Google Hangouts vs Meet Review: Which Should You Use?

Whether you work in a multinational company or a recently founded start-up, it is impossible to imagine business communication without being able to communicate with your colleagues and partners online. One of the perks of working in the 21^st century is that we are no longer tied to our workplace.

We can choose from a vast number of platforms, and Google Hangouts is one of the most popular. However, a couple of years ago, Google started developing a new platform – Google Meet.

Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts is a platform for virtual meetings and video conferences. It launched back in 2013, and it saw some fantastic improvements over the years. The app is straightforward, and video conference calls are of high quality, almost as if you were all in the same room.

Google Hangouts was a small revolution in the business world as it allowed many people to work from home. Remote work, in turn, allowed companies to hire people from all around the world. As a result, international teams can now meet daily and discuss new projects.

Hangouts Meet

Hangouts Meet is a result of Google management’s decision to split Google Hangouts into two separate tools. From now on, we will be able to use Hangouts Meet for video conferences and Hangouts Chat for sending chat messages.

They decided to split the app to improve the efficiency of both video calls and chat messaging systems. Thus, Hangouts Meet took over the video calls section of the old Google Hangouts. Google put a lot of work into it, with the ambition to make Hangouts Meet the most advanced video conference tool on the market.

Google Hangouts vs Meet

Though these two apps are very similar and you can use them for the same purposes, there are some differences between them. We will now discuss some of the most important features and compare these two platforms.

Number of Participants

You can have up to 25 people in a single Google Hangouts meeting. It used to be an impressive number, but with time companies’ needs have increased. With Hangouts Meet, it is possible to include up to 250 persons in a video call!

However, companies that need this feature will have to purchase two licenses: G Suite Enterprise and Enterprise for Education license. There are cheaper licenses as well. If you buy a Basic and G Suite Education license, you will be able to include up to 100 participants. You can upgrade this feature by purchasing a G Suite license that enables you to have up to 150 meeting participants.

Video Features

That may be the most significant improvement. Many people state that Meet improved overall video conferencing experience. The two most essential changes that the new app introduced include sending messages and joining conference calls.

Hangouts Meet lets you access video calls both through your browser and mobile phone app. You can also do it from Google Calendar or Hangouts Meet hardware.

External participants can now join video conferences directly via a shared link. That’s a massive improvement because the only way to add participants in Google Hangouts was through calendar invitations or special permissions. People who had to deal with it daily know how annoying it can get.

Conference Call on Mobile Phone

Nowadays, people tend to use their mobile phones instead of their PCs whenever that is possible, both in personal and professional life. Google has recognized this tendency and introduced some options into Hangouts Meet that will make their life easier.

As we have already mentioned, the process of joining a conference meeting on the mobile phone is much easier now. You can also send messages from your phone during the session. You can do it via the browser or the new Google Hangouts Chat app. People find this app super useful as they can text quickly.

Finally, the video call resolution improved significantly; it is now full HD. That means that people who access video conferences from their mobile phones will finally be able to have the same experience as those who join the call from their PCs.

Hangouts Meet: New Features

Besides improving the features mentioned above, Hangouts Meet has introduced some new features as well. The big news is that it is now possible to record a full-length meeting. Many people have been waiting for that feature because now they won’t have to miss anything important even if they haven’t been present.

This feature gives Hangouts Meet a significant advantage over similar platforms. It is a big innovation and something that people genuinely need.

Meet the New Hangouts

Google Hangouts was a high-quality platform, but Hangouts Meet is even better. The improvements are apparent, as Hangouts Meet is more user-friendly and intuitive. It allows the team to communicate more efficiently and productively.

If you were using Google Hangouts, we could almost guarantee that you are going to love Hangouts Meets. Have you already tried it? We can’t wait to hear what you think about the app. Feel free to share your opinion in the comments section below.