Google Meet Pricing & Review: Should You Upgrade from the Free Plan?

Google Meet pricing ranges from $6 to $18 per user, per month as part of the impressive Google Workspace suite, while also offering a free video conferencing tool that allows you to schedule, host, and manage video meetings.

In total, there are five different Google Meet pricing plans, the most notable of which is the surprisingly robust free plan. This allows for 100 participants for meetings of up to one hour – one of the longest free plan maximums in the industry. With an intuitive interface that comes with unrivaled compatibility with other Google tools, such as Gmail and Google Calendar, it’s no surprise Google Meet is one of the most popular video conferencing platforms.

In the modern world of hybrid and remote working, having a good video conferencing platform is crucial. In this guide, we’re going to explain to you some of the features, pricing plans, pros, cons, and overall functionality of Google Meet. But it’s a good idea to compare Google Meet pricing to other top web conferencing providers, so you can decide whether or not this popular video conferencing platform is the right fit for your company.

In This Guide:

• Google Meet Pricing Plans
• Google Meet Features
• Google Meet Video Conferencing Hardware
• Google Meet vs Other Google Services
• Alternatives to Google Meet
• About Our Research
• Verdict: Should You Use Google Meet for Business Calls?
• Frequently Asked Questions

Google Meet Pricing and Plans

As well as its free plan, you’ll find four pricing plans available from Google for video conferencing, as well as some hardware bundles that can get your business started with the best tools to conduct meetings. Check out each plan below and read on for more in-depth reviews of each.

• Google Meet Free
• Google Workspace Starter
• Google Workspace Standard
• Google Workspace Plus
• Google Workspace Enterprise
• Google Hardware Bundles

Google Meet Free Plan

For personal users, the Free plan is quite robust – it even has options that would make it appealing for small business owners.

For instance, the free tier allows for 100 participants and a maximum meeting time of up to 60 minutes. You’ll get access to standard features like screen sharing and adjustable layouts, while enjoying the good enough audio and video quality.

Moderators on this plan can also use breakout rooms to divide participants into smaller rooms during video calls, catching up to other web conferencing platforms like Zoom.

Limitations of Google Meet Free

Yes, Google Meet is available for free, but there are some obvious limitations.

Free users of Google Meet can only host meetings with no more than 100 participants for a maximum of 60 minutes. This does makes it one of the longer offerings from free tools, with tools like Zoom, RingCentral, and GoTo meeting only offering 40 minutes.

The free plan for Google Meet is limited in other ways, though. It won’t give you access to US or international dial-in numbers, live streaming in-domain, intelligent noise cancelling functionality, or the ability to save meeting recordings in Google Drive.

Still, Google Meet offers one of the more robust free plans on the market. You’ll be able to host unlimited meetings, while having access to features like live captioning, adjustable layouts, and the intuitive mobile app. Plus, you’ll still be able to easily share your screen and invite external participants that don’t have a Google account.

Most conveniently, Google Meet allows you to join meetings through a browser – rather than having to download software, like Zoom pushes you to do – so you can truly schedule and host a meeting in an instant.

Google Workspace Starter

The next available Google Meet pricing option is the Starter plan, which is available for $6 per user, per month.

This plan allows for 100 participants and a maximum meeting time of 24 hours, which we hope is supposed to be its version of “unlimited” rather than a challenge. You’ll also get 30 GB of cloud storage, access to US and international dial-in numbers, as well as 24/7 online customer support and the online forums.

Aside from these features, Workspace Starter users benefit from an 99.99% uptime guarantee, and a range of security features including 2-step verification, SSL connections, password monitoring, and strength control.

As far as how this Starter plan comes to the rest of the industry, it’s quite generous. Tools like Zoom, RingCentral, and GoTo Meeting, on average, cost about $12 per user, per month and don’t come with all the additional bells and whistles that Google Workspace does.

Google Workspace Standard

The next plan is the Standard plan, which costs $12 per user, per month.

This plan allows for 150 meeting participants and a maximum meeting time of 24 hours as well. You’ll also get access to 2 TB of cloud storage, security management controls for meetings, and custom business email for all users. Plus, you’ll get some added team messaging features, which can really help a small business stay in touch.

This plan almost perfectly matches the industry averages of competitors like Zoom, RingCentral, and GoTo Meeting, which all cost within a dollar of $12 per user, per month.

Google Workspace Plus

The Plus plan will cost you $18 per user per month.

This plan adds some serious security features to your set up, while allowing for the same 24-hour time limit on all meetings. You’ll also get a whopping 5 TB for cloud storage per user, so you can save meetings and anything else you can think of. What’s more, Google increased the plans meeting limit to 500 participants (up from 250) in November 2021, making it easier for larger organizations to host company-wide calls.

Google Workspace Enterprise

Google Meet’s enterprise-level solution is the Workspace Enterprise plan.

This plan will allow you up to 500 meeting participants, again for a maximum of 300 hours. Features included in this plan include meeting recordings saved with Google Drive, intelligent noise cancelling, and live streaming in your domain for up to 100,000 viewers. You’ll also unlock a wide range of security features, like investigations tools and endpoint management, to ensure your enterprise-level business is secure during meetings. No public pricing is available for this plan, so you’ll have to contact Google sales for more information.

Google hardware bundles

Google also offers some hardware bundles from partners like ASUS and Logitech, offering video cameras, microphones, and virtual assistant displays. These bundles can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000, depending on what you need, which we’ll go into later on.

Google Meet Alternatives

Google Meet might be one of the more popular video conferencing solutions out there, but it’s certainly not the only one. If you don’t think Google Meet is the right fit for you, there are plenty of other options out there that will meet your needs

Google Meet Features

Now that you know how Google Meet stacks up against its competitors, we can take a deeper dive into the features that you’ll actually find on Google Meet. While it is missing some of the more “fun” features, like virtual backgrounds, Google Meet offers a wide range of intuitive features – and a few added extras – that should make your video chat experience simple and enjoyable.

Here are a few of the main features you’ll find in the Google Meet platform:

• Adjustable layouts and screen settings
• Gallery view available for all users
• Video and audio preview screen before you join
• Meeting host controls, e.g. pin, mute, and remove participant
• Screen sharing for all participants
• Live chat functionality
• Whiteboard ‘Jamboard’ feature
• Integration with Google and Microsoft Office apps
• iOS Audio and video locking
• Breakout rooms for moderators
• Live translated captions

One of the added features that you won’t find in most other platforms is Google Meet’s ability to provide live captioning in real-time (pictured above). This allows hearing impaired users to enjoy the same experience as others, without slowing down the meeting. Google’s advanced software makes it one of the few video conferencing solutions that provides this, and given Google’s reputation, you can believe it’s likely one of the best-executed versions available today.

Microsoft has also recently rolled out a new live translation feature, which lets users translate video calls in real time. With options to translate meetings into over 60 languages, this tool helps the software rival other industry leaders like Zoom.

Ease of Use

While Google Meet certainly isn’t the most comprehensive video conferencing solution available today, it’s definitely considered an easy to use option compared to some other competitors. With an intuitive layout that makes for easy calls, simple invite instructions, and basic features built obviously into the interface, even beginners can figure out Google Meet pretty fast.

At the core of Google Meet’s ease of use is its compatibility with other G-Suite platforms. Invites can be easily sent through Gmail, added to your Google Calendar, and joined through comprehensive event invites. There’s even a handy Google Meet button that will allow you to join a meeting in an instant.

Simply put, if you use Google platforms like Calendar and Gmail, Google Meet will be a seamless addition to your day-to-day operations. And considering Gmail has more than 1.5 billion users worldwide, it’s safe to say Google Meet might be a good option for you.

Security

Given that Google Meet is part of the Google family of apps, it’s safe to say that the platform is decidedly secure, particularly compared to other solutions run by smaller companies.

More specifically, Google Meet encrypts all data in transit by default, whether you’re using a browser, the iOS or Android app, or meeting rooms powered by Google Meet hardware. Additionally, all meetings saved to Google Drive are encrypted at rest, so you can be sure all your information is safe and secure, no matter where it is.

To get even more specific and decidedly technical, Google Meet “adheres to Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) security standards for Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) and Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP),” according to its website.

Support

As you might imagine, Google Meet doesn’t offer a very extensive support system for its free plan. All you’re going to have access to as a free user is the Google Help Center, which houses an online forum of Google Meet users that you can talk to about any problems you might have. Additionally, you’ll have access to a repository of online documentation, covering everything from how to start and join meetings to how Google Meet interacts with other products.

Now, if you’re a paid user, that’s a different story. G-Suite and Google Meet subscribers have access to 24/7 online support from Google representatives happy to help with any issue. And since it’s Google, you know you’ll be getting the attention and resources you need to solve your problem quickly and effectively. Plus, you’ll still have access to the online forums, so you can do a little troubleshooting of your own with other users.

Google Meet Video Conferencing Hardware

While Google Meet is a decidedly popular video conferencing tool, Google doesn’t offer branded video conferencing hardware solutions. However, if you go to their website, you will find a wide range of hardware bundles from other companies that can cater to all company and room sizes.

There are three hardware bundle kits from ASUS, which include microphones, speakers, remote controls, and computer systems, depending on which one you opt for. You’ll be able to purchase a starter kit, or small and large room bundles, each specifically catered for your particular needs. The ASUS bundles are the least expensive option for video conferencing hardware from Google.

There are also three hardware bundle kits from Logitech, which also include microphones, speakers, remote controls, computer systems, and some mounting materials. You’ll be able to purchase a small, medium, or large room bundle, which increases the number of cameras and microphones, as well as adding a handy display mount. Logitech bundles are the more expensive option for video conferencing hardware from Google.

Take a look at the pictures and pricing options below to get a better idea of what these bundles look like:

Google Meet Hardware Bundle by ASUS
$1,749 – $2,649

Google Meet Hardware Bundle by Logitech
$2,998.97 – $5,097.96

Google Meet vs Other Google Services

Google Meet is currently the primary tool for video meetings provided by Google. However, there are a few Google services that have offered similar functionality in the past, and we want to make sure you understand the difference before moving forward. Here’s how Google Meet matches up against Google’s other video-based services.

Google Meet vs Google Hangouts

The naming conventions for Google’s video conferencing solutions have gotten quite confusing over the years. With brands and rebrands abound, keeping track of what the primary video chat solution is called – let alone what the differences are – has become a Herculean task for even the most adamant of fans.

The biggest point of confusion is the Google Meet versus Google Hangouts discussion. At first, Meet was considered the paid business video conferencing solution, whereas Google Hangouts was aimed at individuals looking to chat with friends and family. However, when the pandemic hit, Google decided to make Google Meet free for everyone, making the decision a bit easier.

The main differences come in the form of features. Google Meet offers gallery view, screen-sharing, real-time captioning, and up to 100 participants in a single meet, admittedly capped at one hour. Google Hangout, on the other hand, doesn’t offer any of that, and only allows for 10 people in a single meeting, although 150 can join in on the text chat functionality.

Given the obvious discrepancy in offerings, Google has announced it will scrap Hangouts, combining it with Gmail and Google Chat. The website is still live, but that should change any day now.

Google Meet vs Google Classroom

As you might’ve guessed from the name, Classroom is Google’s remote learning solution for students. With the pandemic still in full force and many schools employing only virtual lessons, Google Classroom allows for a seamless experience. It allows students to access classes, assignments, and collaboration tools, so students and teachers can work together for easier learning.

Naturally, Google Classroom is not a video conferencing platform. Fortunately, due to the compatibility between G-Suite platforms, it’s incredibly easy to set up a Google Meet meeting in Classroom. All you have to do is click on the class that you wish to start a meeting in, and select the “Generate Meet link” button. This will create a meeting, which you can share with students easily.

It’s that simple! Google Classroom is available on iOS and Android to schools, non-profits, and Google account users for free, so feel free to take advantage if you need to improve your remote learning experience.

Google Meet vs Google Duo

Seriously, the Google communication solution naming situation is an actual disaster. Duo is another Google-branded chat option, bringing the total to three.

Much like Google Hangouts, Duo is aimed at personal video chats rather than business meetings. Connected directly to your personal device with a phone number, Duo acted as more of an iMessage competitor than a Google Meet clone, creating connected networks between friends rather than a simple meeting solution.

Fortunately, this confusion between the two is over, as Google Meet and Google Duo have been combined into a single app to manage communications a bit better.

About Our Research

There’s something to be said about research-backed information when it comes to deciding on business software. At Tech.co, we take our ratings and recommendations seriously, which is why we’ve spent hours perusing feature catalogs and analyzing offerings to make sure you have the most pertinent information to make the right decision.

As far as video conferencing software is concerned, we have a specific set of data points that we want to analyze in order to keep as you as informed as possible. These data points include features, pricing, ease of use, third party integrations, and help and support options.

There’s a lot that goes into our process, which is why we’ve put together this comprehensive research guide to help you understand exactly how we rate and rank these business software providers.

Frequently Asked Questions