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Cisco Meeting Server vs Google Hangouts comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Meeting Server
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Google Hangouts
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Cisco Meeting Server is 7.9%, up from 7.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Hangouts is 0.4%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed Elrayes - PeerSpot reviewer
A scalable tool useful to hold conferences and video meetings
I use Cisco Meeting Server for conferences and video meetings, which are crucial for my company The share screen option available during conferences is one of the best features of Cisco Meeting Server. In Cisco Meeting Server, GUI is an area of concern where improvements are required. In the…
ANIS QURESHI - PeerSpot reviewer
Quick and seamless meeting setup offers a smooth experience
I sometimes use Google Hangouts for my personal meetings only I find that Google Hangouts is very quick and easy to create a meeting, which is its biggest benefit. It doesn't have a 40-minute limitation unlike Zoom. It is easy to set up as well, taking just a couple of minutes. So far, I think…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"What I like most about Cisco Meeting Server is its quick management. The solution also has a straightforward configuration."
"The share screen option available during conferences is one of the best features of Cisco Meeting Server."
"Cisco Meeting Server is an easy and less complex solution."
"The UI is user-friendly and very good overall."
"You can use the Cisco Meeting Server to set up conference calls and virtual meetings. Those are the two primary functions of Meeting Server. Most people in the company are using Microsoft Teams, so we only use Meeting Server when we have an internal meeting for all staff."
"It's integration with Google is the valuable feature."
"The most valuable features are the chat features and the video conferencing features that enable more than two or three people to be connected at a time."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its ability to allow the sharing of screens and the way it allows a user to take control of another system."
"The facility is always online and very easy to share the screen using the solution."
"The ease of navigation is good, as we can easily share data and screens."
"It's very easy to use."
"Google Hangouts is very quick and easy to use, and the quality is very good."
 

Cons

"Cisco Meeting Server should include a feature to control another user's screen during a remote session."
"In Cisco Meeting Server, GUI is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"A few features are missing on the Meetings app, like a recording function. My understanding is that you need to buy a separate recording solution. It's modular, so you have to enable some functions if you want to use them. For example, we had to enable the Mood function. Recording is the primary feature we'd like to see in the app."
"What would make Cisco Meeting Server better is integrating it with Zoom and Teams so that you can connect or make a call through any of the two third-party solutions."
"This is a difficult solution to install and it should be made easier."
"The way it works with anonymous users should be improved. That could be strengthened to let anonymous users do more."
"I would like to have a whiteboard feature, where I can draw a sketch or diagram and show it to the people in the meeting."
"The improvement needs to be done as per customer requirements."
"Google will not have two identical chat platforms. Google Chat is always a winner because it is compatible with my device."
"The only issue with the solution is that we can't split the video of participants into separate screens, which can make it difficult to manage the cameras of participants."
"Sending documents and other things is not an option."
"They should increase the platform's session time beyond an hour."
"There is no delete option for messages which could be an added feature in a future release."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, Cisco Meeting Server is a product that falls in a mid-range category."
"Cisco Meeting Server has reasonable licensing costs."
"Licensing fees are billed yearly."
"I think there is a need for payment for licensing, but as students, we didn't have to pay for it when we were using it. Our professors were the ones paying for it since they needed to record the sessions."
"We are a small team and a small organization such as ours just uses the free version of Google, so there's no cost associated with Google Hangouts at the moment."
"I believe my company has a yearly license for Google Hangouts, but I'm not sure because this is a corporate account, so I don't have the details."
"There is a need to make certain payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product and some other tools that are included in the suite offered by Google. Google Hangouts alone as a product is available for free."
"I don't need to buy Google Hangouts separately because it comes free with Google Workspace, and it is also available for my personal Gmail ID."
"Google Hangouts has reasonable pricing, but I don't use the paid version because I only have a small budget, though you get more features from the paid version."
"I use the free version of the solution."
"We access the solution through Google Workspace. It is inexpensive to use."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
26%
Government
14%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
97%
Computer Software Company
1%
Financial Services Firm
0%
Retailer
0%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Meeting Server?
Cisco Meeting Server is an easy and less complex solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Meeting Server?
Price-wise, Cisco Meeting Server is a product that falls in a mid-range category.
What needs improvement with Cisco Meeting Server?
Cisco Meeting Server should include a feature to control another user's screen during a remote session.
What do you like most about Google Hangouts?
It's integration with Google is the valuable feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Hangouts?
I can't comment on the pricing as I have no idea about it.
What needs improvement with Google Hangouts?
The filtering is good. That said, sometimes, due to system restrictions, I can't use blur effects or other filters. The chat feature could be improved to allow tagging users for notifications.
 

Also Known As

Acano
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Starz
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meeting Server vs. Google Hangouts and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
846,617 professionals have used our research since 2012.