In the era of remote work and virtual meetings, picking the right video conferencing app is key. Google Meet and Cisco Webex are two popular choices, each with distinct strengths. Google Meet is easy to use and integrates seamlessly with other Google Workspace tools, making it a top choice for educational institutions and small to medium-sized businesses. On the flip side, Cisco Webex is known for its robust security features and advanced meeting controls, making it ideal for large enterprises and industries with strict security requirements. This article will compare these platforms to help you decide which one best fits your needs.
General Information
Google Meet, developed by Google, was released in 2017. It is available on multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Web. This makes it accessible for a wide range of users across different devices.
Cisco Webex, on the other hand, is a product of Cisco and has been around since 1995. Like Google Meet, it supports Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Web platforms, ensuring broad compatibility.
Both apps offer robust conferencing solutions, but Google Meet benefits from Google’s integration with other services like Gmail and Google Calendar. Cisco Webex, with its longer history, is known for its reliability and extensive features tailored for professional use.
Verdict:
Google Meet is better due to its more recent release date and similar platform availability.
| Attribute |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer/Company | Cisco | |
| Release Date | 2017 | 1995 |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web |
Core Features
Google Meet and Cisco Webex both offer robust core features for video conferencing.
Video Quality: Both Google Meet and Cisco Webex provide HD video quality. This ensures clear and sharp visuals during meetings, making it easier to engage and communicate effectively.
Audio Quality: Both platforms deliver high audio quality. This means participants can hear each other clearly, reducing misunderstandings and improving the overall meeting experience.
In summary, Google Meet and Cisco Webex are quite similar in terms of core features, offering HD video and high audio quality.
Verdict:
Both Google Meet and Cisco Webex are equally good in terms of core features: HD video and high audio quality.
| Attribute | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Video Quality | HD | HD |
| Audio Quality | High | High |
Interactive demos of Google Meet and Cisco Webex
Google Meet Demo
Cisco Webex Demo
Collaboration Tools
Google Meet and Cisco Webex offer robust collaboration tools for virtual meetings. Both platforms allow up to 100 participants on their free plans. For paid plans, Google Meet supports up to 250 participants, while Cisco Webex can accommodate up to 1,000 participants.
In terms of meeting duration, Google Meet offers 60 minutes for free users, whereas Cisco Webex provides 50 minutes. Both platforms support screen sharing, making it easy to present documents, slides, and other content during meetings.
Recording capabilities differ slightly. Google Meet offers recording only on paid plans, while Cisco Webex provides both local and cloud recording options, making it more flexible for users who need to save their meetings.
Both Google Meet and Cisco Webex support virtual backgrounds, allowing users to customize their meeting environment.
Overall, both Google Meet and Cisco Webex provide essential collaboration tools, but they differ in participant capacity, meeting duration, and recording options.
Verdict:
Cisco Webex is better due to higher participant capacity and more recording options.
| Attribute | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Participants (Free) | 100 | 100 |
| Participants (Paid) | 250 | Up to 1,000 |
| Meeting Duration (Free) | 60 minutes | 50 minutes |
| Screen Sharing | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Recording | ✅ Yes (paid plans) | ✅ Yes (Local and cloud recording) |
| Virtual Backgrounds | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
Integration and Compatibility
Google Meet and Cisco Webex both offer robust integration and compatibility features, but they differ in some key areas.
In-meeting Chat: Both Google Meet and Cisco Webex support in-meeting chat, allowing participants to communicate via text during meetings.
File Sharing: Both platforms enable file sharing, making it easy to distribute documents and other files during a session.
Breakout Rooms: Google Meet does not offer breakout rooms, whereas Cisco Webex does, providing more flexibility for group discussions.
Polls and Q&A: Both Google Meet and Cisco Webex support polls and Q&A, facilitating interactive sessions.
Whiteboarding: Google Meet lacks whiteboarding capabilities, while Cisco Webex includes this feature, useful for brainstorming and visual collaboration.
Meeting Notes: Both platforms allow users to take and share meeting notes, ensuring important information is captured.
Google Workspace Integration: Both Google Meet and Cisco Webex integrate with Google Workspace, making them suitable for users of Google’s productivity suite.
Microsoft 365 Integration: Google Meet does not integrate with Microsoft 365, whereas Cisco Webex does, offering more options for users of Microsoft’s suite.
Third-party Apps Integration: Both platforms support integration with third-party apps, enhancing their functionality through additional tools.
API Availability: Both Google Meet and Cisco Web
Verdict:
Cisco Webex is better with Breakout Rooms, Whiteboarding, and Microsoft 365 Integration.
| Attribute | |
|
|---|---|---|
| In-meeting Chat | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| File Sharing | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Breakout Rooms | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Polls and Q&A | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Whiteboarding | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Meeting Notes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Google Workspace Integration | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Microsoft 365 Integration | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Third-party Apps Integration | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| API Availability | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
Security and Privacy
Google Meet and Cisco Webex both offer robust security and privacy features.
End-to-End Encryption: Both Google Meet and Cisco Webex provide end-to-end encryption, ensuring that communications are secure from sender to receiver.
Password Protection: Both platforms support password protection for meetings, adding an extra layer of security to prevent unauthorized access.
Waiting Room: Both Google Meet and Cisco Webex include a waiting room feature, allowing hosts to control who enters the meeting.
Participant Authentication: Both services offer participant authentication, ensuring that only authorized users can join the meeting.
Data Compliance:
– Google Meet complies with GDPR regulations, ensuring that user data is handled according to European privacy standards.
– Cisco Webex also complies with GDPR and extends its compliance to additional standards such as HIPAA, FERPA, and HITRUST. This makes Webex a suitable choice for industries that require stringent data protection measures, such as healthcare and education.
In summary, both Google Meet and Cisco Webex provide strong security and privacy features, with Webex offering broader compliance with various data protection standards.
Verdict:
Cisco Webex is better due to broader data compliance: GDPR, HIPAA, FERPA, HITRUST.
| Attribute | |
|
|---|---|---|
| End-to-End Encryption | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Password Protection | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Waiting Room | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Participant Authentication | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Data Compliance | GDPR | GDPR, HIPAA, FERPA, HITRUST |
User Experience
Google Meet and Cisco Webex both offer a high level of user experience.
Ease of Use: Both platforms score high in ease of use, making them accessible for users of all technical backgrounds.
UI Design: Google Meet features a clean design, ensuring a straightforward user interface. Cisco Webex, on the other hand, boasts an intuitive design, which helps users navigate through its features effortlessly.
Mobile Functionality: Both Google Meet and Cisco Webex provide robust mobile functionality, allowing users to join meetings and access features from their smartphones or tablets.
Accessibility: Both platforms are accessible, ensuring that users with disabilities can effectively use the services.
Customer Support: Google Meet offers support via email and phone. Cisco Webex provides more varied support options, including live chat, email, and phone, depending on the plan.
Overall, both Google Meet and Cisco Webex deliver a strong user experience with slight differences in design and support options.
Verdict:
Google Meet is better due to its clean UI design and consistent customer support options.
| Attribute | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | High | High |
| UI Design | Clean | Intuitive |
| Mobile Functionality | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Accessibility | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Customer Support | Email, Phone | Live Chat, Email, Phone (varies by plan) |
Pricing
Google Meet and Cisco Webex both offer free tiers, making them accessible for basic use without any cost.
In terms of paid plans, Google Meet provides three options:
– $6/month (Business Starter plan)
– $12/month (Business Standard plan)
– $18/month (Business Plus plan)
Cisco Webex offers four paid plans:
– $13.50/user/month (Starter plan)
– $17.95/user/month (Plus plan)
– $26.95/user/month (Business plan)
– $32.95/user/month (Enterprise plan)
Both platforms also offer free trials, allowing users to test premium features before committing to a subscription.
Overall, Google Meet’s pricing is more affordable, with its highest plan costing less than Cisco Webex’s lowest paid plan. Cisco Webex, however, provides more tier options, which might cater to different business needs.
Verdict:
Google Meet is better in terms of pricing.
Performance
Google Meet and Cisco Webex both offer high performance in the conferencing app market.
Reliability for both Google Meet and Cisco Webex is high, ensuring stable connections and minimal disruptions during meetings.
Latency is low for both platforms, providing smooth and real-time communication without noticeable delays.
Resource usage is low for both Google Meet and Cisco Webex, making them efficient and suitable for various devices without significantly impacting system performance.
Feedback during high traffic is positive for both apps, indicating that they handle large numbers of users effectively without compromising on quality.
In summary, Google Meet and Cisco Webex are closely matched in terms of performance, with high reliability, low latency, low resource usage, and positive feedback during high traffic.
Verdict:
Both Google Meet and Cisco Webex perform equally well across all measured parameters. No clear winner.
| Attribute | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Reliability | High | High |
| Latency | Low | Low |
| Resource Usage | Low | Low |
| High Traffic Feedback | Positive | Positive |
Unique Selling Points
Google Meet offers seamless integration with Google Workspace, making it a natural choice for users already invested in Google’s ecosystem. One standout feature is live captions, which enhance accessibility and inclusivity during meetings. This feature automatically transcribes spoken words into text in real-time, aiding participants who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Cisco Webex, on the other hand, integrates with a broader range of third-party applications, including Microsoft 365, Slack, Google Calendar, Box, SharePoint, and Salesforce. This makes it highly versatile for businesses using diverse software solutions. The AI-powered Webex Assistant is another key differentiator, providing functionalities like automated note-taking, action item creation, and voice commands, which streamline meeting management.
Both platforms offer high-quality audio and video, ensuring clear and reliable communication. However, Cisco Webex is often praised for its robust security features, which include end-to-end encryption and advanced compliance certifications, making it a preferred choice for industries with stringent security requirements.
In summary, Google Meet excels in Google Workspace integration and live captions, while Cisco Webex stands out with its extensive third-party integrations, AI-powered assistant, and strong security measures.
Verdict:
Google Meet is better for Google Workspace integration and live captions. Cisco Webex excels in integrations, AI assistant, and security.
| Attribute | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Key Features and Differentiators | Seamless Google Workspace integration, live captions | Integration with Microsoft 365, Slack, Google Calendar, Box, SharePoint, Salesforce; AI-powered Webex Assistant, high-quality audio and video, strong security |
User Feedback and Reviews
Google Meet and Cisco Webex are popular conferencing apps with distinct strengths and weaknesses.
User Feedback and Reviews:
Google Meet is praised for its integration with Google services and simplicity. Users appreciate its ease of use but note it lacks some advanced features. Cisco Webex, on the other hand, is highly rated for its security, seamless integration, and high-quality user experience.
Overall Ratings:
Google Meet: Praised for integration with Google services and simplicity. Some users find it lacks advanced features.
Cisco Webex: Highly rated for security, seamless integration, and high-quality user experience.
Pros:
Google Meet: Integration with Google services, ease of use.
Cisco Webex: Strong security features, seamless workflow integration, high-quality audio and video.
Cons:
Google Meet: Lacks some advanced features compared to competitors.
Cisco Webex: Limitations on the number of meeting participants for lower-tier subscriptions, occasional user interface complexity.
Both apps have their unique advantages. Google Meet excels in simplicity and integration with Google services, making it user-friendly. Cisco Webex stands out with robust security and high-quality audio and video, though it can be complex and has participant limitations on lower-tier plans.
Verdict:
Cisco Webex is better due to strong security, seamless integration, and high-quality user experience.
| Attribute | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Ratings | Praised for integration with Google services and simplicity. Some users find it lacks advanced features. | Highly rated for security, seamless integration, and high-quality user experience |
| Pros | Integration with Google services, ease of use | Strong security features, seamless workflow integration, high-quality audio and video |
| Cons | Lacks some advanced features compared to competitors | Limitations on the number of meeting participants for lower tier subscriptions, occasional user interface complexity |
Final Verdict
Google Meet and Cisco Webex both excel in core features, offering HD video and high audio quality. In terms of security and privacy, Cisco Webex stands out with broader data compliance, including GDPR, HIPAA, FERPA, and HITRUST. For user experience, Google Meet is preferred due to its clean UI design and consistent customer support. When it comes to pricing, Google Meet is more affordable, with lower-cost plans compared to Cisco Webex.
Final Verdict: Google Meet is better overall
