Which is Good, Zoom or Google Meet?

Zoom or Google Meet are both video conferencing services, and they offer several same features, but is Zoom or Google Meet better?. But one service might be a more suitable match for your needs depending on the size of your staff and what other apps you usually use, or you are planning to incorporate. Zoom offers more features over Google Meet, offering a broader assortment of options at varying price points when it comes solely to video conferencing features. 

Zoom's most cost-effective plan offers support for the biggest number of users. But in terms of the overall functionality of both platforms, here's a detailed breakdown of is Zoom or Google Meet better to assist you in making a well-informed decision for your video conferencing needs. 

Previously known as Google Hangouts, Google rebranded its communication services to Google Meet in 2017. Together with Google Chat, they serve as part of the G Suite. The app was introduced as an enterprise-friendly version of Hangouts, appropriate for the IOS, Android, and the web. At first, it supported 30 users, but that number increased up to 30 users for the Google G Suite. The software is best for work-related calls and workshops and collaboration with some friends but you'll need to decide is Zoom or Google Meet better for business communications.

Zoom

Zoom is a cloud-based peer-to-peer software is used for teleconferencing, allowing distance education, and developing and maintaining social relations. It is one of the popular video conferencing solutions present in modern times. It had been in check recently because of its scrutiny breaches and delusive claim of end-to-end encryption, which have been competently by the company. It's famous for video calls and video chats with friends and family.

Google Meet

Google Meet is the modern rebranded video conferencing app of Google Workspace, previously called "Google G suite." It can run seamlessly on IOS, Android, and web platforms. It can have up to 100 free users for a 60 minutes time limit. It can have 16 users on-screen at a specific time. It has a strong and secure system with smart background noise filtrating. 

While they both are two different platforms – Zoom and Google Meet share many similarities – the major one being that they both cater to reliable virtual Meeting spaces but extra research may be needed to decide is Zoom or Google Meet better for your communication needs.

Is Zoom or Google Meet better for business, and how do you get started once you choose your system? Both apps offer a simple way to join, and even the least tech-enthusiasts can join. Anyhow, Google Meet is simpler and easier to use. A person with a G Suite Account can join the platform just by using his credentials. However, if you're not a G Suite user, you can log in through your Gmail account. After signing in, you create the Meeting and get a Meeting link, a PIN, dial-in number, and code. You can share this link with the participants you want to join the Meeting. They can join the Meeting by clicking the link, entering the code, dialing the number, or giving the PIN. It's as simple as that.

For Zoom, you download the Zoom installer and start using the app. If you want to create a Meeting, you can log in to Zoom via your Gmail account and set up a Meeting. Otherwise, if you are invited to a call, you can join the Meeting by clicking the link. Anybody can join the Meeting with a single click; you don't have to create an account. Zoom is best for last-minute between people across companies. 

• Availability

As video conferences are no more confined to laptops and desktops, both Zoom and Google Meet can be used on IOS and Android devices. You can access Google Meet through any browser without installing any additional plugins. To host a Meeting, you need to open Meet.google.com. Similarly, you can join a scheduled Meeting by clicking on its link in your browser. 

Zoom doesn’t work this way. You can’t host a Meeting through a browser. However, you can enter a Meeting through the browser. There are Zoom plugins for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome that help schedule the Meeting.

• Participants Limits and Meeting Times

Google Meet has offered its free version in September 2021. Similarly, Zoom also has a free version. As the other freemium offers are limited, Zoom and Google Meet's free versions have some limitations. Google Meet allows a Meeting limit of 60 minutes for the free version. This means that you can’t hold a virtual Meeting for more than 60 minutes if you’re a free use. on the contrary, Zoom offers a 40 minutes limit on group Meetings under its free version. 

And, as far as the participants limit is concerned, both Zoom and Google Meet allow you to host up to 100 participants for each of the virtual Meetings.

• Interface

Zoom is well-known for its Gallery view displaying up to 49 people on a single screen and Zoom is better than Skype for many business users. Still, Google Meet recently copied that interface by introducing an expanded tiled design that shows up to 16 people on the screen simultaneously. Google also added a low-light mode lately that uses AI (Artificial intelligence) to adjust video according to the lighting conditions. Although this feature at first is limited to mobile users.

• Anti-Abuse Measures & Privacy

Google Meet has disadvantages you should be aware of, but they do have good security measures in place with a list of default-on measures and anti-hijacking measures. Both are designed for dial-ins and web Meetings. In the case of Zoom, at times, the poor default settings and unprotected Meetings lead to problems such as "Zoombombing". These problems can be manually controlled by muting participants, using accessibility features and waiting rooms. 

• Screen Sharing & Recording

Both Zoom and Google Meet allow screen sharing with your virtual personal or company meetings attendees. You can also enable screen sharing options like "real-time captions" to understand what other participants are saying or make another person Meet the host during the call. Features like this make Zoom a popular business choice over Facetime or other mobile video calling apps preloaded on devices.

With Zoom, you can record Meetings/Zoom calls in MP4 (audio and video) formats and store them on your system. In contrast, Google Meet restricts the recording of virtual Meetings for free version users. However, with paid G Suite Business & Enterprise customers or G Suite Enterprise for teachers, you can record Meetings anytime. 

• Pricing

Pricing plan comparison and a thorough analysis of both video conferencing software should be made to make a smart decision. First, you must decide you need a paid or basic plan?

If you are looking for something temporary, a free plan on Google Meet or Skype can work for you. But if you're looking for long-term video conferencing solutions for unlimited video conferencing with administrative features, there are a variety of plans that you can avail of. Don't forget to check the plan limits.

Google Meet's basic plan requires no spending, while the pro plan demands spending of 8 USD users per month, and Zoom's pro plan demands 14.99 USD users per month. Zoom offers a business plan for 19.99 USD users per month with 10 licenses for $199.9/month. For Google Meet's Plan for the enterprise, you must contact the sales team. 

As reported by Devoteam G Cloud, “Google Meet is securer than Zoom.” It doesn’t use encryption for transmission. 

Security is one of the key features that make up the best video conferencing apps. Google Meet is  different from Zoom. The latter has also recently been in the limelight for security features and even lately released Zoom 5.0 to cover some of them.

To give some view, Google Meet supports 2-step verification options for user accounts and sticks to IETF security standards for Secure Real-time Transport protocol and Datagram Transport Layer Security. 

Google Meet also creates a unique encryption key that only exists when the Meeting runs and is broadcasted in a secured and encrypted Remote Procedure Call when the Meeting is all set up. Contrarily, Zoom uses AES 256-bit GCM encryption that is promoted to be enabled overall accounts. Zoom owns cryptology vulnerable to flaws. It uses 256-bit TLS encryption for communication, and AES-256 encryption is used for shared content.

When it comes to use by teachers understanding is Zoom or Google Meet better will ensure you choose the best vide conferencing system for your educational needs. 120 million teachers and understudies worldwide use Google Meet to work together, teach and communicate irrespective of school closures. With this enhanced ratio of users, one sure thing about Google Meet is that teachers are searching for ways to keep working together and educating in a virtual environment that is secure and sheltered. Google is sharing several ways to make G suite a center of help for education and better for schools. The extra features offered in the premium plan of Google Meet allow 250 participants per video call, record Meetings, live streams up to 10,000 people, and save them to Google Drive. Educators create classrooms to take classes remotely.

On the other hand, when considering is Zoom or Google Meet better, it's important to understand that Zoom has time limits in its basic plan. Educators can use Zoom Meetings, breakout rooms to host Meetings. It all depends upon the number of participants and the sensitivity of the information. However, Google Meet is considered a securer platform as it uses a similar worldwide, built-in, and secure-by-structure system used by Google to ensure that privacy and data are protected.

Is Zoom or Google Meet better for your business? Zoom and Google Meet both offer outstanding features, and they both deliver top-notch video conferencing services and various pricing plans for bigger events. You have to be careful about the limitations that both software offers if you are opting for a free plan. 

Check out if the time limitation will affect your business or company in determining is Zoom or Google Meet better because Google Meet has overcome Zoom in this regard. But if the recording feature is more needed in your profession, you must choose Zoom. As you may have observed, the costs are lower when you choose to get Google Meet. Also, if you have a G Suite account, we recommend you give Google Meet a try. This way, you will save the extra money you invest in Zoom otherwise. 

Lastly, deciding is Zoom or Google Meet better demands a complete analysis of all needs, expectations, your workflow, and your budget. This article has explained all the important features you must consider before buying any software.