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Google Hangouts [EOL] vs Zoom Workplace Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 27, 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

Google Hangouts [EOL]
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zoom Workplace Business
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
226
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (1st)
 

Featured Reviews

Mariana-Piñeres - PeerSpot reviewer
Recording and transcription enhance global client meetings
Google Hangouts sometimes consumes significant resources. When comparing it to WhatsApp on desktop for calls, there are instances when Google Hangouts freezes or stops working, but switching to WhatsApp runs smoothly. This might be related to the resources Google Hangouts requires. The service occasionally experiences lag issues where the image gets frozen or the voice transmission becomes interrupted. When these issues occur, possibly due to internet connectivity or other factors, WhatsApp continues to function properly while Google Hangouts does not perform well.
Luiz Kazan - PeerSpot reviewer
Utilizing versatile features for efficient personal and work meetings
Zoom offers a number of interesting and valuable features. One of the most interesting is the ability to share only audio and provide ambient music without sharing a screen. The breakout room feature is much more developed than other solutions, allowing users to stay in the same meeting and move to different rooms and back to the main room. The sharing features are great for projecting people who should be in focus. Another valuable feature is the virtual entrance, which uses a username and password recognized by the Zoom system, showing the person's full name and ID. Additionally, the use of video and a good fixed background improves visibility compared to other applications. These features differentiate Zoom from others.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Google Hangouts is the ability to record the classes that I'm not able to attend. I can use the class recording to view whatever I missed later."
"The technical support team for Google Hangouts has been pretty responsive and could solve whatever challenges arise, within a day or two."
"The product is stable."
"The ability to share a screen during a meeting is one of the most valuable features. You can also be directly connected on the computer and on the phone with the same account. It is flexible."
"Google Hangouts is easy to use and has good performance."
"We use transcriptions to document meetings, which is important for productivity."
"The solution is easy to use and navigate."
"When you get a meeting invitation, it's very easy to just join and go."
"The most valuable feature is the remote desktop because sometimes we have to intervene and control the client's infrastructure."
"The stability has been good overall."
"Zoom is scalable, it can handle meetings with lots of delegates."
"There are many valuables features of Zoom. The visibility is very good. The ability to see everyone that is talking and the indication spotlight of who the primary speaker is helpful. The solution is interactive, the participants are able to raise their hand, comment, give gestures, such as thumbs up or down."
"Zoom helps you to share your screen and allows someone to take remote control during Zoom meetings. Compared with other platforms like Teams and Webex, it's on par."
"The most valuable feature is the sharing capabilities. Whether it's a simple screen for PowerPoint or sharing videos, it works really well."
"The Mozilla extension is useful to schedule meetings."
"The solution is easy to set up."
 

Cons

"It would be ideal if they could include in the offering a virtual whiteboard for users when they are running meetings."
"The user interface is an area with shortcomings and needs improvement."
"Google Hangouts could work on making the service better for slow connections."
"Support could be a bit faster."
"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."
"They should increase the platform's session time beyond an hour."
"Google Hangouts has breakout rooms now, but not as extensive as Zoom, so that's one area for improvement. I mentioned that I like the Google Hangouts captioning feature, but that could be improved. For example, importing Filipino-English captions here in the Philippines would be great."
"The scalability has room for improvement."
"Sometimes the free version is limited to forty-five minutes. For students, it would be beneficial to have access through the university for longer meetings."
"Nothing extraordinary about this application, as its main use is for connecting with people on the other side of the cloud, but other users could find other Zoom features valuable."
"The performance could be better."
"Zoom could improve by being more user-friendly."
"Sometimes when I try to share my screen in a conference room, I have to click the share button more than once. This happens around fifty percent of the time."
"The free version of Zoom could be improved and offer more functionality. We would also like to have whiteboard and drawing functionality."
"One thing I do wish was that there was more visibility. Sometimes I have to click into a reply-all to find out who is in the meeting and whether they've accepted or not."
"Zoom could improve by having more dashboards."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"This solution is available for free with the opening of a Google account."
"I use the free version of the solution."
"We access the solution through Google Workspace. It is inexpensive to use."
"The screen-sharing feature is the most valuable feature."
"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 pay $6 per user per month for Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Hangouts."
"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."
"Zoom is licensed as a subscription model and it is available on a monthly or yearly basis."
"We pay a yearly licensing fee for Zoom, which is expensive in our part of the world."
"We purchased a license for Zoom."
"We have an annual subscription to the solution. The price could be reduced."
"I am using the free version of the solution. However, it has a time limit of 45 minutes for meetings. We do not have meetings longer than 45 minutes, it is fine for us."
"The cost for Zoom is reasonable."
"There is a free version of Zoom which allows you a certain limited amount of time usage and there is a corporate version of the solution where you have to pay."
"We generally have a strict budget so the pricing for Zoom is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Performing Arts
14%
University
11%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business97
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise101
 

Questions from the Community

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?
Google Hangouts comes as a package, so it's difficult to say or comment on the price of this particular product.
What needs improvement with Google Hangouts?
Sometimes when we have a call and need to share audio or play a video, we find it challenging to switch from sharing the complete desktop to only a particular Chrome tab, as it doesn't support audi...
LucidChart vs LucidSpark for brainstorming sessions over Zoom
Hi @Krista Thompson ​ - Yes, LucidSpark is a much more nimble and, in some ways, user-friendly tool than LucidChart. LucidSpark is designed to do a better job managing multiple users participating ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoom?
Zoom offers a free version for up to forty minutes.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Fortinet, Veeva, Proofpoint, Box, Ticketmaster, Trend Micro, Caesars Entertainment, Santa Clara University, Pandora, Stanford Continuing Studies
Find out what your peers are saying about Zoom Video Communications, Cisco, Microsoft and others in Virtual Meetings. Updated: October 2025.
869,785 professionals have used our research since 2012.