Google Meet offers a clean,
icon-based design and has
grown rapidly in popularity
over the past two years.of 2020, when video calls became an
essential means of communication. As a
result, many businesses opted for Zoom as
their go-to service as they could use it for
one-to-one chats as well as company-wide
meetings. Google Meet didn’t quite have
the same functions but, two years later, it’s
fair to say that it has stepped up its game in
terms of its functionality.
In this comparison, we are focusing on
the free options of Zoom and Meet, though
both also have paid variants with additional
functions. Both free versions offer
unlimited meetings, Full HD video, screen
sharing, layout options, chat, background
filters, and a maximum capacity for up to
100 participants. For the majority, this will
be more than enough. Zoom has more
to offer with its free option, as you also
get features such as whiteboard, remote
mouse and keyboard control, waiting
rooms, telephone dial-in, and polls—quite
a step up from Google’s offering.
Though Zoom delivers a richer
experience, one major positive for Google
Meet is that it offers live closed captions.
These allow you to receive subtitles for
the call, improving the user experience
and overall communication. Another key
point is that free Zoom calls are capped at
40 minutes, whereas Google’s are an hour
long. This could be the difference between
being annoyingly cut off or not, or might
encourage you to make meetings shorter,
though that could be a plus for some.Meet also comes with Google’s suite
of applications, a huge ecosystem of
browser-based tools that are easy to use
and access, no matter what device you are
on. If you’re already a Google user, Meet
will keep all your tools in one place.
One downside of Zoom is that you have
to download the application. Within the
app, there are also third-party apps you
can use. The Zoom app store offers a
range of group games and the option to add
even more functions, but this has caused
security concerns. Security and privacy
are a vital part of video conferencing, the
last thing you want is hackers entering
your private business calls. Zoom has had
to quickly ramp up its security measures
for commercial and domestic video calling.
Meanwhile, Google’s security has set
the precedent for other online companies.
Both services offer encrypted calls,
two-factor authentication, access codes,
and also the option to remove unwanted
participants from the meeting. So, it’s a tie
between platforms on security, Zoom wins
on functionality, while Google is easier to
use and has a crisper design.
Both Zoom and Google Meet are
capable video conferencing tools that offer
a reliable experience. If functionality is
your thing, then go down the path of Zoom,
however, for a more seamless experience,
we’d choose Google Meet. Google’s
applications follow a clean and uncluttered
© GOOGLE style that is up there with the likes of Apple.
Zoom
MAGNIFY Rich in features;
encrypted calls; free dial-in
capability; third-party games and apps.
REDUCE Slightly cluttered design; requires
you to download application.
Zoom Basic $free, Zoom Pro $15/month,
Zoom Business $20/month, Zoom Enterprise
$20/month. http://www.zoom.comGoogle Meet
HELLO Very clean UI; user
friendly; browser based; free
live captioning; encrypted calls.
GOODBYE No remote keyboard and mouse
functionality, no integrated group games.
Google Meet $free, Google Workspace
Individual $8/month, Google Workspace
Enterprise (contact company for pricing).
meet.google.com8
9
VERDICTVERDICTMeet isn’t far behind Zoom when it comes
to functions, plus it has more than enough
features for the average video call meeting,
but the extra call time you get over Zoom
and live captions make it a better service.
So, Google Meet is our choice between the
two and takes the crown as the king of the
free video conferencing platforms. The
browser availability, clean UI, and ease of
use place it above Zoom, making it a more
fluent and faster experience. –SAM LEWISAPR 2022 MAXIMU MPC 93