The matrix below shows a side by side comparison of Hangouts Meet and Zoom. Hangouts Meet is recommended unless you need the breakout room feature of Zoom for meetings lasting over 40 minutes with multiple remote users and/or plan to include students in China in multipoint synchronous communication. We need to prioritize our pool of Zoom Pro licenses for these criteria.
Google has made the advanced version of Hangouts Meet available to G-Suite customers for free until July 1, 2020. In its favor is the fact that it runs in any popular web browser and does not require a installation of a client application (which can trip people up sometimes) and it can record video directly to Google Drive.
Zoom is capable of temporarily splitting meetings into breakout rooms for seperate group discussions.
| Feature | Hangouts Meet | Zoom Pro (license must be requested) | Zoom Basic (free) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum meeting size | 250 people | 300 people | 100 people |
| Meeting duration | Indefinite | Indefinite | • Indefinite 1:1 meetings • Meetings with 3 or more participants timeout after 40 minutes |
| Recording capability | Yes, directly to Google Drive | Yes, to local computer | Yes, to local computer |
| Share computer screen into meeting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dial-in by phone | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Breakout rooms (temporarily split meetings into separate discussion sections) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works between US and China | No | Yes, currently (international restrictions) | Yes, currently (international restrictions) |
| Key integrations | Google Calendar | Google Calendar (with Chrome browser extension) | Google Calendar (with Chrome browser extension) |
| Mobile apps (Android & iOS) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Required software on laptop/desktop | Run in any popular web browser | Client application | Client application |