Google Hangouts enables communication between peers.
Senior Cloud Architect and Team Lead at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Stable solution that enables communication between peers and has a good history feature, but it's not as feature-rich as the competition
Pros and Cons
- "Stable communication tool with a good history feature and very easy installation."
- "Google Hangouts is not as feature-rich as Slack. Adding more features to this solution would make it better."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I like that Google Hangouts has better history features now.
What needs improvement?
Google Hangouts is not as feature-rich as Slack, but it's sufficient.
I'd like to see more features in this tool in the next release. What they need to do is add more features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Google Hangouts for a few years.
Buyer's Guide
Google Hangouts
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Google Hangouts. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Google Hangouts is a stable product. I haven't seen any problems with its stability, so for me, it's stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's hard for me to say if Google Hangouts is scalable, but if we're talking about scalability in terms of users, it allows many, many users.
How was the initial setup?
Installing Google Hangouts was very easy. It comes with the package, e.g. this product comes out-of-the-box to a large extent.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I was able to evaluate Slack and Flowdock.
What other advice do I have?
I have some experience with Zoom, but not so much. We mainly use Google Hangouts, Google Meet, and Slack.
We have several thousand users of Google Hangouts in the company, and we'll probably increase usage for it.
I've never contacted technical support for this product, e.g. currently we have no issues with it.
I'm not recommending Google Hangouts to others. I'm recommending Slack instead.
I'm unsure, but we're probably paying yearly for Google Hangouts.
I'm rating Google Hangouts a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Google
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network Administrator at Lahore Garrison university
video conferencing features enable more than two or three people to be connected at a time but it should have meeting reminders
Pros and Cons
- "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."
- "There should be more space for multiple users at a time so that multiple people can connect, can share, and even transfer control to another colleague, employer, student, etc."
What is most valuable?
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.
What needs improvement?
There should be more space for multiple users at a time so that multiple people can connect, can share, and even transfer control to another colleague, employer, student, etc.
Another feature I want to add is a meeting date to schedule meetings or if I want a meeting after two days, I would like to have a reminder and a note.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Google Hangouts for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The current version is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. We have around 1,500 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
We don't use technical support. We are multiple users and we have more features than other colleagues.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also use Zoom. Zoom has more control options than Google Hangouts because a presenter can give control to another colleague or student. If anyone wants to ask any question, they can raise their hand to ask a question, can send a message or can ask the presenter to give them control, or they can annotate at a certain time. They have more features. We can also send voice messages with Zoom.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate it a six out of ten. The security is already there but there should be more ability to share features. The other feature they should include is Zoom control; if one colleague wants to give control to another, there can be two, three or four sharing their presentations.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Google Hangouts
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Google Hangouts. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Technical Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Reliable group meetings with automatic focus on the speaker
Pros and Cons
- "The group chat is a very good feature, where you can see all of the participants on cameras."
- "I would like to see more focus on features for interacting with the participants in a group chat, such as screen sharing."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Google Hangouts for video meetings and group chat sessions.
How has it helped my organization?
All of our employees are using this solution and it allows them to easily catch up and keep in touch with each other.
What is most valuable?
What I like best is that once a person starts speaking, you will see immediately who it is.
The group chat is a very good feature, where you can see all of the participants on cameras.
Online sessions are reliable and there are almost no glitches.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see more focus on features for interacting with the participants in a group chat, such as screen sharing. This would be great.
Having an option for participants to ask questions, like a "raise hand" feature, would be helpful because as it is now, they have to send a message and I have to watch for it. The message might be private for me or sent to the entire group but either way, I have to watch the list of participants all of the time for these messages.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Google Hangouts for more than six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The reliability is very good because there are almost no glitches.
It is more stable than other products.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have 130 employees in the company and all of us use Google Hangouts. However, I have only used it for sessions with 12 participants. With this number of people, it was fine.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not been in contact with Google's technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have been working extensively with products like Google Hangouts, Zoom, and Webex to finish various projects. I find that Google Hangouts is more reliable than Zoom. On the other hand, Webex has more features available for interacting with the participants.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are using the free version of Google Hangouts.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Google
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network & Security Administrator at a logistics company with 501-1,000 employees
Has good integration with Google
Pros and Cons
- "It's integration with Google is the valuable feature."
- "The improvement needs to be done as per customer requirements."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is being used for video calls.
What is most valuable?
Its integration with Google is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
The improvement needs to be done as per customer requirements.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Google Hangouts for six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I moved from Zoom to Google because I have a Google account.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Software Affiliate at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Stable communication tool used for social networking and video calling
Pros and Cons
- "This is a stable solution."
- "There is no delete option for messages which could be an added feature in a future release."
What is our primary use case?
I use this solution personally for social networking and video calling.
What needs improvement?
There is no delete option for messages which could be an added feature in a future release.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this solution for over 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable solution.
How was the initial setup?
This solution is included in Google Suite and no separate installation is needed.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to other users. I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Business Development Manager at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Easy to use, and you're in the system with just a click
Pros and Cons
- "Its ease of use is most valuable. It is just a click, and you're in the system."
- "It is not as stable. They can improve its stability."
What is most valuable?
Its ease of use is most valuable. It is just a click, and you're in the system.
What needs improvement?
It is not as stable. They can improve its stability.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for probably a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is not as stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have issues when we have multiple users. That's why we use Zoom. If we got a big meeting, we use Zoom.
How are customer service and support?
We have our own support team that manages it, so I let them worry about it.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use Google Meets for internal meetings, but we use Zoom for client-facing meetings.
I've used Microsoft teams. It used to be Skype, and now, it is probably Microsoft Teams.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise others to know the purpose of the tool. I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Product Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Video conferencing that is of good quality and is easy to use, but scheduling meetings is not part of the package
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features are that you don't have to create a separate account, it's easy to use, and you don't have to enter an ID or password to start video conferencing."
- "Google Hangouts restricts you to those with a Gmail account."
What is our primary use case?
The primary use cases of this solution are virtual meetings with colleagues and video conferencing with friends.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are that you don't have to create a separate account, it's easy to use, and you don't have to enter an ID or password to start video conferencing. This is because it is already in your Google account.
What needs improvement?
Connectivity and voice clarity is good. If I had to rate it out of ten, I would give it an eight. However, there were times when I used Google Hangouts on my phone and the voice quality was bad.
The back button functionality needs to be improved. When you hit the back button, you get out of the meeting. What should happen if you are in a meeting and you press the back button is that you would still be in the meeting but you would be able to see the other available features of your phone or use other apps. With Zoom, you are able to do those things.
They don't have a way to schedule a meeting as you with other solutions. If you compare it to Zoom, in that product you can schedule a meeting and send a link to others. The option it provides is to start a meeting then to invite or add. If you don't know their Gmail address then you can't invite them to join.
Google Hangouts restricts you to those with a Gmail account.
It's not easy to share. If you are with Zoom there is not share or deny, you send a link and they will be able to join you. It's made to be simple.
Once Google Hangouts is launched you are able to start meetings. Your contacts are all listed but only Google Hangouts contacts are available. If someone does not have Google Hangouts then there is no way to invite them to the meetings.
The UI is good, but the transaction needs improvement. The flow from jumping from one screen to another is a bit complicated.
For how long have I used the solution?
I used Google Hangouts for approximately two months.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have never contacted technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I stopped using Google Hangouts about a month ago. I now use Zoom or Google Meet for video conferencing. Google Hangouts is complicated and there are many solutions on the market that are more simplified, which is the reason I stopped using it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It's easy and fast. Depending on your internet speed, it only takes a few minutes.
What other advice do I have?
I would not recommend this solution. They have Google Meets, which does the same as Google Hangouts and it has more features. I would advise them to use Google Meets instead.
I would rate this solution a six out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Google
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Executive at Divine IT Limited
Excellent voice and video clarity without time lag issues
Pros and Cons
- "Very good voice and video calling options."
- "Sending documents and other things is not an option."
What is our primary use case?
We use Google Hangouts as our major mode of communication. I'm a senior executive and we're a user of the solution.
What is most valuable?
I like the voice and video calling options because I feel that Google Hangouts has more voice clarity and video clarity than Skype most of the time. It may even be better than Zoom which sometimes lags and tends to crash quite often.
What needs improvement?
I'm not completely happy with the message options in Hangouts because for now it's only possible to send pictures, which is unfortunate because I would also like to be able to send documents and other things. I also think that because we've all become very used to using WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, I think they could also include a reply option.
I sometimes find that the topic that I want to speak to a particular person about, or the topic that we spoke about gets lost among all the words. A reply button would enable me to physically save certain information.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Google Hangouts for a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution. I'm enjoying using it. It's all part of Google, so I'm seldom disappointed.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I believe scalability is excellent. They should continue the way they have been and maybe developing some of the features mentioned earlier but scalability is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Like most people, we also use WhatsApp. We've become used to using it for personal and professional purposes. We have lots of groups in our company and among our colleagues where we use WhatsApp for a specific department or specific project. We use both, but I believe Google Hangouts is the perfect place for professionals to come together and work. It's a perfect collaboration space.
What other advice do I have?
I would give this solution a perfect score if they could tweak some of the issues they have such as the messaging. Other than that, I think it's a great product.
For now, I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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