Google Hangouts (Classic) vs. Google Meet

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Hangouts (Classic)
Score 2.8 out of 10
N/A
The classic version of Google Hangouts included messaging, voice, VoIP, and video call capabilities. It was replaced by the Hangouts Chat collaboration tool, and Google continues to support conferencing via the new Hangouts Meet.N/A
Google Meet
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Google Meet, formerly Hangouts Meet, replaces the former Google Hangouts as the company's G Suite integrated web conferencing tool, allowing users to join meetings directly from a Calendar event or email invite from a computer, phone, or conference room. G Suite's Enterprise edition also creates a dial-in phone number for each meeting, as an additional convenience.
$6
per month
Pricing
Google Hangouts (Classic)Google Meet
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Google Workspace - Business Starter
$6
per month
Google Workspace - Business Standard
$12
per month
Google Workspace - Business Plus
$18
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google Hangouts (Classic)Google Meet
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google Hangouts (Classic)Google Meet
Features
Google Hangouts (Classic)Google Meet
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
5.3
Ratings
40% below category average
Google Meet
-
Ratings
Hosted PBX2.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)7.70 Ratings00 Ratings
User templates5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Call reports9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Directory of employee names3.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
6.8
Ratings
21% below category average
Google Meet
-
Ratings
Answering rules2.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Call recording7.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Call park7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Call screening9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Message alerts8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
7.1
Ratings
11% below category average
Google Meet
-
Ratings
Video conferencing3.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio conferencing9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Video screen sharing7.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Instant messaging9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile apps
Comparison of Mobile apps features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
7.0
Ratings
12% below category average
Google Meet
-
Ratings
Mobile app for iOS6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app for Android8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
-
Ratings
Google Meet
8.6
Ratings
8% above category average
High quality audio00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
High quality video00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Low bandwidth requirements00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Mobile support00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Screen Sharing
Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
-
Ratings
Google Meet
7.8
Ratings
2% below category average
Desktop sharing00 Ratings7.40 Ratings
Whiteboards00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Online Meetings / Events
Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
-
Ratings
Google Meet
7.5
Ratings
10% below category average
Calendar integration00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Meeting initiation00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Integrates with social media00 Ratings6.30 Ratings
Record meetings / events00 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Slideshows00 Ratings7.20 Ratings
Online Events Collaboration
Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
-
Ratings
Google Meet
7.5
Ratings
9% below category average
Live chat00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Audience polling00 Ratings7.70 Ratings
Q&A00 Ratings6.80 Ratings
Online Events Security
Comparison of Online Events Security features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
-
Ratings
Google Meet
8.5
Ratings
5% above category average
User authentication00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions00 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Confidential attendee list00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google Hangouts (Classic)Google Meet
Small Businesses
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Score 7.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
JioMeet
JioMeet
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Score 8.6 out of 10
Webex Meetings
Webex Meetings
Score 8.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google Hangouts (Classic)Google Meet
Likelihood to Recommend
1.0
(0 ratings)
8.6
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.8
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google Hangouts (Classic)Google Meet
Likelihood to Recommend
As previously mentioned, Google Hangouts (Classic) is best suited for ad-hoc, informal communications with external collaborators that would benefit from face-to-face interactions, but don’t require a record of the conversation and don’t necessarily require a high degree of corporate security. For communications of consequence, our corporate toolset is more appropriate, but Google Hangouts (Classic) serves a similar function to FaceTime or Zoom.
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Google Meet was a perfect video conferencing solution for us during our training sessions. The only problems encountered were due to weak signals, which sometimes required us to turn off our video. All features worked very well in tying together a team across four different time zones. I was very impressed with the tool's performance
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Pros
  • Google Hangouts (Classic) is embedded within Gmail's scheduler, so setting up the link is as quick as a click of the button. It's a one-step process.
  • Google Hangouts (Classic) is user-friendly and [has] features to share screens easily.
  • Google Hangouts (Classic) is much easier to use than its competitors.
  • Google Hangouts (Classic) have [a] good connection time and there are few glitches.
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  • First off, the quality of the call is pretty good, especially when all of us are working remotely.
  • We can easily schedule our meeting in Google Calendar.
  • Sending an invitation link is easy.
  • What makes Google Meet stand out from other video conferencing tools is that we can use it for an unlimited time, even if we use the free account.
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Cons
  • I would like to see improved video support, so that saved videos can be sent back and forth via Hangouts more easily, without having to start a separate meet chat
  • More pronounced notifications of messages would be helpful; pop up notifications are good, but once there is one, additional messages do not pop up
  • Custom muting times would be great, so that if I am in a 90 minute Zoom meeting, I can set it for that time; right now, it is 1 hour or 2 hours. Easy to forget.
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  • Meet as it comes doesn't have a great way to handle large meetings.
  • I don't like the way they hide the mute button. It's a disruptive view to mute/unmute.
  • Chat box is the only way to document collaborations within the meeting.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
Google Hangouts Meet is easy to use and easy to access. I've experienced very few technical issues compared to other similar software options. It's a little less formal than Microsoft Teams but makes it easy to access other google items such as google drive and google docs. Meeting in hangout gives you an easy-to-use hub to not only meet for planning or team-building purposes but to easily share information that can help you with your meeting goals.
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Usability
The tool is almost self-implemented. It is likely to be available in every pc or mobile device a user or potential user might have, and all you need to do is adding the company's account and you are done. Once you are setted up, you have almost all actual communication methods available in one tool
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Google Meet is very easy and simple to use. I can schedule a meeting right on my calendar - it literally takes a few seconds. There is no additional app I have to open to schedule anything. Guests can click on the link easily to join any meetings. 10/10!
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Support Rating
Google Hangouts works great and does not require a lot of work to troubleshoot. Everything is simple and easy to use. Google provides all of the tools that one requires to utilize Google Hangouts and any information can be found in the built-in help tools. There is also a forum for users to report issues and typically, Google responds well and will try to work out any issues.
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Google does a great job of providing tech support for this product, as it does many others. Similarly, Google has FAQs that cover a large amount of issues faced by users. Problems have not persisted in our use of this product. Problems are resolved quickly and easily, with or without personal Google support.
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Alternatives Considered
For its time, Google Hangouts (Classic) was a fantastic product and matched up well with all of its successors. Now however, with it having been phased on within Workspace for Education, I would not advise any new users use the product. Google Chat, combined with Google Meet, have superseded Hangouts (Classic) and should be used by default due to their close knit integration with Gmail.
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The main positive feature in Google Meet over Zoom to me is the fact that Google meet can be seamlessly deployed in the browser with its full functionality. Unlike Zoom for which you need to download an extra application to use. This consequently makes workflow smooth when transitioning between something like emails and taking part in a meeting.
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Return on Investment
  • I believe it was part of the google suite that was purchased. It was worth the cost as it was cheaper. I believe it is now free, but also becoming deprecated. It is much better to use Teams, Discord, Telegram, etc. Google does not provide enough support or features to make using hangouts worth it these days.
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  • Negative: on each webinar someone from our team had to write manually the people that were participating and after that matching it with the registered people list. We wasted time. It could be easily resolved by adding the export list feature
  • Positive: Collaboration and internal meetings. Calendar integration helps us save time.
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ScreenShots