Google Chat vs. Google Drive

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Chat
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Google Chat, formerly Hangouts Chat, is a collaboration tool competing with Slack, designed to make 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, and with dedicated, virtual rooms to house projects over time — plus threaded conversations — Chat helps users track progress and follow up tasks. Chat currently supports 28 languages and each room can support up to 8,000 members.N/A
Google Drive
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Google Drive is a cloud file storage, synchronization, and collaboration platform and service, that features Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for document editing and presentation.
$6
per month
Pricing
Google ChatGoogle Drive
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Basic
$6.00
per month
Business
$12.00
per month
Enterprise
Contact Vendor for Quote
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google ChatGoogle Drive
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiscounts are available for students, educators, and non profit organizations.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google ChatGoogle Drive
Considered Both Products
Google Chat
Chose Google Chat
Slack has a few more features than Google Chat. Slack, for a long time, had thread chats that grouped a thread of thoughts together, making the main chat group space a lot less cluttered. A while back, Google Chat implemented a similar thing in a different but similar way, …
Chose Google Chat
Google Chat is very user friendly and I think it is using low level memory or ram we can say of system. Means it loads quickly, not taking too much time that other tools
Chose Google Chat
Switched from Telegram to Google chat as it is more professional and it's integration with other google app is excellent
Chose Google Chat
Google Hangouts is the better app for saving chats. With Slack, you'll need to buy a premium license and if your team reaches more than 20 members then things can get expensive. Slack may be cheaper initially but as soon as somebody adds new employees or contractors they will …
Chose Google Chat
Prior to Google Hangouts, our company used Spark. Spark was not integrated into our email, therefore it couldn't be easily accessed in the same browser. With Spark we also couldn't search our emails for keywords in a conversation, searching had to be done manually. The one …
Google Drive
Chose Google Drive
Google Drive is the best in all aspects. It is affordable, secure, offers better features and most importantly, it enhances collaboration.
Features
Google ChatGoogle Drive
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
8.3
26 Ratings
7% above category average
Google Drive
-
Ratings
Task Management8.014 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts8.39 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling8.716 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation7.512 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access9.225 Ratings00 Ratings
Search9.123 Ratings00 Ratings
Visual planning tools7.513 Ratings00 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
8.9
26 Ratings
11% above category average
Google Drive
-
Ratings
Chat9.826 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications9.426 Ratings00 Ratings
Discussions8.724 Ratings00 Ratings
Surveys9.117 Ratings00 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase9.015 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting8.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts8.215 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook9.06 Ratings00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
8.7
26 Ratings
9% above category average
Google Drive
8.1
219 Ratings
3% below category average
Versioning8.817 Ratings8.4193 Ratings
Video files7.723 Ratings7.4188 Ratings
Audio files8.022 Ratings8.0182 Ratings
Document collaboration8.521 Ratings8.8216 Ratings
Access control9.318 Ratings7.8214 Ratings
Advanced security features9.519 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive8.115 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync9.624 Ratings8.9204 Ratings
File search00 Ratings7.5218 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
-
Ratings
Google Drive
8.3
213 Ratings
4% below category average
User and role management00 Ratings8.7200 Ratings
File organization00 Ratings7.6211 Ratings
Device management00 Ratings8.799 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
-
Ratings
Google Drive
8.7
212 Ratings
1% above category average
Performance00 Ratings8.9210 Ratings
Reliability00 Ratings8.8212 Ratings
Storage Reports00 Ratings8.587 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google ChatGoogle Drive
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 4.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.8 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.6 out of 10
Enterprises
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 9.0 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google ChatGoogle Drive
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(26 ratings)
8.6
(218 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(2 ratings)
10.0
(6 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(9 ratings)
8.5
(49 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(7 ratings)
Support Rating
7.3
(3 ratings)
1.7
(49 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google ChatGoogle Drive
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
It is a easy and quick way to chat and send instant message using the Google account, even send files, emojis, create groups. I have used it to communicate even with external people with a personal gmail account and is great to stay in touch with all around. I recommend it for anyone who wants to stay communicated using a google account.
Read full review
Google
It is possible to share files and folders with up to 200 email addresses, as well as with persons outside the company.Use the drop-down arrow to select who may see, comment on, or change the file or folder before sending out an invitation.I am very much impressed with this feature
Read full review
Pros
Google
  • When discussing about a specific project, I can quickly share google docs or sheets within the chat which helps my team to view the document in real time and they do not have to leave the conversation.
  • Scheduling a meeting with someone is very easy on Google Chat.
  • We have remote team members in different time zones and instead of waiting for emails we use Google Chat to quickly discuss anything.
Read full review
Google
  • Any user with access can store a file using different platforms like Android, IOS, Windows, or Ubuntu (Desktop version)
  • You can share files with any number of different users with different access rights or you can even keep it public by providing the access link and assign different rights for public access
  • You can open Excel/Word files using google software Sheets/Docs in the browser environment without having to install software like Microsoft Office etc on your Windows OS
Read full review
Cons
Google
  • Google Hangouts Chat has a room for improvement in customizing the themes background.The themes are outdated and hard to change if you don't know the right key to change it.
  • It could be more user friendly if there will be no hidden features. Formatting messages is very likely to use and fun.
  • With conversations going on about everything all the time, it's easy to get pulled into far too many discussions but sometimes its hard to mention names because it shows many result even the users are not included on the chat room.
Read full review
Google
  • Having a little bit more control and clarity over what is shared and how it is shared would be a useful improvement.
  • Could be more robust and flexible as far as assigning restrictions.
  • Google Sheets could be enhanced because Excel really is not there yet as a product with equal capabilities as there are still quite a few limitations to the functionality.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Google
The updates, support, general reviews on Google Chat are great everywhere. The development of the features is ongoing and this adds a great value to Google as a big company in the market. Other applications are limiting communication while Google Chat is allowing communication to grow. It is very easy to use it and teach others how to use Google Chat.
Read full review
Google
It's perfect for me. It keeps things saved and is easy to remove items if needed. Also, I very much enjoy the formatting options. Along with the integrations it has for SSO. Overall, this is the most user friendly system I have ever come across.
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Usability
Google
As stated from the starting we found this application is well suited for a small audience and a group of people across the organization can be communicated easily with no additional hectic of doing any setup. When you have a Gmail account ready then you can easily access google chat and continue the communication. This tool is simple,secure and robust helping the global leading partner for their internal precise communication and handling the tasks in a great way
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Google
It's easy enough to use for computer users of all ages and skill levels. I am an advanced user, and I think the hardest part might be showing someone how to download and set up the app on their device if they weren't too familiar with computers, but overall it is very easy to understand.
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Reliability and Availability
Google
No answers on this topic
Google
Always available
Read full review
Performance
Google
No answers on this topic
Google
The documents load fairly quickly and also update in real time, especially given the fact that multiple people can be using it at once. The "Offline" feature works great to allow the user to make edits and access the document without access to the internet, and then sync changes later once they're back.
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Support Rating
Google
I have not needed to contact the support folks for Google Hangouts Chat, so I can't speak to this with any accuracy. The online instructions are fairly clearly written, so it is fairly intuitive to start with. I did not feel the need to use the support people anyway.
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Google
It takes a few days for customer support to get back to you. Although, I have not had to use support too often. Once you get an email back, they are very thorough and work hard to fix the problem quickly. It is a really great resource and a great way to get the help you need if you're stuck. A phone call also works quickly but you have to call during specific times.
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In-Person Training
Google
No answers on this topic
Google
The effective google workspace using training that my organization received and was conducted by me (as a team lead of the ICT team) was mind-blowing and as a result, our staff is performing well in terms of using the application for their daily jobs than before. Now, in my institution, all teachers and all the administrative personnel are very much interested in cloud storage facilities, in previous my institution was afraid of losing all important documents in the cloud storage. But, after having received the training they are now realized that if anyone has only one google account then he or she can use 15GB of cloud storage freely and they are now happy because now it is not necessary for anyone to carry the traditional pen drive.
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Implementation Rating
Google
No answers on this topic
Google
It's an extremely easy software to implement, once you sign up for a google account you automatically have access to google drive with a set amount of storage space. The business or Google Suite accounts have more storage space than a regular free account, but setting up and accessing google drive is very easy in both cases
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Google
Slack has a few more features than Google Chat. Slack, for a long time, had thread chats that grouped a thread of thoughts together, making the main chat group space a lot less cluttered. A while back, Google Chat implemented a similar thing in a different but similar way, making the group less crowded. They are catching up.
Read full review
Google
In short, Google Drive is better for independent users who store a normal amount of stuff. OneDrive makes more sense for businesses and teams that are doing heavy-duty storage or large-scale syncing. Realistically, though, most users will fall somewhere in between the two, where either platform would meet their needs.
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Scalability
Google
No answers on this topic
Google
I have always been able to access
Read full review
Return on Investment
Google
  • In my work it allows us to report troubles that may cost loss of investment thru Google Hangouts Chat we were able to communicate on how to fix it.
  • I hope we can make it on our own choice of colors to heightened workers vibe
  • It is connected to your email
Read full review
Google
  • It has given our operation remote capabilities
  • Easier to access and understand client's need through collaborative enviroment
  • availability to digital resources fast and easy
  • saved our operation hundreds of dollars in physical storage (both investment and maintenance)
  • our operation became easier for new staff to get onboard: small learning curve to use it
Read full review
ScreenShots

Google Drive Screenshots

Screenshot of Google Drive PriorityScreenshot of Comment on Microsoft Files in Google DriveScreenshot of Shared drives