Zoom alternatives for team meetings: time limits, caps and browser join

Zoom’s free plan still cuts meetings off at 40 minutes, and its paid Pro plan costs US$14.16 per user per month on annual billing (Zoom pricing). If that’s the trigger for your search, the good news is that most teams already have a credible alternative inside a suite they pay for. The options below cover that case, plus a few standalone tools that are easier on guests.

How we picked

We compared video meeting tools a remote or hybrid team could use for internal meetings and client calls, using what each vendor publishes.

• Free-plan time limit: how long a group meeting can run before it ends.
• Participant cap: on the free plan and the first paid tier.
• Browser join: whether guests can join without installing anything, per the vendor’s own pages.
• Price per host or user: listed monthly or annual price for the first paid plan.

Prices checked 4 November 2026 on each vendor’s own pricing page. They change; check before you buy.

At a glance

The alternatives

Google Meet

Good for: teams on Google Workspace, and anyone who wants guests to join from a browser tab. Price: Meet comes with Workspace. Flexible prices are US$7 per user per month for Business Starter (100 participants), US$14 for Standard (150 participants, with recording) and US$22 for Plus (500 participants) (Workspace pricing). Free plan: with a personal Google account, meetings of three or more people are limited to 60 minutes and up to 100 participants. One-to-one calls on a computer can run up to 24 hours (Google Meet help).

Google says people can join from a computer browser with no software install (Google Meet). For a team already on Gmail and Calendar, it’s the path of least resistance.

Worth knowing: recording starts on Business Standard, not Starter.

Microsoft Teams

Good for: Microsoft 365 companies, and small teams that want chat and meetings in one cheap licence. Price: Teams Essentials is US$4 per user per month, paid yearly, with meetings of up to 300 participants for up to 30 hours plus recordings and transcripts (Teams Essentials). Free plan: the free version of Teams lets you create a meeting link that others can join without a Teams account, free for up to 60 minutes (Teams free).

If you already pay for Microsoft 365 Business Basic or Standard, Teams meetings are included. Our Slack vs Microsoft Teams comparison covers the chat side of that decision.

Worth knowing: we couldn’t confirm the free version’s participant cap on Microsoft’s page.

Webex

Good for: teams that want a long-running, enterprise-grade meeting tool at a small-team price. Price: Webex Meet is listed at US$144 per user per year (shown as US$12 a month), with meetings of up to 24 hours, 200 attendees and 10 GB of cloud recording (Webex pricing). Free plan: Webex Free allows unlimited meetings of up to 40 minutes, up to 100 attendees, with local recording.

Webex’s own FAQ says you don’t need to download the app in most cases and that it works in a browser, though some features, such as calling a phone number, need the app. A Webex Suite plan adds business calling at US$270 per user per year.

Worth knowing: the free plan’s 40-minute limit matches Zoom’s, so it isn’t a fix for long free meetings.

GoTo Meeting

Good for: client-facing teams that want a polished meeting room with dial-in options. Price: Professional is US$12 per organizer per month billed annually (US$14 shown for monthly) with 150 participants. Business is US$16 billed annually (US$19 monthly) with 250 participants (GoTo Meeting pricing). Free plan: GoTo says it offers free video conferencing for up to four participants. We couldn’t confirm a time limit for it. Paid plans have a 14-day free trial (GoTo Meeting).

GoTo lists no download needed to join, plus breakout rooms, cloud recording and transcription on its plans.

Worth knowing: the free tier is really for one-to-one or tiny calls; treat the trial as your test.

Whereby

Good for: coaching, client calls and small teams who want guests to click a link and be in the room. Price: Pro is US$10.99 a month for one host, with 100 attendees and no time limit. Business is US$13.99 per host per month, minimum three hosts, with 200 attendees (Whereby Meetings). Free plan: one host, one room URL, up to 4 attendees per meeting and meetings of up to 30 minutes.

Whereby runs in the browser with no download and no login for guests. Each host gets permanent room links, which suits people who run recurring sessions from the same “room”.

Worth knowing: the free plan is too small for team meetings; it’s a taster for one-to-ones.

Jitsi Meet

Good for: budget-free calls and teams that want to self-host their meeting tool. Price: free and open source. You can run your own instance (Jitsi Meet). Free plan: the public meet.jit.si service works with no account needed. We couldn’t confirm published participant or time limits for it on Jitsi’s own pages (Jitsi FAQ).

Self-hosting gives you control of where calls run, and the Jitsi handbook explains how to cap room sizes and require a login to open rooms.

Worth knowing: self-hosting means someone on your team owns the server. For most small teams the hosted service or a suite tool is less work.

Zoho Meeting

Good for: cost-sensitive teams, especially those already using other Zoho apps. Price: Standard starts at US$1 per host per month billed annually and Professional at US$3, with prices rising by participant tier (10 up to 250). Both allow meetings of up to 24 hours. Yearly billing saves more than 15% (Zoho Meeting pricing). Free plan: up to 60 minutes per meeting and up to 100 participants.

Standard adds 5 GB of cloud recording per host and up to two co-hosts. Professional adds breakout rooms and recording transcripts.

Worth knowing: the headline US$1 price is for the 10-participant tier. Price the tier that matches your largest regular meeting.

RingCentral Video

Good for: teams already using RingCentral for phones. Price: RingCentral says Video is free for its RingEX phone customers. We couldn’t confirm a standalone paid price for meetings on RingCentral’s pricing page (RingCentral pricing). Free plan: 50-minute meetings for up to 100 participants. Paid Meetings and RingEX plans allow meetings of up to 24 hours with up to 300 participants (RingCentral Video).

Guests can join from a supported browser with no download, including on the free plan.

Worth knowing: it makes most sense as part of a RingCentral phone setup rather than as a standalone purchase.

How to choose

Start with the suite. If you’re on Google Workspace, use Meet; if you’re on Microsoft 365, use Teams. Paying for a third meeting tool on top rarely earns its keep for internal calls.

Then think about guests. If you spend a lot of time with clients or candidates, browser join with no login matters more than any feature list, which is where Whereby, Meet and RingCentral make a clear claim.

Finally, look at your longest regular meeting. If it runs past 60 minutes, the free tiers here won’t hold it. And if a meeting runs that long every week, it may be worth turning part of it into a written update; our async standup template is one way to do that, and remote team communication strategies covers when a call is the right channel.

Meeting link rules for your handbook

1. One default meeting tool for internal calls. Name it here: ________.
2. Every invite has an agenda in the description, or it can be declined.
3. External guests get a browser link and a one-line “how to join” note.
4. Recurring meetings over 45 minutes get reviewed every quarter.
5. Recordings live in one shared folder, named date-team-topic.
6. If the tool’s free tier cuts the call off, that’s a sign the meeting was too long, not a reason to buy a second tool.