Google Meet Alternative Free for Remote Teams
Since google meet is not free anymore there are so many limitation especially in meeting duration because now google meet can not use for more than 1 hour meeting.
Google meet
Google Meet is a video conferencing tool made by Google that lets you connect with people virtually. Think of it like a digital meeting room where you can chat with friends, family, or coworkers via video call. You can use it on your computer or download the mobile app and join a meeting from anywhere. With Google Meet, you can share your screen, record your meetings, and even host a meeting with up to 250 people. It's a great way to stay connected with people when you can't meet in person. Plus, it's free to use and easy to set up!
What's new in Google Update?
Starting from November 2, 2022, Google Meet will no longer be a free service for video call meetings. Users who want to continue using the service will have to pay for it. However, free users will still be able to hold meetings with at least three people, but only for a duration of one hour.
A notification will pop up during the 50th minute of a meeting, providing the option to purchase a premium package. If the user chooses not to upgrade, the meeting will automatically end in 10 minutes.
Alternative Video Conferences
However, there is alternative video conferencing platforms that offer similar features and capabilities even more. Introducing:
Jitsi Meet
Jitsi meet is a pretty cool video conferencing platform. It's open-source, which means it's free for anyone to use and modify. Plus, it's super secure, so you don't have to worry about anyone hacking into your meetings. It's also fully decentralized, which is a fancy way of saying that it's not controlled by one company or organization. It's based on WebRTC, which makes it really easy to use. You can use it to chat with your team, friends or family, and it's a great alternative if you're looking for a video conferencing tool without the cost.
Jitsi Feature
Jitsi meet have a lot of feature and they are constantly adding more, here is the popular feature of jitsi meet:
1. Screen sharing
Like common video conferencing tool, jitsi allow the users to share their screen to anyone on the room, and there are some options you can choose:
- Entire screen share.
- Tab screen share.
- Windows screen share.
2. Play a YouTube video together
This is our favorite feature on jitsi, it will allow you to watch the youtube and share to everyone on the room, also it can be used for playing fun video while waiting for everyone join the room and start the formal meeting
3. Raise/Lower your hand for attention
It's a way to get the attention of others in a meeting without interrupting. You just raise or lower your hand to signal that you want to say something or have a question.
4. Text chatting (web only)
Jitsi has a chat room when you open in desktop mode, it will allow you to make a chat and read by everyone on the room
5. Meeting Record
You can also record a whole meeting and stream to youtube easily
Etc (End of Thinking Capacity) hahaha
Another great feature of Jitsi is its ability to support large meetings. With Jitsi, you can have up to 75 participants in a single meeting, which is more than enough for most teams.
After reading the main feature, here is the whole feature that jitsi have and it so usefull.
- Android and iOS apps ready
- Lock a room with a password
- Shared text document
- Participant talk-time statistics
- Push-to-talk mode
- Audio-only option
- Telephone dial-in to a conference (if Jigasi is setup)
- Dial-out to a telephone participant (if Jigasi is setup)
- Integration in other apps / websites
Conclusion
Basically, Jitsi is a super cool video conferencing option that's great for teams. It's open-source, secure and easy to use. Plus, it's free! Jitsi's end-to-end encryption keeps your meetings private and it has a bunch of other features like being able to record meetings and share files. It even supports large meetings with up to 75 participants.
Getting Started using Jitsi
To start using jitsi you can visit https://meet.jit.si/ and create an instant meeting now. It's definitely worth giving it a try, it'll help your team stay connected and on top of things even if you're all working remotely.
