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GoToWebinar vs Google Hangouts comparison

Google and GoTo are both solutions in the Virtual Meetings category. Google is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4, while GoTo is ranked #24. Google holds a 0.4% mindshare in VM, compared to GoTo’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of GoTo users who would recommend it.
Google Hangouts
Read 56 Google Hangouts reviews
  • 1,698 Views
  • 75 Comparison Views
93% willing to recommend
GoToWebinar
Read 8 GoToWebinar reviews
  • 253 Views
  • 165 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

GoToWebinar and Google Hangouts compete in virtual meetings and webinars, each offering distinct strengths. GoToWebinar is superior for large-scale webinars with professional features, while Google Hangouts shines with its seamless integration in the Google Workspace ecosystem.

Features: GoToWebinar offers detailed analytics, audience engagement tools, and custom branding options, ideal for professional webinar hosting. Google Hangouts provides seamless integration with Google Workspace, simple video conferencing, and chat functionality, appealing to users needing easy communication within the Google ecosystem.

Room for Improvement: GoToWebinar could improve in areas like simplifying setup, enhancing user interface design, and reducing costs for smaller businesses. Google Hangouts may enhance features like advanced analytics, professional branding options, and scalability for larger webinar events.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GoToWebinar requires more setup but delivers dedicated support and comprehensive service for professional use. Google Hangouts offers straightforward deployment integrated into Google Workspace, providing ease of access and familiar usage, with basic support available.

Pricing and ROI: GoToWebinar typically involves higher setup costs with subscriptions by attendee capacity, offering strong ROI for businesses focusing on specialized webinars. Google Hangouts offers a cost-effective solution within Google Workspace, requiring less upfront investment and providing higher ROI for businesses leveraging Google tools.

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To learn more, read our detailed GoToWebinar vs. Google Hangouts Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
GoToWebinar vs. Google Hangouts
April 2025
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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
GoToWebinar
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
24th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
8
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 GoToWebinar is 2.0%, up from 1.9% 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…
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RITA Conroy-Martin - PeerSpot reviewer
Video library is a great tool and it enables good customization; feels a little antiquated and rusty
I like that recordings are available immediately, it's a great feature. I also appreciate being able to use the video library as a tool, and the integration of an API with other systems we have. We were able to build our own customer portal and then integrate into GoToWebinar with a seamless interface. People thought they were on our platform, but they were using GoToWebinar. Those are unique features that seemed to be very easy for our development team to integrate. I like that aspect of it. It also provides good visibility if somebody had seen a webinar that was useful. It's very easy to push them out. Registration is an easy process as is customization on the back end. We very rarely had technical issues running the webinars so it's a pretty robust platform overall.
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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I find that Google Hangouts is very quick and easy to create a meeting, which is its biggest benefit."
"We use Google Hangouts to chat and exchange some quick information."
"Google Hangouts is easy to use and intuitive."
"We use transcriptions to document meetings, which is important for productivity."
"It is very easy to use and is available as soon as you open a Google account."
"Google Hangouts is easy to use and has good performance."
"Very good voice and video calling options."
"The most valuable feature of Google Hangouts for me is content sharing."
More Google Hangouts pros
"We were able to build our own customer portal and integrate into GoToWebinar with a seamless interface."
"The interface is browser-based and simple, which is an advantage over other solutions."
"This solution is very reliable. It is easy to switch between audio and microphone when using headphones."
"All of their features are good. They are more or less equivalent to the competition. There's less disturbance, less jitter, the voice is always good even at a low bandwidth."
"I can extract the activity and the attendance reports, along with every single question that was asked during the webinar, which is a feature that we highly value."
 

Cons

"Google Meet should extend the time limit for a meeting from five minutes to at least thirty-five minutes."
"There is no recording feature in Google Meet. However, Zoom has the recording feature and we use it for any calls that require recording."
"Not a ten because there's room for improvement. Sometimes there is disconnectivity."
"We purchased a videoconference system called Zoom. We want to see if Google Hangouts has the ability to integrate our Zoom device to use it with Hangouts and meet directly."
"Google Hangouts could improve by allowing someone to record a meeting without the need to have a company email. You cannot record with a Gmail account."
"The solution could integrate more automation into the product."
"I would like to see more focus on features for interacting with the participants in a group chat, such as screen sharing."
"It would be better to have a feature for recording the meetings in Google Hangouts."
More Google Hangouts cons
"The platform feels old and a little rusty, more could be invested into the look and feel of it."
"GoToWebinar would be improved with the inclusion of support for video endpoints."
"The chat window and using polls is easier in Zoom than compared to GoToWebinar. Make it simpler and easier to publish polls on the fly would improve the solution."
"The sharing of cameras is limited to meeting organizers."
"Some of my friends also use GoToWebinar to collect clients for affiliate marketing. In those cases, they found some features were missing with respect to some of the competition. And the worst part is the price."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is an annual subscription to use this solution."
"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."
"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."
"We pay an annual license to use the solution."
"We access the solution through Google Workspace. It is inexpensive to use."
"There is no license cost."
"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."
More Google Hangouts pricing and cost advice
"It is a monthly subscription and the price is quite expensive if you're not paying annually."
"This is a free solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
97%
Computer Software Company
1%
Financial Services Firm
1%
University
0%
No data available
 

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.
See all answers
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.
See all answers
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.
See all answers
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Comparisons

No data available
Microsoft Teams vs GoToWebinar Logo
Microsoft Teams vs GoToWebinar
Compared 53% of the time
Webex vs GoToWebinar Logo
Webex vs GoToWebinar
Compared 47% of the time
More GoToWebinar Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Google Hangouts
April 2025
Google Hangouts reportDownload Google Hangouts product report
Buyer's Guide
GoToWebinar
April 2025
GoToWebinar reportDownload GoToWebinar product report
 

Overview

Hangouts Chat makes it easy for teams to be able to get their work done in one place. From direct messages to group conversations, Chat helps teams collaborate easily and efficiently.

Google
Web conferencing SaaS for larger webinars
GoTo
 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Avigilon Corporation, Bitdefender, British Library's Business & IP Centre, Business Wire, Clarity, Colt, Conversion Rate Experts, Cornerstone Home Lending Inc., DemandGen, DPR Construction
Buyer's Guide
GoToWebinar vs. Google Hangouts
April 2025
Free Report: GoToWebinar vs. Google Hangouts
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We monitor all Virtual Meetings reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.