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Google Hangouts vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti comparison

Google and Poly are both solutions in the Virtual Meetings category. Google is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4, while Poly is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.5. Google holds a 0.4% mindshare in VM, compared to Poly’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Poly users who would recommend it.
Google Hangouts
Read 56 Google Hangouts reviews
  • 1,698 Views
  • 75 Comparison Views
93% willing to recommend
Polycom RealPresence Clariti
Read 5 Polycom RealPresence Clariti reviews
  • 222 Views
  • 119 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

Polycom RealPresence Clariti and Google Hangouts compete in the video conferencing market. Google Hangouts has an edge in ease of use and accessibility, whereas Polycom RealPresence Clariti excels in integration capabilities for enterprises.

Features: Polycom RealPresence Clariti offers comprehensive interoperability, high-quality conference sessions, and strong integration with other software like Zoom and Teams. Google Hangouts provides seamless integration with Google Suite, reliable screen sharing, and user-friendly chat features.

Room for Improvement: Polycom RealPresence Clariti could improve its initial setup complexity, reduce costs for smaller businesses, and enhance user interface simplicity. Google Hangouts may benefit from stronger technical support options, enhanced security features, and distinct differentiators to stand out from similar tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Polycom RealPresence Clariti offers complex deployment options suited for enterprises along with professional customer service for technical assistance. Google Hangouts features quick, cloud-based deployment with simplicity in use, albeit with less technical support compared to Polycom.

Pricing and ROI: Polycom RealPresence Clariti has significant setup costs due to tailored solutions but can yield substantial ROI through advanced features. Google Hangouts follows a budget-friendly subscription model, ensuring immediate ROI with minimal investment, ideal for smaller organizations.

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To learn more, read our detailed Google Hangouts vs. Polycom RealPresence Clariti Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Google Hangouts vs. Polycom RealPresence Clariti
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
Polycom RealPresence Clariti
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
12th
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 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 Polycom RealPresence Clariti is 1.4%, up from 1.4% 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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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.
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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

"Google Hangouts is an excellent tool."
"The technical support team for Google Hangouts has been pretty responsive and could solve whatever challenges arise, within a day or two."
"The solution is extremely stable."
"I find the sound quality of Google Meet a valuable feature. You can join Google Meet with just your phone. You only need the link of the meeting to join."
"It's good for conferencing with others."
"This is a stable solution."
"The most valuable feature of Google Hangouts is there are no predefined or meeting durations. For example, Zoom meetings have a set duration, typically ranging from thirty minutes to an hour, whereas Google Meet meetings can continue indefinitely. Additionally, it is effortless to generate a meeting, whether it is a live session or for future use, and distribute your link to others, making these aspects appealing to me."
"The video call feature is the most valuable."
More Google Hangouts pros
"It's on-prem, which is great."
"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."
"Some proprietary Polycom features include speaker tracking, acoustic fencing, noise cancellation, active noise cancellation, and noise cancellation AI."
"It does a good job of integrating with other software."
"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."
 

Cons

"Sometimes, due to system restrictions, I can't use blur effects or other filters."
"The scalability has room for improvement."
"There could be more precise instructions for beginners using the solution."
"The product was quite unstable during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when we shared our screens, as it often resulted in a black screen."
"I would like to see more focus on features for interacting with the participants in a group chat, such as screen sharing."
"Collaboration in Google Hangouts has room for improvement compared to Microsoft Teams. On Microsoft Teams, you can share a document directly and work on that document all at once, in real-time, with other team members, which isn't the case with Google Hangouts."
"Google Hangouts has breakout rooms now, but not as extensive as Zoom, so that's one area for improvement. I mentioned that I like the Google Hangouts captioning feature, but that could be improved. For example, importing Filipino-English captions here in the Philippines would be great."
"The stability of Google Hangouts has had some issues, such as video call delays. The stability could improve."
More Google Hangouts cons
"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."
"The only issue we have is with some of the bridging stuff, particularly with respect to DTMF and outgoing calls."
"Polycom RealPresence Clariti is very bad when moving towards the cloud."
"The customer needs this platform to be a little bit more customized."
"Could have a wider range of use cases."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"This solution is available for free with the opening of a Google account."
"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."
"The screen-sharing feature is the most valuable feature."
"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 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."
More Google Hangouts pricing and cost advice
"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
97%
Computer Software Company
1%
Financial Services Firm
1%
University
0%
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.
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
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...
See all answers
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.
See all answers
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 ...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

No data available
Cisco TelePresence vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti Logo
Cisco TelePresence vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti
Compared 58% of the time
Cisco Meeting Server vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti Logo
Cisco Meeting Server vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti
Compared 42% of the time
More Polycom RealPresence Clariti Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Google Hangouts
April 2025
Google Hangouts reportDownload Google Hangouts product report
Buyer's Guide
Virtual Meetings
April 2025
Polycom RealPresence Clariti reportDownload Polycom RealPresence Clariti product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
RealPresence Clariti, Clariti
 

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

RealPresence Clariti is simple, powerful, cloud-ready collaboration infrastructure software for businesses of all sizes that connects people with HD voice, video, content and web collaboration.

Poly
 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Baptist Health Corbin, North Carolina Central University
Buyer's Guide
Google Hangouts vs. Polycom RealPresence Clariti
April 2025
Free Report: Google Hangouts vs. Polycom RealPresence Clariti
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