Free calls on Google Meet will be limited to 60 minutes starting September 30

• Google is sticking to its timeline and capping calls on its video conferencing platform, Google Meet, to 60 minutes for free users starting September 30.
• Free users will lose their access to some of the advanced features of G Suite that allow for 250 participants and 100,000 live streams within a single domain.
• Paid users or those signed up for the ‘enterprise tier’ will continue to enjoy the additional features.

Google Meet was never meant to be free forever. In April itself, the company had declared that the version of its platform will cap calls at 60 minutes starting September 30 — and it's sticking to that timeline.

“If this changes, we’ll be sure to let you know,” a Google Meet spokesperson told the Verge.

The expiry of the Google Meet features for free users also comes just ahead of the Silicon Valley giant’s ‘Launch Night’ scheduled to kick off at 11:30 pm Indian Standard Time (IST) on September 30.

Even though free users may face a bind, business users will still be able to conduct meetings with upto 100 participants with no time limit.

No more G Suite advanced features
Another feature that will be removed from the free plan is the collection of advanced features for G Suite and G Suite for Education, which allow meetings to accommodate 250 participants and live streams of over 100,000 people within a single domain.

Only customers within the ‘enterprise’ tier will be able to avail these features after September 30.


Earlier this month, Google Meet expanded its display to include 49 people at a time and the ability to see the host of the meeting as a tile on the call. Users can adjust the number of tiles on display at a time using a slider within the display.

“You want to increase the maximum when you have a large group or reduce the number of tiles if you have a weak internet connection,” the company said when introducing the feature.

Google, like other video conferencing players in the game, has been chasing the success seen by Zoom without facing the same pitfalls when it comes to security.

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