Zoho Meeting: A Made-in-India Alternative to Zoom and Google Meet
- Eniokos
- Feb 10
- 3 min read
It is actually maddening to me how Zoho maintains a low profile despite their superb products. Had they made a bigger hype about their video conferencing app, Zoho Meeting, I wouldn't have wasted so much money on Zoom for so many years. 😭
Zoho Meeting is a web-based video conferencing and online meeting platform that supports secure, browser-based collaboration with no software download required. There are desktop and mobile apps available, but you can use the browser as well. It is a very cost-effective and efficient alternative to Zoom and Google Meet.
We switched to Zoho meeting from Zoom and saved 95% of the annual expenditure on video meetings. [Once again, why did I not know about it before?]
Key capabilities include (see https://www.zoho.com/meeting/features.html):
Core meeting features – Schedule and host online meetings with screen sharing, file sharing, whiteboards, annotation tools and chat. Participants can join via browser or apps for desktop and mobile.
Recording and analytics – Record sessions to cloud storage and download MP4 files for later review. Analytics and session reports help monitor engagement.
Webinars & live streaming – Host webinars with customised registration, real-time polls, and YouTube live streaming, with options for Q&A sessions.
Security and moderation – End-to-end encryption, lock meetings for privacy, and moderator controls like muting or removing participants.
Integrations – Works with calendar apps and other Zoho and third-party tools to simplify scheduling and meeting workflows.
Within the Zoho ecosystem
Zoho CRM – Schedule, launch and manage web meetings directly from CRM contacts, leads or calendar events. Recordings and meeting details sync back into CRM records.
Zoho Mail – View, schedule and start meetings inside the Zoho Mail interface.
Zoho Bookings – Link Bookings appointments to online meetings, with automatic email notifications for participants.
Zoho Calendar – Two-way sync of meetings; events created in Zoho Meeting appear in the calendar, and edits propagate across both.
Third-party and external integrations
Zapier ecosystem – Connect Zoho Meeting with thousands of apps via Zapier, including Google Calendar, Google Drive, Slack, Notion, Calendly, Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai and more, to automate tasks such as saving recordings, updating calendars and syncing meeting data.
REST API – Developers can integrate Zoho Meeting into custom apps and services using its API.
Calendar tool interoperability
Via calendar integrations (often through Zoho Calendar), scheduling can include links for Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex and Google Meet alongside Zoho Meeting links, helping manage mixed-platform meeting schedules.
The interface is very neat and intuitive, and if you are used to working with Zoom and Google Meet, the learning curve is shorter.
We are really happy to have the made-in-India Zoho apps as alternatives to intrusive, manipulative, exploitative and over-reaching foreign companies, especially when they are so clearly lacking in ethics towards the society.
What next? Arattai?
We hopped on to Arattai as soon as it was launched, but its name should have been a bit more user-friendly to replace WhatsApp completely. But with all the issues surrounding Meta, sooner than later, I am going to switch to Arattai. What do you think?
Disclaimer: The suggestions provided in this content are based solely on our personal opinions and research. We have no commercial interest or financial ties to the products mentioned. Any recommendations are made without any expectation of compensation or benefit. Users should conduct their own research and consider their individual needs before making any purchasing decisions.
