# Google Meet 39 Hacker News commenters recommended Google Meet and 48 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Recommended for video calls that just work in a browser, on mobile and Firefox, with no software to install. Common caveat: clunky screen sharing and pop-ups. ## Why people recommend it - Reliable, simple video calls (4 comments): "Google Meets has always worked completely fine for me, good performance, works well on mobile, Firefox, etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46491933)) "Meet has been rock solid for me whilst Teams has been an absolute nightmare." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46492079)) "Google Meet just quietly and simply works whenever I want to call my mom" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50281051)) - No client or software needed (3 comments): "Hell, even Google Meet is just clicking a link." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50108493)) "Google Meet doesn't require a client" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49059965)) "Zero software to install." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49678324)) - Works in Firefox and mobile (2 comments): "Google Meets has always worked completely fine for me, good performance, works well on mobile, Firefox, etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46491933)) "switched to Google Meet (which does work in Firefox.)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46458019)) - Better than Teams for calls (3 comments): "Meet has been rock solid for me whilst Teams has been an absolute nightmare." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46492079)) "work as well or better than Teams for it's primary purpose: video calls" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45933769)) "I can't think of a single thing Meet does worse than Teams." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46491695)) ## What people warn about - Clunky screen sharing and pop-ups (2 comments): "when you screen share from discord or zoom or Google meets there's now a pop-up" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46802369)) "Google meet screen sharing is a horrendous UX, reactions are clunkier than zoom" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50283742)) - Breaks on some Linux setups (2 comments): "I don't think you could install any Linux flavor and screen share over meet reliably" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47401891)) "video backgrounds in Google Meet on Chrome are broken with nVidia GPUs and Wayland" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46458339)) - Sluggish on Firefox, sound issues (2 comments): "Google meet feeling sluggish on Firefox is also something I remember until very recently" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49738554)) "Google meet remains unusable for a long time, sound is horrible during meetings" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48472857)) - Chat messaging unreliable or bloated (2 comments): "The only way we have been able to get some semblance of chat is Google Meets, but even then messaging doesn't always work" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46690892)) "meet and chat (where each has their own bloat) are now integrated into the mail app as well" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46516304)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Zoom](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zoom.md): 99 recommend - [Jitsi Meet](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jitsi.md): 42 recommend - [Proton Meet](https://hackerapproved.com/p/proton-meet.md): 17 recommend - [Galene](https://hackerapproved.com/p/galene.md): 6 recommend - [Cisco Webex](https://hackerapproved.com/p/webex.md): 5 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://workspace.google.com/products/meet/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Google Meet", https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-meet/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).