Comparison

Google Meet vs Threads

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Google Meet

Connect with friends, family, and colleagues through high-quality video calls and meetings. Schedule calls, send video messages, or join spontaneous conversations with features like real-time translated captions and in-call chat.

Highlights
  • High-quality video and audio
  • Real-time translated captions
  • In-call chat and emojis
  • Screen sharing
  • Stackable effects for fun calls
  • On-the-go audio-only mode
Features
Read full description

Google Meet is a high-quality video calling app designed to help you have meaningful and fun interactions with your friends, family, colleagues, and classmates, wherever they are. Meet lets you connect in whatever way works for you: Call someone spontaneously, schedule time together, or send a video message that they can watch and respond to later. Meet also helps you get things done. It integrates with other Google Workspace apps like Gmail, Docs, Slides, and Calendar, and offers a number of features to help you run smooth and engaging meetings, like noise cancellation, in-call chat, recordings, and more.* Features to look forward to: Make spontaneous calls or host video meetings with your friends and colleagues, all in one app. Enjoy one-on-one video calls for up to 24 hours and host meetings for up to 60 minutes and 100 people at no cost. Follow along in your preferred language with real-time translated captions in over 70 languages. Use in-call chat to share ideas, ask questions, or provide feedback without interrupting the flow of the conversation. Make your calls more engaging with in-call emojis that allow you to express yourself seamlessly without interrupting the conversation. Share visuals like photos, videos, and presentations during your call to collaborate or simply share memories from your recent vacation. Make your calls with family and friends more fun with stackable effects that allow participants to add multiple backgrounds, filters, and animations, to create a personalized experience. Use on-the-go mode for an audio-only experience with larger call controls, making it easier to take calls with fewer distractions while walking, driving, or using public transportation. Access on any device: Meet works across mobile, tablet, web, and smart devices,** so everyone can join. High quality video: Show up looking your best with up to 4k video quality video***. Learn more about Google Meet: https://workspace.google.com/products/meet/ Follow us for more: Twitter: https://twitter.com/googleworkspace Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/googleworkspace Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/googleworkspace/ *Meeting recording, noise cancellation are available as premium features. See https://workspace.google.com/pricing.html for more details **Not available in every language. ***Bandwidth permitting. Google Meet automatically adjusts to the highest video quality possible based on your bandwidth. Data charges may apply. Check your carrier for details. Specific feature availability may vary based on device specifications.

About

Threads

Connect and share your thoughts on a platform designed for conversation. Discover trending topics, join communities based on your interests, and engage in discussions through text, images, and polls. You can also control your experience with privacy settings and direct messaging.

Highlights
  • Start conversations with text, images, polls, and more
  • Join discussions through replies
  • Stay updated on trending topics
  • Control content visibility and replies
  • Discover communities and creators
  • Private 1:1 and group direct messaging
Features
Read full description

Discover new perspectives and connect through conversation on Threads. See what people are talking about right now—from niche interests to big moments. With communities, you can find people who also care about your interests on Threads. Reply, listen, share or just follow along. Here’s what you can do on Threads: ■ Start a thread, share your take Have something on your mind? Take it to Threads. Share a thought, ask a question or open up a conversation. There’s more than one way to kick things off with text, images, polls, ghost posts and more. ■ Jump into replies Jump into the discussion, react to new ideas or just see where the conversation goes. Every thread is an invitation to join in. ■ Keep up with what’s trending From live scores to breaking moments, Threads helps you stay close to what’s happening —and join the conversation when you’ve got something to say. ■ Control the content you see Control who can reply to you, mention you or see your posts. Use Hidden Words to filter out posts and replies that include words or phrases you don’t want to see—so your experience stays on your terms. ■ Go deep on your interests Follow friends, creators and communities for every interest. Threads is built to help you discover new voices and join conversations—starting with the communities you care about most. ■ Connect over chat Keep the conversation going privately with 1:1 and group DMs. When a public thread gets more personal, move it to your inbox to go deeper or share it with a smaller group. Meta Terms: https://www.facebook.com/terms.php Meta Privacy Policy: https://privacycenter.instagram.com/policy Threads Supplemental Privacy Policy: https://help.instagram.com/515230437301944 Threads Supplemental Terms: https://help.instagram.com/769983657850450 Instagram Community Guidelines: https://help.instagram.com/477434105621119 Consumer Health Privacy Policy: https://privacycenter.instagram.com/policies/health Learn how we're working to help keep our communities safe across Meta technologies at the Meta Safety Center: https://about.meta.com/actions/safety

Screenshots

Google Meet4 screens
Threads4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Google Meet at none against Threads's 33. Google Meet also leads on ads (none vs shown). Threads's advantage is chart position (#1 vs #12) and iOS requirement (16.3 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Threads sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Google Meet asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Google Meet against 4.6 for Threads. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.3M and 2.3M respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of Google Meet's written reviews are positive against 52% of Threads's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Google Meet versus Threads: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGoogle MeetThreads
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2.3M ratings) — better4.6 (2.3M ratings)
Positive reviews45.4% of reviews51.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.3M2.3M — better
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#12#1 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.016.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size612 MB228 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperGoogleInstagram, Inc.

Customer experience

Google Meet

All ratings2,332,636 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral3.4%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews1,434 reviews
Positive45.4%
Neutral9.8%
Negative44.8%

Threads

All ratings2,327,870 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews8,366 reviews
Positive51.6%
Neutral6.3%
Negative42.1%

User reviews

Google Meet

From 2.3M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 High-quality video and audio
  • 💡 Cross-platform compatibility
  • 🤝 Allows communication with non-iPhone users
  • 😊 Overall positive experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent freezing and disconnections
  • 🔋 High battery drain
  • 🔇 Audio issues like echoes and delays
  • 📵 Inability to use without a phone number
  • 🤔 Confusing UI and limited features compared to competitors

Threads

From 2.3M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Clean and simple interface
  • 🚀 Smooth performance
  • 💡 Integrated with Instagram
  • 🤝 Sense of community
  • 😊 Positive and friendly environment

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🤖 Too many suggested/random posts
  • 🔍 Lacking search and discovery features
  • 🔀 Difficulty switching between accounts
  • 📱 No iPad app

Bugs and requests

Google Meet

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Video freezes when moving away from WiFi
  • Inability to answer calls or end them properly
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add screen sharing capability
  • Implement group chat and texting features
  • Allow customization of user profiles and group chats
  • Improve compatibility with older devices and operating systems

Threads

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to post or comment
  • Disappearing posts and replies
  • Inconsistent account linking with Instagram

Requested features

5 requests
  • Chronological feed option
  • Hashtag and keyword search
  • Trending topics section
  • Bookmarking/saving posts
  • Direct messaging functionality

In-app purchases

None

Google Meet

No in-app purchases

13 purchases

Threads

Subscriptions13
  • No Ads Multi Tier3 variants$0.991 Month
  • No Ads Multi Tier2 variants$1.991 Month
  • No Ads Multi Tier3 variants$2.991 Month
Show 10 more
  • No Ads Multi Tier4 variants$3.991 Month
  • No ads (1 account)3 variants$7.991 Month
  • No ads (2 accounts)5 variants$12.991 Month
  • No ads (3 accounts)2 variants$17.991 Month
  • No ads (4 accounts)5 variants$21.991 Month
  • No ads (4 accounts)$22.991 Month
  • No ads (5 accounts)2 variants$26.991 Month
  • No ads (7 accounts)$37.991 Month
  • No ads (8 accounts)$42.991 Month
  • No ads (13 accounts)$67.991 Month

Questions

Is Google Meet free?
Google Meet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Threads free?
Threads is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Google Meet or Threads?
Google Meet is rated higher. Google Meet averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.3M ratings, while Threads averages 4.6 from 2.3M ratings.
Do Google Meet or Threads have ads?
Threads shows ads; Google Meet does not.
Which is updated more often, Google Meet or Threads?
Google Meet ships an update weekly, and Threads weekly. Most recently, Google Meet was updated on October 31, 2026 and Threads on October 31, 2026.
Which is more popular, Google Meet or Threads?
Google Meet currently peaks at #12 in the App Store charts, and Threads at #1. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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