Online meetings aren’t always exciting, and when they are, it’s often not for the right reason — just think back to some of the memes during the pandemic, like inappropriate backgrounds or unexpected animal guests.
As funny as an experienced lawyer not being able to turn off a cat filter might be, it’s probably not something you want to replicate in your meetings.
So, which online meeting software is the most conducive to engaging and smoothly executed meetings? That’s what we’re here to discover as we compare market leaders Google Meet and Zoom across features, usability, pricing, and more.
Google Meet vs. Zoom in a nutshell
After testing both online meeting platforms and reviewing them from all sides, these are our main thoughts about how they compare:
Zoom’s free plan offers more access to features like breakout rooms and recordings.
Zoom’s paid plans are more expensive, with the basic pro plan starting at $15.99/user per month billed monthly and $12.49 per user per month annually.
Google Meet is part of a more versatile suite of tools, making it a better value option (especially since it starts at $6 per user per month).
Google Meet is slightly easier to use, while Zoom offers more versatility and advanced customization options.
Google Meet vs. Zoom: Which has the best features?
Regarding features, Zoom and Google Meet are strong competitors, as you might expect. Zoom’s meteoric rise during the pandemic has led to a high R&D budget. Google Meet is made by Alphabet, the 4th largest company in the world — and its predecessor, Google Hangout, was first launched in 2013.
Google Meet’s top features
In the context of using Google Meet to hold online meetings in a company, these are some of our favorite features:
Automated mic and camera checks before you join any meeting are a nice touch.
Guests can join the meeting without signing up or creating an account.
HD audio and video up to 1080p make the meetings smooth (but screen sharing is limited to 720p).
The dedicated mobile apps for Android and iOS are intuitive and easy to use.
Native Google Workspace integration makes remote collaborative work much easier to keep up with. For example, if our content team had any questions during the creation of this article, they could quickly jump on a call while interacting live within the article itself.
Google Meet also offers an interactive whiteboard for free users. But other advanced features like smaller group discussions, polls, recordings, and live streaming are only for premium plans.
Zoom’s top features
Zoom has become synonymous with online meetings for a reason. It was one of the first online meeting platforms that let you invite guests without forcing them to create an account. Here are some of our favorite Zoom features from a professional standpoint:
Zoom supports HD audio and video up to 1080p (screen sharing is also 1080p by default).
It offers mobile apps for Android and iOS, which are fairly intuitive.
The built-in digital whiteboard has various features, including many pre-built templates for interactive exercises.
Robust chat features help your team communicate through text.
Smart note-taking makes it easy to share meeting insights.
Breakout rooms are included in the free plan, which is a nice touch (and it’s easy to create and assign them).
Another standout feature is the AI companion, which can help you take notes, draft emails, and develop marketing ideas.
Feature comparison: Who comes out on top?
As you’ve seen, Zoom’s free plan includes some more business-focused features. Its interactive whiteboard is also more fully-featured and better designed than the Google Jamboard, plus it automatically opens within the same window.
When you also consider video quality options, like forcing HD or choosing specific rendering libraries, Zoom gives you much more control.
Zoom's free option offers a wider variety of features. But if you’re already paying for the Google Suite, the pro features of Meet won’t cost you anything extra.
We’ll still give Zoom a slight edge for the premium version because of its better whiteboard, note-taking, and security options.
But neither platform truly blows us away with anything innovative. At Lark, we’re working hard to create the digital workplace of the future. One of our favorite new features at Lark is Magic Share, which lets you collaborate on various documents in real time, without ever leaving the call screen.
Yes, Google Meet comes close through its Workspace, but you’re limited to formats that work with Google Workspace tools, and the experience just isn’t as smooth.
Google Meet vs. Zoom: Which is the easiest to use?
Who has created the more intuitive platform between the two virtual meeting giants?
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room — you still have to download and install Zoom to join meetings on a computer in 2024.
On a fast internet connection, it doesn’t take too long to install Zoom, but if you’re working with people who are technically challenged, this can be another point of failure. (Not to mention that most Windows computers now automatically warn you before letting you install new software from a downloaded file.)
When installed, the interface offers many more options. That’s power for customization once you know your way around it, but there is more potential for someone to go wrong somewhere. (Remember the cat filter incident mentioned in the introduction…)
Google Meet’s user interface is less clunky and easier to use — the automatic microphone and camera check also help avoid basic issues. Plus, without any necessary download or installation, getting a 100% participation rate in larger meetings or events is easier.
But that’s not to say that Google Meet has no issues. If you’re trying to use Google Meet as a platform to work through presentations or documents, you’ll inevitably have tons of tabs open. One for the digital whiteboard tool, one for Google Docs, another one for the budget spreadsheets, etc.
This can lead to a disjointed meeting experience, making it hard to actively collaborate. (At best, the meeting leader can share their screen and try to guide everyone else through the process.)
Google Meet vs. Zoom: Which has the best integrations?
While it may not seem like it matters much for online conferencing software, some integrations can help you interact more effectively during a meeting.
For example, Moodle or Miro can help professionals and teachers improve their meetings and presentations.
Google Meet integrations
Google Meet integrates natively with the rest of Google Workspace, Miro, Read AI, Atlassian Confluence, and 200+ tools through add-ons. You can also integrate it with thousands of other apps via Zapier.
Zoom integrations
Zoom integrates natively with Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, HubSpot, and 20+ other apps and tools. It also has 2,100+ integration-focused apps, including Moodle, Miro, and HubSpot.
Zoom also integrates with thousands of other tools through Zapier.
Which platform has better integrations?
On paper, Zoom offers more native integrations and way more apps. But Google Meet integrates with the robust Google suite of tools, including Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Gmail. So Zoom wins in pure numbers, but Google Meet is part of a more complete solution in Google Workspace.
And when the average company uses 130 SaaS apps, being able to use one tool for multiple purposes is usually a nice change. The drastic size of the average tech stack is why we decided to turn Lark into an all-in-one collaboration platform with cutting-edge tools for online meetings — guests can join without downloading app clients like with Meet — task management, SOP documentation, chatting, and more.
Lark also integrates natively with Zoom. So if you have external partners that work with Zoom, you can use Zoom for those meetings when sending out invitations.
Google Meet vs. Zoom pricing and plans: Which platform offers better value?
Google Meet and Zoom offer free plans, but both have clear limitations. Here’s how some important features are premium-locked between both platforms:
(When all paid plans offer access to a feature or identical usage, we have simply labeled it “premium.”)
Both platforms offer unlimited meetings (although of limited length) on all plans.
Google Meet plans and pricing
Google Meet is included in Google Workspace, where the premium plans include these tiers:
Business Starter: $6 per user per month (with annual commitment) with basic Meet features
Business Standard: $12 per user per month, includes recording and 150 meeting participants
Business Plus: $18 per user per month, includes 500 meeting participants and attendance tracking
Enterprise: custom pricing, includes 1,000 meeting participants, noise cancellation, and more
Zoom plans and pricing
Paid Zoom One plans (which include email, calendar, and team chatting platforms) include:
Pro: $15.99 per user per month with 100 attendees, smart clips, notes, recordings, and AI companion
Business: $19.99 per user per month with up to 300 attendees and company branding
Business Plus: $25 per user per month with business phone features
Enterprise: custom pricing, with conference call connection and other advanced features
You can also purchase access to a single Zoom online conference room for your company for $499 annually.
Which platform offers better value?
Regarding pricing, it seems like Google Meet is the clear winner, but you still need to pay $12 per user per month to unlock features like recording. With annual billing, the Zoom Pro plan comes down to around $12.50 per user per month, only slightly more expensive.
If you’re already paying for Google Workspace, you can use the premium version of Meet for no extra cost. Because Google Workspace can do the job of Zoom and other tools (Dropbox and Excel, for example), it’s a better value in most cases.
Although multi-functional, Google Workspace isn’t as cohesive a platform as Lark, where everything is designed with productivity and collaboration in mind. Google Workspace came together as a bunch of separate tools with added integrations as an afterthought. Look at how many different mobile apps they have — Gmail, Google Chat, Meet, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides.
Lark was designed with smooth workflows in mind from day one. Case in point — you only need a single mobile app to access chat, video meetings, docs, and more. (Regarding Zoom vs. Lark, we’re even more confident in delivering better value and experience.)
Plus, even our free plan offers enterprise features like live-translated captions and meeting transcriptions through Lark Minutes.
Google Meet vs. Zoom: Which is the most secure and compliant?
Both Google Meet and Zoom offer 2-factor authentication and use secure encryption to transfer and store video and text data during meetings.
Unfortunately, both Google and Zoom have a spotty history when it comes to compliance with governmental regulations. Zoom got into trouble in 2023 for using customer data (from meetings) to train its AI models with no opt-out option available.
Google has been fighting legislators in the EU and US for years, often getting caught bending and breaking the rules. In late 2022, they were forced to pay $391.5 million in one of the largest regulatory-related settlements of all time due to allegations by 40 US states.
Zoom offers advanced security controls, like editing feature access levels for meeting participants during a meeting, while Google Meet offers little in this area.
Yes, both companies have strong security expertise — for example, both are SOC 2 Type II certified — and features, but compliance with privacy regulations is another issue.
In comparison, Lark was created after the advent of GDPR and designed with data security, compliance, and privacy as leading priorities. Lark holds SOC 2 and 3, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and many other data security certifications.
Google Meet vs. Zoom: Which has better customer support?
Regarding customer service, neither Zoom nor Google Meet has a stellar reputation, but Zoom’s is worse. With a 1.7/5 rating on Trustpilot and many specific customer service complaints, things couldn’t look much worse for Zoom.
Their reputation among larger business clients (on Gartner.com) is better, with a 4.5/5 rating. So if you’re one of their larger clients, they will make time for you. But if you’re “just” a regular premium user, you may have to wait in a long digital line to get real help.
Google Meet has a slightly better reputation among smaller clients, with a 4.0/5 rating on Trustpilot. Although there are fewer reviews, this typically means fewer issues, as upset clients are more likely to leave feedback. Google Meet also has a 4.5/5 rating on Gartner.
Lark has a strong customer reputation. For example, our mobile apps stand out, with a 4.9 on iOS vs. 4.5 for Zoom, and we were named a G2 leader in many categories in Fall 2023.
Plus, where Zoom and Meet fall short — customer service — is one of Lark’s biggest strengths. We offer 24x7 customer support around the globe. You don’t need to be an enterprise user to get the attention of our service team.
Google Meet vs. Zoom: Which is the best option overall?
Unfortunately, there’s no clear-cut winner across all categories to declare here. Google Meet comes out on top regarding usability and pricing, while Zoom has better integrations, features, and participant controls.
Zoom has a slightly preferable free plan, but Google Meet has significantly cheaper paid plans. It all comes down to what you’re looking for, what tools you already use, and who your attendees will be.
If you’re only looking for video conferencing software and your team is already familiar with Zoom, stick with Zoom. If you need a broader collaboration solution suitable for non-techies, Google Meet is probably a better option, although not the best.
For more honest comparisons of productivity tools, check out:
A better way to collaborate online
If you’re not just looking for a Zoom alternative for online meetings but for a platform that can help your team collaborate more effectively, then Lark should be on your radar.
With features like Avatars (powered by the same technology as TikTok avatars), you can make your meetings more engaging and fun, and avoid “Zoom fatigue” among younger workers.
Not only does Lark offer video conferencing with up to 500 members on our $12/user/month plan, but we also offer unique features like magic share, collaborative documents, wiki knowledge bases, complete task and project management tools, and more. (And we include enterprise-grade features like translated captions and meeting transcriptions in even our free plan.)
We can even help you collaborate better across physical offices with Lark Rooms. You can integrate Lark with your legacy hardware or choose a custom hardware solution from industry-leading providers that suits your needs.
No matter how seamless an integration might be, having a single platform with cutting-edge features across the board is better. Try Lark for free with up to 50 users and see the difference for yourself. We also take customer support seriously, offering online customer support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You’ll even get assigned a dedicated customer success manager with our $12 per user per month pro plan.
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