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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
6th
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
57
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Cisco Meeting Server is 7.1%, down from 7.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Hangouts is 0.5%, down from 0.8% 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

"The share screen option available during conferences is one of the best features of Cisco Meeting Server."
"What I like most about Cisco Meeting Server is its quick management. The solution also has a straightforward configuration."
"The UI is user-friendly and very good overall."
"Cisco Meeting Server is an easy and less complex solution."
"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."
"Stable communication tool with a good history feature and very easy installation."
"The technical support team for Google Hangouts has been pretty responsive and could solve whatever challenges arise, within a day or two."
"It has efficient recording features."
"The installation part of the product is easy since one generally needs to use a browser to use the product."
"Google Hangouts is very quick and easy to use, and the quality is very good."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten...Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten based on the number of users we have."
"It's good for conferencing with others."
"It's integration with Google is the valuable feature."
 

Cons

"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."
"In Cisco Meeting Server, GUI is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Cisco Meeting Server should include a feature to control another user's screen during a remote session."
"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 product was quite unstable during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when we shared our screens, as it often resulted in a black screen."
"The algorithm should be improved to automatically deal with poor connections in a better way."
"We don’t have any complaints."
"Not a ten because there's room for improvement. Sometimes there is disconnectivity."
"The platform's screen-sharing feature and the participant panel could be improved."
"I would like to see support for showing virtual backgrounds."
"The solution can improve by having more integration with different platforms."
"Google will not have two identical chat platforms. Google Chat is always a winner because it is compatible with my device."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing fees are billed yearly."
"Price-wise, Cisco Meeting Server is a product that falls in a mid-range category."
"Cisco Meeting Server has reasonable licensing costs."
"We are using the free version of Google Hangouts."
"For individual use, there's no license requirement as such. For storage or some other purposes, if I go beyond 15 GB, then I need to buy something."
"The screen-sharing feature is the most valuable feature."
"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."
"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."
"We pay an annual license to use the solution."
"This solution is available for free with the opening of a Google account."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Virtual Meetings solutions are best for your needs.
857,585 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
23%
Government
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
94%
Computer Software Company
2%
Manufacturing Company
1%
Financial Services Firm
1%
 

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 needs improvement with Google Hangouts?
One improvement could be integration with Google Calendar to help find available timeslots when scheduling meetings with many participants.
 

Also Known As

Acano
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Starz
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Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meeting Server vs. Google Hangouts and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,585 professionals have used our research since 2012.