Almost everyone searching for this has the same specific problem: the meeting ends after 40 minutes and everyone has to rejoin. So the answer that matters first — Jitsi Meet has no time limit, no participant account, and no signup at all. Open the site, make up a room name, send the link. That is the entire process.
Whether that is the right answer depends on what else you need, because the free tiers differ in exactly the ways that turn out to matter halfway through a call.
| Service | Group time limit | Participants | Account needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jitsi Meet | None | ~100 | Host only, sometimes |
| Google Meet | 60 minutes | 100 | Host needs Google |
| Microsoft Teams | 60 minutes | 100 | Host needs Microsoft |
| Zoom (free) | 40 minutes | 100 | Host needs Zoom |
| Discord | None | ~25 video | Everyone |
| Signal | None | 50 | Everyone |
Free-tier limits change regularly. Verify before scheduling something important.
Jitsi Meet — no limit, no account, open source
Best for: a long call with people you do not want to make sign upJitsi Meet is open source and free with no meeting length limit. Participants join from a browser link with no account, no app install and no email address. It handles screen sharing, chat, raised hands, backgrounds, recording and breakout rooms.
Its distinguishing property is that you can run it yourself. Install Jitsi on a server and your organisation's calls never touch anyone else's infrastructure — the option that hospitals, law firms and governments actually need and that no commercial free tier offers.
Where it falls short: the free public instance at meet.jit.si is shared infrastructure, and quality on large calls is less consistent than Google's or Zoom's — more so when participants have poor connections. It has periodically added a sign-in requirement for meeting creators to control abuse. Polish is a step below the commercial products: the interface is plainer and the mobile apps are less refined. Self-hosting solves the reliability problem and introduces a server to maintain.
Google Meet — the smoothest free experience
Best for: reliable calls with people who all have Google accountsGoogle Meet gives free accounts 60 minutes for group calls and a full 24 hours for one-to-one, up to 100 participants. It runs in a browser with nothing to install, quality is excellent, and it is integrated into Google Calendar and Gmail so scheduling is a single click. Live captions are free and genuinely good, including translation.
Where it falls short: 60 minutes is longer than Zoom's 40 but it is still a cap, and it arrives in the middle of exactly the meetings that needed to run long. The host needs a Google account. Recording, breakout rooms, attendance tracking and noise cancellation are paid features. And you are on Google's infrastructure, which some organisations have policies about.
Microsoft Teams (free) — underrated if you are already in the ecosystem
Best for: work calls where people already have Microsoft accountsThe free Teams tier allows 60-minute group meetings with up to 100 participants, plus persistent chat, file sharing and collaborative document editing with the free Office web apps. If your organisation already runs on Microsoft, the integration is worth more than the feature list suggests.
Where it falls short: Teams is a heavy application that many people find confusing, and joining a Teams call as an outside guest is reliably the most awkward experience in this category. The desktop client is resource-hungry. As a pure video-call tool it is overkill; as a workspace that includes calls it makes more sense.
Discord — genuinely good, if the context allows it
Best for: informal, long, recurring callsDiscord has no time limit on voice or video calls, screen sharing quality is excellent (it was built for people watching each other play games, which is a demanding case), and the persistent-room model suits recurring group calls better than scheduled meetings do. It is free and reliable.
Where it falls short: everyone needs an account, and the cultural framing is wrong for most professional contexts — inviting a client to your Discord server will land oddly. Video participant limits are lower than the others. Screen share above 1080p and 60fps requires the paid tier.
Signal and WhatsApp — for private conversations
Best for: calls that need to be genuinely privateSignal supports end-to-end encrypted group video calls for up to 50 people with no time limit, and is the strongest choice when confidentiality is the actual requirement. WhatsApp offers encrypted group calls for up to 32.
Where they fall short: everyone needs the app and, for Signal, to have shared a phone number. Screen sharing is limited, and there is no scheduling, no calendar integration and no meeting-management features. These are private conversation tools that happen to do video, not meeting platforms.
So which one?
You need more than 40 minutes and people should not have to sign up: Jitsi Meet.
You want the smoothest experience and an hour is enough: Google Meet.
Your organisation runs on Microsoft: Teams free.
It is a recurring informal call with the same people: Discord.
The conversation needs to be private: Signal.
You need webinars, breakout rooms and reliable recording: pay for something. None of the free tiers do this well.
Two things worth knowing before you switch
The 40-minute limit has a workaround, sort of. Zoom's free tier lets you immediately start a new meeting with the same link. Everyone rejoins, which is annoying but takes fifteen seconds. If Zoom otherwise suits you, this may be less painful than migrating everyone.
Recording is the feature that is always paid. Every free tier here either omits recording or restricts it heavily, because storage costs real money. The free workaround is to record locally with OBS Studio, which is free, open source and captures your screen and audio to a file — though you should tell the other participants, and in many jurisdictions you are legally required to.
Frequently asked questions
Which free video call service has no time limit?
Jitsi Meet, with no limit and no participant accounts. Discord and Signal also have no limit but require everyone to have an account. Google Meet and Microsoft Teams cap free group calls at 60 minutes, Zoom at 40.
How do I get around Zoom’s 40-minute limit?
End the meeting and start it again with the same link — Zoom allows this immediately, and everyone rejoins in about fifteen seconds. If that is too disruptive, Jitsi Meet has no limit at all.
Is Jitsi Meet safe and private?
It is open source, so the code can be audited, and calls can be password-protected. On the public server you are trusting the operator, as with any service. Self-hosting Jitsi is the option that gives you real control, and is why it is used in regulated industries.
Can I record a meeting for free?
Rarely within the service itself — recording is the feature free tiers almost always withhold. OBS Studio is free and records your screen and audio locally. Tell the other participants, and check your local law, since consent requirements vary.
How many people can join a free video call?
Typically 100 on Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom, around 100 on Jitsi (quality degrades well before that), 50 on Signal and roughly 25 for video on Discord. Practical quality limits are usually lower than the stated caps.
Do participants need an account to join?
On Jitsi Meet and Google Meet, guests can join from a link without an account — only the host needs one, and on Jitsi often not even that. Discord, Signal and WhatsApp require every participant to have an account.