Best Google Meet Alternatives in 2026
Google Meet is fine if you’re already deep in the Google ecosystem — but it has real gaps. The free plan caps recordings at a limited number of hours, there’s no waiting room on free accounts, and if your team uses Outlook or Slack instead of Gmail, Meet feels out of place. These are the tools worth considering instead.
Zoom
Zoom is the default alternative for a reason. It supports up to 1,000 participants on paid plans, has a waiting room on all tiers (including free), and integrates with virtually every calendar and productivity tool that isn’t Google Workspace. The free plan limits meetings to 40 minutes for groups, but the feature depth at every paid tier is hard to match. Pricing starts at $15.99/month per user for Pro.
Microsoft Teams
If your organization uses Microsoft 365, Teams is the obvious choice over Google Meet. It’s baked into the Office suite, so meetings, chats, and file collaboration happen in one place without switching apps. Teams also supports meeting recordings stored in SharePoint, which gives IT departments more control than Meet’s Drive-based storage. Microsoft 365 Business Basic, which includes Teams, starts at $6/user/month.
Whereby
Whereby runs entirely in the browser — no downloads, no accounts required for guests. That single difference removes the friction that Meet can introduce when inviting external participants who may not have Google accounts. Rooms are persistent with a fixed URL, so recurring meetings don’t need a new link each time. The free plan supports up to 100 participants for one-on-one calls; paid plans start at $6.99/month.
Around
Around is built for teams that are tired of the standard Brady Bunch grid. It keeps faces small and off to the side so you can actually see your screen while collaborating, and it has built-in noise cancellation and background blur that genuinely work. It’s particularly strong for engineering teams doing pair programming or design reviews where screen content matters more than face time. Around is free for small teams; paid plans start at $9/user/month.
Webex
Webex (by Cisco) is the enterprise-grade option for organizations with strict compliance and security requirements. It supports end-to-end encryption, has a strong set of admin controls, and works well for large webinars and town halls where Google Meet falls short. If you’re in healthcare, finance, or government, Webex is often on the approved vendor list when Google isn’t. Pricing starts at $14.50/user/month for the Meet plan.
Jitsi
Jitsi Meet is free, open source, and requires no account to start or join a call. For teams or individuals who want zero-cost video conferencing without any data being tied to a Google account, it’s the most straightforward option. You can self-host it for full control, or use the public instance at meet.jit.si. There’s no paid tier — what you see is what you get, which is both the appeal and the limitation.
Discord
Discord has evolved well past gaming. Its Stage Channels and Go Live screen sharing make it a solid option for communities, small teams, and async-heavy organizations that want persistent voice and video rooms alongside text channels. Unlike Google Meet, Discord keeps a running channel history so conversations don’t disappear after the call ends. Discord is free; Nitro (for higher video quality and upload limits) is $9.99/month.
Slack Huddles
If your team lives in Slack, Huddles let you start an audio or video call with one click without leaving the app. There’s no scheduling required — you just hop in, which is exactly what Google Meet lacks in a Slack-first workflow. Screen sharing, emoji reactions, and live captions are all included. Huddles are available on all Slack paid plans, starting at $7.25/user/month.
Loom
Loom isn’t a live meeting tool — it’s a way to avoid meetings entirely. You record your screen and camera, share a link, and let people watch on their own time. For code reviews, design feedback, or anything that doesn’t actually need synchronous attendance, Loom eliminates the “could have been an email” problem that plagues Google Meet calendars. The free plan allows up to 25 videos; paid plans start at $12.50/user/month.
Carly
Carly doesn’t replace Google Meet — it handles what happens before and after the call. Scheduling a meeting with multiple people across different calendars is where coordination falls apart, and that’s the problem Carly solves. You tell it in plain language when you’re looking to meet, it finds availability across everyone’s calendars, and it handles the back-and-forth. If you’re switching from Meet to any of the tools above, Carly pairs with all of them by adding the right conference link to every invite automatically. Try Carly free.
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