5 Cheaper Zoom Alternatives in 2026 for Calls Longer Than 40 Minutes

Zoom became a verb during the pandemic, and many businesses still pay for it out of habit. The free plan ends meetings after 40 minutes, so anyone who runs client calls, workshops or team meetings ends up on Zoom Workplace Pro at roughly $13.33–14.16 per user per month on annual billing, or $16.99 monthly. Business is about $18.33 annual ($21.99 monthly).

Video calling has become a commodity. Your email suite probably already includes it, and several dedicated tools offer longer meetings for less. Below are five alternatives — two of them free — that handle everyday business calls.

What Zoom actually costs in 2026

Sources disagree slightly on the exact annual Pro price, which varies with promotions and region. Webinars, large-meeting add-ons and Zoom Phone cost extra.

The 5 cheaper alternatives at a glance

How we picked these alternatives

Each tool needed reliable HD video, screen sharing, browser joining for guests, and meetings of at least 60 minutes on its cheapest paid plan. We compared what you get for free and the price per host. Prices checked 27 October 2026.

1. Google Meet

Price: Free with a Google account — group calls up to 60 minutes and 100 participants; one-to-one calls up to 24 hours. Google Workspace Business Starter ($7/user) lifts group calls to 24 hours. See Google Meet's official pricing page for current plans.

Google Meet is built into Gmail, Google Calendar, Android and Chrome. For billions of people with a Google account it is already one click away, and guests can join from any browser without installing anything — which is why it has become the default for many client calls and interviews.

Google Meet pricing in detail

What you get

• Browser-based joining — guests click a link and join without downloads or accounts.
• Automatic Meet links in every Google Calendar invitation.
• Live captions in many languages, plus translated captions on some paid plans.
• Screen sharing, background blur and effects, and low-light adjustment.
• Companion mode for hybrid meetings where some people are in a meeting room.
• Gemini "take notes for me" and meeting summaries on qualifying paid plans.
• Mobile apps and Nest/Meet hardware for conference rooms.

Where it falls short

• Free group calls end at 60 minutes, with a warning at 55 minutes.
• Recording requires Business Standard or above.
• Webinar features — registration, Q&A at scale — are weaker than Zoom Webinars.

Good to know

If your company already pays for Google Workspace Business Standard, you have recording, transcripts and 150-person meetings included — there is no reason to pay for Zoom Pro as well.

Who it's best for

Teams that use Gmail and Google Calendar, and anyone who wants the simplest possible guest experience. Skip it if you run large public webinars.

2. Jitsi Meet

Price: Free and open source. You can also self-host it. See Jitsi Meet's official site for current plans.

Jitsi is an open-source video-conferencing project that began in 2003 and is now maintained by 8x8, a cloud communications company. The public service at meet.jit.si lets anyone start a meeting by typing a room name into the address bar — no account, no download and no time limit. Organisations that want full control can install Jitsi on their own servers.

Jitsi pricing in detail

What you get

• Instant rooms — create a meeting by visiting a URL; share it with anyone.
• No time limit on the public service.
• End-to-end encryption option for supported browsers.
• Screen sharing, chat, raise hand, polls, breakout rooms and lobby to admit guests.
• YouTube live streaming from a meeting.
• Embeddable in websites and apps with a few lines of code.
• Self-hosting for organisations with strict privacy or data-location rules.

Where it falls short

• Quality on the public service depends on server load; large meetings work best on your own server.
• Recording and transcription require self-hosting extra components or local recording.
• Minimal admin, reporting and user management.

Good to know

Schools, NGOs and privacy-focused organisations often self-host Jitsi so that meetings never touch a third-party cloud.

Who it's best for

Privacy-minded users, quick ad-hoc calls and developers embedding video. Skip it if you need enterprise admin features and support.

3. Microsoft Teams Essentials

Price: $4/user/month annual ($4.80 monthly). See Microsoft Teams Essentials' official site for current plans.

Teams Essentials is the standalone Teams plan for small businesses. For video calls specifically, it offers more than Zoom Pro — larger meetings and longer time limits — for about a third of the price, and it includes unlimited team chat.

Teams pricing in detail

What you get

• Meetings for up to 300 participants and 30 hours.
• Screen sharing, whiteboard, live captions and meeting recaps.
• Together mode and custom backgrounds.
• Unlimited team chat and file sharing between meetings.
• Guest access for external participants.
• Works with any email provider.

Where it falls short

• Heavier app than Zoom on older machines.
• Guests sometimes struggle to join from outside Microsoft's ecosystem.
• Webinars require Microsoft 365 Business Standard or higher.

Good to know

Ten hosts on Zoom Pro cost about $1,600–1,700 a year; ten users on Teams Essentials cost $480.

Who it's best for

Small businesses wanting large meetings plus team chat at the lowest price. Skip it if most of your clients expect Zoom links.

4. Zoho Meeting

Price: Free (up to 100 participants, 60 minutes). Standard from about $2/host/month and Professional about $3 on annual billing at the 10-participant tier, scaling up to 250 participants. See Zoho Meeting's official pricing page for current plans.

Zoho Meeting is the video-conferencing tool from Zoho's business suite. It runs in the browser, prices by host and by the maximum meeting size you need, and includes a separate webinar product for public events — which makes it extremely cheap for consultants and small teams who mostly meet with a few people.

Zoho Meeting pricing in detail

Yearly billing saves more than 15% versus monthly.

What you get

• 24-hour meetings on paid plans.
• Browser joining with no downloads for guests.
• Recording with cloud storage.
• Breakout rooms and transcripts on Professional.
• Integrations with Zoho CRM, Google Calendar and Outlook.
• Separate webinar product for marketing events.

Where it falls short

• Price rises with each participant tier.
• Interface is functional rather than polished.

Good to know

A consultant who meets with up to ten people pays roughly $24–36 a year on Zoho Meeting, versus about $160–200 on Zoom Pro.

Who it's best for

Consultants and small teams with small meetings. Skip it if you regularly host 100+ participants.

5. Whereby

Price: Free tier; Pro about $10.99/month for one host with three permanent rooms and up to 100 attendees. See Whereby's official pricing page for current plans.

Whereby, a Norwegian company founded in 2013 (originally appear.in), is built around permanent meeting rooms with simple URLs such as whereby.com/yourname. Clients bookmark the link and join from any browser, which makes Whereby popular with coaches, therapists, tutors and consultants who see the same people every week.

Whereby pricing in detail

What you get

• Permanent, memorable room links that never change.
• No downloads or accounts for guests.
• Room locking and knock-to-enter for privacy.
• Custom branding with your logo and colours on Business.
• Integrations with Miro, Google Docs and YouTube inside the room.
• GDPR-friendly European company.

Where it falls short

• Smaller savings than other options.
• Aimed at individual hosts rather than large organisations.

Good to know

Whereby's embedded API is used by telehealth and education platforms that need video inside their own app.

Who it's best for

Coaches, therapists and consultants with recurring clients. Skip it if you need big team meetings.

What a 10-host team pays per year

How to switch without losing your work

1. Download your Zoom cloud recordings before cancelling — they are deleted afterwards.
2. Update recurring meeting links in calendars and email signatures.
3. Replace Zoom integrations in your scheduling tool (Calendly, Cal.com) with Meet, Teams or Jitsi.
4. Keep one Zoom licence for a while if clients insist on Zoom webinars.
5. Test audio and screen sharing with a few external guests before rolling out.

Which one should you choose?

• You already pay for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365: use Google Meet or Microsoft Teams — they are included.
• You run large internal meetings or all-hands: Teams Essentials supports 300 people for 30 hours at $4 per user.
• You need quick, private calls with no sign-up: Jitsi Meet.
• You are a solo consultant meeting small groups: Zoho Meeting Standard costs a couple of dollars a month.
• You see the same clients every week: Whereby gives each client a permanent, branded room link.

Hidden costs and gotchas

• Recording storage. Cloud recording is often limited or only on higher tiers. Budget for cloud storage, or record locally.
• Webinars. Zoom Webinars, Teams town halls and Zoho Webinar are separate products. If you run public webinars, compare those prices specifically.
• Phone systems. If you use Zoom Phone, moving meetings is easy but moving phone numbers takes longer. Plan number porting separately.
• Guest experience. Browser-based joining (Meet, Jitsi, Whereby, Zoho) is easiest for clients. Teams works in a browser but some guests try to install the app.
• Transcripts and AI notes. Zoom AI Companion is included with paid Zoom plans; on other platforms, AI summaries may require higher tiers or third-party note-takers.

Our verdict

If you already pay for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, cancel Zoom — Meet or Teams is included. Small businesses that want the most for the least should choose Teams Essentials at $4. For free calls without limits use Jitsi Meet, for cheap hosted meetings try Zoho Meeting, and for a polished client-facing room use Whereby.

More cheaper alternatives: see our breakdowns of the cheaper options to Slack, Microsoft 365 and Calendly.

Related reading: What Is Agile, for a Small Team?, What Is a Design Sprint, and Is It Worth It? and Build vs Buy Software: A Practical Decision Framework.

Planning a switch, or not sure which tool fits the way your team works? Book a free call and we will look at your stack with you.

Prices are US list prices in USD unless marked, checked on 27 October 2026. "Annual" means the per-month price when billed yearly. Vendors change pricing often, so confirm on the vendor's site before buying. Product names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here for identification only.

Common questions