Best Video Conferencing Software: Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams vs. Google Meet

Zoom is the default for external meetings. Teams is the collaboration-native choice. Meet is the Workspace-integrated option. Here's how to pick based on who you're meeting and what else you use.

By The StackMatch Research Team

Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet pricing varies by team size — choose based on headcount, not features

~$150-200/moZoom

~$150-250/moMicrosoft Teams

~$170/moGoogle Meet

All three tools serve the same category. The wrong pick means paying for complexity you don't use — or outgrowing simplicity too fast.

Monthly cost comparison

Zoom: ~$150-200/mo — the external-meeting default

Zoom is in virtually every vertical that does client-facing video calls at roughly $150-200/mo for a small team. It's the right choice when your meetings are primarily external — clients, vendors, partners, prospects — because Zoom's brand recognition and ease of joining (no account required, simple links) reduce friction for people outside your organization. The recording, breakout rooms, and webinar features are best-in-class. The trade-off is that Zoom is a standalone product; if your team lives in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, you're paying for video conferencing on top of the collaboration suite you're already paying for.

Microsoft Teams: ~$150-250/mo — the collaboration-native choice

Microsoft Teams is bundled with Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Premium at roughly $150-250/mo for a 10-person team (which also includes Word, Excel, Outlook, and OneDrive). It's the right choice when your team already uses the Microsoft ecosystem and your meetings are primarily internal — project reviews, standups, all-hands. The integration with Outlook calendars, SharePoint files, and OneDrive is seamless: a Teams meeting link auto-generates when you schedule in Outlook, and meeting recordings save to SharePoint automatically. The trade-off is that external guests find Teams meetings clunkier to join than Zoom, and the interface is busier. Teams is the wrong choice when most of your meetings are with people who don't use Microsoft products.

Zoom on top of a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace plan that already includes video is the single most common overlap in this pillar.

The single most common waste here is paying for standalone Zoom while also paying for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, both of which already include a capable video tool most of the team never opens because Zoom is the habit.

Google Meet: ~$170/mo — the Workspace-integrated option

Google Meet is bundled with Google Workspace Business Standard at roughly $170/mo for a 10-person team (which also includes Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Calendar). It's the right choice when your team already uses Google Workspace and your video needs are straightforward: team meetings, client calls, and basic screen sharing. The integration is the selling point — Meet links auto-generate from Calendar invites, and meetings start with one click from Gmail or Chat. The trade-off is features: Meet lacks Zoom's webinar tools, breakout room management, and advanced recording options. Google Meet is the wrong choice when you run webinars, need sophisticated host controls, or host large events — it's built for meetings, not presentations.

Check what's already bundled into your email and file-storage subscription before adding a fourth line item for video — the marginal cost of a dedicated tool only makes sense once the bundled option genuinely can't do the job.

The actual decision rule

Questions to ask before choosing video conferencing

Are most of our meetings external — with clients and partners who don't use our platform? Zoom wins on accessibility and no-account joining.
Are we already on Microsoft 365 with mostly internal meetings? Teams' file and calendar integration makes it the obvious choice.
Are we already on Google Workspace with straightforward meeting needs? Meet is sufficient and already included in the subscription.
Do we run webinars, large events, or need advanced host controls? Zoom is the only one of the three built for that.

Run the free audit to see whether you're paying for duplicate video conferencing across multiple platforms — and which one actually matches your meeting patterns.

Run your own audit