Zoom vs Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet: What's the best video conferencing service?

(Pocket-lint) - Video conferencing bundle and apps are an indispensable means of connection for each sorts of radical and businesses.

Whether you're successful a long-distance relationship, taking an online class, oregon moving from home, you request a mode to link implicit video conferencing with others. Products similar Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet (formerly Hangouts Meet) are among the astir fashionable video conferencing solutions.

• Best escaped video calling apps: Keep successful interaction with friends oregon colleagues

To assistance you determine which is best, we've pitted these 3 apps against each different and compared what they person to offer.

Zoom

Zoom is simply a video conferencing work you tin usage to virtually conscionable with others - either by video oregon audio-only oregon both, each portion conducting unrecorded chats. And it lets you grounds those sessions to presumption later. It was primitively a niche work utilized chiefly by endeavor clients (over fractional of Fortune 500 companies reportedly utilized Zoom successful 2019). Now, however, Zoom has implicit 300 cardinal regular users (figures from 2020).

Rapid maturation has seen Zoom look into a planetary force, wide utilized among idiosyncratic users arsenic good arsenic businesses and media companies. 

• What is Zoom and however does it work?

Features

When radical are talking astir Zoom, you'll usually perceive the pursuing phrases: Zoom Meeting and Zoom Room. Zoom Meeting refers to a video conferencing gathering that's hosted utilizing Zoom. You tin articulation these meetings via a webcam oregon phone. Meanwhile, a Zoom Room is the carnal hardware setup that enables companies to docket and motorboat Zoom Meetings from their league rooms.

Besides its debased outgo to use, what makes Zoom truthful charismatic is that it is dormant simple, and you tin easy entree it from your laptop oregon mobile devices. Its cardinal features see the quality to big unlimited one-on-one meetings adjacent with the escaped plan, conscionable with ample groups, stock your surface oregon audio, and adjacent alteration your inheritance to a customized virtual representation - nary greenish surface required.

Zoom has the champion enactment for surface sharing and subordinate power successful our opinion.

Supported devices

The desktop app is disposable for Windows and macOS, portion the mobile app is disposable for Android and iOS, oregon it tin tally successful a browser.

Pricing

Zoom's escaped tier allows unlimited one-on-one meetings but limits radical sessions to 40 minutes and 100 participants. Paid plans commencement astatine $15/£12 per period per host. Zoom Rooms necessitate an further subscription connected apical of a subscription and is much a solution for larger companies.

• Go present to spot Zoom's plans and pricing

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams started beingness arsenic a chat-based workspace successful Microsoft 365. It is intended for anyone who uses M365 connected a regular basis. With a emergence successful request for video, it's present much associated with video conferencing instead.

Although it was archetypal built arsenic a concern tool, it's present unfastened to idiosyncratic users too, meaning video calling betwixt friends and family, arsenic an offshoot from those archetypal concern functions.

• What is Microsoft Teams and however does it work?

Features

Teams is integrated with each the Microsoft apps. It combines concern VoIP, collaboration, and video features into a azygous app. It's mostly astir threaded, persistent chats which you tin past hunt aboriginal - truthful you tin support way of everything without having to usage email, which everyone agrees is not an perfect instrumentality for collaboration.

Teams is designed to get radical to enactment much efficaciously unneurotic portion making usage of the integration of Microsoft 365 apps. You tin bash things similar easy acceptable up a gathering with calendars, make and stock content, telephone squad members easily, and more. In presumption of video conferencing, it has the quality to big calls with up to 10,000 members. It besides offers surface sharing and telephone recording.

For idiosyncratic users you tin marque radical calls, tally radical chats and support a way of aged conversations - including radical who aren't progressive successful calls.

Supported devices

Microsoft Teams is compatible with Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and it's besides disposable connected the web - conscionable similar different Microsoft 365 apps.

Pricing

Microsoft Teams is included with each Microsoft 365 plans (which commencement astatine $5 a idiosyncratic per month), but determination is a freemium mentation of the service that includes enactment for up to 300 people. If you're connected the escaped tier, Microsoft said you'll get unlimited chat messages and search. You besides get cardinal features similar 10,000 searchable messages, 10 app integrations, 5GB of record storage, and 1:1 video chats.

For idiosyncratic use, you conscionable request to person a Microsoft account.

• Go present to spot Teams/Microsoft 365 plans and pricing

Google Meet

Google rebranded Hangouts Meet to simply Google Meet successful 2020. It's a video conferencing solution built into Gmail, YouTube, and Google Voice, positive determination are apps for iOS, Android, and it volition tally done astir browsers. It's fundamentally a utile and cost-effective level for tiny businesses arsenic good arsenic endeavor customers. It has a precise light, accelerated interface that enables you to easy negociate up to 250-person meetings.

• What is Google Meet and however does it work?

Features

Google Meet tin grip up to 250 participants per call, unrecorded streaming for up to 100,000 viewers wrong a domain, and tin grounds meetings connected Google Drive for aboriginal broadcast, for paying G Suite subscribers. As Google Meet is disposable to each Google relationship holders, that's each you'll request to commencement a basal gathering for up to 100 participants.

G Suite organisers tin acceptable up calls via Google Calendar, gathering nexus URLs oregon codes, dial-in by telephone numbers, and done dedicated Google Meet hardware similar Chromebox and Chromebase. For G Suite Enterprise customers, each gathering has a dedicated dial-in telephone number.

Google Meet besides updated to see a Zoom-like assemblage view. While you were lone capable to spot 4 radical astatine a clip before, Meet has ushered successful a caller tiled layout, allowing you to spot 16 telephone participants astatine once. It volition let surface sharing successful assorted forms and Google is support to propulsion the information of Meet acknowledgment to sitting connected Google Cloud infrastructure. Google Meet doesn't person each the surface sharing options that Zoom offers.

Supported devices

Google Meet is disposable arsenic an Android and iOS mobile app. You tin besides entree Meet via Chrome, Mozilla, Microsoft, oregon Safari web browsers.

Pricing

G Suite plans see entree to Google Meet and commencement astatine $8 a idiosyncratic per period for the Basic tier (includes G Suite apps and 30GB of unreality storage). Anyone with a Google relationship volition beryllium capable to entree Google Meet free, giving 24 hr 1:1 calls, oregon 1 hr radical calls with 3+ users.

• Go present to spot Meet/G Suite plans and pricing

Which is champion for you?

Here's your determination tree: are you a regular, mundane user looking to support successful interaction with friends and family? Then usage Zoom oregon Google Meet. Do you tally a tiny group? These are astir apt your champion options too.

Are you a G Suite user? Definitely usage Google Meet.

Are you a Microsoft 365 user? Go with Microsoft Teams.

Are you a concern oregon school? You're astir apt either utilizing G Suite oregon Microsoft 365, truthful usage immoderate video conferencing app is included with your program - but if not, there's escaped entree to Zoom and Google Meet to enactment you.

Honestly, Zoom and Google Meet are the quickest and astir straightforward ways to commencement video calls utilizing calendar links, gathering URLs, and telephone dial-in numbers. You don't adjacent request to make an relationship with Zoom, though Meet requires astatine slightest a escaped Google account, which Google says is simply a information feature. Microsoft Teams, connected the different hand, truly shines erstwhile a squad needs to leap connected a video telephone from a chat connection thread.

If you truly privation america to urge 1 work to try, spell with Zoom. It has emerged arsenic the level of prime for many, from individuals up to large media organisations doing unrecorded interviews. It besides betters Google Meet erstwhile it comes to managing larger groups and offers amended surface sharing options and controls.

Writing by Maggie Tillman. Editing by Chris Hall. Originally published connected 24 April 2020.