How to Make a Google Meet: 4 Methods That Take Under a Minute

This is an independent guide. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Google LLC.

Your team standup starts in two minutes. You open your laptop, pull up your email, and realize nobody created a meeting link. Everyone's waiting. You could text the group chat and ask someone else to set it up, or you could make a Google Meet yourself in about 15 seconds.

Google Meet is one of the most widely used video calling tools available, and creating a meeting is straightforward once you know where to look. The catch? There are four different ways to start a Google Meet, and each one works best in different situations.

This guide walks you through how to make a Google Meet using meet.google.com, Gmail, Google Calendar, and the mobile app. You'll also learn how to create and share meeting links, generate meeting codes, and set up recurring meetings that your team can join every week.

How to Make a Google Meet from meet.google.com

This is the fastest method. If you need a meeting right now, this is where to go. You don't need to open Gmail or your calendar. Just head straight to the Meet website.

Picture this: Jenna from HR needs to run a quick interview with a candidate in five minutes. She opens meet.google.com, clicks "Create a meeting for later," copies the link, and pastes it into the confirmation email. Done before her coffee gets cold.

This method also works well if you want to create a Google Meet link in advance without scheduling a calendar event.

How to Make a Google Meet from Google Calendar

Scheduling through Google Calendar is the best approach when you're planning a meeting in advance. The calendar event automatically includes the Google Meet link, so every invitee gets it without extra steps.

For recurring meetings like weekly standups or monthly all-hands, set the event to repeat. The same Google Meet link carries over to every occurrence, so your team can bookmark it once and join every week.

Need your sessions to be more interactive than a standard video grid? Check out our guide on engaging online meetings for practical tips.

How to Make a Google Meet from Gmail

If you spend most of your day in Gmail, you can start or schedule a Google Meet without leaving your inbox.

1. Open Gmail on your computer
2. Look at the left sidebar and find the "Meet" section (below "Chat")
3. Click "New meeting" to generate an instant meeting link
4. Click "Copy" to grab the link, then paste it into an email, message, or calendar event

You can also click "Join a meeting" in the same sidebar and enter an existing meeting code.

The Gmail integration is handy when you're already replying to an email thread and realize a quick call would be faster than another round of messages. David from product design does this regularly. He'll reply to a feedback thread with "Let's hop on a call" and paste a fresh Google Meet link right into the email body.

How to Make a Google Meet on Your Phone

The Google Meet mobile app works on both Android and iOS. You can start instant calls, schedule meetings, and share links right from your phone.

The mobile app also lets you join meetings by entering a meeting code. This is useful when someone sends you just the code (the part after meet.google.com/) instead of the full link.

For more ways to connect your team, explore our list of virtual team building activities that work with any video platform.

How to Create and Share a Google Meet Link

Every Google Meet has a unique link that looks like meet.google.com/abc-defg-hij. This link is your meeting's address. Anyone with the link can request to join (external participants need approval from someone already in the call).

Here are the ways to generate a Google Meet link:

• meet.google.com > "New meeting" > "Create a meeting for later"
• Google Calendar > Create event > "Add Google Meet video conferencing"
• Gmail sidebar > "New meeting" > Copy the link
• Google Meet app > "New meeting" > "Get a meeting link"

The 10-character code after meet.google.com/ is your meeting code. You can share just the code if that's easier. Participants enter it on the Google Meet homepage or in the app under "Join with a code."

Making a permanent meeting link: If you schedule a recurring event in Google Calendar with Google Meet attached, the link stays the same for every occurrence. This works well for weekly syncs, office hours, or any standing meeting.

Important: Google Meet links created from "Create a meeting for later" don't expire immediately, but they do become inactive after a period of non-use. For links that stay active long-term, the calendar recurring event method is more reliable.

Google Meet Free vs. Paid: What You Get

Google Meet is free with any Google account, but paid Google Workspace plans unlock additional features. Here's a quick comparison:

Google Meet (Free):

• Up to 100 participants
• 60-minute limit for calls with 3 or more people
• 24-hour limit for 1-on-1 calls
• Screen sharing, captions, and backgrounds included
• No meeting recording

Google Workspace Business Starter:

• Up to 100 participants
• 24-hour meeting limit for 1:1 calls
• Custom business email domain
• Noise cancellation
• No meeting recording, breakout rooms, or polls

Google Workspace Business Standard and higher:

• Up to 150 participants (Standard) or 500 (Plus/Enterprise)
• 24-hour meeting limit for all call sizes
• Meeting recording with transcripts (saved to Google Drive)
• Breakout rooms, polls, and Q&A
• Attendance tracking

For current pricing details, check the Google Workspace pricing page.

If you're on the free plan and your group calls keep getting cut off at 60 minutes, the simplest workaround is to end the call and start a new one. Not elegant, but it works.

For teams wanting something different from the standard video call format, Flat.social offers a spatial meeting experience where participants move around a virtual room and talk to whoever is nearby. It's a different approach to the same problem: getting people together online.

Google, Google Meet, Google Calendar, Gmail, and Google Workspace are trademarks of Google LLC. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google LLC.