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GoToMeeting vs Google Hangouts [EOL] 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
GoToMeeting
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (8th)
 

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.
Steve Abshire - PeerSpot reviewer
It features low latency, which is crucial because everybody is using VPN to connect to their PCs at work.
Using GoToMeeting in a meeting-sized conference room is kind of a letdown. The camera is supposed to track the speaker and focus on that person so that they can be on the screen. That feature rarely worked. We tested it thoroughly, so maybe it was an issue with the size of the conference room. It may not be suitable for large conference rooms.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Google Hangouts is easy to use and intuitive."
"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."
"Communication platform that's effective in project planning, project status communication, and virtual meetings. Setting it up is straightforward."
"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."
"This is a stable solution."
"The most valuable feature of Google Hangouts is its popularity. A lot of people use Google. Since the solution is from Google and many of us use Google solutions regularly, it is easy to use."
"Stable communication tool with a good history feature and very easy installation."
"I think the simplicity of the whole thing is its valuable feature."
"I think all the features are very useful, especially the rooms features and we present with screen sharing. Instead of organizing conferences, we are able to do that online. This has been saving us from spending on travel. From the beginning of this year, because of GoToMeeting, I have canceled I think three or four business trips."
"Ease of setup and login by attendees. Facilitates sharing visually, and not just via audio."
"We don't have any link issues whether you use it to browser, or use it as a client. It worked perfectly fine for us."
"It's cost-effective."
"With GoToMeeting, I like that it works well for seminars and similar events. Finding a platform where multiple people can share their images, split the screen with content, and manage presentations smoothly is uncommon. It allows the presenter to handle questions, answers, and other opinions."
"We like that this solution allows us to assign separate numbers to people without having to have a physical telephone system in place."
"It works, it's reliable."
"I like GoToMeeting because it is lighter than other solutions, such as Webex."
 

Cons

"One improvement could be integration with Google Calendar to help find available timeslots when scheduling meetings with many participants."
"The stability of Google Hangouts has had some issues, such as video call delays. The stability could improve."
"I would like for the platform to have a call recording feature in the free version."
"You only get 60 minutes of video conferencing."
"We don’t have any complaints."
"The scalability has room for improvement."
"Google Meet could be more secure."
"The stability of Google Hangouts could still be improved. How virtual backgrounds are handled also needs improvement."
"The solution could scale a bit easier if you need to add more people to meetings."
"Sometimes we'll run into issues where firewall rules aren't set correctly and won't work."
"It is not so stable."
"Poor error recovery, too sensitive to transmission errors. Needs better codecs and more robust system software that can handle network glitches."
"The product itself doesn't stand out against other options on the market."
"The tool needs to have a virtual room where users can pass through. It also needs to integrate a real-time translator."
"The sound quality is good but the video quality needs improvement."
"The solution could always be more secure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"We are using the free version of Google Hangouts."
"We access the solution through Google Workspace. It is inexpensive to use."
"I pay $6 per user per month for Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Hangouts."
"We pay an annual license to use the solution."
"Negotiate for discounts."
"GoToMeeting is a little bit expensive compared to other products."
"It is a little expensive although now, with the competition from Zoom and other products, they have lowered their prices and it is better."
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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 Business17
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
 

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...
What needs improvement with GoToMeeting?
The solution must include archive options to save the recorded meetings for future reference. The recording functionality can benefit our team by improving how meetings are recorded and shared. Pre...
What is your primary use case for GoToMeeting?
I use the solution when someone is comfortable using it, and I recommend using it.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
AAPT, ACD Groupe, Addison Fire, Avigilon Corporation, Basic Industries Ltd., Bitdefender, Branson School Online, Budd Van Lines, Business Fitness, Business Wire
Find out what your peers are saying about Zoom Video Communications, Cisco, Microsoft and others in Virtual Meetings. Updated: August 2025.
867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.