The service is accessed through Gmail, Google+, and through a Google mobile app. Chat histories can be saved online, letting the user sync them between their devices. There are a lot of features in the Google Hangout paradigm that also make it a perfect business tool. While a proprietary platform may be better for large businesses, easily integrated into Google Cloud, Google Hangouts makes it perfect for the small business to have a teleconference, share files, and save videos for later reference. Google Hangouts was originally developed as a social tool. However, many companies are starting to purchase Google Cloud and Google accounts for each individual user, letting them utilize the infrastructure that powers your basic Google Drive, Google+, and Gmail account. Here are the things that we think may make Google Hangouts a great fit for small businesses:

The overall Google interface, streamlining the user experience.
The sleek live editing options found in Google Drive, and the ability to share documents within Google Hangouts.
The affordable prices for users that want vast storage as part of their Google Account experience.
The ability to use Gmail as the nexus for Google Voice and Google Hangouts.

With Google, the overall interface can easily be used to streamline your business and conferencing needs. With your Google account, you have access to Gmail, the Google+ social media tool, Google Hangouts, and Google Drive. All of these tools can be used in the Hangout experience, letting you conference with up to 15 people if you have purchased a user account for members in your business. With Google's robust user experience, you can plan your meetings on Google Calendar, invite people to a meeting, and provide them with a link to get into the conference. This makes it easy to collaborate over great distances in real time. Some of the conferencing platforms out there lack or have limited sharing and editing capabilities when it comes to editing documents. Google Drive makes it easy to share documents over Hangouts. If you'd like, you can log into your account and see where the other user is making edits in the document. With Google Drive open, a person can be taking notes while other members participate in the conversation. What does Google Hangouts offer over other platforms? The biggest benefit is the cost. For an entire year, you can pay only $50 and give a user access to all the tools in Google. Hangouts is merely an extension of Google and it offers your business a way of communicating across Google's apps and tools. For larger business enterprises, we recommend using Google Hangouts within the larger Google Cloud paradigm. This way, your company can enjoy using Hangouts while enjoying the fast cloud solutions offered by Google. We also thought that the HD solutions offered by Google Hangouts were perfect. Google lets users access HD video streaming if their network and Internet connection can handle it. There is up to 720 p available for users who can enjoy the best HD experience.

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The Bad

Concerns
Recording
Integrations

We had some concerns about using Google with users that were not part of an organization. This created some concerns for us for businesses that might be working with independent contractors. Shared documents and recorded conferences might be a security risk if shared with users outside of a company. You are not able to record your web conferences using Google Hangouts however there are recording softwares you can download which enable you to record. If you end up using Hangouts on Air for your web conferencing needs (limits the number of participants but not the number of viewers) then your video will automatically be recorded and saved to your YouTube channel. There are a few concerns we have about using Google Hangouts as a proprietary-level conferencing system:

Is the Google Hangouts experience private across all platforms?
Google Hangouts only lets 15 people conference in real time on the business end.
Lack of specialized leadership tools that are found in other proprietary conferencing solutions.
Some other conferencing products had easily integrable APIs with other platforms, such as ZenDesk and Facebook.

Also, Google Hangouts only lets up to 15 people participate actively in a conference. More people can view a Hangout and participate if it is being streamed. We found that with other companies, other conferencing tools let up to 30 or more people participate. If Google only lets 15 people participate in a Hangout, it might be more beneficial to do a good old-fashioned conference call. We weren't impressed with the overall leadership tools found with Google Hangouts. Right now, admins can make basic use changes to Google Hangouts for users within an organization, but the robust control for leaders found within other platforms is lacking in Hangouts. We're not sure how easily Google Hangouts integrates with other platforms, such as Zen Desk and Facebook. We found that TeamView lets users build some Facebook chat capabilities, but this feature is lacking with Google Hangouts.

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The Bottom Line

Overall, we felt like Google Hangouts was probably a better fit for small businesses that wanted a robust platform within the larger robustness of the Google account paradigm. Google Hangouts offers some really neat features, but limits the number of participants in a conference. Other companies have developed powerful infrastructure solutions for companies that combine live chat, video conferencing, document editing, file sharing, and other cloud solutions. Proprietary-level enterprises might want to consider investing in Google Cloud, integrating the Google Hangout paradigm into a customized solution that is part of their overall business infrastructure.

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User Reviews

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4.3

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129 Reviews

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Kaylee Gay Columbia, MO

I love how easy Google Hangouts makes it to do web conferencing with various employers and colleges. I used Google Hangouts for a lot of my college conferencing and I would watch presentations and the audio was always great. I even used Google Hangouts for personal uses like communicating with my friends during Covid. My grandparents could even figure out to use it with no issues. Another one of my favorite things is that my Gmail would link up events with Google Hangouts which made it nice to have reminders about meetings.

4 years ago

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Cam Hall Richmond, VA

Google Hangouts was the lifeblood of schools, community groups, and countless other communities during COVID, and shouldered the weight of plenty of institutions who weren't ready for remote. Now that we're starting to return and/or codify WFH strategies, Hangouts is showing a bit of its rough side, though. Hangouts is a computer processing power hog, and if you go to share your screen your computer's fans will kick on, guaranteed. That being said, it's a free product that does plenty good.

5 years ago

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Alicia Mesa, AZ

I have used Google Hangouts for my work in the past and been fairly pleased with it. I like that it connected to our email and made it easy to open a meeting when we were talking and decided it needed to be a face to face conversation. It was easy to use for the most part and I loved that you didn't have to have a Google account to log on to the meeting. I feel like it's comparable to other web conferencing sites, the biggest difference would be that it was tied to my google email. The one complaint I did have with it was that when a meeting got too big, there was no way to see everyone in the meeting, at least from the participant stand point. Other than that, I would totally use it again!

4 years ago

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MD. MUKUL. SHARKER Dhaka, 13

Having a simple quick messenger is really improving my work progress and letting me and my team connect quickly to collaborate on tasks quickly. A wonderful experience is all that I can say.

5 years ago

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courtney tennant Salem, VA

Google Hangouts has many options such as chats and video calls, which makes it convenient for everyone. If you want to see someones face you can, but if not you can turn the camera off.

5 years ago

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Cassidy Gundersen Orem, UT

My husband and I used Google Hangouts to chat while we both worked on Capitol Hill in different offices. I think that was back when it was called G-chat before they merged it into Hangouts. The only downside was that we both have iphones and used imessage when we weren’t at work. So we had to download the ios app to continue our conversations.

8 years ago

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anna blaser CA

I love Google Hangouts! It’s super easy to use, and I love the amount of features with it. It’s different in the way that you don’t expect it to be as good as it actually is. I love that you can use it in both a business matter and just a way to contact friends.

4 years ago

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Saylor D Herriman, UT

Google Hangouts is a great way to chat with your coworkers, friends, and classmates without having to leave your home. With COVID-19 going on, I needed a way to communicate with my team, and Google Hangouts fit the need very well.

4 years ago Edited January 13, 2022

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TTeep Smithfield, UT

We used Google Hangouts to call our son on his mission. It was nice being able to see everyone on the call at the same time. It's not too different from other conference apps, but it works well and we never had any issues using it.

5 years ago

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Paige Ellis Slade Gilbert, AZ

This is the main way that I get to video chat with my parents. I don’t live close to them and we have different phone formats… iOS versus android. Google hangouts helps me stay close to my family and I am super grateful for that!

5 years ago

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Nicole Johnson Portland, OR

Excellent way to talk as a larger group. Most people have a gmail account that they can go through. Family chats are easy to set up and invite people to, as well as join from the invitations others send. The messaging interface is clear as well.

5 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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Cindy H Gilbert, AZ

We had to use Goggle hangouts to talk to my daughter when she was in Ecuador over Christmas while she was serving a mission. It was a pretty good connection and i was so thrilled to be able to see her and hear her voice. Very grateful to Google for this service.

5 years ago

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Amy Barrus Sandy, UT

My son has lived out of state and in Mexico for the past year and a half. We have been happy with both the video and chat features on Google Hangouts. Feedback only happens when multiple devices are in a room. Most of the time we have had few problems with glitches. When the speech or video gets that digital pixilation feeling we do a quick hard reset by hanging up and restarting the call. We have also added extended family members to our conversations from various places. Aside from occasional glitches Hangouts is a great tool!

5 years ago

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Tara Bindrup Smithfield, UT

I used Google Hangouts to communicate with my son who was on a mission in Africa. You can communicate through both video or text. You can also have more than just one other person on the video call or text feed. I also like how you can take a picture right in the app and send or choose one from your photos.

5 years ago

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Mackenize Jorgensen Los Angeles, CA

I used Google Hangout over the pandemic to be able to talk to my coaches and teammates. It was super easy to get on. Its so great that there was a chat on the side so you could ask questions and talk to others without disturbing the main speaker or what else was going on.

5 years ago

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Natalie Drewery ,

Due to Covid-19 my friends and I were trying to find creative ways to stay in touch. Since the gyms were closed we started a Google Hangout workout group and it has been so needed and so fun. Love being able to share screens depending upon who is presenting the workout for that day.

6 years ago

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Morgan Tennant Shelley, ID

On my phone, Google Hangouts often loses connection to the internet and I always end up either losing video while keeping sound, or I get disconnected completely. On my laptop, however, Google Hangouts works much better and I can keep the connection steady.

5 years ago

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Mary Gunn

Great video conferencing app. A lot of features makes it a perfect meeting tool for small entrepreneurs like me. The most important fact is it’s easy to use interface.

5 years ago

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Brooklyn Bishop Los Angeles, CA

With COVID-19 going on and everything shutting down, google hangouts has been very useful to me. I have had many meetings using this app and it’s super easy to navigate. The only trouble was that it occasionally glitch.

5 years ago

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Kenneth Okerlund Orem, UT

Very good product for basic use as well as for how easy it is to use. The user interface is user friendly and it takes nearly no time to figure out how to use the features it provides.

9 years ago

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Sarah Osguthorpe Lehi, UT

Google Hangouts made it possible for me to reach my sister across the world. She could only use that app, and it made it easier to contact her! I love this app and website, super reliable.

4 years ago

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Korinne C Riverton, UT

I've used Google Hangouts for online meetings a few times, and I prefer them over Zoom. The user interface is cleaner and more simple. Sharing the info is very easy and not overwhelming, and it is easy to start and stop.

4 years ago

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Cali Peterson Salt Lake City, UT

It was a perfect way for me to connect with my friends when I didn’t have a phone but had an email and a computer. I wish I wasn’t slowly dying out like it is. It’s honestly nostalgic going back to it.

4 years ago

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Vy Ha Birmingham, AL

Google hangouts makes meetings easy to pin and plan ahead. I use google everyday so it wasn’t hard to just log and have it be one step more than just checking my gmail. My friends and I all like google hangout for the accessibility and fast smooth operations with the functions

4 years ago

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Elena Pack West Jordan, UT

Google Hangouts is a great plug to be able to talk and have conversations with others. It is through Google so you can log in on any device Google and still see your conversations. You can also video call which is nice.

4 years ago

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Shopman Herriman, UT

Google Hangouts keeps my family connected. We are able to chat and videoconference easily on many different devices. The quality of the video is usually high. Google lets you report on the quality and works to improve it.

4 years ago

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Wendy Barney Vancouver, WA

My daughter just had my first grandchild and we use different kinds of phones. Google Hangouts enables me to see my darling grandson’s sweet facial expressions as I talk to his mom. Without it, I could only verbally talk to them! Google Hangouts makes it so easy!

4 years ago

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Jec Canby, OR

My favorite use of Google Hangouts is communication with my children when they are out of the country. And it's free! I've also used it for meetings and contacting others. It's a nice option to have.

4 years ago

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Sydney Charleston South Jordan, UT

I have been using it since a long time and I think it's easy and comfortable way of chatting and having calls with dear ones and for work as well! Easy to use and free with an email account!

5 years ago

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Abril Hunter Tallahassee, FL

This summer for my internship I use Google hangouts every week. I believe the Google hang out has some pros and cons and many of them are associated with its ease of use. I find it hard to share screen in Google hangouts but also to communicate privately with others in the chat. Furthermore, it’s hard to rearrange the screen to different views in order to only see the speaker or only see the screen. I find that I tend to lean towards other web conferencing apps over Google hang out because of its interface.

5 years ago

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Anne Sainsbury South Jordan, UT

I use Google Hangouts on a regular basis with friends and family. I love being able to have everyone on the same screen and see who is speaking. This is a great tool to get a group of people together to connect!

5 years ago

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CJ Milke Olney, MD

Google Hangouts is great for small video chats with friends. When all participants turn on their cameras, there is a little bit of lag between the devices, but not too much that would affect your call. Disappointed that the company does not allow large numbers of participants.

5 years ago

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Jessica Chen Rockville, MD

I use Google Hangouts whenever I want to talk and call my friends. Google Hangouts is easy to access as you can either download the app or go to gmail if you are on a computer. I've used Google Hangout a lot to talk in groupchats as most people have Google Hangouts as long as you have an email.

5 years ago

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Conrad Ma American Fork, UT

Google hangouts is great and easy to use! It is great when you’re trying to Jaír hangout and meet with friends or family, especially in the COVID socially distanced climate that we have today.

5 years ago

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Taylor Hall Los Angeles, CA

For video conferencing, Google hangouts is not my first choice. However, it is a great alternative. It is a lot easier to use than zoom for those older users with a Google account. I do appreciate it accessibility and user-friendly design.

5 years ago

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Karli American Fork, UT

I used Google Hangouts at my previous job and loved it. It makes collaboration with coworkers easy and I love how flawlessly it interfaces with Google Mail and Google Calendar to make a seemless experience for the user.

5 years ago

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Paige Dahle Providence, UT

Google Hangouts is really easy to figure out and it's a really nice way to be able to connect with friends. It's really convenient too. I would totally recommend this to a friend. I've never had problems with it.

5 years ago

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Ryan Harpenau Fayetteville, AR

I used google hangouts to meet with someone to review my personal statement for medical school. The experience was easy, but I definitely prefer other video calling platforms like Zoom because I thought the quality on Zoom was a lot better.

5 years ago

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Elizabeth Orlando, FL

Google Hangouts was the go to calling system to connect with my family that lives all over the country. It was an easy system to set up and very customizable.

4 years ago Edited March 2, 2022

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Brynlee Dalton Riverton, UT

Google hangouts for the most part was very good! There were just a couple times that it glitched out. Other than that, it was very fun to be able to see my friends, even when we couldn't be together in person.

4 years ago

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Brian Cowley Riverton, UT

I use google hangouts/chat the most of all. I like the interface, it is really easy to use, share screens and ties in with my calendar and email really good.

4 years ago

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Jacks Friend Riverton, UT

So grateful for Google Hangouts. We used then to communicate with our foster son's bio mom. It was a place we could chat but still keep our personal info private.

4 years ago

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Carolina camacho

Google hangouts is great! I am able to talk with friends or classmates face to face and it is very helpful with school. The site is really easy to use too!

4 years ago

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Alicia Turner Denver, CO

Google hangouts has allowed for great group calls. There is generally no issues but have had a few with being heard and being able to hear. There was one time it made a family member sound like a chipmunk haha.

5 years ago

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hminfo Olney, MD

Google Hangouts is a great way to catch up with friends and family online. It is easy to use--our parents and grandparents are all able to use it without any problems.

5 years ago

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Amy Gardiner Clarksburg, MD

WE use this for our school meetings for the CC. The only challenge is that you have to add an extension to get more people on the screen and change your settings often. Otherwise I think it is a great service.

5 years ago

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Steve Ashby Portland, OR

We've been using Hangouts for many years. When my son was away we would hold family calls. They haven't seemed to keep up with the other conferencing services and just aren't even an option I consider lately; I always use Teams/Skype or Zoom, and sometimes WebEx at work. For personal use it is Zoom.

5 years ago

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Jacob Curtis Guyton, GA

I've used hangouts to connect with my friends and family across the US. Nice function to go from chat to video, but I don't always get notifications when I'm getting called

5 years ago

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Vikti Mehta Frisco, TX

I used Google Hangouts for a virtual event and had no problem joining and interacting with everyone involved (video and audio included). Great platform to use with your Google account!

5 years ago

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Brian Salt Lake City, UT

Great product that brings anyone, no matter what phone platform (Android, Apple) or computer platform (Windows, Apple), together to be able to talk via video.

5 years ago