Google Meet is free, runs in any browser, and if your students already have Gmail, there's nothing for them to download. For many course creators, that's enough. You can present slides, share your screen, take questions in the chat, and run a solid live session without paying for anything. The question is really about where the line sits between "enough" and "I need more" — and that line depends on how you teach.
If your live sessions are primarily presentation and Q&A — you teach a concept, share your screen, and answer questions — Google Meet handles that well. If your sessions depend on small-group exercises, live polls, or collaborative whiteboarding, Zoom gives you more to work with. This guide covers how to get the most out of Google Meet for teaching, so you can decide for yourself whether it fits your course.
What you’ll walk away with:
- A recurring meeting link students use every session
- Screen sharing configured for clean presentations
- A Q&A workflow that works for groups of any size
- A follow-up routine that reinforces what was covered
Why Google Meet Works for Live Teaching
The most practical advantage of Google Meet is the barrier to entry: zero. Your students click a link and they're in the session. No app download, no account creation (they can join as a guest), no "which version of Zoom do I need?" troubleshooting five minutes before class starts. For course creators whose students aren't especially tech-savvy, this matters more than any feature list.
The free tier is usable. You get meetings with up to 100 participants for 60 minutes, screen sharing, in-meeting chat, and live captions. Google Workspace plans remove the time limit, add recording, and include breakout rooms on higher tiers — but you can teach a real course on the free plan if your sessions run under an hour.
If you already use Google Calendar to manage your schedule, Meet integrates directly. When you create a calendar event and add a Google Meet link, your students get the join button right in their calendar invitation. No separate link to track down, no "where was that Zoom URL?" emails.
The interface is simple. That's both its strength and its limitation. There are fewer buttons, fewer settings, fewer things to configure before your session. For course creators who want to focus on teaching rather than managing software, that simplicity is a feature.
Step-by-Step: Running a Live Course Session in Google Meet
Create Your Meeting
Open Google Calendar and create a new event for your session. Click Add Google Meet video conferencing — this generates a unique meeting link attached to the event. If your course runs on a recurring schedule, set the event to repeat weekly or biweekly. The same Meet link carries over to every occurrence, so your students always have one link to join.
Share the Link With Your Students
Copy the Meet link from the calendar event and paste it into your course platform — in the activity where students will find their session details. Also include it in any reminder email you send before the session. Having the link in two places (course platform and email) means students can find it quickly no matter where they look first.
Present Your Material via Screen Sharing
When you're ready to teach, click the Present now button at the bottom of the Meet window. Choose A window rather than your entire screen — this keeps notifications and unrelated applications hidden. Share your slides, a document, or whatever you're walking students through.
When you want to shift from presentation to discussion, stop sharing. This brings the video grid back, which visually signals to students that the mode has changed from "listen" to "talk." Toggling between screen sharing and face-to-face conversation is one of the simplest ways to keep energy up during a live session.
Use the Chat for Q&A
Ask students to type questions in the chat as they come up. Pause every 10-15 minutes to scan the chat and address the top questions. This works well for groups of any size — small groups can also unmute and ask directly, but the chat ensures nothing gets lost.
For larger groups (20+), designating a co-host to monitor the chat lets you focus on teaching while someone else surfaces the most common questions. If you're running the session solo, build explicit "Q&A breaks" into your agenda so you have natural pauses to catch up on the chat.
Record the Session (Workspace Plans Only)
If you're on Google Workspace Business Standard or above, click the three-dot menu during the meeting and select Record meeting. The recording saves to Google Drive automatically when the session ends. Share the Drive link with your students afterward so anyone who missed the live session can catch up.
If you're on the free plan, Google Meet doesn't offer recording. You can use a free screen recorder like OBS to capture the session locally, then upload the file to your course platform. It's an extra step, but it works.
Follow Up After the Session
Send a brief follow-up message to your students within 24 hours. Include a summary of the key points, any action items or homework, and the recording link if available. This reinforces what was covered and gives students who attended a reference they can return to.
The follow-up is where a lot of the learning sticks. A live session creates energy and momentum, but the written summary is what helps students translate that into action on their own time. Even two or three bullet points with a clear next step makes a difference.
Tips for Better Sessions
Set Expectations in the First Two Minutes
Open your session by telling students what you'll cover, how long the session will run, and how they should ask questions (chat, unmute, or both). This removes ambiguity and lets people settle in. When students know the format, they participate more confidently.
Use the Hand Raise Feature for Larger Groups
Google Meet has a hand-raise reaction that appears next to a participant's name. Encourage students to use it when they have a question or want to respond to something you've said. This avoids the awkward interruptions that happen when multiple people try to unmute at once, and it gives quieter students a way to signal that they want to contribute.
Keep Sessions Under 60 Minutes When Possible
This is practical advice for any live session, but especially relevant for Google Meet's free plan, where 60 minutes is the limit. Even if you're on a paid plan, shorter sessions tend to hold attention better. Most educators observe that focus drops significantly after 45-60 minutes. If you have more material to cover, consider splitting it across two sessions rather than extending one.
Limitations to Know About
No Breakout Rooms on the Free Plan
Breakout rooms are available only on Google Workspace Business Standard and above. If small-group exercises are central to how you teach, this is a significant gap. You'd need to either upgrade or use Zoom, which includes breakout rooms on all paid plans.
No Built-In Polls
Google Meet doesn't have a native polling feature. You can work around this by using a separate tool like Google Forms or Mentimeter during the session, but it means asking students to open another tab — which adds friction.
Recording Requires a Paid Plan
Only Google Workspace Business Standard ($14/user/month) and higher tiers include meeting recording. The free plan and Business Starter plan don't.
Fewer Teaching Features Than Zoom
Google Meet is a clean, simple video conferencing tool. Zoom has built deeper into facilitation with features like whiteboarding, in-meeting quizzes, and more granular participant controls. If your teaching style relies on interactive exercises during the live session, Zoom gives you more built-in options.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Meet really free for live course sessions?
Yes. Anyone with a Google account can start a meeting for free with up to 100 participants. Free meetings are limited to 60 minutes. If you need longer sessions or features like recording and breakout rooms, you need a Google Workspace plan (starting at $7/user/month), which extends meetings to 24 hours.
Can I record a live session in Google Meet?
Recording is available only on Google Workspace plans (Business Standard and above, starting at $14/user/month). Free Google accounts and the Business Starter plan don't include recording. If you're on a free plan and need recordings, consider using a separate screen recorder like OBS or record through your course platform instead.
Should I use Google Meet or Zoom for my live course?
Google Meet is a strong choice if your sessions are straightforward — presentation, screen sharing, and chat-based Q&A. It's free, requires no downloads, and works in any browser. Choose Zoom if you rely heavily on breakout rooms, in-meeting polls, or whiteboard collaboration. Those features are either absent or limited in Google Meet, especially on the free plan.
Related Guides
- How to Run Live Course Sessions Using Zoom — breakout rooms, polls, whiteboard, and recording for more interactive sessions
- How to Schedule Coaching Calls Using Calendly — automate booking for one-on-one sessions alongside your group meetings
- Generate Discussion Prompts with ChatGPT — create engaging questions to drive your live session conversations
- How to Create Your First Online Course — the full process from idea to launch
From Live Sessions to a Complete Course
Google Meet handles the live interaction. But your course also needs a home for the materials students review between sessions, the assignments they work on independently, and the conversations that keep them engaged throughout the program.
Ruzuku gives you one place to organize all of it: your curriculum, resources, discussions, and session recordings. You can paste your Google Meet link into the relevant activity — or use Ruzuku's built-in video meetings (no Meet, Zoom, or external account needed; students join in their browser) or the Zoom integration if breakout rooms or larger groups matter. Whichever you pick, the live session becomes part of a structured learning experience rather than a standalone video call. Start building your course on Ruzuku for free — zero transaction fees, no per-student pricing.