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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Google Hangouts (Classic)

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AThe classic version of Google Hangouts included messaging, voice, VoIP, and video call capabilities. It was replaced by the Hangouts Chat collaboration tool, and Google continues to support conferencing via the new Hangouts Meet.N/A

    Rakuten Viber

    Score9.3 out of 10
    N/AViber, now from Rakuten (acquired 2014) is an instant messaging and cross-platform VoIP software solution designed for personal use and available for both desktops and as a mobile app. It includes features such as video and audio calls, instant message, and unlimited-member group chats. Users can also make paid international calls.

    $0.02

    Per Minute

    Pricing
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Rakuten Viber
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    USA
    $0.019
    Per Minute
    UK
    $0.019
    Per Minute
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Rakuten Viber
    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 Hangouts (Classic)Rakuten Viber
    Considered Both Products
    Discontinued Products
    Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
    Google Hangouts is free, fast, reliable and easy to use, the reason why Google Hangouts has a huge benefit against other competitors is that it's free and all the contacts within Google account are synced automatically. Google Hangouts has HD video calls and connections are …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
    Overall Google stacks up well when it comes to the other products. Google Hangouts was selected only because other coworkers suggested it and everyone used it as an effective means to communicate and keep all contact done in a professional setting while keeping personal …
    Incentivized
    Rakuten
    Chose Rakuten Viber
    Skype offers similar communication features as Viber, but Viber is more convenient as it uses the phone number as contact details. So instead of having to remember the user id, you just need to add your business partner's contact number and you have their viber already. Al, o …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    83%
    Would buy again
    44 Answers
    67%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    46 Answers
    89%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    89%
    Happy with the feature set
    47 Answers
    89%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    91%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    31 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    41 Answers
    83%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    Features
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Rakuten Viber
    Cloud PBX
    Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Rakuten Viber
    Feature
    Google Hangouts (Classic)
    6.3
    57 Ratings
    23% below category average
    Rakuten Viber
    9.5
    13 Ratings
    18% above category average
    Hosted PBX6.915 Ratings9.56 Ratings
    Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)7.725 Ratings9.78 Ratings
    User templates5.022 Ratings8.87 Ratings
    Call reports9.034 Ratings9.89 Ratings
    Directory of employee names3.045 Ratings9.78 Ratings
    Call Management
    Comparison of Call Management features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Rakuten Viber
    Feature
    Google Hangouts (Classic)
    8.0
    66 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Rakuten Viber
    9.3
    15 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Answering rules8.033 Ratings9.59 Ratings
    Call recording7.937 Ratings9.79 Ratings
    Call park7.018 Ratings8.84 Ratings
    Call screening9.036 Ratings8.89 Ratings
    Message alerts8.058 Ratings9.814 Ratings
    VoIP system collaboration
    Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Rakuten Viber
    Feature
    Google Hangouts (Classic)
    8.6
    84 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Rakuten Viber
    9.6
    13 Ratings
    19% above category average
    Video conferencing9.079 Ratings9.513 Ratings
    Audio conferencing9.079 Ratings9.713 Ratings
    Video screen sharing7.148 Ratings9.05 Ratings
    Instant messaging9.052 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Mobile apps
    Comparison of Mobile apps features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Rakuten Viber
    Feature
    Google Hangouts (Classic)
    8.0
    85 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Rakuten Viber
    10.0
    18 Ratings
    24% above category average
    Mobile app for iOS8.173 Ratings10.017 Ratings
    Mobile app for Android8.071 Ratings10.017 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Rakuten Viber
    Small Businesses
    CallFire
    Score9.7 out of 10
    CallFire
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Fuze
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Fuze
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
    Score8.3 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Rakuten Viber
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (91 ratings)
    9.6
    (18 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (7 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.0
    (36 ratings)
    9.4
    (7 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Rakuten Viber
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Discontinued Products
    Had I completed this review a couple years ago, I would have given a rating of 9 or 10 as Hangouts (Classic) is an excellent product. However, now that Google Chat has succeeded Hangouts, I would not recommend that any new users begin using it where other more modern options are available. Android users who want an internet based instant messaging that also supports calling and video calling could benefit from using Hangouts (Classic) as Google Chat requires the user to also have Google Meet installed to make video calls and there is no voice only calling option.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Rakuten
    As mentioned previously, it is easy to use and access since the you can chat, send voice memos or stickers in a conversation. So in overall it's very entertaining. But throughout that, the audio quality can seem to be a bit off. (Could be personal headset issue) Overall that is the only issue that is present or consistent.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Discontinued Products
    • Google Hangouts (Classic) is embedded within Gmail's scheduler, so setting up the link is as quick as a click of the button. It's a one-step process.
    • Google Hangouts (Classic) is user-friendly and [has] features to share screens easily.
    • Google Hangouts (Classic) is much easier to use than its competitors.
    • Google Hangouts (Classic) have [a] good connection time and there are few glitches.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Rakuten
    • Viber is a cross platform product. It does not matter if someone uses Android or iOS device, it will work exactly the same.
    • Also the desktop version is very good. You can switch between the desktop and mobile versions within a conversation and see updates right away.
    • It's a very international product. It has been available for very long time, which makes it very wide spread - it has a good user base.
    • You can see the status of your messages.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Discontinued Products
    • I would like to see improved video support, so that saved videos can be sent back and forth via Hangouts more easily, without having to start a separate meet chat
    • More pronounced notifications of messages would be helpful; pop up notifications are good, but once there is one, additional messages do not pop up
    • Custom muting times would be great, so that if I am in a 90 minute Zoom meeting, I can set it for that time; right now, it is 1 hour or 2 hours. Easy to forget.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Rakuten
    • When someone sends a file in Viber, the program automatically saves it in your phone memory. This means that you must delete them manually and it really annoys me, as it takes a lot of time to do that.
    • It contains enormous amounts of adds.
    • There is file sharing limit.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Discontinued Products
    The tool is almost self-implemented. It is likely to be available in every pc or mobile device a user or potential user might have, and all you need to do is adding the company's account and you are done. Once you are setted up, you have almost all actual communication methods available in one tool
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Rakuten
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Discontinued Products
    Google Hangouts works great and does not require a lot of work to troubleshoot. Everything is simple and easy to use. Google provides all of the tools that one requires to utilize Google Hangouts and any information can be found in the built-in help tools. There is also a forum for users to report issues and typically, Google responds well and will try to work out any issues.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Rakuten
    I have not frequently used the support for Viber as I have not had many problems with it on my phone. I did use support one time for problems with the computer application and used the forums to solve my problems. They were fairly easy to follow and I appreciated the online help in that format.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Discontinued Products
    Google is the white cotton socks of the conferencing world. It’s a great ad-hoc tool, but not too much more. If you are not looking to spend money or operate completely on WiFi (without data charges), it’s a great free option as well. The benefit of being free and open is also the liability. It doesn’t have a great integration story with other corporate tools, but [it doesn’t have to] if you aren’t looking for that. All in all, it’s as helpful and ubiquitous as a public payphone…without the pay…and with a video capability.
    Incentivized
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    Rakuten
    End-to-end encryption scrambles my messages and delivers them as a scrambled code to my friend's device, whether mobile or desktop, so that only their device can decode them into plain text. If my friend's phone is turned off or they don't have access to the internet, my message will be stored on Viber's servers (for a limited time) until their device is ready to receive it.

    Because Viber can't access or read my private conversations in the first place, Viber can't sell them.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Discontinued Products
    • I believe it was part of the google suite that was purchased. It was worth the cost as it was cheaper. I believe it is now free, but also becoming deprecated. It is much better to use Teams, Discord, Telegram, etc. Google does not provide enough support or features to make using hangouts worth it these days.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Rakuten
    • Viber saves me financially since I am now able to communicate with my international clients for free.
    • Viber helps keep my clients engaged by the fact that I can so easily share photos, which is important as a freelance photographer.
    • Viber allows me to make my messages to clients appealing in a visual way, which I have noticed helps drive actions of my clients, such as remembering to book their next session or pay for their photo order.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots