Google Meet vs Jitsi vs Switchboard: Choose the best platform for your remote teams

Just as each player in a multiplayer game has a unique character that contributes to a team’s success, each member of a remote team has a vital role to play. Everyone needs to communicate effectively and work together to achieve a common goal—whether that's completing a mission or landing a new client. 

But creating a multiplayer experience at work can be hard when you don’t have tools that support true remote collaboration—or let you work both async and in real time to accommodate different time zones, working styles, and schedules. 

Google Meet and Jitsi Meet are great platforms for talking, but not so much for doing. Instead, leaders of highly collaborative teams in small remote companies should look for alternatives that act as a home base for collaborative and spontaneous work. 

In this piece, we compare Google Meet, Jitsi Meet, and Switchboard to help you find the best tool for your remote or hybrid company. We’ll also show you why Switchboard is the best choice for highly collaborative small remote teams. Let’s jump in. 

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Google Meet vs Jitsi Meet vs Switchboard: overview 

A new tool is a big investment—both in money and onboarding time—so you want to be sure to pick the right one. That means looking for features that support collaboration and side-by-side, real time or async working. 

Don’t have time to read the full product comparison? Don’t sweat it! Check out this table for a quick visual features comparison of Google Meet, Jitsi Meet, and Switchboard.

Want a more detailed comparison? Keep reading!

Google Meet

Google Meet (previously Google Hangouts) is a good option if your company is already using Google Workspace. It’s easy to use, gives you high-quality video and audio conferencing and live chat, and lets you connect with your team quickly. 

It also offers plenty of dial-in options so people can call in from their mobile devices, which makes it more accessible to remote users. And with up to 500 participants, it’s great for large companies that need an easy way to communicate with dispersed teams. 

Meeting links found in Gmail sync to your Google Calendar so you always know where to find them. There’s also a Google Meet app so your team members can join meetings on the go. But if you’re on the hunt for strong Google Meet alternatives, keep scrolling. 

Jitsi Meet 

Jitsi Meet is a browser-based, open-source video conferencing platform. This means that remote teams don't need to worry about paying for expensive software licenses or dealing with complicated installations and setups.

The platform is built on WebRTC technology, which is known for its high-quality video and audio performance, even on slower internet connections. All communications on the platform are encrypted, meaning only participants can access meeting content. Jitsi Meet also lets users password-protect their meetings and offers advanced moderator controls, such as the ability to mute or kick out participants. 

While useful for live streaming, it's best for one-way communication like hosting company-wide meetings, leadership presentations, or client-facing communications. 

Switchboard

Switchboard is a browser-based collaboration hub that lets you and your team work on documents and apps inside a virtual room—without having to share your screen. It’s designed to foster team connection, collaboration, and productivity through intuitive meeting rooms. 

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

Instead of a traditional single-player experience where presentations, chats, and key information disappear after each meeting, Switchboard lets you share and save everything—even after the meeting is over. So you can truly be part of a multiplayer experience and always have something to show for it. 

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. 

Google Meet vs Jitsi Meet vs Switchboard: engagement features 

The way managers lead their teams determines 70% of a remote or hybrid team's engagement. But to achieve this, leaders need virtual collaboration tools with engagement features that help teams stay productive and create meaningful relationships. 

For example, with Google Meet, you can react to what your colleagues say with an emoji, send polls, and collaborate on a virtual whiteboard to involve employees in brainstorming. 

Jitsi Meet offers all of these features and also provides a live streaming feature that lets you broadcast meetings or webinars in real time. This can be useful for remote teams that want to share their meetings or presentations with a wider audience such as clients or stakeholders. It also lets you share your meeting or webinar recordings directly on YouTube. 

However, to truly engage your team, Switchboard lets you create persistent meeting rooms that save all your documents, media, files, and apps. That way, you can instantly open relevant materials during a meeting or come back to your meeting room and access everything once it’s over. You never have to share your screen or worry about giving access to the right people, all of which help build a cohesive company culture and connected teams.

Google Meet vs Jitsi Meet vs Switchboard: collaboration features

Teams that have a better work-life balance are 74% more likely to be engaged at work. To achieve this, you need to listen to your team’s needs and invest in tools that let remote employees work async and in real-time. 

This creates a positive feedback loop of engaged, connected teams who are ready to collaborate and show up for each other beyond simply appearing on a screen. 

Google Meet and Jitsi Meet have similar real-time collaboration features like: 

• Digital whiteboards
• Screen-sharing capabilities
• In-meeting chat
• Meeting recordings

All of which are useful for getting teams together, communicating on the fly, and presenting ideas. 

But, while Google Meet and Jitsi Meet have features that are great for talking, Switchboard is great for doing. For example, with Switchboard, you get a shared online workspace and persistent rooms so you can pick up where you left off and stay connected with your team. You also get: 

• A web-based canvas to add multiple documents, files, web apps, websites, and games
• Secure multiplayer browsers for instant collaboration
• Sticky notes and comments
• Unlimited rooms for 1:1s, team meetings, and projects  
• Meeting memory to save your work 

Google Meet vs Jitsi Meet vs Switchboard: async working capabilities 

Working async makes sense for dispersed teams across time zones. It can help you get more done without having to wait for a team member to approve or contribute to your work. But, you need tools that act as one source of truth for your async work, with reliable, up-to-date information about tasks and projects. 

With Google Meet and Jitsi Meet, you can only record and save meetings. But with Switchboard, you can prep your meeting room, enter it whenever you need, save all your documents and files, and go back to it later. It's a versatile, collaborative workspace rather than just a video conferencing tool. 

It also helps you become more proactive—you don't need to message people or wait for access to the materials you discussed on the call. You can be proactive instead of reactive—and always know where to go to find key information and people.

Google Meet vs Jitsi Meet vs Switchboard: user experience 

To make sure employees get the most out of the platform you choose, it needs to make complicated day-to-day tasks easier. That’s why Google Meet, Jitsi Meet, and Switchboard are all first-rate options. They let you get quick and reliable facetime with employees whenever you need.  

Nevertheless, you shouldn't have to let go of key collaboration and engagement features for a smooth user experience (UX). Switchboard is easy to set up, use, and roll out across your company—and has all the features you need for multiplayer engagement. 

Google Meet vs Jitsi Meet vs Switchboard: pricing 

Now that you know about how these tools stack up regarding user experience, let’s take a look at pricing: 

Google Meet pricing: 

• Google Meet is free to use with access to basic features
• Business Starter: $6/month per user
• Business Standard: $12/month per user
• Business Plus: $18/month per user
• Enterprise: custom priced

Jitsi Meet pricing: 

Jitsi Meet is currently free with all features included.

Switchboard pricing: 

• Free: Includes limited features, rooms, and members for small teams or individuals.
• Pro: As low as $10 member/month for up to 200 rooms and 500 members plus Switchboard AI and additional storage.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing.

Google Meet vs Jitsi Meet vs Switchboard: meeting capacity

Your company's size and desired meeting capacity are important factors in deciding what tool to choose. Here’s how each option compares.

Google Meet capacity: 

• Free account capacity: 100 participants 
• Business Starter account capacity: 100 participants
• Business Standard account capacity: 150 participants 
• Business Plus and Enterprise account capacity: 500 participants 

Jitsi Meet capacity: 

• Free account capacity: 75 participants 

Switchboard capacity: 

Switchboard is made for highly collaborative, small remote businesses so it has capacity for up to 50 team members. With Switchboard, your people can always find each other—whether they’re in a meeting or not. This way, they can build deeper relationships, get work done in real time and async, and find creative ways to communicate.

Google Meet vs Jitsi Meet vs Switchboard: integrations

Video conferencing and virtual collaboration platforms that integrate with other tools can help streamline your process. Or you can opt for tools like Switchboard that don’t require any integrations, so there’s nothing to rebuild or adjust in your existing workflow. Let’s dive in: 

‍Google Meet integrations: 

• Google Workspace, including Docs, Sheets, and Slides
• Google Classroom
• Loom
• Zapier to create custom integrations between Google Meet and apps like Slack, Trello, and Salesforce
• Jamboard

Jitsi Meet integrations: 

• Slack
• Microsoft Teams
• Google Calendar 
• YouTube Live

Switchboard integrations: 

No integration required for browser-based apps—they all work in Switchboard. Simply copy and paste a link into the canvas or open a browser in your room. You're also not limited by which integrations your meeting platform has. Just log in and start working…that’s it.

Google Meet vs Jitsi vs Switchboard: Which should you pick?

You don’t have to fit your remote collaboration needs into a box (or traditional software) to get ahead. Especially now that there are plenty of tools out there for every type of remote or hybrid company. Let’s look at each option as well as who it’s best for: 

Best for highly collaborative teams: Switchboard

Switchboard is designed for remote and hybrid companies (up to 50 people) who want the feeling of working together in the same room. It's a great option for teams who need a dedicated, interactive space for meetings and projects.

For example, let’s say you’re a small remote eCommerce company that works with a lot of UX design contractors. You can use Switchboard to create a permanent meeting room specifically for UX design. Then, you can access the meeting room whenever you want and populate it with key resources, like designer’s calendars for simplified scheduling, UX design maps, and customer feedback. You can also record your meetings and upload them into your room, so everyone can keep up.

Best for teams using Google Workspace: Google Meet

Google Meet is a convenient choice for companies that want quick, reliable team check-ins and are already using Google Workspace. It’s a user-friendly choice for remote companies that prioritize real-time meetings and video calls rather than async teamwork.

Best for teams prioritizing client comms: Jitsi Meet 

Jitsi Meet is strong on features that might benefit customer- and client-facing teams like live streaming and its YouTube integration. However, it’s not the best for true team collaboration. For example, the inability to share files and save everything in your meeting room makes it more difficult to quickly share and brainstorm ideas with your team.  

Switchboard: show up for your team beyond sharing screens

There’s a reason why multiplayer games are more fun (FIFA, anyone?). It’s because they let everyone show up and bring their unique skills and expertise to reach the end goal and cry over losses or celebrate wins together, as a team. 

But it’s impossible to give your remote team a multiplayer experience when you’re using virtual conferencing tools built for a single player. Leaders in small remote companies need the right tools for true collaboration, so they can actually engage with and enable their team and strong company culture. 

In this piece, we reviewed Switchboard, as well as two alternatives: Google Meet and Jitsi Meet. These are both great tools in their own right, but they’re built more for calls and conferences than teamwork. 

Switchboard gives you a more collaborative way of working remotely with features like multiplayer browsers and persistent rooms that save your work. It lets you work together async or in real time, and build real relationships that go beyond simply appearing on or sharing a screen. 

Want a virtual collaboration tool designed for true teamwork?
‍Switchboard rooms let you share and save everything—so everyone’s on the same page. 
Sign up.