offers a 40-minute limit on the group meeting if you have chosen a free plan.
As far as the limit of participants is concerned, both Zoom and Google Meet enable you to host up to 100 participants for the virtual gatherings.
Zoom Vs. Google Meet:
Security is one vital aspect where both these apps differ widely. Zoom has been hitting headlines of late for the security issues, and it has released its latest version, names Zoom 5.0, to resolve this issue. Google Meet supports the multiple two-step verification processes for opening accounts in G-suite and sticks to the strict security standards for DTLS or Datagram Transport Layer Security and SRTP or Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol.
It also generates a user-specific encryption key which exists as long as the meeting takes place only. Contrary to this, Zoom uses the AES 256-bit GCM encryption standard, and of late, security issues like Zoom bombings are surfacing on the Internet.
Zoom Vs. Google Meet: Recording:
On the one hand, Zoom enables you to record the meeting in MP4 video and MP4 A audio formats, which can be stored locally; you cannot record virtual meetings when you use Google Meet. For accessing this feature in Google meet, you have to avail of the G-Suite Enterprise.
Zoom Vs. Google Meet: User Interface
Whereas zoom is immensely popular for its Gallery view, which can display as many as 49 participants on a single screen, Google meet has recently tried to mimic Zoom’s similar user interface. It has a tiled layout that can show 16 participants at a time. The low-light mode is another feature that makes use of AI or Artificial Intelligence for adjusting videos according to the light available. This feature of Google Meet is available to mobile users only.
Both Google Meet and Zoom offer users the ability to share their screen with attendees of the virtual gathering. In both apps, you can use real-time captions to find out what other participants are saying.
Google Vs. Zoom: Price Comparison
Both Google Meet and Zoom are available in different free and paid versions, and apparently, certain features are available with specific versions only.
Basic Versions of Google Meet and Zoom
The basic version of Zoom is absolutely free, but there are certain limitations to this version. It is suitable for personal use and for small teams. Only 100 participants can join the group meeting that can be up to 40 minutes only.
Whereas the basic version of G-suite or Google meet is available at $6 per month, which enables up to 100 participants for 60 minutes.
Business and Enterprise Plans for Google Meet and Zoom:
Pricing in zoom gets complicated in the higher versions. When you choose a pro plan, you need to shell out $14.99/month per host, and you can conduct meeting for up to 24 hours.
A business plan in Zoom costs $19.99/month per host, but the user needs to have at least 10 hosts. This option enables 300 participants.
The most advanced Zoom plan, which is Enterprise and Enterprise Plus, costs $19.99/month per host, and the user needs to have at least 100 hosts. It comes with a wide range of features like dedicated customer care support, unlimited cloud storage and allows 500 participants to join the meet. In Enterprise plus plan, as many as 1000 participants can join.
Zoom’s education plan is also available for a minimum of 20 hosts and a maximum of 150 hosts. The business version of Google Meet is available for $12 per month per user and allows up to 150 participants. The Enterprise plan of Google meet that costs $25 per month per user offers as many as 250 participants. Under this plan, you can access advanced features like live streaming and recording messages.
Though Google Meet does not offer any free versions, free access to its limited services is available to all the users who have a basic account in G-suite. 100 participants can join a
Google meet for 60-minutes is absolutely free. But, if you need to use its advanced features, you have to subscribe to the paid versions of Google Meet. Following the corona crisis, Google Meet has come up with special promotions and offers. Enterprise plans can be availed with no extra cost at all.
With each tier of the Google suite, extra cloud storage space and more advanced features are added. Like Zoom, Google Meet is also offering Education plan packages for remote learning.
Conclusion: Final Words
Both Google Meet and Zoom have more or less the same features and tools necessary for virtual gatherings and meet. As far as the convenience factor is concerned, Google Meet is more convenient because it can be started instantly if you have a G-suite account. Several small-sized businesses are using Google meet with 60-minute meeting time for free.
However, if your participants need to use videos more than calls, Zoom is a far better option. It is indeed the best option for setting up video conferencing. It allows a whopping 500 devices to connect simultaneously, and you can have a fantastic streaming experience.
You can also record and save your meetings for later use, but it costs more than Google meet. Google meet ensures better security and privacy than Zoom. For remote working and learning, Zoom is more comprehensive.
Zoom is a dedicated video conferencing and virtual gathering app that is much more comprehensive than Google Meet but scores some brownie points because of its easy integration with other Google apps. However, it is still not worth it for someone looking for a seamless video conferencing experience.
When basic Google Meet Vs. Zoom features are compared, not many differences have been found. Google Meet is believed to be more cost-effective than Zoom, but Zoom offers an awesome video-conferencing and live-streaming experience.
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