Google Hangouts vs Zoom comparison

Zoom and Google Hangouts are competitors in the video conferencing market, each offering unique features. Zoom appears to have an advantage with its extensive features and user-friendliness, especially for large meetings and integrations with various platforms.

Features: Zoom offers breakout rooms, advanced recording options, and integration with multiple platforms, plus support for large meetings. It is known for its simplicity and stability, making scheduling and hosting easy. Google Hangouts integrates seamlessly with the Google Suite, providing convenience directly from Gmail and Google Calendar. It performs well on mobile and provides basic video and chat functionalities but lacks some advanced interactive features like dedicated breakout sessions.

Room for Improvement: Zoom users suggest improvements in security, file-sharing capabilities, and background customization. There are also calls for more intuitive screen-sharing and better privacy controls. Google Hangouts needs enhancements in collaboration features, better integration for file sharing, improved performance over slow connections, and support for non-Google account users. It could also benefit from features like live polling and enhanced participant management for large meetings.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Zoom and Google Hangouts are cloud-based, providing flexibility and easy access. Zoom users find the product intuitive and rarely need assistance, though some report challenges with obtaining support when needed. Google Hangouts benefits from integration within the Google ecosystem, offering positive support experiences but sometimes inconsistent localization and needing more robust technical support.

Pricing and ROI: Zoom's free version has a 40-minute group meeting limit, with tiered pricing for more features, delivering good ROI by reducing travel costs. Google Hangouts, as part of the Google Workspace, can often be accessed for free or bundled, appealing to small teams or those already using Google services. However, Hangouts has faced criticism for recent price increases, affecting its cost-effectiveness. Both options provide value in enhancing communication, with varying costs dependent on user needs and organizational size.