The Google Meet time limit won’t be a massive issue for people engaging in regular group chats. Users on a free account can access group meetings for up to 60 minutes and even host one-on-one conferences for up to 24 hours!

Most of my meetings are done within 30 minutes or less, and hopefully, you can say the same (long meetings are a serious productivity drain for most of us.)

But occasionally, you might need to host a meeting that lasts longer than an hour. Those comprehensive all-hands meetings and group training sessions can drag on at times. So, what do you do if you need more time? Is the only option to end the meeting and start again?

Not necessarily. Read on for your complete guide to the Google Meet time limit and a few tips on how you might be able to extend your session duration.

Key Takeaways:

  • Google Meet imposes time limits on all meetings. However, the free plan is the only plan that limits group meetings to 60 minutes. Every other plan supports 24-hour meetings.
  • The easiest way to extend your meeting time limit is to upgrade to a paid plan. However, you can also experiment with a few workarounds.
  • Google Meet isn’t the only platform with meeting time limits. Microsoft Teams also limits group meetings to 60 minutes on the free plan. Zoom’s free plan time limit is 40 minutes.

Is there a Google Meet Time Limit?

There are technically time limits on all Google Meet conferences – even if you’re on a paid plan. However, on premium plans, you can host group conversations for up to 24 hours. Google also says that there’s no time limit on mobile calls and one-on-one calls.

However, if you dive a little deeper into Google’s pricing page, you’ll find that all meetings are actually limited to 24 hours. Still, that should be more than enough time for most meetings.

Probably the only “problematic” time limit you’ll encounter on Google Meet is for group sessions on the free plan. If you’re using Google Meet for free (part of the Google Workspace free plan), you can only host group meetings for up to 60 minutes.

Google notes that all meeting attendees will receive an alert after 50 minutes, letting them know the meeting is about to end. When you hit the 60-minute mark, the meeting will automatically close.

Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect from all the main Google Workspace plans:

Plan Free Business Starter Business Standard Business Plus Enterprise
Group Meeting time limit 60 minutes 24 hours 24 hours 24 hours 24 hours
One-on-One Meeting time limit 24 hours 24 hours 24 hours 24 hours 24 hours

Why Does Google Meet Have a Time Limit?

So, why does Google restrict the amount of time you can spend in meetings? Simply put, video conferencing software takes power to run. The more time you spend running your meeting, the more resources you use. That’s particularly true during group meetings.

Placing limits on meetings is how Google ensures it’s not using all its resources. It’s also a good way for the company to encourage businesses to upgrade to a premium plan. After all, while you can accomplish a lot with the free version of Google Workspace, Google really wants you to upgrade to a paid service so it can earn extra income.

That’s why paid plans come with longer meeting time limits, as well as additional features.

Google isn’t the only collaboration software vendor that restricts meetings. As mentioned above, Microsoft Teams limits group meetings on the free plan to 60 minutes, like Google. However, it allows for 30-hour meetings on paid plans and 30-hour one-on-one sessions.

Zoom limits free users to 40-minute group meetings, and paid users can host meetings for up to 30 hours. On paid plans, Zoom meetings will also automatically end after 40 minutes if no one else joins the conversation.

Can You Extend the Google Meet Time Limit?

So, what if you need more than 60 minutes in a group meeting? The easiest option is obviously to upgrade to a paid or premium account. This will extend your time limits to 24 hours and give you access to some handy additional features.

Here are the best ways to extend your meeting time limits.

1.      Upgrade to a Premium Google Workspace Plan

Ultimately, the best way to banish limits from your meetings forever is to upgrade to a premium plan. All of the paid plans for Google Workspace (starting at $6 per user, per month, when paid annually), offer a 24-hour time limit for all meetings.

Obviously, you also get extra capabilities too. For instance:

  • Business Starter: ($6 per month/user annually, or $7.20 monthly): Custom Gmail address, 100 Google Meet users, digital whiteboarding, 30GB of storage per user, shared calendars, conference room booking, Docs, Sheet, and Slide access.
  • Business Standard: ($12 per month/user annually, or $14.40 monthly): 150 users on Google Meet, recordings, noise-cancellation, breakout rooms, 2TB of storage per user, advanced Google Chat, and appointment booking.
  • Business Plus ($18 per month per user annually, or $21.60 monthly) offers 500 users, attendance tracking, 5TB of stage per user, advanced endpoint management, and Google Vault.
  • Enterprise: (Custom pricing): 1,000 users, Connected Sheets, endpoint management, data loss prevention, and advanced security features.

You can upgrade to any paid plan from within your Google Workspace account by clicking on “Manage Your Google Account” and then “Payments & Subscriptions.”

Quick tip: If you’re new to Google Workspace, apply for a 14-day free trial. 10 users can also use every feature included in the paid plans simultaneously, which is handy. To use the free trial, go to Google’s website, sign in, click “Start Free Trial,” then pick your plan.

You can also get a discount on your Google Workspace plans if you’re a non-profit organization or an educational company. However, Google will need to assess your request to ensure you’re eligible.

2.      Refresh the Meeting Before Time Runs Out

Technically, this method doesn’t actually “extend” your Google Meet time limit, but it does mean you can continue your conversation for longer without upgrading to a paid plan.

There are a few ways to “refresh” your meeting. One option is to close the meeting yourself, as the host, at about the 50-55-minute mark. Google will inform you when you reach 50 minutes, so this should help. You can then relaunch the meeting using a different link.

You’ll need to open Google Meet again, click the New Meeting button, and choose “Start an instant meeting.” Then, you can click the “Add Others” button to connect with other team members or share a meeting link with them directly through Google Chat or Microsoft Teams.

Obviously, this means you’ll have a few minutes of break time during a conversation, but that might be a good thing. It gives your attendees a chance for a bathroom break or an opportunity to refresh their cup of tea before they dive back into a long conference.

3.      Book Multiple Meetings in Advance

This is another slightly sneaky workaround if you want to extend your Google Meet time limit without upgrading to a premium plan. It’s also another strategy that will cause some disruption in your meetings (but hopefully not too much).

When you visit the Google Meet website and click New Meeting, you can schedule a meeting later. This means you’ll be able to schedule multiple meetings in a row, with slight breaks between each session. You and your attendees can attend each meeting from a link or directly from their Google Calendar, which saves you a bit of time on the “refreshing” process above.

This might be a good way to break your meetings down into sections. For instance, if you’re having a long video training session with your team, you could schedule each meeting to focus on different topics or skills. Again, it’s not an ideal solution, but it’ll work in a pinch.

Just make sure you set up your recording strategy for each meeting (if necessary), in advance, as you’ll need to record and store each session separately.

4.      Live Stream the Meeting Instead

This is a great option if you’re hosting a meeting where you want to share information with a lot of participants but don’t necessarily need users to participate. A live stream can last up to 8 hours and even host polls during sessions.

Plus, live streaming lets you connect with more viewers than Google Meet. On Google Meet, your maximum number of attendees is 500. With Livestream, you can stream to up to 100,000 viewers from your domain.

However, you will need a YouTube account to create a live stream, and if you’re on a free plan, you won’t get as many security features that allow you to limit access to the meeting.

Notably, Google offers many great features for live streaming, including the ability to host Q&A sessions with meeting participants and add captions to meetings. You can also record live streams with Google and YouTube so you can access them later.

Making the Most of the Google Meet Time Limit

If you don’t want to upgrade to a paid version of Google Workspace and the idea of refreshing your meeting, live streaming, or creating multiple sessions in advance doesn’t appeal to you, the best strategy is better planning.

Ultimately, most meetings won’t need to last longer than 60 minutes in the first place, particularly if you have a well-structured agenda in place. Ensure you send any necessary documents and data to your attendees in advance so they can prepare.

Assign someone in the meeting the task of keeping everyone else on track and making sure your conversations move smoothly. You could even consider moving some tasks outside of the meeting. For instance, you might host an FAQ session after the discussion on Chat to save time.

I’d also recommend taking advantage of extra tools to boost meeting efficiency. AI meeting tools can take notes, summarize content, and transcribe conversations for you. This means employees will spend less time scribbling down facts and more time focusing on the conversation.

Alternatively, you could always consider whether you need a group meeting or whether you can host a few individual one-on-one sessions instead.

Enjoy Efficient Meetings with Google Meet

While Google Meet does impose a meeting limit, it’s not too restrictive. Even on the free plan, you can host group sessions for up to an hour. If you need more time than that, I recommend seriously considering a paid plan.

Otherwise, use the tips above to refresh and relaunch your meetings or simply plan more efficient conversations with your team.

FAQ

Can I use Google Meet for more than 1 hour?

You can use Google Meet for longer than an hour if you’re having a one-on-one session or on a paid plan. One-on-one sessions and group meetings on paid plans can last up to 24 hours. If you’re on the free plan, you’ll be restricted to 60-minute group meetings.

What happens after 1 hour of Google Meet?

If you’re using Google Meet’s free plan for a group meeting, after 60 minutes, the session will end automatically, and all attendees will be kicked out of the call. However, Google does send you an alert at the 50-minute mark. This limit doesn’t apply to one-on-one or group meetings for users on a paid Google Workspace plan.

How do I increase my Google Meet Limit?

The best way to increase your Google Meet time limit is to upgrade to a premium plan for Google Workspace. However, there are some workaround options, such as refreshing your meeting, creating multiple meeting sessions, or live streaming the conversation.

 

 



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