When the Coronavirus-led pandemic started in early 2020, Google made its then-G-Suite-exclusive video calling app Google Meet to everyone available for free. Furthermore, the Mountain View giant announced that it would not impose a limit on group video calls on Meet, and users will be able to conduct group calls (with over 3 participants) for up to 24 hours until September 2020. Later, the company even extended the period and said that the free service on Meet will be available till June 2021. Now, it seems like Google has no plans for extending the free service any longer.
No Unlimited Group Calls on Meet for Free Users
So, Google Meet users who have using the service to conduct unlimited group calls will now be able to conduct group calls on Meet for only 60 minutes. So, if users want to enjoy the 24 hour-limit for group calls on Meet, they will need to get the Google Workspace Essentials plan, which costs $8 (~Rs 600) a month.
For those unaware, video calling platforms such as Zoom offer unlimited group calls for a monthly subscription fee. Although Google Meet also falls in that category, the platform started offering the group call service for free last year with an aim to connect people with each other during the lockdown periods. Following this, Meet gained a substantial amount of users during 2020.
However, as Google currently mentions on its Google Meet pricing page, Meet users who are using the platform as a free service, are now capped to one hour for group calls. The free unlimited group video call service on Meet ended last month.
Now, it is worth mentioning that 1-on-1 video calls on Meet will still be free for users. So, if you start a one-on-one call on Meet, you will be able to enjoy up to 24 hours of video time, which is the same time limit for every Google Meet subscription plan, for free.
So, if you want to enjoy unlimited group calls on Google Meet, you can upgrade to the Google Workspace Essentials plan or the Google Workspace Enterprise plan. You can check out more details about the subscription packs on its Meet’s official pricing page.
