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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Google Chat

    Score7.9 out of 10
    N/AGoogle 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

    Hiver

    Score9 out of 10
    N/AHiver is a customer service platform that brings together communication channels, apps, and data to improve customer support operations. Hiver enables real-time collaboration across every customer communication channel, offering AI and automation to resolve issues and help teams work faster. Hiver states that over 10,000 teams of all shapes and sizes globally from Flexport to Harvard University, Vacasa, and Epic Games rely on Hiver to deliver support that wins and retains customers for…

    $24

    per month per user

    Pricing
    Google ChatHiver
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Lite
    $24
    per month per user
    Growth
    $34
    per month per user
    Pro
    $59
    per month per user
    Elite
    Contact Sales
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Google ChatHiver
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—20% discount for annual pricing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Google ChatHiver
    Considered Both Products
    Google
    No answer on this topic
    Hiver
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    24 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    26 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    24 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    16 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    19 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Google ChatHiver
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of Google Chat and Hiver
    Feature
    Google Chat
    8.3
    26 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Hiver
    -
    Ratings
    Task Management8.014 Ratings00 Ratings
    Gantt Charts8.29 Ratings00 Ratings
    Scheduling8.616 Ratings00 Ratings
    Workflow Automation7.412 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Access9.225 Ratings00 Ratings
    Search9.123 Ratings00 Ratings
    Visual planning tools7.713 Ratings00 Ratings
    Communication
    Comparison of Communication features of Google Chat and Hiver
    Feature
    Google Chat
    8.9
    26 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Hiver
    -
    Ratings
    Chat9.826 Ratings00 Ratings
    Notifications9.126 Ratings00 Ratings
    Discussions8.824 Ratings00 Ratings
    Surveys9.417 Ratings00 Ratings
    Internal knowledgebase8.915 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 Google Chat and Hiver
    Feature
    Google Chat
    8.6
    26 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Hiver
    -
    Ratings
    Versioning8.817 Ratings00 Ratings
    Video files7.623 Ratings00 Ratings
    Audio files7.922 Ratings00 Ratings
    Document collaboration8.021 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access control9.318 Ratings00 Ratings
    Advanced security features9.319 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with Google Drive8.115 Ratings00 Ratings
    Device sync9.624 Ratings00 Ratings
    Incident and problem management
    Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Google Chat and Hiver
    Feature
    Google Chat
    -
    Ratings
    Hiver
    9.0
    4 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Organize and prioritize service tickets00 Ratings9.04 Ratings
    Ticket creation and submission00 Ratings9.04 Ratings
    Ticket response00 Ratings9.04 Ratings
    Self Help Community
    Comparison of Self Help Community features of Google Chat and Hiver
    Feature
    Google Chat
    -
    Ratings
    Hiver
    8.0
    1 Ratings
    0% below category average
    External knowledge base00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Internal knowledge base00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Multi-Channel Help
    Comparison of Multi-Channel Help features of Google Chat and Hiver
    Feature
    Google Chat
    -
    Ratings
    Hiver
    8.5
    4 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Customer portal00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Email support00 Ratings9.04 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Google ChatHiver
    Small Businesses
    Flock
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Help Scout
    Score9.3 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Troop Messenger
    Score9.8 out of 10
    LiveAgent
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    Front
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Google ChatHiver
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (26 ratings)
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (9 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.3
    (3 ratings)
    4.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Google ChatHiver
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hiver
    One scenario where Hiver works really well is in a shared support or billing inbox or anywhere multiple team members need access to the same messages. For example, when a customer emails about a billing question, we used to reply and manually loop in the billing team or forward the message. That often caused confusion, especially when someone forgot to “reply all” or responded only to the teammate instead of the customer.Now with Hiver, we just assign the conversation to the billing inbox, and whoever is available can respond. Everyone on the team can see the thread, status, and notes, which avoids duplicated efforts and missed replies. We also used to rely on Google Groups, but it wasn’t clear if someone had already replied, and there was no easy way to collaborate behind the scenes. Hiver completely solved that for us.As for situations where Hiver might be less ideal, I’d say if your team isn’t using Gmail or Google Workspace, then it’s probably not a good fit. It’s really designed for teams that live in Gmail so the team doesn't have to learn a new system. I'm sure some businesses will require a more robust ticketing solution but for our use case, this was a perfect option to improve outcomes, client service, and satisfaction.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hiver
    • automation through rules
    • tagging emails, anaylics behind them
    • support, chat always responds right away
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hiver
    • It could be considered expensive, but ultimately worth every penny for those who use shared inboxes/groups to run their business.
    Incentivized
    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
    Hiver
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hiver
    Easy to use
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hiver
    Support is there, can be slow at times.
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hiver
    True ticketing solutions are certainly more robust in that you can typically manage social media channels and phones, etc. But, in my opinion, when you don't have a team solely responsible for managing a ticketing system they can be complicated to implement. With HIVER, we're already all accustomed to managing our own G-Suite inbox, so it was simply a matter of teaching the team how to utilize the solution.
    Incentivized
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hiver
    • The ROI on showing how many emails are being received and addressed in a timely manner are great for KPIs
    • the ability to search and ensure emails are not being deleted as an automatic report is sent out the following day saying if any emails were deleted by whom
    • the ability to automate who gets assigned what emails from specific vendors per entity
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Hiver Screenshots

    Screenshot of Hiver in GmailScreenshot of a view of a shared mailboxScreenshot of the collision alerts feature