Best video conferencing software for Canadian small businesses

A Smithville shop does not need a webinar platform priced like a bank. It needs a link that starts on time, a recording when the client asks, and an honest CAD or USD sticker. US “best Zoom alternative 2026” lists skip the part that changes the bill: GST/HST on SaaS, free-tier clocks, and the fact that Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 may already include the meeting.

This comparison is four options with usable public cards: Zoom Workplace (feature table; confirm the live dollar card), Google Meet (free personal Meet plus Workspace Canada CAD), Microsoft Teams Essentials / Microsoft 365 (Teams Free, Essentials CAD, or a full 365 seat), and Whereby (USD, browser rooms). Video-conferencing prices checked against public vendor pages, 6 September 2026.

Who this page is for

• A Canadian SMB quoted Zoom Pro, Teams Essentials, or “just use Meet” who needs official limits, not a blog’s CAD conversion.
• Anyone already paying Workspace or Microsoft 365 who is about to buy a second meeting app for the same grid.
• A shop that records client walkthroughs and needs to know which free tier does not record.
• Not a contact-centre RFP. Not a webinar licence bake-off. Not a hands-on lab.

Snapshot (public pages, 6 September 2026)

Zoom Workplace — confirm the live dollar card

Official zoom.us/pricing (6 September 2026): Basic (free): 40 minutes per meeting, 100 participants, local recording, limited AI Companion. Pro: 30 hours per meeting, 100 participants, local recording plus 10 GB cloud storage per license, unlimited in-meeting AI Companion. Business: 30 hours, 300 participants, local + 10 GB cloud per license, SSO and managed domains. Enterprise: 500+ / 1000 participants on the compare table, unlimited cloud recording — talk to sales Official zoom.us/pricing retrieved 6 September 2026 printed the plan feature table, not a static CAD list. Do not invent a CA$ Zoom SKU. Confirm the live Pro/Business dollar card at checkout. Source: https://zoom.us/pricing.

Official Zoom help “Canada GST/HST/PST/QST Tax”: Zoom applies GST/HST from the Sold To address in Canada. GST/HST registration 786568113 RT0001 prints on Canadian invoices. PST/QST can apply by province. Website prices do not include that tax. Not tax advice. Source: Zoom Canada GST/HST/PST/QST.

Buy Zoom when the client already lives in Zoom, or when you bought Microsoft 365 without Teams and still need a grid. Do not buy Pro because a US list converted last year’s $13.33 into loonies — that sticker was not on the retrieve used here.

Google Meet — free 60 minutes, paid recording on Workspace CAD

Official workspace.google.com/products/meet/: anyone with a Google Account can create a meeting, invite up to 100 participants, and meet for up to 60 minutes at no cost. Mobile calls and 1:1s have no time limit on that FAQ. Official Meet Help: personal Google accounts, max 100 participants; one-on-one up to 24 hours; meetings with 3+ participants up to 60 minutes. Recording is a Workspace feature on the Canada business card (Standard and up), not the free personal Meet FAQ. Sources: https://workspace.google.com/products/meet/; https://support.google.com/meet/answer/7317473.

Paid Meet is a Google Workspace seat, not a separate Meet SKU on the Canada business page. workspace.google.com/intl/en_ca/business/ prints “All prices $CAD.” Do not paste the US Workspace USD table as Canadian. Meet: Starter 100 participants; Standard recording, noise cancellation, 150 participants; Plus attendance tracking, 500 participants. Business Starter CAD $11/user/month (flexible); Business Starter CAD $9.20/user/month on a one-year commitment. Business Standard CAD $22/user/month (flexible); Business Standard CAD $18.40/user/month on a one-year commitment. Source: https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_ca/business/.

Canadian billing address: Google calculates and charges tax from that address (GST, HST, PST, QST) unless you claim an exemption with a tax ID. You are contracting with Google LLC. Google LLC is registered for the simplified GST/HST regime (Excise Tax Act s. 211.11) and the simplified QST regime. Province on the invoice billing address sets the rate. Google does not advise on tax. Source: Workspace taxes in your region. Full CAD seat math, data-region honesty, and no-Meet reality live on Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 in Canada.

Microsoft Teams — Free, Essentials CAD, or a 365 seat

Official Microsoft Support “Create a meeting in Microsoft Teams Free”: up to 100 participants for up to 60 minutes. Official subscriptions table: meeting recordings are No on Teams Free; Yes on Microsoft 365 Personal/Family and Teams business licenses. Free max duration 60 minutes; paid 30 hours. Sources: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/teams/free/meetings/create-a-meeting-in-microsoft-teams-free; https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/teams/free/get-started/learn-more-about-subscriptions-for-microsoft-teams-free.

Official microsoft.com/en-ca/microsoft-teams/essentials retrieved via public search snippet 6 September 2026: CAD $5.40 user/month, paid yearly (annual subscription–auto renews). Confirm the live CAD widget — Microsoft cards move. Source: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/microsoft-teams/essentials. Essentials is meetings without Exchange and desktop Office. If you already need you@theshop.ca and Word, you are shopping Microsoft 365, not a stand-alone Teams card.

Canadian microsoft.com pages print CAD and “plus applicable tax.” Do not paste a US USD card as the Canadian invoice. Business Basic CAD $9.50/user/month paid yearly, plus applicable tax — microsoft.com/en-ca SharePoint business compare. Business Standard CAD $19.00/user/month paid yearly, plus applicable tax — microsoft.com/en-ca security SMB pricing (6 September 2026 retrieve). Business Premium CAD $29.80/user/month paid yearly, plus applicable tax — same security SMB page. Microsoft’s Canadian cards move. A third-party “July 2026 revision” table is not this page. Confirm the live CAD widget before you budget a year of seats. No-Teams cards if you keep Zoom: Business Basic (no Teams) CAD $6.00/user/month paid yearly, plus tax; Business Standard (no Teams) CAD $12.60/user/month paid yearly, plus tax; Business Premium (no Teams) CAD $25.50/user/month paid yearly, plus tax. Sources: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-plans-and-pricing; https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/microsoft-365/business/no-teams-plans-and-pricing.

Tax is determined by the business address, or the shipping address if it is different. North/Central/South America section: in Canada, various tax rates apply depending on the product and your location. Canada is listed as a Limited Risk Distributor market. Tax-exempt path: Certificate of Exemption (or equivalent) via a service request. Not tax advice. Source: Microsoft 365 tax information.

Whereby — USD browser rooms

whereby.com/information/meetings/pricing prints “*All prices are in USD, excl. VAT.” No CAD list. Confirm tax at checkout. Do not invent loonies. Free — 1 host, 1 room URL, 4 attendees per meeting. Pro $10.99/month — 1 host, 3 room URLs, 100 attendees, no time limit, custom branding, unlimited recording. Business $13.99/month per host, minimum 3 hosts — unlimited room URLs, 200 attendees, shared and Flex rooms, custom subdomain. Whereby is a browser room with a link. It is not Zoom Phone and not a Workspace inbox. Source: https://whereby.com/information/meetings/pricing.

Buy Whereby when you want a permanent room URL in the browser and you are not already paying Workspace or 365 for the same 100-person grid. Do not buy it as a phone system — that is still VoIP.

Official pricing.webex.com/ca/en/ printed Webex Free at CA$0: 40-minute meetings, 100 attendees, local recording. No Canada CA$ paid seat showed up in that retrieve. Check live Webex pricing if a quote is for Starter or Business. Source: https://pricing.webex.com/ca/en/. If a quote is for paid Webex, check the live Canada card.

When Workspace or Microsoft 365 already covers the meeting

• You pay Workspace Business Standard or Plus: Meet recording and a larger participant cap are on that CAD seat. A Zoom Pro licence is a second bill for the same job unless clients refuse Meet links.
• You pay Workspace Starter: you have Meet for 100 people, not recording on that Canada card. Upgrade the suite before you buy a fourth app.
• You pay Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium with Teams: paid Teams meetings and recordings are in the suite. Confirm the live feature matrix.
• You pay a no-Teams Microsoft SKU on purpose: keep Zoom (or Whereby). Do not add Teams Essentials on top of Zoom and the no-Teams seat unless you want two grids.
• Seat math, GST on the suite, and data-region honesty: Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 in Canada.

When you still need a phone line

• Clients dial a 905 or 416 number, not a Zoom link.
• You need 911 / e911 on a registered address. A Meet recording is not that path.
• You want the shop number to ring a laptop and a cell after the personal phone is replaced.
• That comparison is VoIP / business phone systems for Canadian small businesses. RingCentral, Nextiva, Vonage, and Dialpad are not substitutes for the four meeting apps above.

A practical pick

1. Already on Workspace Business Standard or Plus: stay on Meet. Do not buy Zoom for the same recording.
2. Already on Microsoft 365 with Teams: stay on Teams. Same rule.
3. One person, no suite, 20-minute client calls: free personal Meet or Teams Free (60-minute group cap) or Zoom Basic (40 minutes, local recording).
4. Need a recorded walkthrough and you do not want a full suite: Teams Essentials at CAD $5.40/user/month paid yearly on the official en-ca page — confirm the widget — or Whereby Pro at $10.99 USD/month if you want a browser room. Confirm tax.
5. Clients already send Zoom links, or you bought a no-Teams 365 SKU: Zoom. Confirm the live Pro/Business card and GST/HST from the Sold To address.
6. Custom domain plus calendar plus files — not just a meeting link: Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 in Canada.
7. Need the shop phone and 911, not another grid: VoIP / business phone systems for Canadian small businesses.