Google Meet
Proton
| Feature | Google Meet | Proton |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $6/mo | Free / from $3.99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | google-workspace-users, educators, small-businesses, remote-teams | privacy-advocates, journalists, activists, security-conscious-users |
| Founded | 2017 | 2014 |
| Video Meetings | ✓ | ✗ |
| Screen Sharing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live Captions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Recording | ✓ | ✗ |
| Hand Raising | ✓ | ✗ |
| Polls | ✓ | ✗ |
| Encrypted Email | ✗ | ✓ |
| Vpn | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cloud Storage | ✗ | ✓ |
| Calendar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Password Manager | ✗ | ✓ |
| Aliases | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Destructing Messages | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Proton Pros
- End-to-end encryption for all services
- Swiss-based with strong privacy laws
- Open-source and independently audited
- Comprehensive privacy suite (mail, VPN, drive, calendar)
- Free tier available for all services
✗ Proton Cons
- Free storage is limited (1GB for mail)
- Less feature-rich than mainstream alternatives
- Search functionality limited due to encryption
The Verdict
Google Meet is built for google workspace users and educators, with a focus on video-meetings and screen-sharing. Proton targets privacy advocates and journalists and leads with encrypted-email and vpn.
Pricing is close: Proton starts at $3.99/mo versus $6/mo for Google Meet — 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, Proton 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.
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.
