Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams: Video Conferencing in 2026
Evaluate video conferencing tools for pricing, features, and suitability in 2026.
The exact change
Free-tier one-on-one meetings unlimited on all three; Zoom Pro 5GB storage; Copilot $30/user/mo; recording expiry 150 days / no expiry; Zoom Free no breakout rooms; Teams Free no cloud recording; E2EE requires desktop client; Gemini limited to post-meeting summaries; Teams large meetings only server-side encryption; Zoom 220M daily participants 2024; Meet 100M DAU 2023; $1B to $100B in two years; Gartner ~40% Teams share.
Free-tier limits: Zoom Basic 40 min, Meet 24 hr, Teams Free 60 min; Zoom Pro 10GB/licensed user; Copilot from $21/user/mo (business tier, 2026); recording retention admin-configurable, Teams 120-day default; Zoom Free breakout rooms host-enabled; Teams Free cloud recording (30-day); E2EE supports desktop/mobile/Rooms and disables cloud recording; Ask Gemini adds real-time features; Teams Premium adds E2EE (up to 200); Zoom no longer discloses DAU (peak ~300M in 2020); Meet ~100M meeting participants April 2020; $1B (2017 private) to ~$100-160B public peak (2020); Teams among market leaders (specific Gartner share unverified).
Why this is better
Independent fact-check against Zoom, Google, and Microsoft current documentation: corrected time limits, storage, pricing, encryption and recording features, and removed/qualified unsupported statistics; volatile plan claims dated to 2026.
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