Google Chat vs. Google Voice

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Chat
Score 7.8 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 Voice
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
Google Voice is a free IP telephony service that provides users with one phone number that can be forwarded to multiple phones or devices. It includes features such as call forwarding, voicemail translation, text messaging, and voice calls. Fees may apply for international calling.
$10
per user/per month
Pricing
Google ChatGoogle Voice
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Starter
$10
per user/per month
Standard
$20
per user/per month
Premier
$30
per user/per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google ChatGoogle Voice
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google ChatGoogle Voice
Considered Both Products
Google Chat
Chose Google Chat
It doesn't need to much to get started if you have a personal Google account. If you have a business account setup by your organization, you need permissions to use it, however this is something good to have this customizable part from Google Chat. We can create groups, attach …
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
Slack is actually expensive for larger teams, and their free plan has limitations on message history and file storage so that is the we moved to Google Chat.
Chose Google Chat
For the above platforms, it is always intended for the larger audience when your business communication has a limited stack you prefer choosing the best and simple communication platform rather than spending on a platform that charges per license. AS we need simple secure and …
Chose Google Chat
The main reason why we chose it - the overall G Suite solution, that we bought. We have Google Calendar, GMail & Chat built in. In order not to waste money - we decided to use Google Chat. It works fine, however, as said before, if you had experience with Slack - then you might …
Chose Google Chat
I use it because of it is already available into the google gmail so for using this I do not have to install any external software for this which can take the storage of my device for installation. The other software was taking much data in comparison to the Google Chat.
Chose Google Chat
You do not need to download anything when using Google Chat yet in Webex sometimes it does only work if you download a file. This is similar to Skype where you need to have the application on your computer. Google Chat has added a lot with the great support they have online.
Chose Google Chat
Our organization uses the entire Google Suite of products, so the integration with Google Drive and especially Gmail made this decision a "no brainer". In canvassing most of our employees, many of them had more experience using this product as opposed to Skype, and the …
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
[Google Hangouts Chat] is low cost, easy to use, and built into most Android smartphones.
Chose Google Chat
I don't use Teams internally so as an outside user I find Google Chat easier to use and integrate into our overall software.
Chose Google Chat
Compared to major products, I would say Google Hangouts Chat is very effective, affordable and resourceful. The ease of integration with other Google products makes it even better.
Chose Google Chat
Google Hangouts Chat is better in many ways compared to other products. First, it is affordable. Secondly, integration with other Google products is straightforward. Thirdly and most importantly, I find Google Hangouts Chat more capable than other tools in its category.
Chose Google Chat
Google hangout is very easy to install and you do not have to purchase this feature additionally, this comes with the google product. You can use this product even without installing the additional software. You can work while chatting with your colleagues easily. It can work …
Chose Google Chat
For me, I'd rather use Google Hangouts Chat than Microsoft Teams. Based on my experience Google Hangouts is way less complicated than Microsoft Teams. I don't like complicated and Microsoft Teams for me is complicated. Let's say for a first-time user for both platforms I'd say …
Chose Google Chat
Google Hangouts Chat is simple to use and understand unlike other complicated solutions. The software is affordable and offers great features and integration with other Google products is easy which is a plus. In a nutshell, I haven't used such a resourceful software and we …
Chose Google Chat
Since Google Hangouts Chat comes integrated with G-suite, it just works without any adjustments to our organization's workflows. Other products fail on that front and therefore are not encouraged to be used.
Chose Google Chat
Hangouts was buggy and had frequent crashes, but Hangouts Chat has no such issues so far.
Chose Google Chat
Schools, in my area at least, are not being allowed to use Zoom because of incidences of security breaches known as "Zoom bombs," so the schools here chose to use Google Hangouts Chat. That means if I want to talk to the kids or the teachers, I need to use Google Hangouts Chat.
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 Voice
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice operates in a narrow niche compared to other high-volume call products, such as Gong and Outreach. Google Voice would be much better, structured for small teams with limited calling, less structure, and fewer call scripts. For instance, this would better serve a …
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice definitely lacks features compared to enterprise-level solutions. Enterprise VoIP providers have a customer support component well in place. The interfaces for desktop and mobile are also much more refined, and they integrate well with the existing communication …
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice at the peak of its adoption did serve as a very real and effective solution. However bugs persisted, and innovation lacked, and support for the product soon declined. However, there are several other solutions provided that focus on making one product as best as it …
Chose Google Voice
I chose Google Voice for their seamless integration. Calls and text bundle and email alerts. While Skype had great quality calls a long time ago, I noticed their support team is horrible with many bugs and crashes. The call logs on Skype were not registering and sometimes it …
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice stands far above products like Vonage, RingCentral, and Jive (GoToConnect). It is more mature as a VOIP product and free to home/personal users. For small usage scenarios like ours, Google Voice cannot be beat on price and ease of use. It is very affordable to keep …
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice is way easier to get going and use. It's cheaper, more robust, and doesn't have any issues with the app not ringing or not transferring calls correctly. Plus, a lot of our employees already have experience using Google Voice with their personal accounts and found …
Chose Google Voice
Zoom and Slack are the closest comparisons I can come up with, but those are pretty different use cases, at least for us.
Chose Google Voice
The integrations of Google Voice with all our devices are flawless, Android, iOS, Windows, Linux and Mac. Also, the call performance is far superior on wifi as well as on mobile data. With Skype, we had several problems with personal accounts, performance issues, and in …
Chose Google Voice
FluentCloud/FluentStream is what we ended up using for our business. It too is easy to use, a little tougher to integrate, but not bad at all, and much cheaper. Does everything I need it to do. I would switch to Google Voice if it was cheaper as I use all the other Google …
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice is easier to use, but in Skype you can have local numbers in different countries (not only in the US).
Skype call rates are lower than Google Voice's rates for non-US numbers, check the rates according to your predicted usage.
Chose Google Voice
I've used in-house systems at other agencies and they went down all the time, were not reliable and were extremely expensive.
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice is great if you are a one-man business. It allows you to have a business phone number for people to call without having to give your personal cell phone number out to strangers. The cost is very affordable. But as your business grows, you need to look for a better …
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice and Dialpad, I believe, are a very equal match, and we chose Google Voice due to only a small amount of interface differences that made a difference in the service's functionality. Also, we had used google voice for a long time before Dialpad, so making the …
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice has the best interface, and is the easiest to use of all the phone services out there. It also is free! We love Google Voice because it gives us a free phone number that many people can use, so my entire team can have one unified number that employees can call and …
Chose Google Voice
I primarily use Google Voice for texting, but I’ve also used EZ Texting for similar purposes. The main difference is that Google Voice excels at individual communications, while EZ Texting is best for mass texts. Google Voice texting does not cost anything, whereas EZ Texting …
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice is much more cost efficient and doesn't have all the bells and whistles that our small company doesn't need. Google Voice never tries to upsell us and just makes an easy-to-use product that has greatly increased the efficiency of our organization. We aren't …
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice performs similar communication activities compared to many other business service tools. However, one often must integrate other Google apps in order to fully experience the benefits that other platforms experience locally. Voice does have the benefit of merging …
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice was a superior product in our opinion to some that we looked at because of its versatility and ease of implementation. Not only were those big determinants in our decision, but the cost-effectiveness of the program played a major role in our decision. Some of the …
Chose Google Voice
Google has a larger ecosystem.
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice is more reliable than CallHippo and has better call quality. Additionally, Google Voice's integration into Google Hangouts expands it functionality for video calls. Google Voice also provides access into Google's contact directory giving quick access to anyone who …
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice is hard to compare because on a cost basis it is so much lower than it's competitors. As a whole, I would say it's definitely lacking features compared to Nextiva, and a few from RingCentral but the service is reliable and it has the most commonly used core …
Chose Google Voice
The price was a huge standout since we have a large number of users and because of this it was important for us. Aside from cost the reliability was also of utmost importance due to the urgent nature of some of the calls. These were the two main reasons we chose this platform.
Chose Google Voice
Google Voice was perfect for the small team setting where we needed to coordinate calls from time to time with urgency and supported call forwarding in a manner consistent with the services we need to provide to our clients.
Chose Google Voice
We have Cisco tools as a primary option for our VoIP needs due to it's more professional approach. However Google Voice has recently became a business level program as well. I'm happy to use it due to it's unique features and the flexibility as we always expect from Google.
Features
Google ChatGoogle Voice
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
8.3
Ratings
7% above category average
Google Voice
-
Ratings
Task Management8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts8.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling8.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation7.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Search9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Visual planning tools7.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
8.9
Ratings
11% above category average
Google Voice
-
Ratings
Chat9.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Discussions8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Surveys9.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts8.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
8.6
Ratings
7% above category average
Google Voice
-
Ratings
Versioning8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Video files7.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio files7.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Document collaboration8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Access control9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Advanced security features9.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync9.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
-
Ratings
Google Voice
5.3
Ratings
40% below category average
Hosted PBX00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)00 Ratings3.00 Ratings
User templates00 Ratings1.40 Ratings
Call reports00 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Directory of employee names00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
-
Ratings
Google Voice
8.4
Ratings
2% above category average
Answering rules00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Call recording00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Call park00 Ratings6.40 Ratings
Call screening00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Message alerts00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
-
Ratings
Google Voice
7.5
Ratings
5% below category average
Video conferencing00 Ratings6.10 Ratings
Audio conferencing00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Video screen sharing00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Instant messaging00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Mobile apps
Comparison of Mobile apps features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
-
Ratings
Google Voice
7.1
Ratings
11% below category average
Mobile app for iOS00 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Mobile app for Android00 Ratings7.40 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google ChatGoogle Voice
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 8.9 out of 10
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.8 out of 10
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.5 out of 10
Enterprises
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 9.0 out of 10
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google ChatGoogle Voice
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(0 ratings)
7.6
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.3
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google ChatGoogle Voice
Likelihood to Recommend
Google Chat is well-suited for businesses. Where it fits in my organization is to maintain communication between teams. Collaboration between teams to solve issues our customers cannot resolve without using Google Chat. Our Organization depends on it. When someone needs assistance from another team in the organization, we use Google Chat to solve this issue.
Read full review
In the past, I would have happily recommended this for small business use cases. Due to its affordability, versatility, and low barrier to entry as well as its simplicity to use. Google Voice was integrated into the Chrome Browser, it was easily accessed from Gmail, and integrated into Gmail and could even be leveraged in such a way to when phone numbers were clicked on, Google Voice was the tool used. However over the past few years and more, in the past couple of years from 2021 to current, this tool seems to have lost favor with the Alphabet suite of tools. With the lack of integrations, it's becoming less stable, and people are just opting more for Google Meet Voice. The biggest area where this is less appropriate and where opportunity has opened for others is its lack of features, like virtual attendants, call recording, call transcription, SMS, MMS, CRM integration, and other key features even 1 or 2 person business really needs in this day and age
Read full review
Pros
  • Google Hangouts Chat allows you to send and receive messages real time with emoticons that can help you express your mood.
  • You can download and upload image file that can be use for business process and more.
  • Google Hangouts Chat also allows you to make a calls to reach other users.What I like the most is the awesome screen sharing while on call.
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  • Google Voice has been great for setting up additional phone lines and numbers.
  • The voicemail inbox is a great feature and you can see when messages come in online and listen to the messages from your computer.
  • Google Voice allows us to have multiple phone numbers and lines for specific business purposes.
Read full review
Cons
  • I wish it was easier to turn the sound off, I hate being in meetings and my chat is blowing up.
  • Needing to "accept" a chat invite from someone within my org seems counter-intuitive.
  • Some people have trouble getting their notifications before midnight, somehow?
  • Prior to downloading the app, group messages didn't come up for me on my computer.
Read full review
  • It can be tricky to configure exactly how you want it. If you are particular about which voicemail greeting goes to which number, and how it appears when it rings through to the phone - it can take a good amount of work to set it up properly.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
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.
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It's user friendly, how to use it is self explanatory, they support all their own options while someone like Phone Booth uses a third party. I can cancel Google Voice anytime and I choose how much I spend with Google Voice
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Usability
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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I think it works really well in the arena it operates in, but not so well in areas where an enterprise system would be more appropriate. It's great for quick solutions that just work, but not so much for more complex call management tasks.
Read full review
Support Rating
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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They do not offer support unless you have the Business account for Google Voice under G Suite. This is tough, because Google doesn't really have a customer support team for this service, so when it gets shut down for a few hours, we have no choice but to wait it out. But this doesn't happen that often, which is great.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
It is a pretty seamless program to transfer to, even for people who either have little experience with these programs or people who were stuck on Skype
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
It doesn't need to much to get started if you have a personal Google account. If you have a business account setup by your organization, you need permissions to use it, however this is something good to have this customizable part from Google Chat. We can create groups, attach files, and have online conversations from the gmail page, in a new window or using the mobile.
Read full review
Google Voice operates in a narrow niche compared to other high-volume call products, such as Gong and Outreach. Google Voice would be much better, structured for small teams with limited calling, less structure, and fewer call scripts. For instance, this would better serve a support motion, where you provide a phone number for customers to call, so you have some level of routing and an end destination. If you were also expecting constant change in the personnel who have assigned numbers, it is easy to provision and remove numbers, but you might lose continuity with some of the phone numbers being allocated.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Through seamless communication across remote workers, Google Chat has significantly reduced the time spent on back and forth emails.
  • Undoubtedly Google Chat is great for communication but because of a lack of task management tools, we have to rely on other platforms for organizing and tracking tasks.
  • 200MB file size limit in Google Chat often forces us to use other services like Google Drive for sending large files.
Read full review
  • Google Voice has saved us a lot of time in regards to overall productivity.
  • Google Voice allows us to operate at a greater scale than without it.
  • Google voice allows us to track which advertisements are working best.
  • Google Voice allows us to spend less time listening to voicemails.
Read full review
ScreenShots