Zoom vs Google Meet: Which is better for your team in 2026?
Not sure whether to use Zoom or Google Meet? Here's a clear, practical comparison of both platforms, covering cost, features, and what happens after the call ends.
Picking between Zoom and Google Meet isn't always a deliberate decision. For a lot of teams, it just happens. Google Meet often becomes the default for internal calls if the team’s already in Google Workspace. Zoom gets sent when a client schedules something. Neither choice gets questioned much, until someone looks at the software budget or tries to get the whole team on the same page.
But if you're setting up a new team, reviewing your software spend, or trying to get everyone on the same platform, the Zoom vs Google Meet decision matters more than it might seem.
They're not the same product. They suit different teams, come with genuinely different pricing structures, and handle meetings in different ways. Here's an honest breakdown of how they compare across the things that actually affect your day.
Which is better to use, Google Meet or Zoom?
The simplest way to frame this is: Google Meet is built for speed and simplicity; Zoom is built for depth and control.
Google Meet is browser-based. There's no software to install, no account required for guests, and no friction between clicking a link and joining a call. If your team already uses Gmail and Google Calendar, Meet slots into that workflow without any setup. Meetings are automatically created in Calendar, joined directly from Gmail, and recorded to Drive. It's one less thing to think about.
Zoom takes more setup, but rewards it. The desktop app unlocks a fuller feature set than the browser client, and for teams that run webinars, large external events, or complex multi-room meetings, that depth is worth the extra step. Zoom also connects with more than 2,000 third-party tools, including Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Asana, and Trello, making it easier to integrate into an existing tech stack that goes beyond the Google ecosystem.
On free plans, Google Meet is more generous for standard team calls. It allows up to 100 participants for 60 minutes. Zoom's free tier also supports 100 participants but cuts off group meetings at 40 minutes. That time limit is a real constraint: just as a client call finds its rhythm, you're racing the clock.
Here's how the two platforms compare across key areas:
Column
Google Meet
Zoom
Free plan meeting length
60 mins
40 mins
Max participants (free)
100
100
No download required
Yes
Limited
Breakout rooms
Paid plans
Paid plans
Webinar support
Enterprise only
All paid plans (additional cost)
Third-party integrations
Google ecosystem
2,000+ apps
AI meeting tools
Gemini (Business Standard+)
AI Companion (all paid)
Best for
Google Workspace teams
Feature-heavy or external use
For a 10-person internal team running daily standups, Google Meet is frictionless. For a sales organization hosting weekly demos with 200 external attendees, Zoom is the more capable platform. For most teams, the honest answer is that both tools have a role, and many organizations use Meet internally and Zoom externally.
What features does Zoom have that Google Meet doesn't?
Zoom's feature advantage is real, particularly for organizations that host external events or need fine-grained meeting controls.
Webinar hosting: Zoom supports webinars with registration, Q&A, polls, attendee analytics, and up to 50,000 participants. Google Meet only offers live streaming at Enterprise level, and it doesn't have the attendee management tools that webinar hosts need.
Breakout rooms: Zoom's breakout rooms are available across all plans, including the free tier. Google Meet requires a paid Workspace plan (Business Standard or above) to access them.
Waiting rooms: Zoom lets hosts place participants in a virtual waiting area before admitting them. It's a useful security and flow control tool, especially for client-facing or sensitive calls. Google Meet's host controls are more limited here.
Custom live streaming: Zoom allows paid users to live stream directly to YouTube and Facebook. Google Meet doesn't offer this outside of the Enterprise tier.
Integrations: Zoom's app marketplace connects with over 2,000 tools. Google Meet's integrations are deep within the Google ecosystem but require third-party automation (like Zapier) for connections outside it.
AI Companion: Zoom includes its AI Companion tool, which generates meeting summaries and identifies action items, on all paid plans at no additional cost. Google Meet's Gemini AI features require a Business Standard subscription at $14 per user per month or above.
Where Google Meet holds an advantage: real-time caption translation across more than 60 languages, genuinely frictionless guest access (no app download needed), and tighter integration with Gmail, Drive, and Calendar for teams already in the Google ecosystem.
One thing worth noting: neither platform fully closes the loop after a meeting ends. Built-in AI tools can summarize a call or flag action items, but they don't draft your follow-up emails or make sure the right notes get shared with the right people. That's a separate layer of work entirely, and it's where a lot of post-meeting time gets lost. Fyxer's AI meeting notes are designed to handle that gap, automatically capturing notes and preparing follow-up drafts so the meeting doesn't create another hour of inbox work.
Is Google Meet or Zoom cheaper?
Pricing depends on whether you're already paying for Google Workspace. If you are, Meet is effectively included.
Google Meet (Google Workspace)
Zoom
Free: 100 participants, 60-minute group meetings, browser-based
Free: 100 participants, 40-minute group limit, local recording
Business Starter (starts at $7/user/month): 24-hour meetings, 30GB Drive storage
Pro ($16.99/user/month): 30-hour meetings, AI Companion, cloud recording
Business Standard (starts at $14/user/month): Recording, breakout rooms, polls, noise cancellation, Gemini AI tools, 2TB Drive storage
Business ($21.99/user/month): 300 participants, Zoom Scheduler
Business Plus (starts at $22/user/month): Adds attendance tracking, 500-participant capacity, 5TB Drive storage
Enterprise (custom pricing): 1000 participants, webinars with up to 500 attendees, rooms, workspace reservation, translated captions, visitor management
The key context: Google Workspace isn't just Meet. It includes Gmail, Drive, Docs, Calendar, and Chat. For teams that need that full suite, the pricing looks very different from a standalone comparison.
For teams that only need video conferencing, Zoom's Pro plan is competitive on price. For teams evaluating total cost of ownership across email, docs, and calendar, Google Workspace often wins on value.
Which is safer, Google Meet or Zoom?
Both platforms meet enterprise security standards and align with common compliance frameworks, such as:
GDPR and SOC 2 compliance
Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Single sign-on (SSO)
Real-time encryption
Google Meet's security approach is built on Google Cloud Platform, which brings hardware-level protections and established enterprise compliance infrastructure. For organizations already in the Google Workspace trust boundary, Meet inherits those controls without additional configuration.
Zoom's security controls give hosts more granularity at the meeting level. Waiting rooms, passcodes, and the option to enable end-to-end encryption give administrators and meeting hosts tighter control over who's in the room. Zoom also supports HIPAA compliance on Business and Enterprise plans, which is a meaningful differentiator for healthcare organizations and those handling sensitive client data.
After some high-profile security scrutiny in 2020, Zoom significantly strengthened its security posture. The platform now offers robust host controls and has maintained a clean track record since. Both platforms are enterprise-safe. The choice between them on security grounds is less about which is safer in absolute terms, and more about which security model fits how your organization manages access and compliance.
So which platform should your team use?
There isn't a universal answer. But there's usually a clear one for your situation.
Choose Google Meet if:
Your team already uses Google Workspace
You want zero-friction access for external guests (no download required)
You need a cost-effective default for internal meetings
Your meetings are standard calls without complex hosting needs
Choose Zoom if:
You run webinars, client events, or large external calls
You need integrations with tools outside the Google ecosystem
You want breakout rooms, waiting rooms, or custom live streaming
Your team doesn't use Google Workspace and wants a standalone video tool
Many teams use both. Meet for internal standups and team calls. Zoom for external demos, client calls, and events. That hybrid approach is practical and increasingly common, and the per-seat cost of running both is often lower than people expect.
The right platform comes down to your existing software stack and how much meeting complexity you actually need. For teams deeply embedded in Workspace, Meet is the default that makes sense. For organizations that run a lot of external-facing calls or events, Zoom earns its place.
After the meeting is where both platforms fall short
Zoom and Google Meet have both invested heavily in AI tools to summarize meetings, generate transcripts, and identify action items. It's genuinely useful for catching up on a call you missed or reviewing what was discussed.
But neither platform handles what comes next.
Someone still needs to write the follow-up email. Someone still needs to make sure the action items and meeting notes get shared. Someone still needs to draft the client recap, update the project thread, and loop in the people who weren't on the call.
According to Zoom’s research, 35% of leaders spend over 3 hours a day on in-person meetings and emails, ad 12% of employees spend the same amount of time in meetings. This is a lot of time.
Fyxer's own research reinforces this: the Admin Burden Index found that email is the number one time-wasting admin task, with employees spending an average of 4.3 hours per day writing and responding to emails. And meetings are one of the biggest drivers of that inbox load.
That's the gap that a tool like Fyxer is designed to close. It works inside your existing Gmail or Outlook inbox, organizes your incoming emails by category so you're not triaging a wall of unread messages after every call, and drafts replies in your tone so you're not starting from a blank page. Its AI Notetaker joins your meetings, captures what was discussed, and prepares follow-up drafts so that the end of a meeting isn't the start of another hour of writing.
Zoom and Google Meet are the platforms your meetings run on. Fyxer is what handles everything those meetings create.
Google Meet vs Zoom FAQs
What features does Zoom have that Google Meet doesn't?
Zoom includes webinar hosting on all paid plans, breakout rooms on all plans including the free tier, waiting rooms, custom live streaming to YouTube and Facebook, and connections to 2,000+ third-party apps. Google Meet only offers these features at higher Workspace tiers or not at all.
Can you use Google Meet and Zoom together?
Yes, and many teams do. A common setup is Meet for internal calls and Zoom for external-facing meetings, webinars, and client events. Both platforms can run simultaneously within the same organization.
Does Zoom or Google Meet have better AI features?
Zoom's AI Companion is included with all paid plans. Google Meet's Gemini AI features require Business Standard ($14/user/month) or above. Google Meet leads on caption translation across 60+ languages. For teams that want AI meeting summaries at a lower entry price, Zoom currently has the advantage.
What happens to meeting notes and follow-ups after the call?
Both platforms offer basic transcription and recording on paid plans. But neither automatically drafts your follow-up emails or makes sure action items reach the right people. That layer of work still falls on whoever ran the meeting, unless you use a dedicated tool to handle it.
