Google Hangouts (Classic) vs. Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

Google Hangouts (Classic)

522 Reviews and Ratings

Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

2,583 Reviews and Ratings

Overview
Product	Rating	Most Used By	Product Summary	Starting Price
Google Hangouts (Classic)	Score8.7 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
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)	Score8.7 out of 10	N/A	Skype for Business was an online messaging and conferencing tool, now superseded by Microsoft Teams.	N/A

Pricing

Google Hangouts (Classic)

Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

No answers on this topic

No answers on this topic

Pricing Offerings
Google Hangouts (Classic)	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Free Trial
No	No
Free/Freemium Version
No	No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No	No

No setup fee

No setup fee

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Community Pulse
Key User Insights
	Google Hangouts (Classic)	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Considered Both Products	Discontinued Products Verified User Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) The cost-benefit ratio has no point of comparison between one and another. At the time of evaluation, Skype (free account) of course was very limited compared to almost any other service paid account, and Skype for Business was too expensive for the benefits and/or tools it … Incentivized Helpful? Ejaz Hussain Senior Analyst in Information Technology at Virtusa (Information Technology & Services, 10,001+ employees) 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 … Incentivized Helpful? Chris Carpenter Danaher Business System Leader (DBSL), Awesomizer, Fixer, Maker, Collaboration Enabler in Research & Development at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences (Biotechnology, 10,001+ employees) 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 … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User 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 … Incentivized Helpful? Tony Phan Tactical Procurement Specialist (Vietnam & APAC Support) - Source To Procure Team in Corporate at 3M (Retail, 10,001+ employees) 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 … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) It is available for free to use for personal. Easy to use. Syncs with gmail. Maintains history. Group chat and also video call are available. Helps to stay in touch with a group of friends. Fun app to use and have on your smartphone. Privacy can be improved further. We can also … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) Google Hangouts is a lot better for fast calls. It is very light-weight and easier to call people outside of my organization. Incentivized Helpful? Ho'omana Nathan Horton Graduate Teaching Assistant at Oklahoma State University (Research, 5001-10,000 employees) Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) As mentioned previously, the Microsoft products are much better for working within Active Directory, and especially when on the local network. However, Hangouts is a nice, quick and easy option for communicating from anywhere, and outside of that structure, so it's better for … Incentivized Helpful? Jamie Drahos Owner & sUAS Pilot in Corporate at Skeeter Hawk Media (Media Production, 1-10 employees) Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) I actually prefer Google Hangouts over Skype or what was formally known as Microsoft Lync. Although they both offer similar features, I believe Hangouts has a nicer app design an interface. The only area that Skype wins out is by having a dedicated desktop app. Incentivized Helpful? Jason Ramsland Attorney in Legal at Ball Eggleston PC (Law Practice, 11-50 employees) Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) Favorable across the board. Skype's user interface and user experience are atrocious across the board. The software is not good at all on any platform. Google hangouts works simply in a web browser (though I'd like a better mobile web experience, not just a "download our app … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) Google Hangouts is free, fast, reliable and easy to use, the reason why Google Hangouts has a huge benefit against other competitors is that it's free and all the contacts within Google account are synced automatically. Google Hangouts has HD video calls and connections are … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) Both softwares are at the top their class, but I'd choose Hangouts any day for multi-member conference calls as it is much easier to manage and run. Incentivized Helpful? Gabriel Samaroo Senior Software Engineer in Engineering at Masergy (Computer Software, 501-1000 employees) Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) Google Hangouts is my favorite tool for video and audio. I like Slack for messaging because it can handle very large groups and makes many channels and group messages easy to manage. Google Hangouts is very easy to use because most people have a Google Account. No need to teach … Incentivized Helpful? Pax Whitfield Chief Technology Officer in Information Technology at Winston Preparatory School (Education Management, 51-200 employees) Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) Google Hangouts undercuts almost everyone on pricing, and has a solid feature set. In particular, it is enhanced when using with a Google Voice number. In this instance it makes outgoing calls to "real" phones trivially easy. It's great for on-the-fly use, too. However, when … Incentivized Helpful? Bob Cadieux Scrum Master in Information Technology at UniGroup, Inc (Transportation/Trucking/Railroad, 201-500 employees) Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) Google Hangouts is just easier to use and provides an integrated Google experience. Also, it is much easier to invite others to a running meeting. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Google Hangouts (Classic) Overall Google stacks up well when it comes to the other products. Google Hangouts was selected only because other coworkers suggested it and everyone used it as an effective means to communicate and keep all contact done in a professional setting while keeping personal … Incentivized Helpful?	Discontinued Products Greg Madden, CISSP Information Security Officer in Information Technology at West End Bank (Banking, 51-200 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Easier integration than some, but unlike Google Hangouts, it is not free. We chose Skype for Business because of the easier integration and simplified licensing when bundled with Office365. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) I personally like to use Slack for quick meetings with my colleagues. It feels intuitive, fast, and has good screen-sharing functionality. Google Hangouts is another similar tool that I have used. It has worked well and I have not had any problems with it. Incentivized Helpful? María Lucía Santagata Coordinadora Ssr in Information Technology at Keepcon (Internet, 51-200 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) I really prefer Google Hangouts, but some clients only use Microsoft Software. I use Skype for business to communicate with them as an alternative, but if I could, I would choose Hangouts, as I'm more used to that tool and feel it's much more intuitive and works better in cases … Incentivized Helpful? Mandy Cramer Graphic Designer at Miss Mandible Designs (Graphic Design, 1-10 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Skype for Business works, but it's not as user-friendly or stable as normal Skype. One difficulty with Skype for Business is that the features aren't always implementable. Skype for Business is more stable than Google Hangouts. It doesn't have as many features as WebEx, but it … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Call quality, audio and connection are all superior. I suppose Google Hangouts has better social integration as well as calendar integration. But that might be because I prefer Gmail to Outlook. Incentivized Helpful? Marco Poletto Junior Web Developer in Information Technology at GaltOne LTD (Information Technology and Services, 1-10 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) HipChat is more a 1 to 1 chat and is not a proper contender but Google Hangouts has pretty all we need and at the moment has taken Skype for Business' place. It's free and is even more widespread than Skype. You need just Google Chrome. Incentivized Helpful? Sara Aldworth Director of Marketing & Digital Media in Marketing at Pharos Innovations (Hospital & Health Care, 11-50 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) As a freelancer, I used Google Hangouts to chat, video conference and collaborate with my clients. In my current full-time role, Skype for Business was already in place, so there wasn't much of a decision for me to make. However, I do miss the ability to actively collaborate on … Incentivized Helpful? Sondra Kinder Business Analyst in Corporate at 110 Consulting (Management Consulting, 51-200 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Its been quite a while since I have used Chatter, but at the time, I don't believe it was very user friendly and the ability to present and share content was not yet integrated. Google Hangouts is also a strong product, however, the UI functionality is not as intuitive as Skype … Incentivized Helpful? Kapil Pai PM in Engineering at GH (Biotechnology, 501-1000 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Teams is a superior product. The companies are now shifting more towards Teams as compared to Skype. Incentivized Helpful? Muhammad Hossain IT Project Manager in Information Technology at REXO IT (Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Skype enables me to have a conversation with people worldwide via calls or messaging, which is extremely convenient. We can share our work or presentation during the call by sending files, images, and even screen sharing. As a result of its superior video and audio quality, … Incentivized Helpful? Exson Meza Director de Linea de Procesos OBPP in Engineering at Fondo de Compensación Interterritorial (Management Consulting, 51-200 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Select Skype for business because it is a program that offers better video call tools because it contains work options that allow a clearer image of the video, more coincidence between audio and video. Skype for business offers a more innovative and creative interface tailored … Incentivized Helpful? Gustavo Porporato Daher Financial Accounting Lecturer in Finance and Accounting at University and Business Schools (Higher Education, 1001-5000 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Webex is a more robust solution, but more expensive. Google hangout is a simple way to communicate, quite informal. Incentivized Helpful? Natasha Johnson Office Coordinator in Customer Service at Virtual Friends (Facilities Services, 201-500 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Although I do enjoy working with both Skype and Zoom for video conferencing. I would honestly say Skype delivered better video quality. Incentivized Helpful? Marie Rodriguez Director of Information Technology in Information Technology at A To Z Tire (Wholesale, 201-500 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) I have used Google Hangouts previously, and I believe that Skype is a better service. It is intertwined with the calendar. Also, when installing it as part of the Office 365 package, it is only a second install. I also like how it saves the messages within Outlook. Skype for … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Skype for business and Jabber - The solutions are very similar, but I think that as a user of both, skype offers a more intuitive approach on the communication process, facilitating the learning curve. The integration offered by skype, with Microsoft's productivity tools is … Incentivized Helpful? eldhose k shibu UI Developer in Engineering at QBurst (Computer Software, 1001-5000 employees) Chose Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Hangouts is also pretty nice except that it breaks down more frequently and the UI is not that pretty cool. Incentivized Helpful?
	Would buy again
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Delivers good value for the price
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Happy with the feature set
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Lived up to sales and marketing promises
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Implementation went as expected
No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic

Features

Google Hangouts (Classic)

Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Feature	Google Hangouts (Classic) 6.3 57 Ratings	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) - Ratings
Hosted PBX	6.915 Ratings	00 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)	7.725 Ratings	00 Ratings
User templates	5.022 Ratings	00 Ratings
Call reports	9.034 Ratings	00 Ratings
Directory of employee names	3.045 Ratings	00 Ratings

Comparison of Call Management features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Feature	Google Hangouts (Classic) 8.0 66 Ratings	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) - Ratings
Answering rules	8.033 Ratings	00 Ratings
Call recording	7.937 Ratings	00 Ratings
Call park	7.018 Ratings	00 Ratings
Call screening	9.036 Ratings	00 Ratings
Message alerts	8.058 Ratings	00 Ratings

Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Feature	Google Hangouts (Classic) 8.6 84 Ratings	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) 7.8 1 Ratings
Video conferencing	9.079 Ratings	7.01 Ratings
Audio conferencing	9.079 Ratings	8.01 Ratings
Video screen sharing	7.148 Ratings	8.01 Ratings
Instant messaging	9.052 Ratings	8.01 Ratings

Comparison of Mobile apps features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Feature	Google Hangouts (Classic) 8.0 85 Ratings	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) - Ratings
Mobile app for iOS	8.173 Ratings	00 Ratings
Mobile app for Android	8.071 Ratings	00 Ratings

Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Feature	Google Hangouts (Classic) - Ratings	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) 8.0 195 Ratings
High quality audio	00 Ratings	9.1191 Ratings
High quality video	00 Ratings	9.0185 Ratings
Low bandwidth requirements	00 Ratings	5.0181 Ratings
Mobile support	00 Ratings	9.0146 Ratings

Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Feature	Google Hangouts (Classic) - Ratings	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) 7.0 191 Ratings
Desktop sharing	00 Ratings	9.0191 Ratings
Whiteboards	00 Ratings	5.0120 Ratings

Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Feature	Google Hangouts (Classic) - Ratings	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) 9.3 188 Ratings
Calendar integration	00 Ratings	10.0174 Ratings
Meeting initiation	00 Ratings	9.5182 Ratings
Integrates with social media	00 Ratings	8.182 Ratings
Record meetings / events	00 Ratings	9.0143 Ratings
Slideshows	00 Ratings	10.0115 Ratings

Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Feature	Google Hangouts (Classic) - Ratings	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) 7.5 173 Ratings
Live chat	00 Ratings	8.5171 Ratings
Audience polling	00 Ratings	7.094 Ratings
Q&A	00 Ratings	7.094 Ratings

Comparison of Online Events Security features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Feature	Google Hangouts (Classic) - Ratings	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) 6.8 156 Ratings
User authentication	00 Ratings	9.0142 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions	00 Ratings	8.5148 Ratings
Confidential attendee list	00 Ratings	3.0109 Ratings

User Ratings
	Google Hangouts (Classic)	Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend	8.0 (91 ratings)	8.4 (198 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew	10.0 (1 ratings)	9.0 (7 ratings)
Usability	8.0 (7 ratings)	9.0 (14 ratings)
Support Rating	8.0 (36 ratings)	8.5 (40 ratings)
Implementation Rating	- (0 ratings)	7.0 (2 ratings)