Tired of Google Meet? Here are 5 great alternatives I recommend you try

Google Meet is generally a great tool for online meetings, and I’ve used it extensively, but it has its limits. Without a subscription, meetings with three or more people are limited to 60 minutes, and the feature set is limited compared to some of its rivals.

It’s also a Google product, which may not sit well with those trying to move away from big tech. If you’re looking for an alternative for any reason whatsoever, here are five options to consider.

Zoom is likely the best and most known Google Meet alternative, although it’s quite different in many ways. Google is generally all about simplicity, and while the premium version of Meet does come with all sorts of tools and features, Zoom offers a lot more in general — even on its free plan. For example, you can record meetings locally with a free account, while you’ll need a subscription to record in Meet.

A free Zoom subscription also has limitations, and some are stricter than those imposed by Google’s service. Meetings can only take up to 40 minutes, for example, instead of the 60 offered by Meet. Both support up to 100 participants, though. Zoom is a great tool for those who want a stable and feature-packed online meeting software and are willing to pay for it. The cheapest plan at the time of writing starts at $13.33 per month, making it almost twice as expensive as Google Meet.

Zoho is an interesting alternative because it’s closer to Zoom than it is to Meet in terms of functionality, but it costs less than both of them. Pricing starts at just $1 per month, although that only gets you up to 10 participants. Increasing the number to 100, which matches both Zoom’s and Meet’s plans, bumps the price up to $6 per month, making it significantly cheaper than Zoom.

The basic plan allows for up to two co-hosts, meetings that can last up to 24 hours, custom virtual backgrounds, annotations, and a lot more. It even supports cloud recording (5GB), a feature that isn’t available on Meet’s basic paid plan. Just like Meet, Zoho also has a free account on offer that allows you to have a meeting with up to 100 participants for 60 minutes tops, matching Meet’s limitations.

Whereby is kind of similar to Meet, as it prides itself on being very simple to use. It’s marketed towards less-savvy tech users and designed with that thought in mind. For example, the tool works in a browser and doesn’t require any downloads or logins for the host or participants. The company also likes to highlight that it excels in customer support, which is something their target audience generally needs.

While it’s simple, there are still all the essential features available, along with basic customization. These include an integrated chat feature, screen sharing, transcriptions, file sharing, and more. Pricing starts at $9 per month, making it a bit more expensive than Meet and Zoho, but more affordable than Zoom. A free plan is also available but is highly limited, offering only four attendees per meeting that can only last 30 minutes.

This one is a bit of an outlier since the video conferencing feature is just one part of Slack, but I’m including it here anyway because we use it here at Android Authority, and I’m a big fan of it.

Slack is primarily a messaging tool for businesses. It allows for one-on-one communications as well as group chats via custom-made channels. It also has a feature called Slack Huddles, which is a video conferencing tool for quick team meetings. It’s simple, works great, and saves time since you don’t have to switch to different software if your team is already using Slack. The free plan only allows for one-on-one video/audio meetings, so you’ll have to upgrade to a premium plan if you want more.

Pricing is different than with the rest of the services on this list, as it’s based on each user, not just the host. It starts at $8.75 per user. It’s a great tool for teams that already use Slack, but if you’re not, one of the other options on this list will likely suit you better.

If you don’t want to part with your money at all and want to host meetings with lots of people, Jitsi Meet is for you. Open source, private, and free. Free as in completely free — not just as a free plan that’s limited and then pushes you to a paid one.

What’s great about it is that you don’t need to make an account to use it, regardless of whether you’re the host or a participant. No email address required either — just your name or nickname, and you’re good to go. Despite being free, it still has all the basic features you need, including messaging, the ability to record a meeting, raise your hand to get attention, and even share your screen.

These are the five best Google Meet alternatives I recommend, although there are plenty of other options out there. Which ones would you add to the list? Let me know in the comments.