Self-Hosted Alternatives to Google Meet
Why Replace Google Meet?
Google sees everything. Meet sessions route through Google’s servers, and Google’s privacy policy allows them to collect meeting metadata, usage patterns, and device information. If you’re discussing sensitive business, medical, or legal matters, that data sits on Google’s infrastructure under their terms.
Free tier limitations. Google Meet (free) limits group calls to 60 minutes and 100 participants. Google Workspace Individual costs $7.99/month ($96/year). Business Starter is $7.20/user/month — for a 10-person team, that’s $864/year. Self-hosted Jitsi Meet has no time limits, no participant caps, and no per-user fees.
Google account requirement. To start a Google Meet, you need a Google account. Participants without Google accounts get a degraded experience (can’t join some meetings, limited features). Jitsi Meet — the best self-hosted alternative — lets anyone join by clicking a link. No account. No app install. No friction.
Ecosystem lock-in. Google Meet is designed to keep you in Google Workspace. Calendar integration works best with Google Calendar. Recording stores in Google Drive. Leaving Google Workspace means losing your meeting infrastructure. Self-hosting means your video conferencing is independent of any vendor.
Best Alternatives
Jitsi Meet — Best Google Meet Replacement
Jitsi Meet is the most direct replacement for Google Meet. Both use browser-based WebRTC — participants click a link and join. No downloads, no plugins. The difference: Jitsi runs on your server, meetings have no time limits, and Google never sees your call.
Jitsi Meet is actually more generous than Google Meet Free in every dimension: unlimited meeting duration, no forced participant caps, server-side recording (Google Meet Free doesn’t record at all), and breakout rooms.
Replaces Google Meet features:
- Browser-based video calls ✓ (identical UX — click link, join meeting)
- Screen sharing ✓
- In-meeting chat ✓
- Hand raise / reactions ✓
- Breakout rooms ✓
- Virtual backgrounds ✓
- Lobby / waiting room ✓
- Recording ✓ (via Jibri — Google Meet Free can’t record)
- Mobile apps ✓ (iOS and Android)
Google Meet features you lose:
- Google Calendar native integration (Jitsi has a Chrome extension for Google Calendar, but it’s not as seamless)
- Automatic meeting notes / AI summaries (Google Workspace feature)
- Google Drive recording storage (Jibri records locally)
- Real-time translated captions (Google Workspace Business)
- Noise cancellation is present in both, but Google’s is more mature
[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Jitsi Meet]
Migration from Google Meet
Step 1: Deploy Jitsi Meet
Follow our Jitsi Meet Docker guide:
- Server: 4 GB RAM minimum, 2 CPU cores
- Domain:
meet.yourdomain.compointed to your server - Docker Compose deployment: ~10 minutes
Step 2: Create Meeting Links
Google Meet generates meet.google.com/abc-defg-hij links. Jitsi uses human-readable URLs that you define:
https://meet.yourdomain.com/standuphttps://meet.yourdomain.com/client-callhttps://meet.yourdomain.com/design-review
No scheduling needed — rooms are created when the first person joins and destroyed when the last person leaves.
Step 3: Calendar Integration
If you use Google Calendar, install the Jitsi Meet Chrome extension to add Jitsi links to calendar events instead of Google Meet links.
For other calendars, paste your Jitsi meeting URL into the event location field. It works with any calendar that supports location URLs.
Step 4: Mobile Access
The Jitsi Meet apps for iOS and Android connect to your self-hosted instance. Set your server URL in app settings and join meetings the same way you would on desktop.
Cost Comparison
| Google Meet Free | Workspace Individual | Workspace Business | Self-Hosted Jitsi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $0 | $7.99/mo | $7.20/user/mo | $0 |
| Annual cost (solo) | $0 | $96/yr | $86/yr | $0 |
| Annual cost (10 users) | $0 | N/A | $864/yr | $0 |
| Meeting time limit | 60 min | 24 hours | 24 hours | Unlimited |
| Participants | 100 | 100 | 150-500 | 100+ (tunable) |
| Recording | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (Jibri) |
| Account required | Google account | Google account | Google account | No |
| Privacy | Google servers | Google servers | Google servers | Your server |
What You Give Up
The honest trade-offs:
Google Calendar integration is less seamless. Google Meet creates one-click join buttons in Calendar events automatically. With Jitsi, you paste the link manually or use a browser extension. It’s a small friction increase.
AI features. Google Workspace includes AI meeting summaries, automatic notes, and translated captions. Jitsi doesn’t have these. If your team relies on automatic meeting notes, you’ll need a separate tool.
Noise cancellation. Both Jitsi and Google Meet have noise cancellation, but Google has invested more in theirs. In noisy environments, Google Meet’s AI-powered cancellation is noticeably better.
IT simplicity for large orgs. Google Workspace gives IT admins centralized control over meeting policies, retention, and compliance. Jitsi gives you a server — you build your own policies. For small teams this is fine; for 500+ person orgs, it’s additional work.
For teams under 50 people, the migration is painless. You gain unlimited meeting time, zero per-user costs, and complete privacy. You lose some AI convenience features that most teams don’t use anyway.
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