Google Hangouts vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti comparison

Google and Poly are both solutions in the Virtual Meetings category. Google is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.2, while Poly is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.5. Google holds a 0.6% mindshare in VM, compared to Poly’s 1.6% 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 58 Google Hangouts reviews

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362 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Polycom RealPresence Clariti

Read 5 Polycom RealPresence Clariti reviews

233 Views
233 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Google Hangouts

Polycom RealPresence Clariti

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.

To learn more, read our detailed Google Hangouts vs. Polycom RealPresence Clariti Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Google Hangouts vs. Polycom RealPresence Clariti

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

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Polycom RealPresence Clariti

Ranking in Virtual Meetings

10th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Google Hangouts is 0.6%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Polycom RealPresence Clariti is 1.6%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Virtual Meetings

Featured Reviews

ANIS QURESHI

Senior Specialist- IT Systems Management at GAL

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

Senior Engineer - UC - Service and Solutions Deployment at FVC

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

"It is very easy to use and is available as soon as you open a Google account."

"The initial setup is very easy."

"Google Hangouts is user-friendly. It supports low internet bandwidth."

"The most valuable feature has been the ability to present presentations during meetings."

"When you get a meeting invitation, it's very easy to just join and go."

"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 installation part of the product is easy since one generally needs to use a browser to use the product."

"It's integration with Google is the valuable feature."

More Google Hangouts pros

"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."

"It's on-prem, which is great."

"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."

"Some proprietary Polycom features include speaker tracking, acoustic fencing, noise cancellation, active noise cancellation, and noise cancellation AI."

Cons

"Support could be a bit faster."

"Sending documents and other things is not an option."

"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 can be improved by integrating other tools."

"Google Meet could be more secure."

"Google Hangouts is not as feature-rich as Slack. Adding more features to this solution would make it better."

"I would like for the platform to have a call recording feature in the free version."

"I think the version that I'm using doesn't allow recording. I guess it's more of a licensing issue than anything else, and it needs to be improved."

More Google Hangouts cons

"The customer needs this platform to be a little bit more customized."

"The only issue we have is with some of the bridging stuff, particularly with respect to DTMF and outgoing calls."

"Could have a wider range of use cases."

"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."

"Polycom RealPresence Clariti is very bad when moving towards the cloud."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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."

"We access the solution through Google Workspace. It is inexpensive to use."

"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."

"I believe my company has a yearly license for Google Hangouts, but I'm not sure because this is a corporate account, so I don't have the details."

"I use the free version of the solution."

"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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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 think the price is okay for us.

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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

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...

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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.

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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 ...

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Comparisons

Zoom Workplace Business vs Google Hangouts

Compared 100% of the time

More Google Hangouts Competitors

Cisco Meeting Server vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti

Compared 57% of the time

Cisco TelePresence vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti

Compared 43% of the time

More Polycom RealPresence Clariti Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Google Hangouts

August 2025

Download Google Hangouts product report

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

July 2025

Download 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

July 2025

Free Report: Google Hangouts vs. Polycom RealPresence Clariti

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