Google Chat vs. Lua

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
Lua
Score 1.0 out of 10
N/A
Lua is a mobile-first enterprise communication solution. It powers messaging that is built for business: instant, secure, and keeps everyone accountable. Some key features include: Real-time Secure Messaging, Two-touch Conference Calling, and an Analytics Dashboard.
$0
Per User per Month
Pricing
Google ChatLua
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Lua
Per User per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google ChatLua
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup fee$2,500
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Features
Google ChatLua
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
7.9
20 Ratings
1% above category average
Lua
-
Ratings
Task Management8.711 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts7.17 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling8.213 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation6.610 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access8.319 Ratings00 Ratings
Search8.517 Ratings00 Ratings
Visual planning tools8.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
8.2
20 Ratings
2% above category average
Lua
7.0
1 Ratings
13% below category average
Chat9.020 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Notifications8.920 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Discussions7.718 Ratings00 Ratings
Surveys6.513 Ratings00 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase7.610 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting8.18 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts8.516 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook9.07 Ratings00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Chat
8.3
20 Ratings
2% above category average
Lua
-
Ratings
Versioning7.513 Ratings00 Ratings
Video files8.717 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio files8.316 Ratings00 Ratings
Document collaboration8.317 Ratings00 Ratings
Access control7.814 Ratings00 Ratings
Advanced security features8.515 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive8.416 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync9.018 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google ChatLua
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.8 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.7 out of 10
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 9.0 out of 10
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google ChatLua
Likelihood to Recommend
7.7
(20 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.3
(3 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google ChatLua
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
Well suited for businesses of all sizes. HOWEVER, I would say keep the chat groups limited at the departmental level, ensure that your moderator or the individual responsible for the group keeps it on topic, and have your IT team monitor it from time to time. Google Chat gets used so much in our organization that we have rules and regs in our Employee Handbook regarding its proper use (and when used PROPERLY, it can be very effective).
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Lua
I wouldn't recommend Lua because they were recently acquired by another company and will be shutting down. It was unfortunate that we were only given 2 months notice right after signing up for another 1-year term.
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Pros
Google
  • 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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Lua
  • It is easy to communicate in real-time.
  • Easy to set up different groups.
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Cons
Google
  • 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.
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Lua
  • The application for iPad is not optimized.
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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.
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Lua
No answers on this topic
Usability
Google
It's not perfect. There are occasional glitches, drop-outs, and it takes a bit to get everything loaded and working. But it is significantly better than Zoom or GoToMeeting when you're in instructional settings. I know my teacher friends here like it and the administrators and parents seem to be satisfied too.
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Lua
No answers on this topic
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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Lua
They are closing operations, so there's no support to rate
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Alternatives Considered
Google
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 feature I enjoyed about Spark was a request to get a user's attention: If I had an urgent question and I wanted to ensure the recipient saw my message/question, I would request their attention and the message screen would pop up on their screen.
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Lua
We chose Lua because of their price point and feature set compared to other tools.
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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
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Lua
  • It has been great for communication and broadcasts, its a shame that they are closing down.
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ScreenShots

Lua Screenshots

Screenshot of A Group Conversation With Files and Photos (iPhone)Screenshot of A Dedicated Tab for All Your Ongoing Conversations Broadcasts (Android)Screenshot of An Interactive Directory Organized by Departments, Roles, and Custom Groups (iPhone)Screenshot of Two-touch Conference Calling, No Dial-ins, No Passcodes (iPhone)Screenshot of A Dedicated Repository for All Attachments (Android)Screenshot of Communication Analytics Dashboard (Web)