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GoToMeeting 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

Google Hangouts
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
GoToMeeting
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Google Hangouts is 0.4%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GoToMeeting is 3.6%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

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…
Jacky Hood - PeerSpot reviewer
A straightforward setup with good stability and decent pricing
The new version crashes my ISP. I don't like the new version. I hope they continue to support the Classic version. I didn't like the fact that LogMeIn tried to make their new version look like Zoom. The feature in the Classic version includes a little panel for GoToMeeting to be off to the side, and it doesn't interfere with your browser. It is much better. All these companies, including the new version of GoToMeeting, have a useless bunch of controls at the top that blocks the tabs of your browser. This makes it so that you can't jump around from tab to tab when you're showing your screen. Those controls are so tiny. Yesterday I was on a session on one of the products (not GTM), and it had shrunk it down to one inch by one inch. It was so small that I couldn't find the tab to make it bigger. That's a big issue. In this attempt to look like Zoom, GTM has gone to the extent where the controls are a little skinny line above your browser. That's not good. The controls need to be highly visible, and contrast so they are easy to read and find. It would be nice if they would have a whiteboard where everybody in the meeting can draw or write on it. We use Google Docs for that purpose, but Google Docs doesn't really allow you to draw. When I was running a different college system, the college system had a whiteboard. All the students and the teachers could all write on the whiteboard with their fingers, as I recall. It'd be nice if they would have something similar available in the future.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Google Meet is a clear and simple solution."
"Google Hangouts is user-friendly. It supports low internet bandwidth."
"Communication platform that's effective in project planning, project status communication, and virtual meetings. Setting it up is straightforward."
"It is easy to use, and we don't need to make a lot of configurations."
"I appreciated having the basic features like screen sharing and camera options."
"The solution's stability is the most valuable feature."
"Google Hangouts is an excellent tool."
"When you get a meeting invitation, it's very easy to just join and go."
"We can record meetings and share the screen with participants."
"Even for somebody who does not have a lot of experience, they can easily use it."
"The most important feature for me was the iPhone app."
"It was just chosen because somebody at the company said, "We need a meeting thing. Hey, go find a meeting thing." It wasn't me, but somebody else in the organization was like, "Alright, let's use GoToMeeting. It's free.""
"It's cost-effective."
"GoToMeeting's security is very good. I've never known anybody to crash a GoToMeeting."
"The key advantage of GoToMeeting is the ability to use it without installing anything."
"Screenshare is the most valuable feature as well as the number of meeting participants possible in a meeting. It also has good quality."
 

Cons

"In the next release, I would like to see call recording made available."
"You only get 60 minutes of video conferencing."
"The user interface is an area with shortcomings and needs improvement."
"Google Meet could be more secure."
"The only issue with the solution is that we can't split the video of participants into separate screens, which can make it difficult to manage the cameras of participants."
"There could be more precise instructions for beginners using the solution."
"The algorithm should be improved to automatically deal with poor connections in a better way."
"It would be great if this solution could be added to smart TVs. We would also like the ability to broadcast to a YouTube channel when having a meeting or session using this solution."
"The sound quality is good but the video quality needs improvement."
"The newer user interface takes a bit longer to get used to."
"GoToMeeting breaks down a lot. We're not sure if it's breaking down, but we start getting very erratic community channels. I don't know if it's because of GoToMeeting or if we're not buying enough bandwidth. Maybe it is just the infrastructure that it's running on. I'm not quite sure."
"The tool needs to have a virtual room where users can pass through. It also needs to integrate a real-time translator."
"In the next release, I would for it to incorporate files more efficiently from one computer to another when we covert things and send them out. I'm not sure if it's capable of that."
"Lacks ease of connectivity, calendar integrations, and third-party app integrations."
"I would like to see better support for mobile devices."
"Poor error recovery, too sensitive to transmission errors. Needs better codecs and more robust system software that can handle network glitches."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no license cost."
"There is an annual subscription to use this solution."
"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."
"We are using the free version of Google Hangouts."
"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 use the free version of the solution."
"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."
"Negotiate for discounts."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
97%
Computer Software Company
1%
Financial Services Firm
1%
University
0%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
17%
Real Estate/Law Firm
14%
Educational Organization
14%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
I can't comment on the pricing as I have no idea about it.
What needs improvement with Google Hangouts?
So far, I think it's going well. I haven't found anything that I feel should be added.
What do you like most about GoToMeeting?
Reduced the need for physically commuting between offices.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GoToMeeting?
This is not an expensive solution, we pay around $5,000AUD maximum per year. There are other fees for data carriage, PABX fees, and the like but they would apply to any similar product.
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...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

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 GoToMeeting vs. Google Hangouts and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.