Video Conferencing Pricing Compared (2026): Zoom vs Google Meet vs Teams for 10 Hosts

For a 10-host team that runs meetings past 40 minutes with up to 100 participants and needs recording, billed yearly, Microsoft Teams Essentials is the cheapest plan that qualifies: $480/year for 10 hosts, verified on Microsoft's pricing page in September 2026. Zoho Meeting is the closest runner-up for a team that wants a standalone meeting app instead of the Microsoft bundle, at $6/host/month ($720/year).

Techpresso data: Toolradar, the software directory we run, has evaluated 58 video conferencing tools for its ranking, last updated September 2026. Of the 7 tools priced for this piece against the exact same 10-host scenario, the cheapest and the priciest annual total sit $1,219 apart for functionally the same job: hosting a meeting with a recording.

The scenario, and the math

The scenario is a 10-person team that regularly runs meetings longer than the free 40-minute cap, hosts up to 100 participants, and needs the meeting recorded, paid yearly. Where a vendor needs a specific plan to clear all three requirements, that plan's price is what gets ranked, not the cheapest tier on its page.

Microsoft Teams Essentials is the clearest arithmetic: $4/user/month billed yearly x 10 hosts x 12 months = $480/year, and it already covers meetings up to 30 hours long and 300 participants, well past what this scenario needs. Zoho Meeting prices by meeting capacity rather than by host count: its Standard plan costs $6/host/month for a 100-participant cap, billed annually, so 10 hosts run $720/year. Zoom's Workplace Pro plan, the cheapest Zoom tier that drops the 40-minute cap and adds cloud recording, runs $14.16/user/month billed annually, or $1,699.20/year for 10 hosts.

Video conferencing pricing compared, ranked by cost at the scenario

Prices checked in September 2026 on the vendor pages linked above.

Microsoft Teams Essentials: the cheapest plan, if you only need meetings

Teams Essentials strips out the Office apps and keeps the video product, confirmed on Microsoft's Essentials pricing page: $4/user/month billed yearly for meetings up to 30 hours long, 300 participants, and recordings with transcripts included by default. That combination beats every other vendor in this table by a wide margin, and it does so without a hidden recording fee or a participant-count penalty. The catch is that Essentials has no desktop Word, Excel or Outlook attached. A team that wants both the meeting tool and the productivity suite needs Microsoft 365 Business Basic instead, which runs $7/user/month, or $840/year for 10 users, confirmed on the same comparison page. Even at that higher tier, Microsoft still undercuts Google Workspace Standard and Zoom Pro.

Zoho Meeting: cheap, but priced by capacity, not by seat count

Zoho's Standard plan does not have a single sticker price. It scales by how many participants a meeting needs to hold, from $1/host/month at a 10-participant cap up to $10/host/month at 250, confirmed on Zoho's own pricing page. At the 100-participant tier this scenario needs, that works out to $6/host/month, or $720/year for 10 hosts, cloud recording included at 5 GB per host. A team that only ever meets in small groups can run this same plan for a fraction of that price; one that regularly needs 150 or more attendees pays more than Teams Essentials ever charges, even at its 300-participant ceiling.

Where the ranking flips

This ranking holds for a 10-host team that only needs the meeting product. It flips in three directions. First, bundled apps: once desktop Office or Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are required alongside meetings, Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $840/year for 10 users still beats Google Workspace Standard's $1,680/year, so Microsoft keeps the top spot. Second, meeting size: Zoho's per-host price climbs its capacity ladder as attendee counts grow, while Teams Essentials holds its per-host price flat all the way to 300 participants, so the gap between them widens rather than closes as a team gets bigger. Third, host count: a solo host or a two-person team is better served by Whereby's Pro plan at $10.99/month for a single host with no time limit, which undercuts every vendor in this table, but Whereby's Business tier forces a 3-host minimum the moment a team grows past two people.

Hidden costs to budget for

• Zoho Meeting: the Standard plan's per-host price keeps rising as meeting capacity grows past the 100-participant tier used in this ranking, up to $10/host/month at 250, confirmed on Zoho's pricing page.
• Jitsi as a Service (8x8): cloud recording is not bundled into any tier; it is metered at $0.01 per minute, and usage past the plan's monthly active user cap costs $0.99 per additional user, both confirmed on 8x8's JaaS pricing page.
• GoTo Meeting: pricing is per organizer, so the $12/month Professional rate is charged for every host rather than split across the team; toll-free numbers, enhanced audio and the GoTo Suite bundle are separate paid add-ons, confirmed on GoTo's Meeting pricing page.
• Whereby: the per-host Business plan cannot be bought for fewer than 3 hosts, so a 1 or 2-person team pays for seats it does not use unless it stays on the single-host Pro plan instead.
• Google Workspace: the Starter tier, one step below the Standard plan used in this ranking, does not include Google Meet recording at all.
• Zoom: Workplace Pro's 100-participant cap needs the paid Large Meeting add-on to raise, and cloud recording storage stops at 10 GB per license before extra storage has to be purchased.
• Cisco Webex: the vendor's own pricing page lists only a Free plan, capped at 40 minutes and 100 attendees with local recording only, and an Enterprise tier priced by custom quote. Webex publishes no list price for anything in between, so it is left out of the ranked table above.

Methodology

Prices for the seven ranked vendors were read on each vendor's own pricing page on the day this article was written, in September 2026, in US dollars. The scenario is a 10-host team running meetings past 40 minutes for up to 100 participants, with recording, paid yearly; the "Cost at scenario" column is the annual total for the cheapest plan that clears all three requirements. Cisco Webex publishes no list price between its Free and custom-quote Enterprise tiers and is excluded from the ranking for the same reason a "Contact sales" price is never guessed. For AI note-takers that join these calls, see best AI meeting assistants.

FAQ

What is the cheapest video conferencing tool for a 10-person team in 2026?

Microsoft Teams Essentials, at $4/user/month billed yearly, or $480/year for 10 hosts. It covers meetings up to 30 hours long and 300 participants with recording included, confirmed on Microsoft's pricing page in September 2026.

Is there a free video conferencing tool with no time limit?

No vendor in this comparison offers unlimited meeting length for free. Whereby's free plan caps at 30 minutes, Zoom and Webex free plans cap at 40 minutes, and Zoho's free plan caps at 60 minutes.

How much does Zoom cost for a 10-host team?

Zoom's Workplace Pro plan, the cheapest tier with cloud recording and no 40-minute cap, runs $14.16/user/month billed annually, or $1,699.20/year for 10 hosts.

How much does Google Meet cost for a team?

Through Google Workspace Standard at $14/user/month, or $1,680/year for 10 users, which includes Meet recording. The cheaper Starter tier does not include recording at all.

How much does Microsoft Teams cost if I also need Office apps?

Microsoft 365 Business Basic, at $7/user/month or $840/year for 10 users, bundles Teams with web and mobile Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Teams Essentials alone covers meetings only, at the lower price used elsewhere in this piece.

Does Whereby charge per seat?

Yes, on its Business plan: $13.99/host/month with a minimum of 3 hosts. A single host can use the Pro plan instead at $10.99/month with no minimum.

Is Cisco Webex free?

Webex's Free plan caps meetings at 40 minutes and 100 attendees with local recording only. Anything beyond that requires the custom-quote Enterprise plan; Webex does not publish a price for a mid-tier plan.

What if my team needs more than 100 participants?

Microsoft Teams Essentials already covers up to 300 participants at no extra per-seat cost. Zoom needs its Business plan at $18.33/user/month for 300 participants, and Google Workspace needs its $22/user/month Plus tier for 500.

Cite this: Techpresso, "Video Conferencing Pricing Compared in 2026," September 2026.

Techpresso's best AI meeting assistants roundup covers the note-taking layer that sits on top of whichever tool you pick here, and our best team chat apps guide covers the always-on messaging side these vendors do not replace. If screen sharing and async video matter more than live calls for part of your workflow, our best screen recording tools roundup is the adjacent category. Teams weighing Microsoft's bundle specifically should read Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 before committing to either ecosystem. Remote-first teams juggling meetings alongside deadlines might also want our best project management software guide and our pieces on AI for productivity and ChatGPT for productivity. Booking those meetings in the first place is its own decision: our best appointment scheduling software and best AI scheduling apps guides cover the layer that sits before the call. For remote access instead of video meetings, our TeamViewer alternatives guide covers that adjacent job. Dupple's wider best video conferencing software roundup ranks a broader field if this list does not cover the vendor you are considering.

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