The 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.
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RingCentral Meetings
Score 8.0 out of 10
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RingCentral Meetings is an HD video conferencing and screen sharing solution that lets the user host unlimited video conference calls and share content while meeting and collaborating with anyone, any time, on any device. RingCentral Meetings helps boost business efficiency and customer engagement without costly and time-consuming travel.
$19.99
Per Month Per User
Pricing
Google Hangouts (Classic)
RingCentral Meetings
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Meetings
$19.99
Per Month Per User
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google Hangouts (Classic)
RingCentral Meetings
Free Trial
No
No
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
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More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google Hangouts (Classic)
RingCentral Meetings
Considered Both Products
Google Hangouts (Classic)
No answer on this topic
RingCentral Meetings
Verified User
Director
Chose RingCentral Meetings
Ring Central is a great tool for larger teams. It's built on Zoom's platform, which is simply a very well made tool. People complain a lot about glitches and issues with Google Hangouts, but with Zoom and Ring Central, all we ever hear (and experience) are good things. So far …
As a consulting company, we often have to adapt to our customers' needs in communication - which can mean using whatever system they're already on. Most of the time, they come around to preferring RingCentral Meetings over whatever they're using, and we've found it's a great …
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.
I would recommend RingCentral for any business that looking to make the jump to Voice over IP and also want business essentials like video meetings all in one app. RingCentral Meetings integrates very well with its other communication tools which makes it very easy for a business to manage their communications in a single platform. The only scenario I see where RingCentral Meetings not being a good fit is if a business will be using video meetings as a marketing tool where they need extra marketing features like lead form captures and notification emails to be sent out.
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.
Screen share functionality is rather limited in capability. Screen takeover functions seem limited to desktop devices (view-only for mobile device users)
Interface feels a bit clunky. Workable for advanced technical users, but a bit confusing for older senior-level executives
Integration with existing RingCentral software. Jumping between RingCentral meetings and telephone feels wrong, they should be integrated into one application for the business user with a standalone application for non-subscribers who wish to join the meeting
We are grandfathered into an unlimited toll-free minutes plan with RingCentral, so as long as we have them as a VoIP provider, we get Meetings free. If they ever start to charge us for using meetings as well, we'll drop that part in a second and switch to Skype for Business, which we currently have as well part of our Office 365 package.
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
The interface is easy to understand for a wide variety of user experience levels. The only real negative are the links included in meetings being in a format that first opens a browser before launching the RingCentral Meeting app, and as mentioned previously, this may be a platform-specific issue for macOS.
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.
RingCentral is a great tool for everyone interested in making animations. The thing that appealed to us most about it is that it is very simple to use and works with much perfection. Like lip-synchronization goes so well with the character as soon as we add voice-over in it. Also, we can add characters and scenes without any hardship. We highly recommend this software.
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.
As a consulting company, we often have to adapt to our customers' needs in communication - which can mean using whatever system they're already on. Most of the time, they come around to preferring RingCentral Meetings over whatever they're using, and we've found it's a great value for us since it's already included in our RingCentral subscription, and runs on Mac, Windows, and Mobile devices. Despite the big drawback of needing to install the app locally and not having an in-browser solution for guests, it's lightweight, intuitive interface makes it an easy conferencing tool to adopt.
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.
It has had a positive impact. We replaced an archaic solution with a more modern, streamlined version or product. Like anything else, it has its downfalls and isn't perfect, but overall it's been a good product and has outshined its predecessors like Zoom and Skype.
It also has an integrated office phone feature which has been great as our phones are essentially our laptops. It cut down on those costs and in general freed up space on our desks since we didn't have to have them anymore and everything is on our computer now.
