The difference between Zoom and Google Meet: Both Zoom and Google are excellent platforms for video conferencing, offering everything you might need to communicate remotely with your team. Zoom has several advantages over Google Meet, but Google Meet also has unique features that set it apart. Below, we clarify what each platform offers in terms of screen sharing, handling multiple input sources, chat, video quality, integrations, live comments, and meeting management.
We conducted an in-depth review to highlight the differences between Zoom and Google Meet to help you make an informed decision and determine which one comes out on top.
The Difference Between Zoom and Google Meet
When choosing the right video conferencing software for your business needs, you want to be confident that the option you select provides the features you and your team require. You also want to get the best value for the cost you incur if using paid plans. Both Zoom and Google Meet offer the basics, but there are differences between the two platforms. Let’s explore the key differences together.
Screen Sharing
The ability to share your screen during a presentation is an important part of video conferencing. Both Google Meet and Zoom offer very similar screen sharing capabilities. Google Meet allows the presenter to share their entire screen, a window, or a tab. If you share a Chrome tab, it automatically shares the audio from that tab.
Zoom has the same screen sharing options, along with a few additional choices. This includes sharing your phone or tablet screen, a specific app or more, content from a second camera, a dashboard, stored video, and audio played from a device.
Multiple Cameras
Each video conferencing platform allows you to display video from your computer's built-in webcam. Both Google Meet and Zoom enable you to share video from additional cameras.
Google Meet makes it easy to switch between the built-in webcam, USB cameras, or the Huddly Series One smart camera or Smart Camera XL, which come with Google Meet Series One room kits from Lenovo.
Zoom also facilitates sharing a feed from an additional camera using the Screen Share menu. Unlike Google Meet, Zoom offers a multi-camera mode, allowing you to enable multiple cameras simultaneously from one meeting room. Multiple cameras can capture better images of participants in the room or provide different viewing angles of the room.
Chat Features
Most video conferencing platforms allow participants to send messages to others in the call. Some support GIFs natively, but neither Google Meet nor Zoom currently supports that. However, there is an extension for Google Meet that will enable it. Neither platform currently supports tagging someone in the chat.
There are also other limitations for both, such as participants can only view chat messages during the video call. Messages sent before joining are not displayed, and all messages disappear when leaving the video call.
Google Meet outperforms Zoom in that it saves chat history for recorded meetings, while Zoom does not. However, Google Meet falls short of Zoom in that with Zoom, you can send private messages to individual participants, while messages sent on Google Meet are visible to all participants in the call. Additionally, if you join a conference room using Google Meet, you can view messages but cannot send them.
However, Zoom has the advantage of built-in interactions, though it’s not a significant feature, as you can do the same in Google Meet via an extension.
Video Quality
Your video quality and speed depend on a range of factors, including your webcam, internet connection, devices, and other software, but your video conferencing software also plays a role.
Google Meet provides video streaming at 720p without any additional enhancements. Zoom also offers 720p resolution, but only for Pro account users or higher, and only for meetings with a maximum of two participants. It provides 1080p quality, but currently, this is reserved for specific use cases. Zoom also allows for other quality adjustments, including:
Adjust Low Light
My Appearance Enhancement (Windows/macOS, iOS)
Apply Filters
Use Backgrounds
Apply Studio Effects
Winner: Since pixels aren’t everything, Zoom’s other methods for improving image quality give it the edge here.
Integrations
Integrations, add-ons, and plugins help automate your workflow and unlock additional features for your video conferencing experience.
Zoom App Marketplace features integrations with over 1500 apps. Although Google Meet does not have a centralized app marketplace, it offers integrations through automate.io and several add-ons like Meeting Notes for Google Calendar & Meet or Google Meet Enhancement Suite.
Both Zoom and Google Meet have over 4000 integrations with Zapier.
Meeting Management
User permissions may not be something you think about, but when you’re overseeing a meeting and need to be able to mute someone’s microphone, they are really essential.
Zoom allows the host to restrict screen sharing to themselves only before and during the meeting in the host control bar so that random people in your public session cannot take control of the screen and share unwanted content with the group.
It also allows you to permit only logged-in users to join the meeting, lock the meeting once it starts for new attendees even if they have an invitation and passcode.
In Zoom, the host can remove video and/or disable and/or mute any unwanted or disruptive participants. You can also report any user to Zoom’s Trust and Safety team. The host can “suspend participant activities” to stop all video and audio conversations, chat within the meeting, screen sharing, and pause recording, and end breakout rooms. They can also turn off captions and disable private chat for everyone.
Google Meet also allows the host to turn off screen sharing by participants. Google Meet has more options for who can join the meeting, but these are only available to account administrators, not just meeting hosts. Similarly, you must be an administrator to turn chat on and off, and you can only do this for the entire organization, not for a single meeting. Google Meet does not have a feature to remove video and/or disable and/or mute individual participants, nor is there any reporting mechanism or “suspend participant activities.” You cannot lock a meeting that has started in Google Meet.
Live Captions
For participants who are hard of hearing or those who need to join without sound, live captions can be very important. Both Google Meet and Zoom offer live captions. Zoom enables the host or any other attendee assigned by the host to provide manual captions, and a third-party closed captioning service can provide captions, or Zoom’s live transcription feature can provide automatic captions through the closed caption settings.
Free Options
You can use Zoom or Google Meet without paying anything, which is good news for those on a budget, but you won’t have access to the full-featured versions unless you opt for the paid version.
Zoom Basic is free but limits meeting time to 40 minutes, which is sufficient for some but not suitable for many business users. With the free Google Meet plan, meetings can last up to 60 minutes. Anyone can use the free version of Google Meet, although you will need a Gmail account to host a free Google Meet session.
Participants and Time Limits
You can host up to 1000 participants in each meeting using Google Meet or Zoom, depending on the plan you choose, and only 100 people in the free versions of both programs. With the paid plan, Google Meet allows a generous time limit of 30 hours per meeting; 24 hours is the maximum for Zoom’s paid plans.
Participant Tracking
If you want to track participant attendance using Google Meet, you will need to purchase a Business Plus or Enterprise plan. You can track attendance in Zoom Meetings using any paid plan.
Collaboration Tools
Zoom and Google Meet come with a wide range of built-in tools that enhance collaboration and engagement. Again, the providers share many features, including digital whiteboards, polls, quizzes, breakout rooms, reactions, and raising hands. Google Meet offers a noise cancellation feature that can improve the audio experience for participants, while Zoom provides customizable avatars that can add a fun element to team meetings.
Cloud Storage
Google Meet offers significantly more cloud storage for recordings compared to Zoom. Paid Google Meet users receive 30 GB of unlimited cloud storage on Google Drive. With Google Meet, free users also get 15 GB of storage. Cloud storage is not offered for free to Zoom users, who receive only 5 GB per user in Zoom's Pro and Business plans, while Zoom Enterprise customers receive unlimited cloud storage.
Conclusion
In the battle of the differences between Zoom and Google Meet, we find it a virtual tie. Zoom offers some rich features, including strong host controls, and it has a good reputation for ease of use.
Like Zoom, Google Meet is an easy-to-use video conferencing platform that is popular across various workplaces. The standout feature of Google Meet is that it comes with a full suite of high-quality business tools, providing excellent value for all types of businesses, especially those already using other Google Workspace programs.
Google Meet is best for: Current Google Workspace users, budget-focused companies; Google Meet offers exceptional value for hosting virtual meetings in the workplace.
Zoom is best for: Companies of all sizes, integration with thousands of third-party applications, hosting large audiences.
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