Introduction

The covid pandemic was a really hard time for many businesses, however not for all. This is the video conferencing apps market, which witnessed positive business results. People were locked inside their homes, and they needed means to communicate. This is where the video conferencing apps showed a significant leap in contrast to their decade-long slow growth. During the pandemic time and signups, downloads, and usage of video conferencing apps grew by manifolds. There are numerous competitors in the video conferencing space. The ones that are on the top of the list and the names that are nearly known to everybody are Google meet (from the Google workspace office suite) and the Zoom video conferencing app. But which one is the best? In this blog, we have dug deep into the comparison to find out which is the best.

    We at Aarav infotech are an official Google Cloud partner providing sundry packages and services of Google workspace including the Google meet app for your video conferencing needs. To know more about the packages visit our packages section.

The War to Become the Best Video Conferencing App

The covid pandemic has initiated a great war between the video conferencing giants as the need as well as the demand increased for the same. All the schools, offices, concerts, shows, and events went online, and as a result, the need for video conferencing increased. Seeing this opportunity along with the giants, many new players entered the market and implemented new technologies to improve the user experience as well as the effectiveness of communication.

      To draw in and acquire more customers the companies started to provide a free version of their apps to the consumers with some limitations. Alongside Google workspace’s Google meet and Zoom Video Communications’ Zoom, some other apps that have captured a significant portion of the market are Microsoft Teams, Zoho meeting, and Cisco Webex. They all are good options but still, the leaders in this space are Google workspace and Zoom. However, only one can hold the number one spot in the chart, so let's analyze and compare these two to find out who is the real winner.

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Google Workspace vs Zoom

• Google Meet is a video conferencing product owned by Google that is included in the Google workspace bundles. Similarly, Zoom is a feature-rich video conferencing app fulfilling the demands of millions. Both these companies are American multinational companies.
• Both Google meet and Zoom offer freemium models with some limitations in their free versions. In the Zoom app, there is a 40-minute limit in the free version, but in the case of Google meet there are no known time limitations. Before the covid pandemic, there was a 60-minute video conferencing limit on Google meet, but after seeing the need Google has withdrawn the time limit. With the paid versions of both apps, you get to see improved and useful features.
• When you go for the paid versions of the apps; in the Google essential workspace account, you get to see a price range between 125-1260 INR per user per month. On the other hand in the case of zoom, the price is slightly higher in the range between 1300-1800 INR per user per month.
• In the case of the Google workspace alongside having a great video conferencing app such as Google meet, you also get to use other great collaboration Google products like Docs, Sheets, Slides, and more. On the contrary, you do not get access to any collaboration apps in the case of Zoom.
• In both these apps you get features like Share Screen -Breakout Rooms -Connect to Conference Equipment -Call Recording -Group Messaging. The maximum number of participants in Google meet is up to 250, which is enough for small and medium-sized businesses. In the case of Zoom, the number can go up to 1000.
• The setup process of Google is pretty easy with the workspace setup wizard and you do not have to download anything to your local computer. But, you have to install Zoom locally on your computer.
• When it comes to call-in-charges, there are no charges in the Google workspace account, but with Zoom, there are audio plans. The plans start at 100 dollars per month and the users are billed based on their country rates. Additional charges may apply if the limit is surpassed.
• Google workspace accounts can be easily integrated with Gmail and Outlook, but you can only incorporate Outlook to Zoom. Apps like Salesforce, Zapier, Dropbox, and others can be integrated into both apps with ease.
• The simpler and easier-built navigations make both these apps highly user-friendly and users can get their hands on them effortlessly. Both these apps offer different view modes. Inside Google meet one can switch between Tiles, Spotlight, and Sidebar layouts. In Zoom, there are layouts like Gallery view, Active Speaker view, and even a minimized floating thumbnail window.
• Security and privacy are really important aspects in modern times, so it is truly crucial to examine which is more secure and safe. At the hour of the 2020 quarantine, zoom came to the spotlight as more than 500,000 Zoom passwords were released on the dark web for less than a cent each. We have also witnessed many ‘zoombombings’ inside very important meetings. On the contrary, all the data are encrypted in the Google meet, while obeying the IETF security standards for Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) and Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP). Google meet additionally produces a unique encryption key for every meeting and each participant.

Which Is the Best?

It is crystal clear that Google workspace is offering more features, better security, and feature-rich free versions, as well as it is economic for small as well as medium-sized businesses. In conclusion, we can say Google workspace is a better option to choose over Zoom, and we can say that Google workspace is the most ideal choice available at the moment.

        To enjoy the great benefits of Google workspace packages and to avail of the best-in-class support as well as services get your suitable Google workspace plan from our packages section. For any queries call us at +91 7506506672 / +91 9372419217 or mail us at sales@aaravinfotech.com.

Key Takeaways

• People needed means to communicate during the pandemic, so the demand for video conferencing apps skyrocketed.
• The video conferencing app names that are nearly known to everybody are Google meet (from the Google workspace office suite) and the Zoom video conferencing app.
• Both these apps offer freemium models with some limitations to their free plans.
• On the aspect of pricing, Google Workspace is quite more economical than the other.
• The setup of Google workspace is quite easy compared to Zoom. We can integrate both Gmail and Outlook to Google workspace and only Outlook to Zoom.
• The maximum number of participants in the case of Google meet is 250 whereas the number goes up to 1000 in the case of Zoom.
• In Google meet, there are no call-in-charges but Zoom plans start at 100 dollars per month.
• One can easily integrate useful add-ons into both these apps and both of these apps possess user-friendly interfaces.
• When it comes to security, Google's workspace is more secure and safe compared to Zoom.
• We can conclude that Google Workspace is the overall winner and is the best option available at the moment. 

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Written by: Mahendra Raulo

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Mahendra Raulo is the Managing Director at Aarav Infotech India Pvt. Ltd., a leading Web Design and Digital Marketing Company with 20+ years of experience and having headquarters in Mumbai, India, and a Support Centre in Bhubaneswar, India, he is actively working with Start-ups, SMEs and Corporations utilizing technology to provide business transformation solution.