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Google Hangouts [EOL] vs Zoom Workplace Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 27, 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 [EOL]
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zoom Workplace Business
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
226
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (1st)
 

Featured Reviews

Mariana-Piñeres - PeerSpot reviewer
Recording and transcription enhance global client meetings
Google Hangouts sometimes consumes significant resources. When comparing it to WhatsApp on desktop for calls, there are instances when Google Hangouts freezes or stops working, but switching to WhatsApp runs smoothly. This might be related to the resources Google Hangouts requires. The service occasionally experiences lag issues where the image gets frozen or the voice transmission becomes interrupted. When these issues occur, possibly due to internet connectivity or other factors, WhatsApp continues to function properly while Google Hangouts does not perform well.
Luiz Kazan - PeerSpot reviewer
Utilizing versatile features for efficient personal and work meetings
Zoom offers a number of interesting and valuable features. One of the most interesting is the ability to share only audio and provide ambient music without sharing a screen. The breakout room feature is much more developed than other solutions, allowing users to stay in the same meeting and move to different rooms and back to the main room. The sharing features are great for projecting people who should be in focus. Another valuable feature is the virtual entrance, which uses a username and password recognized by the Zoom system, showing the person's full name and ID. Additionally, the use of video and a good fixed background improves visibility compared to other applications. These features differentiate Zoom from others.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ease of navigation is good, as we can easily share data and screens."
"The solution's stability is the most valuable feature."
"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."
"The initial setup process is straightforward."
"It's very easy to use."
"Stable communication tool with a good history feature and very easy installation."
"Google Hangouts is very quick and easy to use, and the quality is very good."
"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."
"It meets all of our basic requirements. It's easy to use."
"I don't have any issues with the scalability of Zoom."
"Zoom is pretty safe and secure."
"I have been satisfied with the features and capability of Zoom."
"Primarily during the period of problematic travel, the solution enabled us to connect with customers, clients and even colleagues and to share our thoughts, ideas and information."
"The most valuable feature is the screen recording."
"There is no installation, you can give someone a link to the chat and they can access the chat through the link."
"The product's most valuable features are chat and video streaming."
 

Cons

"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."
"One improvement could be integration with Google Calendar to help find available timeslots when scheduling meetings with many participants."
"The only issue with the solution is that we can't split the video of participants into separate screens, which can make it difficult to manage the cameras of participants."
"One area where I see room for improvement in Google Hangout is the voice quality during meetings."
"Google Hangouts is not as feature-rich as Slack. Adding more features to this solution would make it better."
"As someone who is not very familiar with technology, I find it acceptable. I prefer to wait and see what they will come up with in the future. However, I notice that they keep introducing new features that are better than the previous ones."
"I would like for the platform to have a call recording feature in the free version."
"The algorithm should be improved to automatically deal with poor connections in a better way."
"There were some security issues early on, however, they have fixed the problem, and now it is fine."
"In some cases, I am not able to have a special background during the conversation. It could be because my device is not powerful enough, but I am not able to share a properly designed background. I am having problems setting up my virtual background. It is very easy to set up a virtual background during the conversation with Microsoft Teams, and that's why I like Microsoft Teams, but with Zoom, I find it difficult. I am not able to set up my virtual background very easily. They can look into this area and then see how to improve it."
"The tool could be more user-friendly, especially for finding options to present screens."
"The solution’s stability could be improved."
"It would be useful, for my purposes, to be able to run a meeting like a webinar where the solution doesn't show all of the people on the actual call. It would be great if it had the flexibility to allow people to "hide" themselves from the meeting, or to give the person running the meeting the capability of choosing who could be seen, or not."
"The video quality of the free version might not be as good as the enterprise edition."
"Nothing extraordinary about this application, as its main use is for connecting with people on the other side of the cloud, but other users could find other Zoom features valuable."
"Zoom can improve the user-friendliness of the management when you are doing a webinar."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay an annual license to use the solution."
"We access the solution through Google Workspace. It is inexpensive to use."
"I use the free version of the solution."
"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 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 pay $6 per user per month for Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Hangouts."
"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."
"We are using the free version of Google Hangouts."
"The cost of Zoom is approximately $150 USD annually."
"We are on an annual license for the solution. The price of the solution could be less expensive."
"I am making yearly payments. So, I am paying 250 USD a year."
"We are using the free version of Zoom."
"The price of Zoom is a bit expensive."
"There is a licensing fee and although the price is fair, it can be a little cheaper."
"We have an annual subscription to the solution. The price could be reduced."
"We are using the free version of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Performing Arts
14%
University
11%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business97
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise101
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Hangouts?
It's integration with Google is the valuable feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Hangouts?
Google Hangouts comes as a package, so it's difficult to say or comment on the price of this particular product.
What needs improvement with Google Hangouts?
Sometimes when we have a call and need to share audio or play a video, we find it challenging to switch from sharing the complete desktop to only a particular Chrome tab, as it doesn't support audi...
LucidChart vs LucidSpark for brainstorming sessions over Zoom
Hi @Krista Thompson ​ - Yes, LucidSpark is a much more nimble and, in some ways, user-friendly tool than LucidChart. LucidSpark is designed to do a better job managing multiple users participating ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoom?
Zoom offers a free version for up to forty minutes.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Fortinet, Veeva, Proofpoint, Box, Ticketmaster, Trend Micro, Caesars Entertainment, Santa Clara University, Pandora, Stanford Continuing Studies
Find out what your peers are saying about Zoom Video Communications, Cisco, Microsoft and others in Virtual Meetings. Updated: October 2025.
869,883 professionals have used our research since 2012.