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Google Hangouts vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti 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
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Polycom RealPresence Clariti
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
5
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 Polycom RealPresence Clariti is 1.7%, up from 1.6% 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…
Sreejith Thulasidas - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides video calling facilities with good video and audio clarity
Polycom RealPresence Clariti is very bad when moving towards the cloud. I think that Microsoft Teams and Zoom have already taken over the market. Polycom is currently looking into more end devices than server components and infrastructure. A cloud version would have been better, but that will not be feasible for Polycom now. It would have been helpful to have a cloud version during the migration stages, but now the time has gone. As a company, it's better for Polycom to look into the video conferencing devices rather than the infrastructure. Earlier, one of the advantages was that the infrastructure was very much open, and it was easy to integrate the tool with other platforms like Cisco. That is not the scenario now, and Polycom should concentrate on the endpoint hardware devices.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability to share a screen during a meeting is one of the most valuable features. You can also be directly connected on the computer and on the phone with the same account. It is flexible."
"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."
"I appreciated having the basic features like screen sharing and camera options."
"We use transcriptions to document meetings, which is important for productivity."
"It's good for conferencing with others."
"Google Meet has excellent audio quality, good images, and a robust set of features."
"The most valuable feature of Google Hangouts for me is content sharing."
"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."
"It's on-prem, which is great."
"It does a good job of integrating with other software."
"Some proprietary Polycom features include speaker tracking, acoustic fencing, noise cancellation, active noise cancellation, and noise cancellation AI."
"I find the ability to follow the calls, the call flow, the ability to look at the history, and more on the fault-finding tools to be valuable."
"The most valuable feature is its integration with solutions like Zoom and Teams for endpoints. The picture quality is high, and the conference sessions are stable."
 

Cons

"Maybe they should offer more security features."
"I would like for the platform to have a call recording feature in the free version."
"Google Hangouts could work on making the service better for slow connections."
"Google Meet could be more secure."
"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."
"It is not as stable. They can improve its stability."
"In the next release, I would like to see call recording made available."
"The solution could integrate more automation into the product."
"The only issue we have is with some of the bridging stuff, particularly with respect to DTMF and outgoing calls."
"The customer needs this platform to be a little bit more customized."
"The most valuable feature is its integration with solutions like Zoom and Teams for endpoints. The picture quality is high, and the conference sessions are stable."
"Could have a wider range of use cases."
"Polycom RealPresence Clariti is very bad when moving towards the cloud."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The screen-sharing feature is the most valuable feature."
"This solution is available for free with the opening of a Google account."
"I use the free version of the solution."
"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."
"We are using the free version of Google Hangouts."
"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 no license cost."
"We access the solution through Google Workspace. It is inexpensive to use."
"Polycom RealPresence Clariti is definitely more expensive than others in the market because of its high quality."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
87%
Computer Software Company
3%
Manufacturing Company
2%
Performing Arts
1%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What needs improvement with Polycom RealPresence Clariti?
They are discontinuing the product and they are moving over to Pexip. The only issue we have is with some of the bridging stuff, particularly with respect to DTMF and outgoing calls. That's our big...
What is your primary use case for Polycom RealPresence Clariti?
We use it both nationally and internationally with our partners, however, it's used in a closed environment.
What advice do you have for others considering Polycom RealPresence Clariti?
I would recommend it, however, it depends on the environment. We have a lot of users but not a lot of usage, so the price model is really good for that environment. Overall, I would give it a nine ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
RealPresence Clariti, Clariti
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Baptist Health Corbin, North Carolina Central University
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Hangouts vs. Polycom RealPresence Clariti and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.