Google is finally ending its unlimited group video calls on Google Meet for free Gmail accounts a year. To recall, the feature came in to compete with Zoom for video-conferencing. Last year, they announced it would not impose a time limit on video calls until September 2020. However, the company later extended it to June 2021 due to WFH conditions in the pandemic. Although now the offer is invalid as it closes down its unlimited time group video call on the app.
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Meanwhile, Google Meet is not the only service who are capping free usage to a set number of users and duration. Other prominent video conferencing services such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have already joined the league before the Meet.
According to the company, Google users with free accounts will now have a 60-minute limit on group calls on Google Meet. Unlike the previous 24-hour duration before this capping started. Moreover, at 55 minutes, they will receive a notification that the call is about to end. To extend the call, users can upgrade their Google account, else, the call will end at 60 minutes. However, as for now, the limit is only for calls with three or more participants. One-on-one video calls can still go up to 24 hours, so you can wipe the sweat off your brow for now.
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However, just like Google Meet, Microsoft has also added a 100 person, 60-minute duration cap for group video calls by free users. In addition, Zoom has the same cap on the number of users, but with a 40-minute usage limit.
In terms of the upgrade mentioned by Google, there is the $7.99 (around Rs 740) per month for Workspace Individual tier that is currently available in just five countries, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan. After upgrading to the paid plan, one will be able to host calls for up to 24 hours. Whereas, there is also a ‘Business Starter’, which costs $6 (about Rs 450), and will not impose a time limit on the group calling service. The number of participants at one go, however, will still be limited to 100.
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Below are the subscription plans for Google Meet:
- Starter: $6 (about Rs 450), 100 people group video calls of up to 24 hours.
- Standard: $12 (about Rs 900), 150 people group video calls of 24 hours. Meeting recording, noise cancellation, participant hand raising, breakout rooms.
- Plus: $18 (about Rs 1,350), 250 participants for 24 hours, all of the above features plus participant attendance records.
