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GoToWebinar vs Google Hangouts comparison

Google and GoTo are both solutions in the Virtual Meetings category. Google is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3, while GoTo is ranked #22. Google holds a 0.6% mindshare in VM, compared to GoTo’s 2.1% 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 57 Google Hangouts reviews
  • 703 Views
  • 703 Comparison Views
93% willing to recommend
GoToWebinar
Read 8 GoToWebinar reviews
  • 262 Views
  • 262 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: July 2025).
Buyer's Guide
GoToWebinar vs. Google Hangouts
July 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
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
GoToWebinar
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
22nd
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 July 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Google Hangouts is 0.6%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GoToWebinar is 2.1%, up from 1.7% 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 it valuable that Google Hangouts is a lightweight tool that doesn't take up a lot of memory and doesn't require a lot of resources."
"Google Meet is a clear and simple solution."
"This is a stable solution."
"Google Hangouts is easy to use and intuitive."
"The technical support team for Google Hangouts has been pretty responsive and could solve whatever challenges arise, within a day or two."
"The most valuable features are the chat features and the video conferencing features that enable more than two or three people to be connected at a time."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of Google Hangouts for me is content sharing."
More Google Hangouts pros
"This solution is very reliable. It is easy to switch between audio and microphone when using headphones."
"The interface is browser-based and simple, which is an advantage over other solutions."
"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."
"We were able to build our own customer portal and integrate into GoToWebinar with a seamless interface."
"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

"The product was quite unstable during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when we shared our screens, as it often resulted in a black screen."
"It would be ideal if they could include in the offering a virtual whiteboard for users when they are running meetings."
"There is no recording feature in Google Meet. However, Zoom has the recording feature and we use it for any calls that require recording."
"They should increase the platform's session time beyond an hour."
"The design could be a little bit better."
"The user interface is an area with shortcomings and needs improvement."
"Google will not have two identical chat platforms. Google Chat is always a winner because it is compatible with my device."
"Google Hangouts is not good enough to be used in a professional environment or for some official work, especially when compared to a product like Microsoft Teams."
More Google Hangouts cons
"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."
"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 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."
 

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

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
71%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Performing Arts
3%
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 think the price is okay for us.
See all answers
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.
See all answers
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Comparisons

No data available
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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Google Hangouts
July 2025
Google Hangouts reportDownload Google Hangouts product report
Buyer's Guide
GoToWebinar
July 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
July 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.