Overview
What is Google Hangouts (Classic)?
The classic version of Google Hangouts is a communication platform that includes messaging, voice, VoIP, and video call capabilities. It was part of Google’s G Suite offering and integrated with applications such as Gmail and Google+. Users of the classic…
Love this!
Google Hangouts is reliable and easy to use, but will be phased out soon in favor of newer Google product
Best performance for calls and finding frequent contacts.
Free and must have communication tool
A Decent instant messaging, calling & video conferencing tool.
Google Hangouts (Classic) Review
A great product for its time!
Ubiquitous free tools need love too - don’t forget about Google Hangouts (Classic)
Google Hangouts - Good connectivity, audio/visual quality, and best of all ease of use within Gmail Calendar
A great tool for instant messaging, not much more.
Great 'Place' to virtually hang out with your co-office mates and discuss about work
A good addition if you're already in the Google system, but far superior platforms exist for businesses.
Pretty good deal
Big fan of Google Hangouts (Classic), enhances communication while working remotely
Awards
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Popular Features
- Video conferencing (79)9.393%
- Audio conferencing (79)9.393%
- Mobile app for iOS (73)8.787%
- Mobile app for Android (71)8.282%
Reviewer Pros & Cons
Pricing
What is Google Hangouts (Classic)?
The classic version of Google Hangouts is a communication platform that includes messaging, voice, VoIP, and video call capabilities. It was part of Google’s G Suite offering and integrated with applications such as Gmail and Google+. Users of the classic version of Hangouts will be migrated to the…
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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35 people also want pricing
Alternatives Pricing
What is Google Meet?
Google Meet, formerly Hangouts Meet, replaces the former Google Hangouts as the company's G Suite integrated web conferencing tool, allowing users to join meetings directly from a Calendar event or email invite from a computer, phone, or conference room. G Suite's Enterprise edition also creates a…
What is Zoom?
Zoom helps consolidate communications and collaboration in the boardroom, classroom, operating room, and everywhere. Zoom is an intelligent collaboration platform that makes connecting easier, more immersive, and more dynamic. Zoom technology facilitates collaboration through solutions like Zoom…
Features
Cloud PBX
A cloud PBX system is based on cloud computing technology where data is stored and transferred over the intenet without any need for on-site PBX equipment
- 6.9Hosted PBX(15) Ratings
Hosted telephony infrastructure obviated the need for local PBX hardware
- 7.7Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)(25) Ratings
IVR is a phone menu allowing callers to interact with the system through voice and keypad
- 5.4User templates(22) Ratings
Create and apply batch configurations to multiple users at once
- 9Call reports(34) Ratings
Historical call analysis and trending metrics
- 3.3Directory of employee names(45) Ratings
Voice directory of all employees for self-service dialing
Call Management
Customized phone system settings
- 8Answering rules(33) Ratings
Ability to enter rules to route calls to main number or other extensions in case of absence
- 7.4Call recording(37) Ratings
Automatic recording of inbound and outbound calls
- 7Call park(18) Ratings
Ability to hold calls in virtual location and subsequently access from any phone in system
- 9Call screening(36) Ratings
Ability to block numbers or send calls directly to voicemail
- 8.1Message alerts(58) Ratings
Receive SMS and email message notifications for voice and fax messages
VoIP system collaboration
Team collaboration via cloud phone system
- 9.3Video conferencing(79) Ratings
Built-in video conferencing capabilities
- 9.3Audio conferencing(79) Ratings
Audio conferencing credentials for all on the system.
- 8Video screen sharing(48) Ratings
Users are able to share their screens with other meeting participants on video conference calls.
- 9.3Instant messaging(52) Ratings
Users are able to communicate via chat, either one-on-one or in a group message, through an instant messaging or chat tool.
Mobile apps
Apps are compatible with mobile devices.
- 8.7Mobile app for iOS(73) Ratings
App for iPhone and iPad
- 8.2Mobile app for Android(71) Ratings
Android app
Product Details
- About
- Tech Details
- FAQs
What is Google Hangouts (Classic)?
Callers can use Hangouts to:
- Start a chat conversation or video call.
- Make phone calls using Wi-Fi or data.
- Send text messages with a Google Voice or Google Fi phone number.
Hangouts sync automatically across devices. Hangouts started on a computer, can continue with chat on another device, like a phone.
- In March 2017, Google announced plans to evolve classic Hangouts to focus on two experiences designed to help bring teams together: Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet. Both Chat and Meet are available for G Suite customers and will be made available for consumer users as well. Google is planning to transition users from classic Hangouts to Chat and Meet after June 2020.
- Classic Hangouts is not available in China.
Google Hangouts (Classic) Video
Google Hangouts (Classic) Technical Details
Operating Systems | Unspecified |
---|---|
Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Comparisons
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Reviews and Ratings
(523)Attribute Ratings
Reviews
(26-50 of 91)We love Google Hangouts (Classic)
- Allows for seamless interdepartmental communication
- Allows for continuity of conversations
- Allows for quietly being able to communicate when clients are in the office
- None
- None
- None
The Connector - Google Hangouts
- Screen sharing.
- Video conferencing.
- Chatting.
- Emojis.
- Sending documents.
- They should allow you to connect more than 100 people at a time.
- A news feed should be there.
Replacing Hangouts with Google chat
- Casual chatting
- Promoting conversation between teammates
- Images, gifs and emojis.
- Group chat
- Topic conversation
- Search for some message
Google Hangouts Review
- Google Hangouts extension is available. It provides a separate window to see the messages.
- Video quality is great.
- Video/voice call recording feature.
Hangout with Google Hangouts
- Easy to use. Little to no training required.
- No set up required as we use it with Gmail server.
- Google Hangouts can only be used if you have a Google account. This is not much of a problem as many people have it.
- It lacks advanced features like a waiting room for participants that join early.
Hangouts is just that... a hangout
- the interface is user friendly
- the use case is to the point
- it is easy to add and remove contacts
- file sharing isn't the greatest
- history deletion
- connecting different accounts to the interface
Great instant messenger.
- Hangouts is great for instant messaging.
- I use Hangouts to get an answer from our other office while I'm on phone with a client. It's instant like text but accessible from the browser.
- Rarely, I use Hangouts to make phone calls. It's also good for this.
- Hangouts does everything I need it to and I cannot think of anything it needs.
Great Free Video Conference Tool
- Easy to use with a Google Account.
- Multiple users can join via email.
- Sending out invitations to email and having the user reminded of the upcoming hangout.
- Sometimes a little too basic for sharing screens.
Google Hangouts - Free Group video call available for all
- Group video call
- Call history
- Status updates
- It is very easy to use, but for some reason it is not very popular
- Marketing can be improved
- Users Privacy can be improved - that could be one reason why many do not use
Google Hangouts: good value for the price you pay
- Ease of use
- Excellent video/audio quality
- The Chrome plugin sometimes does not show updates
- Google Hangouts and Google Meetings should just be one platform
Good program, but features are duplicated by other apps now
- Chatting
- Copy and paste of documents or images
- Easy to video conference platform
- Lack of integration into business services
- Mobile app doesn't always give same experience
- Would like to keep as a tab in chrome vs pop out
Google Hangouts - the easiest option out there
- Ease of access
- Easy to understand how to first use
- Syncs well with other products
- Blurry quality happens more with Hangouts than other apps
- Sounds like a small note, but better sounds and ringtones
- Sometimes the hangouts chat vs video feature can be confusing
Google Hangout Has Potential But Still Needs Improvement
- We can open up Google Hangouts and have a face to face meeting.
- It's fairly easy to use once you've done it a couple of times. You do have some back and forth with each user/session until it gets set up and going.
- It sets up communication in real time, faster then chat. And you have the visual.
- The quality of the internet connection is very important. A bad connection is frustrating and a time waster. And there's no way to tell in advance how the connection will be until you start the hangout.
- More instructions on the home page or a section that opens up with answers to common problems would help.
- The camera that each side uses is also crucial. Any improvement in that or having a way to evaluate how the image will be or could be improved would be useful.
- Ease of use -- all features are user-friendly, even for non-technical employees
- Integration -- Hangouts integrates seamlessly with all other Google products
- Improvements -- as a Google product, the software is continuously updating and improving
- Video quality -- the video quality is not as high as some comparable products
- Support -- nearly all support is handled through documentation and forums
Good for small orgs
- Click to join
- Video
- Chat
- Connection sometimes the connection is dropped.
- Sound quality and sound features.
- Single link meetings and meeting start and end times.
My review on Google Hangouts
- Video conferencing
- Audio conferencing
- Text messaging
- There is nothing that needs to be improved.
- I am pretty much happy with all the services.
Works like a charm
- Audio and video quality very good, best in the market
- It's free
- Works on any device, seamlessly
- You can't edit sent messages.
- Could be better integrated with a project management tool.
- It would be great if the product allowed you to somehow get a stored record of past calls.
Not enterprise-ready and can't compete with Slack and Zoom
- Gifs.
- One on one communication.
- Push notifications.
- Desktop UX.
- Mobile app reliability.
- Group communications.
- Integrations.
- History.
- Search.
Google Hangouts is still a good option for online meetings
- Google Hangouts is easy to use.
- Google Hangouts is a well known tool, so most people already know how to use it.
- Usually I don't have any problems with the connection, and the meetings take place perfectly.
- Google Hangouts don't have all the functions of Google Meet.
- Sometimes it's complicated to understand how to enter a meeting, even one that you were invited.
- It's confusing that Google has communication tools that are slightly different, but with the same purpose.
Easy to use, easy to implement, and easy on the wallet.
- Multiple users at once
- Multi-platform support
- Low learning curve
- No desktop implementation
- Lack of analytics
- No low bandwidth setup
Great for business and personal use
- Web meetings.
- Conference record feature.
- Great screen sharing system.
- Set up is a bit confusing.
- Google App suite might be not so convenient to a non-tech person.
- Camera controlling has flaws.
Google Hangouts for video conferencing is a good choice
- Good quality in meetings
- Show camera view of all participants and you can easily identify who is speaking.
- Tracks history of calls which is nice for record-keeping.
- Screen sharing capabilities help getting your points across.
- UI to get a call going is a little confusing via the web browser.
- Not really the popular choice which is why we mostly use Zoom or go-to-meeting.
Lightweight and easy to use
- Mobile calls.
- Audio-only calls.
- Video calls.
- Lite operation.
- The ability to call people without a Google account would be great.
- Dedicated call room URL.
Basic instant messaging and video calling for free
Chat archives can be easily searched, images can be sent as well, but the problem is that other files cannot be sent through it. The latter can create issues and can be irritating but you can always use the same e-mail account to send those other files.
Additionally I like that I can immediately share the screen or make a video call. No problems here. Also mobile app is very useful.
- Uses gmail account which most people have. No need to install anything new (unless you want a mobile app).
- Video conferencing with multiple people works well and allows screen sharing.
- Instant messaging is fast and reliable. Sound notifications are not irritating.
- For me missing file sending is a missing functionality that should be implemented. Only images can be sent.
- Sending images using the desktop gmail website interface could also be improved, takes too long to add the image.
- More privacy settings would be useful.
Amazing product
- Audio and video quality is very good, better than the competition.
- It works great on any device.
- It integrates perfectly with the rest of Google's suite of products.
- You can't edit or delete a chat after it has been sent. That's a feature they should implement.
- The interphase on the email can be improved. It's easy to miss incoming messages.
- It does not have a desktop software.