Comparing Zoom vs Google Meet For Businesses In Nepal

Introduction

Choosing the wrong video conferencing platform in Nepal costs more than money. It costs class time when a teacher’s meeting cuts off mid-lesson. It costs credibility when a client’s call drops because a webinar tool was not built for the session size. And it costs real rupees when hidden licensing fees pile up on top of a plan that looked cheap on paper.

In 2026, Nepali businesses, schools, NGOs, and event organizers are choosing between two dominant platforms:

• Zoom
• Google Meet

Both are capable. Both have free tiers. And both are being used across Kathmandu, the Terai, and hill districts alike. But they are not the same platform, and the right choice depends entirely on who you are and what you need.

This guide gives you a Nepal-focused comparison:
✔ NPR pricing realities
✔ VAT-compliant procurement considerations
✔ AI inclusion (updated 2026)
✔ Bandwidth performance
✔ Webinar capability
✔ Which platform suits which use case

No generic global fluff. Just what matters here in Nepal.

Quick Verdict

Choose Zoom if:

• Your meetings regularly exceed 40 minutes
• You run webinars or large public events
• You need breakout rooms and advanced host control
• Your team works in low-bandwidth regions
• You require detailed admin controls
• You want AI summaries included in the plan

Choose Google Meet if:

• Your organization already runs fully on Google Workspace
• Your meetings are internal and have under 150 participants
• You prefer browser-first simplicity
• You want slightly lower per-user cost at scale

Zoom vs Google Meet: Feature Comparison

Both platforms have matured significantly since the pandemic. But feature parity is a myth. Here is where they genuinely diverge.

Zoom Vs Google Meet: Webinars & Meetings 

If you host public-facing events, this is where the platforms diverge sharply.

Zoom Webinar offers

• Registration pages
• Panelist controls
• Q&A moderation
• Polling
• Analytics
• 10,000+ attendee scalability

Google Meet can livestream (Enterprise tiers), but it does not offer a dedicated webinar architecture comparable to Zoom Webinar:

• Universities running admissions sessions
• NGOs hosting consultations
• Corporate town halls
• Paid online events

Zoom is structurally built for this. Meet is not.

Collaboration Tools: Whiteboards, Chat & Breakout Rooms

Zoom’s whiteboard is active and improving. Google’s equivalent, the Jamboard, was permanently discontinued at the end of 2024. Any comparison article that still lists Jamboard as a Google Meet feature is outdated.

Zoom offers:

• Persistent whiteboards
• In-meeting annotation
• Breakout rooms on all paid tiers
• Host-level moderation controls

Google Meet offers:

• Strong Google Docs/Slides collaboration
• Breakout rooms on Business tiers
• Simpler meeting UI

For interactive teaching environments, Zoom currently provides more built-in classroom tools without requiring additional apps.

AI Features: The Important Add-ons in 2026

Zoom AI Companion 3.0 is generally included in most of the upper-tier paid Zoom Workplace plans.

Features:

• Automatic meeting summaries
• Action item extraction
• Real-time question assistance
• Agenda suggestions
• Smart recording highlights

No separate AI add-on required for standard usage.

Gemini for Google Workspace

As of 2026, Gemini AI features are bundled into Google Workspace Business Standard and higher plans. There is no longer a mandatory separate $19.99 add-on for most Workspace tiers.

Features:

• Meeting summaries
• “Attend for me” AI delegation (availability varies by region)
• Smart drafting across Gmail and Docs
• Context-aware suggestions

Both platforms now include AI in their mid-tier business plans.

Security & Privacy

Both platforms are enterprise-safe in 2026. Zoom offers end-to-end encryption, waiting rooms, meeting locks, participant watermarking, and detailed admin dashboards with compliance support for HIPAA, GDPR, and FedRAMP.

Google Meet encrypts all traffic in transit by default, backed by Google’s ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications. For most Nepali organizations, the practical difference is configuration: Zoom gives IT teams granular control; Meet offers strong defaults with less customization. Neither has an inherent security disadvantage at the enterprise tier.

Device Compatibility & Bandwidth in Nepal

This is where Nepal-specific context matters most. Outside Kathmandu, and even within it, internet speeds are inconsistent. We need to also remember that many students and staff connect via mobile data.

Zoom offers:

• Manual low-bandwidth optimization
• Aggressive compression
• Stable performance at ~600 kbps
• Mobile-optimized client

Google Meet offers:

• Automatically adapts bitrate
• Allows disabling video
• No manual low-bandwidth toggle

Zoom provides more granular control in unstable connectivity environments. For schools in hill districts, NGOs in rural communities, or businesses with staff working outside major cities, Zoom’s bandwidth management is a practical operational advantage, not just a feature checkbox.

Zoom vs Google Meet: Pricing in Nepal for 2026

Headline pricing favors Google Meet, as Workspace Starter starts at $6/user/month, appearing cheaper than Zoom Pro at $16.99/user/month. But that comparison misses three things: what is included, what the actual NPR cost is through local channels, and what you need to add to make each platform fully functional.

NPR estimates are based on current exchange rates and local reseller pricing. Costs may vary slightly depending on billing cycle and plan tier.

Total Recent Cost Reality: 10-Person Nepali Team

Zoom Workplace Business with AI Companion:
Approx. NPR 25,000–30,000/month for 10 users (depending on annual vs. monthly billing).
AI Companion is included in paid plans at no extra cost.

Google Workspace Business Standard (with Gemini AI included):
Approx. NPR 19,000–23,000/month for 10 users (depending on annual vs. monthly billing).
Gemini AI features are now bundled into Workspace plans, i.e., no separate Gemini add-on is required.

So, Google Workspace Business Standard is currently more cost-effective than Zoom Workplace Business for a 10-person Nepali team under standard global pricing, but with only a slight difference.

The Local Purchasing Advantage

Buying directly from Zoom or Google requires an international credit card and provides no local tax documentation. ThinkMove Solutions, Nepal’s authorized Zoom partner, offers:

• NPR billing and local bank transfer options
• VAT-compliant tax invoices (critical for registered Nepali businesses)
• No international credit card required
• Local setup assistance, onboarding, and ongoing support
• Official Zoom licenses, which is same as buying direct, with Nepali compliance

Google Workspace purchases typically require:

• International payment method
• Direct billing in USD
• Limited Nepal-specific support (only one or two dedicated companies)

Which Platform Suits Your Situation? 

Features and pricing only matter in context. Here is scenario-based guidance for the three main audiences this comparison serves.

Nepali SMBs and Corporate Teams

For a business with 10–100 staff running regular team meetings, client calls, and occasional training sessions, Zoom Pro or Business is the stronger choice.

The 30-hour meeting duration, AI Companion summaries that automatically document what was discussed and what actions were assigned, and the ability to record in the cloud for staff who missed sessions. These are operational tools, not luxury features.

With ThinkMove handling licensing and invoicing locally, the procurement process is also straightforward. If your organization already has Google Workspace and your needs are purely internal communication, Meet works and saves a lot of transition cost.

Educational Institutions in Nepal

The 40-minute cap on Zoom’s free plan has disrupted more Nepali classrooms than any other technical constraint. The solution is Zoom for Education: a dedicated plan with extended sessions, Focus Mode (so students only see who the teacher designates), and annotation tools for interactive lessons.

Google Meet is used widely in schools already running Google Workspace for Education, but it lacks a bit in the interactive teaching features Zoom provides natively. For institutions running formal distance learning or hybrid programs, Zoom is the more capable platform. Both platforms use deep LMS integrations such as Moodle and Google Classroom, offering a wonderful learning experience.

Event Organizers and Hybrid Meetings

For webinars, conferences, or hybrid events where you need registration pages, attendee management, Q&A moderation, live polls, recording, and post-event analytics, Zoom Webinar is the professional standard.

Google Meet has no comparable webinar product. If your events are internal or small-scale, Meet is fine. If you are running anything public-facing, revenue-generating, or with more than 100 attendees, Zoom is the only serious option between the two.

Our Recommendation for Nepali Users

Google Meet is excellent for organizations already embedded in Google Workspace with mostly internal meetings.

Zoom is stronger when you need:

• Longer sessions
• Structured host controls
• Webinars
• Interactive classrooms
• Fine-grained bandwidth handling
• Advanced participant management

Both are legitimate enterprise tools in 2026.

The better choice depends on:

• Your workflow
• Your procurement process
• Your bandwidth realities
• Your event complexity

Ready to Get Started with Zoom in Nepal?

Contact ThinkMove Solutions today. We provide VAT-compliant Zoom licenses in NPR, local onboarding and training, and dedicated support for businesses, schools, and event organizers across Nepal.