# Jitsi Meet vs Google Meet Published January 1, 2026 · Updated August 10, 2026 Jitsi Meet is the top pick for most Mac users looking at Video conferencing. It is free and open-source and installs in one Homebrew command. Google Meet is the stronger choice if you want video calls. As of October 2026, both install with brew install --cask jitsi-meet and brew install --cask google-meet. August 2026 re-check: Google Meet remains the better default conferencing product for most Mac users inside Google Workspace, while Jitsi Meet remains the best privacy-respecting, self-hostable alternative. The split did not narrow - Meet's calendar integration, caption quality, and Gemini summaries continue to outpace Jitsi's community add-ons, while Jitsi's ability to run entirely on your own server at zero licence cost continues to outpace cloud-only Meet for control-minded teams. Both are alive, Tahoe-compatible, and maintained; the decision tracks whether hosting control or hosted polish is the priority. ## Head to head | Factor | Jitsi Meet | Google Meet | | --- | --- | --- | | Price | Free | Paid | | Open Source | Yes | No | | Replaces | Zoom (paid plans) | — | | Best for | video, conferencing, meeting | video calls, meetings, google | | Install | brew install --cask jitsi-meet | brew install --cask google-meet | | Category | Communication | Communication | ## Jitsi Meet Open source video conferencing Install: `brew install --cask jitsi-meet` [Jitsi Meet on Bundl](https://bundl.run/apps/jitsi-meet) ## Google Meet Google's video conferencing app for secure, high-quality meetings and collaboration. Install: `brew install --cask google-meet` [Google Meet on Bundl](https://bundl.run/apps/google-meet) ## Features - **Join friction & guest access.** Both are link-to-join; Jitsi is more anonymous, Meet is more calendar-native. - **Privacy & control.** When data ownership or self-hosting matters, Jitsi is categorically more controllable than Meet. - **Recording, captions & AI.** Meet's polished captions, transcription, and Gemini layer outpace Jitsi's community integrations. - **Mac & Tahoe experience.** Both are light in the browser; Meet's Workspace integration feels more native on a Mac. - **Scale & large meetings.** Meet scales without the operator burden; Jitsi scales if you provision it. - **Admin & compliance.** Meet wins admin convenience; Jitsi wins admin control for shops that insist on owning the stack. - **Cost.** On raw meeting cost, Jitsi is unbeatable; Meet's cost rides inside the broader Workspace value. ## FAQ ### Should I use Jitsi Meet or Google Meet on my Mac in 2026? Use Google Meet if you already live in Gmail and Google Calendar - joins are instant, Gemini summaries and captions are polished, and scale to 1,000 viewers is included on Enterprise. Use Jitsi Meet if privacy, self-hosting, and zero per-seat cost matter more: a link is enough for guests, the code is auditable, and you can keep meetings on your own server. ### Is Jitsi Meet actually free? Yes for the software and for ad-hoc use on meet.jit.si, which is free and community-run best-effort. If you self-host, you pay only for the VM, storage, and bandwidth you provision - no per-user licence. Managed Jitsi as a Service from 8x8 is separately priced by usage for teams that want an SLA without operating infrastructure. ### Does Google Meet allow meetings without a Google account? Yes. A host needs a Google account, but participants can join from a browser link as guests without creating one. Full host controls, recording, and Gemini features ride on the host's Workspace tier. ### What about privacy and where meeting data lives? Google Meet is cloud-only with encryption in transit, host controls, and Vault retention on higher tiers, with Google as the processor. Jitsi Meet can be self-hosted so video, logs, and recordings stay on infrastructure you choose, and the source is open for audit - public meet.jit.si uses 8x8 infrastructure on a best-effort basis. ### Which has better captions, recording, and AI? Google Meet leads on polish: live captions, translated captions, and on eligible Workspace tiers recording, transcription, and Gemini meeting summaries. Jitsi Meet offers community-powered captions and recording to your chosen backend but has no native Gemini-class recap out of the box. ### Do both work in the browser on Apple Silicon Macs? Yes. Both are browser-first on macOS Tahoe 26.x and hardware-accelerated on Apple Silicon. Meet adds an optional PWA install; Jitsi optionally offers a desktop app but the browser experience is already sufficient on Safari and Chrome. ### When would I pick Jitsi over Meet for a school or nonprofit? When video must remain under institutional control for policy, data residency, or cost reasons and installs should stay account-free for learners - Jitsi keeps costs at a small VM and keeps meetings on a server you control, while Meet would require Workspace tenant licensing for the same controls. ## Sources - [Jitsi Meet - official site](https://jitsi.org/) - [Jitsi Meet Handbook - self-hosting guide](https://jitsi.github.io/handbook/) - [Jitsi as a Service (JaaS) - 8x8](https://jaas.8x8.vc/) - [Google Meet - discover and pricing](https://meet.google.com/) - [Google Workspace pricing - official](https://workspace.google.com/pricing) - [Google Meet Help Center](https://support.google.com/a/answer/6129354) - [macOS Tahoe 26 announced - 9to5Mac](https://9to5mac.com/2025/06/09/apple-mac-os-tahoe/) - [macOS 26 Tahoe - MacRumors roundup](https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/macos-26/) ## Related - [Jitsi Meet vs Zoom](https://bundl.run/compare/jitsi-meet-vs-zoom) - [Google Meet vs Zoom](https://bundl.run/compare/google-meet-vs-zoom) - [Google Meet vs Microsoft Teams](https://bundl.run/compare/google-meet-vs-microsoft-teams) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization", "name": "Bundl.run", "url": "https://bundl.run", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://bundl.run/og-image.png", "width": 1200, "height": 630 }, "description": "The Ninite for Mac. 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