5 Google Meet alternatives for remote team collaboration

In 1958, physicist William Higinbotham created the first video game: a basic singles tennis match. Soon after that, you could play games of all kinds on your TV set by plugging in a controller, either playing alone or in the same room with friends. 

Today, playing video games with friends has evolved to a whole new level. Instead of having to be in the same room, you can connect and enjoy a multiplayer online experience. No more waiting for your friend to pass the controller so you can join in. 

When it comes to remote working, Google Meet is a bit like those early gaming days. It’s a fantastic tool for video conferencing and, for small remote companies using Google Workspace, it’s easy to use and integrates with your calendar. But it’s more of a spectator sport than an interactive experience, like watching your friends play video games while you’re waiting your turn. It’s great for talking, but not so much for doing. 

To move beyond one-way screen-sharing, small remote companies need Google Meet alternatives that can foster a truly collaborative environment where teams feel more connected to each other and their work.

Want a video conferencing tool built for multiplayer collaboration? 
Switchboard lets you work side by side with your team—so you never have to wait your turn to contribute.  
Sign up.

What are the disadvantages of Google Meet?

Formerly known as Google Hangouts, Google Meet is a straightforward virtual video meeting platform that lets you easily connect with your team. Especially if you’re already using Google Workspace. 

It’s great for quick 1:1s, check-ins, and top-down team meetings. It also gives you plenty of dialing options so people can call in from their phones, and a mobile app for easy accessibility. 

But it has some drawbacks:

• Few interactive features 
• One person controls the screen at a time
• Hard to collaborate in real-time
• Notes and chat content are lost once the meeting ends
• Need to share invitations and meeting links beforehand, so it’s harder to meet spontaneously 
• No meeting recording on the free plan 

Let’s take a look at those in more depth. 

Few interactive features 

Google Meet is great for communicating but it falls short when it comes to teamwork, creativity, or building relationships.  

For example, when you can’t share files directly in your meeting platform, you have to switch between tabs to work on them “outside” the call. And while being able to raise your hand is great for large or formal meetings, it can get in the way of fluid brainstorming in small huddles. 

Plus, once the meeting is over, all of your hard work evaporates. Google Meet doesn’t have an intuitive, always-open workspace where people can find each other (and their meeting materials) anytime. This makes it harder to have spontaneous conversations, see what everyone’s working on, keep track of work, and jump into the next brainstorming session.

One person controls the screen at a time

Screen sharing in Google Meet means one person presents while everyone else waits their turn to speak—or just switches off. This makes it hard to create an engaging meeting experience where everyone has a voice and can work side-by-side.  

Hard to collaborate in real time

As mentioned, in Google Meet you can’t all work together on files, documents, apps, and browsers within the same tab on video calls. This can make it hard to create a collaborative environment since you have to rely on screen sharing, live chat, and viewing documents on different browsers to get work done. It’s easy to talk to your colleagues but not so good for getting things done—you waste a lot of time staging different tabs instead of moving projects forward. 

Notes and chat content are lost once the meeting ends

Once the meeting is over, you can watch the recording but you can’t access any of the files, documents, or links you discussed. 

Although you can send links through the chat during a call, you can’t save live chat content after the meeting or send files, which can limit remote team productivity. So if you share any important information, links, and notes, you need to remember to reshare or save them somewhere else. 

In other words, Google Meet is great for one-off conversations, but not so handy when you want to keep working on something before, during, or after the meeting. 

Need to share meeting links before each meeting

Although Google Meet automatically stores the meeting link in your calendar event if it’s created using Google Workspace, you still need to add all the participants, share the invitation, and make sure they can all access the meeting. This makes it harder to meet spontaneously, and, if the host can’t attend the meeting, others can struggle to get in or record the call. 

No meeting recording on the free plan 

You can’t record your meeting using the free version of Google Meet. With a paid subscription to Google Workspace (starts at $7.99/month per user) you can record your meeting and Google will automatically save it to your Drive. But you still have to manually download and share the recording with your team, which can take time and break the flow of collaboration. Plus, if you don’t have a good organizational system, it can be hard to find past recordings.

What is the best alternative to Google Meet? 

Now that you have an idea of the challenges remote teams can face using Google Meet, let’s explore some alternatives. 

If you want to make the switch from Google Meet but don’t know where to start, here’s a list of five virtual collaboration tools you can use to get your hands on the controller and start playing the game instead of kicking back and watching. 

1. Switchboard

Switchboard is a browser-based collaboration tool and workspace that lets you collaborate on documents and apps inside a virtual room—without having to share your screen.

Switchboard lets you communicate in real time with video, audio, and chat. You can also work side-by-side allowing everyone to scroll, type, and browse the same document or website at the same time. 

You can create cloud-based virtual rooms for brainstorming, host spontaneous meetings with your team, and connect with clients in an interactive space. 

Throughout the meeting, you can explore any file in the room, moving around and viewing whatever you want without getting in the way of others. Best of all, Switchboard saves all your files after every meeting, so you never need to download anything or repopulate the room again.  

What’s better than Google Meet?

Switchboard’s multiplayer setup lets you feel like you’re playing the video game along with your team, while Google Meet is like watching someone else play it. Everyone can roll up their sleeves and equally contribute to the work at hand, rather than delegating one person to navigate while everyone else watches from the sidelines.

Key features:

• Shared workspaces and rooms for recurring meetings
• Web-based canvas to add multiple apps, websites, PDFs, and images side by side
• Persistent rooms that save your work
• In-meeting video, audio, and chat
• Secure, fast cloud browsers for instant collaboration
• Screen sharing for native apps
• Presentation mode
• In-app support
• Google Calendar integration
• Unlimited rooms for 1:1s, meetings, and projects
• Meeting recording
• No integration required for web-based apps—they all work
• Room permissions for members and guests
• Sections to organize documents and apps
• Host not required for members to enter a room

Limitations:

• Up to 50 participants 

Best for:

• Highly collaborative small remote or hybrid companies looking for a comprehensive and team-oriented solution to traditional video conferencing tools. 

Pricing: 

• Switchboard is currently free with all features included. It plans to introduce pricing tiers in mid-2023 and there will always be a free option.

2. Zoom

Zoom is one of the most recognizable online meeting platforms. It offers online meeting solutions for various industries, from education to healthcare.

What’s better than Google Meet?

Although the most famous competitor to Google Meet, Zoom offers similar features like screen sharing, in-meeting chat, and call recording. It’s also better for running large events like webinars and lets you create as many as 50 breakout sessions for small group discussions and close collaboration. This makes it more effective for large companies that want access to shared workspaces and facilitate better teamwork. 

Key features:

• Meetings of up to 40 minutes and 100 participants (free)
• Built-in online whiteboard
• In-meeting chat
• Automated captions
• Call recording
• Screen sharing
• Breakout rooms

Limitations:

If you’re a small, highly collaborative team, Zoom meetings lack the functionality you’ll need for true side-by-side collaboration. For example, you can’t store files in your meeting room and pick up where you left off. You also can’t work side-by-side on any type of file or document with your peers. 

Best for: 

Zoom can accommodate a large number of participants, which makes it ideal for large companies that need a reliable web conferencing tool. Its built-in whiteboard and messaging features help make meetings more collaborative. You can invite up to 100 attendees on the Basic and Pro plans, up to 300 on its Business plans, and up to 1,000 on its Enterprise plan. 

Pricing: 

• Free version with limited functionality and attendee numbers
• Pro: $149.90/year per user
• Business: $199.90/year per user
• Business Plus: $250/year per user
• Enterprise: custom priced  

3. Vowel

Vowel is a video conferencing software with automated meeting transcriptions, notes, and meeting agenda templates. You can add actionable notes to your team’s meeting agenda, which everyone can see and that’s updated in real time. 

What’s better than Google Meet?

Although it relies on screen-sharing for displaying information like Google Meet, it has plenty of other features that are better for team collaboration. For example, talk time stops you from oversharing, instant comments and editable agenda points make it easy to contribute, no-processing time for transcription, and call recordings give you instant access to important meeting points. 

Key features: 

• Meetings of up to 40 minutes and 12 participants (free)
• In-meeting chat 
• Talk time counter 
• Interactive meeting agenda and templates
• Meeting bookmarks 
• Meeting transcription (non-English available)
• Meeting notes 
• Call recording 
• Screen sharing 
• Basic integrations

Limitations:

Anyone can contribute to company meeting agendas and meeting notes, which can derail things. Your simple agenda can quickly balloon with multiple items, causing information silos or overload. 

Best for: 

Vowel works well for highly technical companies and teams—like product design and engineering—that rely on accurate transcriptions in multiple languages and collaborative research sessions.  

Pricing: 

• Free version with limited functionality and attendee numbers
• Business: $16.49/month per host 
• Enterprise: coming soon

4. Tandem

Tandem is a video conferencing solution and virtual workspace that lets you automatically join upcoming meetings, virtually wave at your teammates, and notify them when you’re available. It helps remote and hybrid teams collaborate by getting them together in a virtual room where everyone can see who’s online and what’s happening. 

What’s better than Google Meet?

Unlike Google Meet, Tandem lets you see what your team members are working on, set timers for agenda points, and interact with your teammate’s screen shares. And shared cursors show you who’s doing what on your screen, so you can collaborate without the guesswork. 

Key features: 

• Unlimited audio and video calls for up to 4 members (free)
• In-meeting chat
• Call recording
• Screen sharing 
• Meeting reminders and auto-join
• Meeting widgets like timer, music, and polls 
• Shared cursors 
• Public and private rooms

Limitations:

It can be challenging to start conversations and find active team members if they switch rooms.

Best for: 

With hybrid spaces that let you jump around the virtual office and collaborate on interactive whiteboards, Tandem is perfect for hybrid companies with multiple departments.

Pricing: 

• Free version with limited functionality and attendee numbers
• Small teams: $49/month for up to 10 users 
• Medium teams: $99/month for up to 50 users 
• Large teams: $399/month with unlimited users

5. Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Teams Rooms are video conferencing platforms that let you host video conferences, webinars, and collaborative work sessions. The free version works well for simple virtual meetings, while paid versions allow for advanced remote collaboration. 

What’s better than Google Meet?

Microsoft Teams offers similar features to Google Meet, but might be more user-friendly for companies already using Microsoft 365 tools. For example, quick access to Microsoft products like Outlook, Excel, and Word makes company meetings more collaborative and productive. 

Key features: 

• Unlimited group meetings for up to an hour
• Up to 100 participants per meeting
• Unlimited chat
• Wireless sharing
• Real-time collaboration

Limitations:

• Small teams and individual users who aren’t familiar with Microsoft’s interface (and already use Google Workspace and Google Drive) might find it easier to collaborate using Google Meet. 

Best for: 

Microsoft Teams works well for all types of businesses that already use other MS products.

Pricing: 

• Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Teams Rooms with limited functionality: Free   
• Microsoft Teams Essentials: $4/month per user
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6/month per user
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50/month per user 
• Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro (without Audio Conferencing): $40/month per room

How you can run more collaborative meetings in Switchboard 

Google Meet is a great tool—if you’re into one-player games. But if you want to build a connected remote environment where everyone can contribute, you need a tool that’s built for doing, not just talking. 

Switchboard revolutionizes how your remote team works together because it's designed for true collaboration and multiplayer participation. It lets you work side-by-side and collaborate on tasks and projects during meetings—without switching tabs or sharing screens. 

No more waiting for your turn to play, just easy, enjoyable teamwork. 

For example, your sales team can present three different ideas for a new sales deck and look at each one in turn. They can then zoom out and compare them side by side before making a final decision. And they can record the meeting and add it to the room directly, so anyone who missed the meeting can catch up and see how and why decisions were made. 

Or your marketing team can set up an ideal customer profile (ICP) room and fill it with customer surveys and emails, market research, and chatbot or live-chat insights. During meetings with your customer success team, everyone can access anything they need in real time and work together to improve customer-facing materials like sales collateral or call center scripts. 

With Switchboard, you’re always in the game and it’s always your turn. With a true multiplayer experience and real-time communication, everyone can play and win.

Google Meet alternatives: Get the multiplayer experience 

For your remote and hybrid teams to feel more connected to each other and their work, they need the right tools. And, while Google Meet is great for talking, it’s more like passively watching someone play video games than joining in for an interactive, multiplayer experience.   

The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way. Video games have come a long way since the early, one-player days, and so have virtual meeting tools. Today, there are plenty of Google Meet alternatives with more options for remote collaboration to transform your performance, operations, and meetings. 

Tools like Zoom, Vowel, Tandem, and Microsoft Teams are all solid choices for teams to meet online and present ideas and projects.  

For true collaboration, though, you need to all be in the same virtual room, playing the same game, and with enough controllers to go around. With Switchboard, small remote teams get a Google Meet alternative that lets them create a truly collaborative environment, so teams feel more connected to each other and their work.

Ready for a multiplayer experience?

Want a video conferencing tool built for multiplayer collaboration?
‍Switchboard lets you work side-by-side with your team—so you never have to wait your turn to contribute.  
Sign up.