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Google Hangouts (Classic) Reviews & Insights

Score8 out of 10

525 Reviews and Ratings

Community insights

TrustRadius Insights for Google Hangouts (Classic) are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.

Pros

Seamless Integration: Users have appreciated the product's seamless integration into workflows, mentioning its ease of use and smooth accessibility. Some users find the provision of tools like screen-share, breakout groups, and whiteboard features to be beneficial.

Fast & Reliable Performance: Customers have praised the product for its fast and reliable nature, highlighting its quick invitation system, chat capabilities, and easy management of history settings. The platform's ability to support multiple users joining from different IP addresses is also commended.

User-Friendly Interface: Reviewers value the user-friendly interface that offers a visually appealing experience with minimalistic design. They appreciate the platform's smooth accessibility across various devices and its capability to sync calendars, reminders, and meeting setups with both internal and external users.

Google Hangouts (Classic) Reviews

91 Reviews

Review of Google Hangouts

Rating: 8 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We primarily use Google Hangouts for internal meetings. We use gmail as our email service, so google hangouts integrates easily into our calendar and other workflows. It is quick and easy to jump on a hangout. Also great for small to mid-size team meetings where you might need multiple people to be able to share their screens at various times throughout the meeting.

Pros

  • Product integration into workflows
  • easy of use
  • Tools (screen-share, breakout groups, whiteboard)

Cons

  • Can be a little glitchy
  • Ability to share asset (presentations) without sharing your whole screen
  • better/more filter options

Likelihood to Recommend

Google hangouts is well suited for small to midsize internal meetings. It also works well for less formal client meetings or when you know a client already uses g-based products with the organization. I wouldn't recommend it for larger groups or webinar style meetings as there are better products for those use cases.
VU
Verified User
Account Manager (501-1000 employees)
Vetted Review
Google Hangouts (Classic)
6 years of experience

Love this!

Rating: 8 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use Google Hangouts for meetings! We are a hybrid company so a lot of our meetings are done virtually with multiple team members. One feature that's really great is being able to put the Google Hangout information in the calendar invite so it's super easy for people to find.

Pros

  • Easy to access
  • Clear signal
  • Ability for multiple people to join from different IP addresses

Cons

  • Cleaner dial in options
  • Ability to blur background
  • Offering of different backgrounds similar to zZom

Likelihood to Recommend

It is great for internal meetings or when you need to hop on a call last minute with multiple people. It might be less appropriate for external meetings because you aren't able to blur your background, so for example, if your house is messy and you need to take a funder call, it would be easier to use Zoom bc you can blur the background or use a different one.
VU
Verified User
Director (11-50 employees)
Vetted Review
Google Hangouts (Classic)
5 years of experience

Google Hangouts is reliable and easy to use, but will be phased out soon in favor of newer Google product

Rating: 7 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Google Hangouts as an informal, rapid communications channel. Because most of our software is in the Microsoft ecosystem, Google Hangouts allows us to minimize the number of Microsoft Teams windows, which can become cluttered during meetings with multiple, parallel conversations. Google Hangouts also helps to avoid accidental communications to Microsoft Teams presentation attendees.

Pros

  • Fast
  • Reliable
  • Easy to turn history on/off

Cons

  • Larger default chat window.
  • Compatibility issues with Google Meets.

Likelihood to Recommend

Google Hangouts is a good messaging app for either groups or individuals. It allows for photo and document sharing. Google Hangouts is a reliable alternative or a complementary, parallel communications channel to Microsoft Teams. The interface is older but much easier to learn and use than other, newer messaging apps.
VU
Verified User
Strategist in Corporate (10,001+ employees)
Vetted Review
Google Hangouts (Classic)
15 years of experience

Best performance for calls and finding frequent contacts.

Rating: 5 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Google Hangouts (Classic) was used by a particularly small team in our organization, where we needed more of a legacy solution for a well-known client so that they could feel comfortable. It was the perfect communication tool since we already had a long-term relation, so using Hangouts was organic, simply moved our conversations from email to easy-to-find chats or calls.

Pros

  • Easy to find frequent contacts
  • Light calls
  • Fast chats

Cons

  • Handling multiple work-spaces
  • Handling multiple accounts in the same window

Likelihood to Recommend

I think the only scenario where Google Hangouts (Classic) is the best solution is where there are individuals that do not handle change very well, since there are multiple more modern and sophisticated tools, full of new features. Performance-wise, it is difficult to beat Hangouts, but that is also given the low amount of features.
VU
Verified User
Team Lead in Research & Development (11-50 employees)
Vetted Review
Google Hangouts (Classic)
7 years of experience

Free and must have communication tool

Rating: 8 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

In the last 15 months, Google Hangouts has become my personal favorite tool in my entire organization. With more than 80% workforce and departments working from home, the best go-to tool is Google Hangouts. It syncs with the calendar, sends timely reminders, the option to ping and sends DM. Being a marketing manager, I also need to interact a lot with external agencies, presentations, etc. All this has become so smooth with Google Hangouts. It feels like I am seating in my cabin and doing one-to-one interactions. I would heavily recommend this tool to everyone.

Pros

  • It can be accessed smoothly with laptops, mobile and desktops.
  • Easy to sync calendar, reminders, and set up meetings.
  • Not limited to internal users only. Mostly available with external vendors as well.

Cons

  • I wish more compatibility with other apps like Dropbox.
  • It is limited to typing only. If a voice message option can be added, that would make a lot of difference.
  • Auto settings to mute/unmute other users is recommended.

Likelihood to Recommend

Best suited:
  • Boon in work from home scenarios.
  • Can be accessed even when traveling with mobile.
  • Mostly available for communication with external parties as it is widely used.

Less appropriate:
  • Cannot be customized as per the organization's need.
  • Less secure.
VU
Verified User
General Manager in Marketing (10,001+ employees)
Vetted Review
Google Hangouts (Classic)
5 years of experience

A Decent instant messaging, calling & video conferencing tool.

Rating: 8 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have been using Google Hangouts within our company for interaction with clients & colleagues. It's being widely used within our KPO segment for the purpose of internal meetings & also sometimes for interaction with our clients. Since we are in a google ecosystem where all the applications we use are mainly from G-suite, it was very natural that would use google hangouts as our instant messaging platform.

Pros

  • Easy to setup platform especially if the organization is already in Google ecosystem.
  • User interface is very easy on the eye & minimalistic.
  • All the Gmail events are properly synced up with google hangout.
  • Very good & versatile mobile application.

Cons

  • Call & video quality connection becomes very unstable when on low latency network.
  • Could improve on its sending invite option & make it more easy.
  • Automatic away status can be implemented if not active on platform.

Likelihood to Recommend

This tool is best suited for the organization that's already working with a google driven ecosystem wherein they use all the web-based google applications. Google Hangouts doesn't present a high level of encryption & lacks some advanced features that are present in other tools. Overall a decent tool for instant messaging within the company for internal purposes.
EH
Ejaz Hussain
Senior Analyst in Information Technology at Virtusa (10,001+ employees)
Vetted Review
Google Hangouts (Classic)
2 years of experience
Verified on LinkedIn

Google Hangouts (Classic) Review

Rating: 9 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Google Hangouts was used across our organization, both for internal meeting purposes, as well as client-facing calls. It was a quick and easy solution (especially since our email is powered by Gmail) that allowed us to quickly connect with audio and video conferencing, with very few cases of technical issues.

Pros

  • Audio Connection
  • Video Connection
  • Ability to quickly invite others
  • Ability to Chat

Cons

  • Tile layout for headshots used to be a tricky item
  • I don't believe it had a recording capability in years past
  • Conversations from chat were not archived / emailed to host

Likelihood to Recommend

I think Google Hangouts can be used in a variety of scenarios, whether those are internal business meetings, colleague catch-ups, or client-facing calls. The software is incredibly easy to use and I personally experienced little to no technical issues in my years of utilizing it as a primary piece of my daily technology suite.
VU
Verified User
Director in Customer Service (11-50 employees)
Vetted Review
Google Hangouts (Classic)
5 years of experience

A great product for its time!

Rating: 2 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Google Hangouts (Classic) has now been superseded by the more modern Google Chat and is therefore not compatible with Google Workspace for Education. Prior to Google Chat being widely used, Hangouts was used at our school for inter-staff communications and well as a way for students to communicate with their teachers. This was particularly heavily used during the first lock down in March 2020. It offers a quick instant messaging service with the ability to make calls or video calls within the app.

Pros

  • Has built in calling and video calling from within the app or web page
  • Can be used by anyone with a Google account
  • On Android phones, can be used to receive SMS messages as well

Cons

  • Has now been superseded by Google Chat
  • Does not work with Google for Education accounts
  • No longer integrated with Gmail after the phase out completes

Likelihood to Recommend

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.
VU
Verified User
Professional (11-50 employees)
Vetted Review
Google Hangouts (Classic)
10 years of experience

Ubiquitous free tools need love too - don’t forget about Google Hangouts (Classic)

Rating: 8 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Google Hangouts (classic) is part of a series of tools that sit in an in between space. They are not primary company tools, but they serve a niche function when other tools are not able to be used. In particular, some messaging needs or video conferencing needs that require connection with external parties informally are ideal opportunities to use Google Hangouts (classic).

Pros

  • Ad-hoc video conferencing / meetings with external collaborators
  • Mobile video conferencing
  • Integration with other Google-based tools.

Cons

  • Security
  • Integration into the formal corporate toolset
  • Integration into Office365

Likelihood to Recommend

As previously mentioned, Google Hangouts (Classic) is best suited for ad-hoc, informal communications with external collaborators that would benefit from face-to-face interactions, but don’t require a record of the conversation and don’t necessarily require a high degree of corporate security. For communications of consequence, our corporate toolset is more appropriate, but Google Hangouts (Classic) serves a similar function to FaceTime or Zoom.
CC
Chris Carpenter
Danaher Business System Leader (DBSL), Awesomizer, Fixer, Maker, Collaboration Enabler in Research & Development at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences (10,001+ employees)
Vetted Review
Google Hangouts (Classic)
10 years of experience
View profile

Google Hangouts - Good connectivity, audio/visual quality, and best of all ease of use within Gmail Calendar

Rating: 9 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Google Hangouts (Classic) is used by my entire organization. When people want to quickly connect with or without a webcam, we set up meetings within Gmail's scheduler with the link to the hangout.

Pros

  • 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.

Cons

  • The quality of the visuals is not always great. Seems like what is displayed is always dark.
  • We typically use Google Hangouts (Classic) with only a small group. For some reason, it's not the preferred choice for a long list of attendees.
  • I am not aware of background feature[s] within Google Hangouts (Classic)(for example, overlay of pictures or backdrop of a city, etc.)

Likelihood to Recommend

Google Hangouts (Classic) [are] well suited for meetings that are set up within Gmail. It is good for screen sharing. Since it's so easy to set up, one can set up a meeting without much hassle and good for impromptu meetings as well.
VU
Verified User
Analyst in Finance and Accounting (501-1000 employees)
Vetted Review
Google Hangouts (Classic)
7 years of experience