Businesses of all sizes and industries need video conferencing software to connect with coworkers and customers alike. Along with video calling, this software also supports chat, webinar, and file sharing features.

This article compares GoToMeeting and Google Meet, two popular but fairly different video conferencing platforms. We’ll describe how they differ in terms of features, usability, and pricing, making note of where one is significantly better than the other.

Our recommendations are based upon extensive research, discussions with small businesses, and dozens of hours spent hand-testing the leading video conferencing software platforms. Learn more about our research process here.

GoToMeeting & Google Meet Comparison Summary

GoToMeeting and Google Meet were tested in-house by SoftwarePundit. After testing, GoToMeeting received a SoftwarePundit Analyst rating of 86, while Google Meet received a rating of 89.

Here’s a breakdown of our review criteria and how GoToMeeting and Google Meet stacked up in each category.

GoToMeeting is popular particularly because of its webinar counterpart, GoToWebinar, which hosts more than 2.7 million webinars every year. While GoToMeeting is a reliable option, it is neither as advanced as Zoom nor as easy to use as Google Meet.

Google Meet is a fantastic option if your business already uses other Google products, or if you utilize Gmail as your business email option. It’s the easiest video conferencing platform to use and can be beneficial for external participants, as customers aren’t required to download an application. The biggest disadvantage is that Google Meet requires a fairly strong internet connection to use, and is therefore prone to lagging.

Here are a few quick points to summarize who we recommend each tool for:

Table of Contents

• GoToMeeting & Google Meet Comparison Summary
• Who Should Purchase GoToMeeting?
• Who Should Purchase Google Meet?
• GoToMeeting & Google Meet Price Comparison
• GoToMeeting & Google Meet Feature Comparison
  • GoToMeeting’s Top Features
  • Google Meet's Top Features
• Bottom Line

Who Should Purchase GoToMeeting?

GoToMeeting is a mid-tier and relatively user-friendly video conferencing solution. It’s more advanced than Google Meet, but that does not make it a better platform for all small businesses. The main reason for that is there’s no free plan. Additionally, the complementary solutions like GoToWebinar are great products, but most small businesses won’t use them.

Who Should Purchase Google Meet?

If your business uses Gmail, then Google Meet will likely provide you with the most seamless video conferencing option. Because Google Meet is browser-based, there is no holdup while joining meetings from a link, where almost every other platform will try and prompt you to download an application first.

Google Meet is either free or costs $8 per user per month, which is extremely affordable. Google Meet is not one of the most feature-rich tools, as there are no webinar capabilities, but it will get the job done for most small businesses. We highly recommend it for freelancers and small businesses due to the ease of use and low cost.

GoToMeeting & Google Meet Price Comparison

GoToMeeting is priced between $14 and $19 per organizer per month. On the other hand, Google Meet is entirely free as a standalone product.

GoToMeeting Pricing Details

GoToMeeting costs between $14 per organizer per month and $19 per organizer per month. A significant benefit of GoToMeeting is that there are unlimited meetings and no meeting time limits.

Google Meet Pricing Details

Google Meet only costs money if you use Google Workspace, and it costs $8 per user per month. If you’re simply using Google Meet, however, the platform is entirely free.

GoToMeeting & Google Meet Feature Comparison

While GoToMeeting does have more features, it’s more tedious to use and does not have a free plan. Google Meet lacks webinars, but is extremely easy to use and enables a smoother video conferencing experience overall.

GoToMeeting's Top Features

GoToMeeting has crucial integrations with some of the most popular business software platforms, which many small businesses are likely to utilize. Additionally, scheduling recurring meetings is fairly easy and the dashboard is intuitive to navigate.

For a more in-depth look at GoToMeeting’s features, read our full GoToMeeting review.

Integrations

GoToMeeting has pre-built integrations with some of the most important business tools like:

Scheduling Meetings

The GoToMeeting scheduler is very easy to use. You’ll be able to set your desired dates and times, make the meeting recurring or one-time, and you can also personalize the meeting invitation. Once you’re in a meeting, you will see something like the image below.

This view is very similar to the Google Meet meeting view. The in-meeting capabilities are essentially the same between the platforms.

Additional Features

Some of GoToMeeting’s additional features are:

Google Meet's Top Features

One of Google Meet’s best assets is the fact that it’s browser-based, so participants won’t be slowed down by having to download software. Aside from that, Google Meet is effortless to use.

Read the full Google Meet review for a more in-depth overview about Google Meet’s features.

Meetings

As you can see, the meeting view is essentially the same in Google Meet as it is in GoToMeeting. In the middle, you will see the call participants, and on the right, you will be able to chat with meeting participants.

In a meeting, you can turn on closed captioning, share your screen, collaborate with in-app applications, and more.

Scheduling Meetings

Scheduling meetings with Google Meet is even easier than with GoToMeeting. Once you create a Google Calendar invite, you’ll add video conferencing to the invitation. Then participants can just click the link and join.

Dial-In

If participants are unable to join a meeting from their laptop or via the mobile application, they can choose to dial into the meeting with their phone. Attendees will simply click on the meeting invite, and from there they will see a phone number and a PIN.

Participants will then be able to participate in the meeting via audio even though other participants are on video.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that Google Meet is a slightly better platform overall. It doesn’t include webinar features, but most small businesses do not need webinar capabilities. For free, Google Meet includes 100 participants, unlimited meetings, and all basic video conferencing features.

On the other hand, GoToMeeting is a slightly clunkier platform without a free plan. It’s still reliable, however, and if you want webinar capabilities and higher participant limits, it should be in the running for consideration.

If you’re interested, visit GoToMeeting or Google Meet today to get started.