I use Google Workspace for my business e-mail. It’s cheap, it works well without having to poke around too much in the back end, and it comes with a whole suite of other Google products. With Google Workspace, for $6/month (billed yearly) you get Gmail, Google Drive, Google Meet, Google Calendar, and so many more that you can check out below! (I, personally, subscribe to the Business Standard plan at @).

Here’s some of the things Google Meet does just as well (if not better) than Zoom.

App Download

First, Google Meet can be used right in your browser. One of my biggest gripes with Zoom was always that you had to download the app to your computer and it took up so many resources on my computer that it would run super slow and cause my apps to crash.

For boudoir, this was super inconvenient because I frequently show slideshows during my in-person sales meetings. I also like to share my screen for wedding and boudoir clients to show them how their client portal works and run through things like how to pay their invoices and fill out online forms.

Meeting Times

Google Meet allows unlimited meeting time for up to 100 people with their Business Starter Plan. Zoom allows only 40 minutes. For the longest time, Zoom was the best option because photographers could hop on a consultation call with one client and talk forever. It was free and super easy to use. All the sudden, Zoom starts charging for calls over 40 minutes. Meaning, keep it short or you could end up embarrassed when your call stops abruptly.

By the way, the maximum time you can be on a call (on any plan) is 24 hours.

Integrations

Zoom has a huge selection of integrations, and it’s definitely a plus to using them. Google Meet also integrates with a ton of amazing apps. My favorite is SuperNormal. It’s an app that takes AI notes in your meetings and arranges bullet points by topic, action items, etc. It’s absolutely incredible.

Recordings

One of the downfalls with Google Meet is that you cannot record meetings on their Starter plan. Their Standard plan allows you to record meetings and they are automatically saved to your Google Drive folder (that comes with 2TB of storage per user). I use this feature and find it wildly helpful. Especially when I want to reference a consultation with a client while they’re still moving through my sales funnel.

Bottom line is that Zoom and Google Meet are similarly priced. With Google Meet you’re getting a reliable, tried and true e-mail service and a ton of other things at your disposable.