Managed IT Support Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet vs Zoom: The Definitive Videoconferencing Fight
The COVID-19 pandemic required workers to work from home, but the program had to go on in some way. Overnight, videoconferencing platforms developed into the lifeline that held services together. Even as operations return to typical, videoconferencing service providers are putting resources into their products.
The two primary collaboration suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace offer videoconferencing capabilities, but we would be remiss not to include among the most popular videoconferencing apps in the market today-- Zoom.
At this moment, your service is nearly ensured to have a videoconferencing platform already. If not, or if you are aiming to alter platforms, continue reading below for a breakdown of functions and options that will assist you make your choice.
Are your conferences long or short? Are you mainly satisfying internally or with leads and customers? Will you be hosting webinars?
It goes without saying, if your company is already registered for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and you more than happy with the platform, you must use Teams or Meet respectively. If you are not registered for either and simply need a standalone videoconferencing app, Zoom has a free variation that should solve the majority of your requirements.
In the areas below, we will compare all three significant videoconferencing platforms based on numerous metrics you should consider before picking the ideal one for your organization.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: Integration with your other apps/services
Prior to diving into the complete list of features for each platform, it is important to comprehend just how much you receive from the totality of what you are spending for.
Groups and Meet become part of larger productivity suites, whereas Zoom is a standalone product with all the videoconferencing-specific features you might require. While Teams and Meet can be acquired independently, they are best bundled with their bigger suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Case in point, a Zoom Pro subscription only provides you videoconferencing capabilities. For less than Zoom Pro, the M365 Business Standard and Workspace Business subscriptions consist of a complete suite of service applications.
With Microsoft 365, you get a completely integrated experience with desktop variations of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. The greatest selling point of Microsoft is how quickly the apps deal with each other, and the most significant difference in between Teams and its competitors is how centralized the suite is.
Groups jumps perfectly from instant messaging to video calls, with the capability to change backward and forward between them.
On The Other Hand, Google Meet is independent of Workspace's chat app, Google Chat. While users can make use of both Workspace apps concurrently, the separation of the two is a bit counterproductive.
With M365 and Teams, all chats, tape-recorded conferences, and files are all housed in the same main location, making searchability far simpler.
With Meet and Zoom, you will need to look for conserved chats from old meetings, or when it comes to Meet, head over to Google Chat.
This is also the case when dealing with collaborative files. Any files connected in a Teams chat will appear under its files tab at the top of the window, suggesting you do not have to waste time chasing them down when you need them.
Microsoft offers a lot more applications in their plans than Google, though many go unnoticed.
For instance, Microsoft Sway allows you to quickly get and cut a tape-recorded Teams satisfying that you can then house locally within Teams itself.
In the case that somebody gets here late to a conference, or a worker records the very same conference and lets it run for hours after its conclusion, you can quickly grab the part of the conference you need and save it.
This bypasses the storage that would be consumed by an hours-long video clip, in addition to the time it would take to publish, cut, and export stated video from a video editing platform.
In addition, all 3 platforms do have combinations with various other business applications, so be sure to look at compatibility with any apps you currently utilize, and these platforms.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: Features
Comparing Free Versions vs. Paid
Microsoft, Google, and Zoom have actually all adjusted well to the need for certain functions on their platforms, thus most of the very same features overlap across plans for all 3 suites. This includes screen sharing, video recording, live captions, and everybody's favorite: customized backgrounds. When it comes to some other functions, they vary throughout each company's offerings.
A table illustrating the various plans and functions of Microsoft Teams vs. Google Meet vs. Zoom Audio Conferencing On-the-Go
While present throughout the board, dial-in abilities vary across strategies. Meet offers dial-in for free with any of their paid plans, one of the greatest benefits that the platform has more than its rivals.Groups offers its dial-in ability for $4 additional per user, each month; while Zoom's dial-in is toll-based.
Both Teams and Meet deal internet-based PBX options that can change your in-house phones, while Zoom's toll-based setup is not practical.
Microsoft 365 Business Voice integrates perfectly with Teams, permitting workers to take company on the go, all with full connection.
Video Quality-- Who Supports the Best?
As of the time of this post, each platform displays video in HD, but the quality varies. Teams is capable of 1080p video at 30 frames per 2nd if you have 1.5 Mbps of bandwidth.
Zoom also has 1080p video, however it is restricted to the platform's business or business plans. 1080p can also be allowed by Zoom assistance in certain cases. Zoom's 1080p performance requires 1.8 Mbps of bandwidth for 1-on-1 calls and 2.5 Mbps on group calls.
Meet will default to 360p video, however it can send and receive as much as 720p video.
Audio quality throughout platforms depends upon microphone and speaker quality, along with the quality of your web connection.
Spaces and Workspaces-- Breaking Things Down
Breakout spaces are basically meetings that run at the same time to the original videoconference. These were particularly necessary for virtual education, so teachers might break students out into different groups to learn.
There is a clear energy for breakout rooms in professional areas, too. If a bigger group is meeting about a project, breaking down tasks into smaller groups, breakout rooms might be a fantastic option.
Both Teams and Zoom have actually breakout rooms native to their base platforms, throughout all plans. These rooms are basically meetings that are running all at once to the initial videoconference.
Meet allows breakout rooms through their basic and plus strategies, but not in the complimentary or fundamental strategies. Like most Google functions on cheaper strategies, you can add Google Chrome extensions, however this might be more of a headache than it is worth in the end.
Just recently, Microsoft likewise rolled out Together Mode, which utilizes AI to put video individuals in numerous digital settings, together. While the energy is light, Together Mode could be a solid morale booster.
Groups vs Meet vs Zoom: Privacy and Safety
To its credit, Zoom responded swiftly to the "Zoom bombing" of the early days of the pandemic, including end-to-end file encryption and beefing up their personal privacy policy. Over 500,000 Zoom accounts were stolen and published for sale online soon afterwards.
While Meet has actually not had any famous incidents of privacy breaches, Google has actually had plenty of personal privacy concerns and a track record of gathering data for usage in marketing.
Microsoft has the very best performance history of security and they likewise have the most transparent privacy policy.
All 3 platforms support two-factor authentication. Considering that 99% of cybersecurity attacks include a password element, two-factor authentication is a need to if you desire a legitimate defense versus cybercriminals.
As a part of the larger M365 suite, all chats, notes, and files are secured and kept within OneNote and SharePoint, respectively.
Additionally, Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is offered on its Business Premium and E5 plans, blocking possibly harmful material from being accessed by those in your business.
Microsoft also utilizes Data Loss Protection (DLP) to capture sensitive information being shared (like social security numbers), and automatically obstruct it from being sent out.
Together with eDiscovery and legal holds within channels, chats, and files, Teams ensures you remain compliant with all data storage policies.
A graphic showing the path of details as it is secured from Microsoft Teams through Microsoft 365.
Google does provide eDiscovery in their Business and Enterprise strategies and DLP in their Enterprise plan just, however these are only restricted to Drive and Gmail. From what we can see Meet has no specifically listed DLP abilities.Zoom does not provide any of these functions on its main platform.
In general, Zoom has actually responded well to its personal privacy obstacles, but the modifications are mainly cosmetic.
End-to-end file encryption (E2EE) is excellent to have, however its addition was more of a response to an issue than a total service. It is unlikely that E2EE protects most users from more than file encryption in transit and at rest, like with Teams and Meet.
E2EE is most beneficial in 1-on-1 conversations where delicate details might be shared, and it will be available on Teams soon according to Microsoft.
The videoconferencing business has less to fret about since they are a single-purpose app, dealing exclusively with videoconferencing, and not the storage of files, chats, and other details like Microsoft or Google.
Based upon credibility alone, Microsoft stands well above the others in terms of security.
Since your information is all managed it services saved in a single area, Teams and its security functions take your efficiency hub and turns it into your company's own data fortress. This second level of security and privacy makes it the safest, in our experience.
Teams vs Meet vs Zoom: The Verdict
The majority of videoconferencing platforms have comparable features, your organization's specific requirements must determine whether you pick Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Zoom.
For base-level features at a budget-friendly rate, it is tough to beat Zoom, who is focused exclusively on videoconferencing. For the most value, Teams ties your whole company together in one space, with the best possible functions and security available.
If you are looking for an all-in-one collaboration hub that keeps all your interaction in one space, we highly recommend Microsoft Teams.
IT Support Guys has leveraged the power of Microsoft 365 because 2008 when it was still called Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), and we have actually continued our partnership till the present day.