Whereby
Browser-based video meetings with no downloads, plus an embeddable video API.
why this verdict
Downgrade — pay for the workflow, not the AI
Google Meet and LiveKit cover the headline feature free, so the $7/mo is now paying for the workflow around it.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- Google Meet and Zoom offering free browser meetings with AI notes included. Google, April 30, 2025 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers headline only editorial call
- The headline feature, but not the workflow, data or integrations around it.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 2 of 3 listed replacements have a usable free tier: Google Meet and LiveKit.
- What the call is worth $84/yr
- $7/mo at the entry paid tier — $84 a year per seat.
- Threatened by
- Since
- April 30, 2025
- List price
- $7/mo
- Per year
- $84
The backstory
Whereby made joining a call a matter of opening a link, with no application and no account, which was genuinely differentiated when the alternative was installing a client. Browser meetings are now standard everywhere and free, with AI summaries attached. Whereby's more durable business is the embedded API, selling video infrastructure to other products, which puts it in a different and more competitive market against Daily and LiveKit rather than against Zoom.
Escape hatches
switching could free up $84/yrFree browser meetings with AI notes
meet.google.com open_in_newStronger developer API for embedded video
daily.co open_in_newOpen-source realtime video infrastructure
livekit.io open_in_new2 of 3 replacements have a usable free tier.