Alternatives to Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and Jitsi, side by side
What Castio and each of the four do for video meetings, webinars and live streaming, in one table. Every fact about another product links to the vendor's own page.
Free software
No per-seat fees
Add as many hosts and members as you like.
You pick the length
Meetings run as long as you choose, up to 24 hours. Permanent rooms stay open.
Up to 1,000 people per meeting
You set the limit.
Links on your own domain
Like meet.yourcompany.com, when your domain is on Cloudflare.
Five products, side by side
Scroll sideways for Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and Jitsi →
| Category |  Castio | Zoom | Google Meet | Microsoft Teams | Jitsi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price for a 10-host team | $0 per user; about $5 a month in total to Cloudflare for the same team, plus $149 a year for us to install it today. How we worked it out | $16.99 a user a month (Pro), so $169.90 a month for 10 users Source | $8.40 a user a month (Business Starter, flexible plan), so $84 a month for 10 users; $7 a user billed yearly Source | $4 a user a month (Teams Essentials, paid yearly), so $40 a month for 10 users Source | Jitsi on your own server is free: you pay for the server and run it yourself. Source |
| Free plan's meeting length | You pick the length: 25 or 50 minutes, or your own, up to 24 hours. | The free plan ends every meeting at 40 minutes, one-on-one calls included. Paid plans run up to 30 hours. Source | Free accounts end calls of three or more at 60 minutes. Paid Workspace plans run up to 24 hours. Source | Teams (free) runs one-on-one calls for up to 30 hours and group meetings for up to 60 minutes. Source | Not compared |
| Your logo and own address | Your logo and colors, at your own address, like meet.yourfirm.com | Zoom's brand on a zoom.us link. Business adds your branding and an approved yourco.zoom.us address, never your own domain Source | Guests join at meet.google.com with a meeting code. Source | Microsoft's brand on a teams.microsoft.com link. Teams Premium, $10 a user a month on top of a Teams license, adds your logo and colors on the pre-join screen and lobby; the link stays on Microsoft's domain Source | Jitsi on your own server, free, but you run the server; or JaaS, set up in its console (free for up to 25 monthly users, paid beyond that) Source |
| Recording | Included. Recordings are saved for 7 days by default; turn on one setting and they're kept in your own Cloudflare storage until you delete them. Cloudflare bills recording by the minute. How we worked it out | Cloud recording on Pro, with 10 GB of storage a user Source | Not on Business Starter. It starts at Business Standard, $16.80 a user a month on the flexible plan. Source | Teams Essentials, $4 a user a month, paid yearly Source | Needs Jibri, set up separately, one recording at a time per machine Source |
| Large meetings | Up to 1,000 people in a meeting or webinar (100 by default; you set the limit), plus a public livestream page. | 100 people on Pro, 300 on Business. More takes the Large Meeting add-on: $600 a year a license for 500 people, $1,490 for 1,000. Source | Livestreams to up to 100,000 viewers inside your organization, on Enterprise plans Source | Up to 300 people on Teams Essentials. Up to 1,000 on enterprise and frontline plans, such as Office 365 E1 at $10 a user a month, paid yearly. Source | Not compared |
| How clients join | A link or a meeting code, in the browser, on your own address. No account, no app. | In the Zoom app, or in a browser with the Zoom web app, on a zoom.us page Source | Some guests have to ask to join, and only the organizer can let them in Source | Guests can join in a browser without an account. They're marked Unverified and wait in the lobby, and an admin setting can block them. Source | Not compared |
Each comparison in full
- Zoom alternative Castio side by side with ZoomThe free plan's 40-minute limit, and what Zoom charges per host.
- Google Meet alternative Castio side by side with Google MeetGroup calls that end at 60 minutes on free accounts, and which plans record.
- Teams alternative Castio side by side with Microsoft TeamsGuests marked Unverified in the lobby, and the free plan's 60-minute group meetings.
- Jitsi alternative Castio side by side with JitsiRunning your own Jitsi server or JaaS, beside Castio with no server to run.
Sources
Facts about other products were checked against their own pages in September and October 2026.
- Zoom plans and pricing (zoom.us/pricing)
- Zoom Webinars and Events pricing
- Zoom support: meeting length on free accounts
- Zoom support: joining a meeting from the web app
- Zoom support: cloud recording
- Zoom support: polls
- Zoom support: Large Meeting add-on
- Zoom support: branding and vanity URLs
- Google Meet Help: time limits for calls
- Google Meet Help: record a video meeting
- Google Meet Help: add or remove people from a meeting
- Google Meet Help: livestream a meeting
- Google Workspace: flexible plan prices
- Google Workspace: flexible and yearly prices compared
- Google Meet Help: breakout rooms
- Google Meet Help, join a video meeting
- Microsoft Learn: anonymous users in Teams meetings
- Microsoft Support: join a Teams meeting without a Teams account
- Microsoft Teams (free)
- Microsoft Teams Essentials
- Microsoft Teams Premium
- Microsoft Learn: meeting themes
- Microsoft Learn: limits and specifications for Teams
- Microsoft Office 365 E1
- Microsoft 365 business plans compared
- Jitsi Meet on GitHub (Apache 2.0)
- Jitsi handbook: running your own server
- Jibri, Jitsi's recording service, on GitHub
- Jitsi blog: authentication on meet.jit.si
- JaaS pricing
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