Around
Google Meet
| Feature | Around | Google Meet |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10/mo | Free / from $6/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | remote-teams, hybrid-teams, developers, creative-teams | google-workspace-users, educators, small-businesses, remote-teams |
| Founded | 2019 | 2017 |
| Floating Bubbles | ✓ | ✗ |
| Noise Cancellation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Auto Leveling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Screen Sharing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reactions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Meeting Notes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video Meetings | ✗ | ✓ |
| Live Captions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Recording | ✗ | ✓ |
| Hand Raising | ✗ | ✓ |
| Polls | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Around Pros
- Minimal screen footprint with floating video bubbles
- Excellent AI noise cancellation
- Auto-equalizes audio levels between participants
- Designed for casual always-on collaboration
✗ Around Cons
- Limited features for formal presentations
- Smaller user base than major platforms
- No recording on free plan
✓ Google Meet Pros
- Free for everyone
- No downloads needed
- Google Calendar integration
- AI noise cancellation
✗ Google Meet Cons
- Limited features vs Zoom
- Requires Google account
- No breakout rooms on free
The Verdict
Around is built for remote teams and hybrid teams, with a focus on floating-bubbles and noise-cancellation. Google Meet targets google workspace users and educators and leads with video-meetings and screen-sharing.
Pricing is close: Google Meet starts at $6/mo versus $10/mo for Around — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Around offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Google Meet takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for remote teams — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
