Google Hangouts (Classic) vs. Phone.com

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
Phone.com
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Phone.com is a cloud based VoIP solution from the company of the same name in Newark, New Jersey, with video conferencing, business phone, and optional premium features (e.g. live receptionist). The company boasts 30,000 businesses as users of its cloud-based communication and collaboration solutions.
$4.99
per month, per device
Pricing
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
IP Phone Connection
$4.99
per month, per device
Phone Numbers
$4.99
per month
Call Recording
$7.99
per month
Basic Users
$12.99
per user, per month
Plus Users
$19.99
per user, per month
Pro Users
$29.99
per user, per month
Lice Receptionist
Starting at $90
per month
Global Phone Numbers
Starting at $4.99
per month
International Dialing
Vary Rates
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details20% discount with annual billing. Mix and match user plans to create a custom plan appropriate for the business.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Features
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
5.3
Ratings
40% below category average
Phone.com
10.0
Ratings
23% above category average
Hosted PBX2.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)7.70 Ratings10.00 Ratings
User templates5.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Call reports9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Directory of employee names3.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
6.8
Ratings
21% below category average
Phone.com
10.0
Ratings
18% above category average
Answering rules2.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Call recording7.90 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Call park7.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Call screening9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Message alerts8.00 Ratings10.00 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
Phone.com
10.0
Ratings
23% above category average
Video conferencing3.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio conferencing9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Video screen sharing7.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Instant messaging9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Mobile apps
Comparison of Mobile apps features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
7.0
Ratings
12% below category average
Phone.com
10.0
Ratings
23% above category average
Mobile app for iOS6.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Mobile app for Android8.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Small Businesses
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Score 8.6 out of 10
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Likelihood to Recommend
1.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
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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Phone.com is a no-brainer. The cost savings over a POTS or in-house PBX system are tremendous. The affordability added on top of the easy to use and deploy features make Phone.com the best choice. Phone.com is well-suited for situations where you need other-than-standard call holding, call routing, and other similar advanced call features.
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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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  • Provisioning phones throughout an organization
  • Compartmentalization is easy with different incoming call ques, routes and rules
  • Phone.com is available and generally functional from anywhere you have access to an internet connection
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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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  • Phone.com has been excellent with support and I can not think of any areas for improvement with regards to that
  • Phone.com could provide more graphical assistance when programming call routing. A visual indication of the flow of a call should be presented and would come in handy when planning out difficult ques/call routes
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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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No answers on this topic
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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No answers on this topic
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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No answers on this topic
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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  • Reduced cost and improved our efficiency - all reps love it.
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ScreenShots

Phone.com Screenshots

Screenshot of Phone.com Dashboard