Google Hangouts (Classic) vs. Phone.com

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Hangouts (Classic)
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
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.N/A
Phone.com
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Phone.com is a cloud based VoIP solution from the company of the same name in Newark, New Jersey, with video conferencing, business phone, and optional premium features (e.g. live receptionist). The company boasts 30,000 businesses as users of its cloud-based communication and collaboration solutions.
$4.99
per month, per device
Pricing
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
IP Phone Connection
$4.99
per month, per device
Phone Numbers
$4.99
per month
Call Recording
$7.99
per month
Basic Users
$12.99
per user, per month
Plus Users
$19.99
per user, per month
Pro Users
$29.99
per user, per month
Lice Receptionist
Starting at $90
per month
Global Phone Numbers
Starting at $4.99
per month
International Dialing
Vary Rates
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details20% discount with annual billing. Mix and match user plans to create a custom plan appropriate for the business.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Considered Both Products
Google Hangouts (Classic)
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Google Hangouts integrates into our current workflows well (we use g-suite) and is quite user friendly. It is great for small to mid-size internal team meetings. It is also good for informal client meeting. There are other cases where other tools are needed/superior for the …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Best part of Google Hangouts is its simplicity, and performance. We never had connection problems, or quality interruptions, something that is more frequent with the other tools listed above.
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Google Hangouts is by far the most practical and easy communication tool I have used. Skype sees lots of drop rate but never faced any such issue with Google Hangouts. Mobile accessibility is also easier with Google Hangouts.
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
well, google hangouts classic doesn't stack up that well when compared to either Skype or Teams, as it lacks advanced features. But the fact that it nearly costs anything to get it set up & running in no time is a positive point for the platform. I'm pretty sure that Hangouts …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
In terms of simplicity and ease of use, Google Hangouts is wonderful compared to some of the competitive products listed above. I do think that each have their own benefits:
  • some companies do not allow for Google's suite of products (like Hangouts) to be utilized
  • some …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
For its time, Google Hangouts (Classic) was a fantastic product and matched up well with all of its successors. Now however, with it having been phased on within Workspace for Education, I would not advise any new users use the product.

Google Chat, combined with Google Meet, …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
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 …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Google Hangouts (Classic) is better than those two competitors if you want [the] ease of use within Gmail. One does not need to go to a separate site to set up a meeting. You just select the link to add the Google meeting link within the scheduler.
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Google hangouts (Classic), is a instant message solution with not much more to add, it lacks the screen sharing features, the broad app integration, and the video and audio conferencing of this software.
As a basic instant messaging communication tool it does what it promises …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
An obvious advatange of Google Hangouts is that it does not require any installation which allows me to use it in any laptop, any device. Unlike other software that requires installation and forcing an IT guy to physically install it on my device. The software is also VPN …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Again, Google Hangouts would primarily be used if you're already in the Google system. Corporate chat systems are far superior in functionality and usability and are also more reliable for larger organizations. For any company that is working with clients, I'd recommend a more …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Google Hangouts app is already integrated with many apps users already are familiar with. The program is accessible on many platforms which makes it easy for users to conduct business without having specific devices on hand. It really helped that many people were already …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
I prefer Google Hangouts (Classic) to Microsoft Teams and Zoom, in terms of ease of use. It is quicker to use than setting up a Zoom room, for example. I always have the tab open in my browser and get pinged when colleagues chat me. Same with the phone app - I have it on during …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
We reserve Zoom for client-facing meetings as it is the "market standard" and many are familiar with it, however for most internal meetings, we use Google Hangouts due to how light and simple it is, plus the integration with Google Calendar.
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Google Hangouts is more readily available based on the fact that it is part of the Google family, however, ease of use and convenience would make me want to prefer Whatsapp Business or Teams.
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Google Hangouts is more for informal, care-free meetings. Zoom is more for professional, webinar, and live event-type meetings. Also, Google integrates with our full G Suite/Workspace products.
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Google Hangouts [(Classic)] is better than jabber, but way behind all other business chat clients. I would much rather use any of the alternatives I have listed in place of Hangouts.
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Since our staff and students already used Google products it was easy to add on this feature. We deployed it district wide at the start of the pandemic. Students and staff were easily able to learn the interface and we could mass deploy it on our Chromebooks. We really liked …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Since we use Google Suite, Google Hangouts (Classic) was the obvious choice. The ease of use and access to employees makes Google Hangouts (Classic) simple to use and access. Additionally, adding users to an existing Hangout is easy. Google Hangouts (Classic) also doesn't …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Zoom is solid but it's a whole other thing to log in to and limited in what its focus is. Slack has the chat functionality but Google Hangouts is integrated into my every day use and I don't feel like it's yet another thing to manage and keep track of.
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Google Hangouts (Classic) is just as good as any of its competitors. Google Hangouts (Classic) has everything that is needed for an internal communication tool, besides the software makes work really fun with the cool and funny stickers. I have personally liked using Google …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
It was integrated into our Google Business Suite and free to use. We selected it because it was easy to create hangouts wth the Google Calendar.
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Zoom allows us to connect to a large number of people but personally I face problems while using Zoom on the mobile phone, it needs a high-speed network and lags too much. While on the other hand Google Hangouts is lite and easy to use on mobile phones, it's easy to connect and …
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
Apart from Google Hangouts, we were using Skype and GoToMeeting for the same business process. Over time we experienced that the quality of the call was reduced day by day with those products, so we moved to Google Hangouts.
Chose Google Hangouts (Classic)
We use the Google emails for business hence, the Google Hangout application was available for free. There was no setup cost or training that was required. Advanced systems have advanced features which are good but the downside is that they require training. A separate account …
Phone.com

No answer on this topic

Features
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
6.3
Ratings
24% below category average
Phone.com
10.0
Ratings
22% above category average
Hosted PBX6.90 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)7.70 Ratings10.00 Ratings
User templates5.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Call reports9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Directory of employee names3.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
8.0
Ratings
5% below category average
Phone.com
10.0
Ratings
17% above category average
Answering rules8.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Call recording7.90 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Call park7.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Call screening9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Message alerts8.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
8.6
Ratings
7% above category average
Phone.com
10.0
Ratings
22% above category average
Video conferencing9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio conferencing9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Video screen sharing7.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Instant messaging9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Mobile apps
Comparison of Mobile apps features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
8.0
Ratings
1% above category average
Phone.com
10.0
Ratings
23% above category average
Mobile app for iOS8.10 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Mobile app for Android8.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Small Businesses
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google Hangouts (Classic)Phone.com
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.
Read full review
Phone.com is a no-brainer. The cost savings over a POTS or in-house PBX system are tremendous. The affordability added on top of the easy to use and deploy features make Phone.com the best choice. Phone.com is well-suited for situations where you need other-than-standard call holding, call routing, and other similar advanced call features.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
  • Provisioning phones throughout an organization
  • Compartmentalization is easy with different incoming call ques, routes and rules
  • Phone.com is available and generally functional from anywhere you have access to an internet connection
Read full review
Cons
  • 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.
Read full review
  • Phone.com has been excellent with support and I can not think of any areas for improvement with regards to that
  • Phone.com could provide more graphical assistance when programming call routing. A visual indication of the flow of a call should be presented and would come in handy when planning out difficult ques/call routes
Read full review
Usability
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
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
For its time, Google Hangouts (Classic) was a fantastic product and matched up well with all of its successors. Now however, with it having been phased on within Workspace for Education, I would not advise any new users use the product. Google Chat, combined with Google Meet, have superseded Hangouts (Classic) and should be used by default due to their close knit integration with Gmail.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • 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.
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  • Reduced cost and improved our efficiency - all reps love it.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Phone.com Screenshots

Screenshot of Phone.com Dashboard