Zoom vs. Google Hangouts: Which is better for video meetings?

A look at two of the most popular chatting services.

One of the only things keeping people and businesses in face-to-face communication with each other as the coronavirus pandemic continues is video chatting. It’s connecting without physically doing so.

There are all kinds of products to use, but it seems like two of them are the most popularity: Google Hangouts and Zoom, so let’s break them down to see which one might best suit your video chatting needs.

What makes me an expert? Well, I did some research, but I also attempted to use both for a call with my parents, aunt and uncle, and two cousins on Monday night. Here’s what you need to know:

Google Hangouts

It’s pretty simple: click on Hangouts (note: we’re talking about Hangouts, not Hangouts Meet. There’s a difference!), share the link to the chat with your friends, or invite people on the app on your phone and there you go! You have a free video chat!

The thing I’d say is Hangouts is useful for a small group. Once we got to five callers, it got a little chaotic with multiple people talking over each other at once, so you may have to tell everyone to mute and take their turns (although that’s not as fun!). But you can also use emojis and GIFs in the chat, which can add flavor to a conversation.

Again, I emphasize: it’s free and is one or two clicks away from being used. Simplicity is key.

Zoom

It’s built for business meetings, so some of the fun stuff you can add in on Hangouts is out (there is one cool feature I’ll get to in a sec). But I found it a little easier and more organized to use for bigger groups. And while there is a free option, it’s only for up to 100 people and meetings are limited to 40 minutes, so if you want to pay no money, you may need to have a virtual Happy Three-Quarters-of-an-Hour. After that, the Pro option is $14.99 per month. The Business option ($19.99 per month) is for 300 participants, and Enterprise ($19.99 per month with a minimum of 50 hosts) gets up to 500.

And then you can also do virtual backgrounds, which is neat:

If you’re doing a work call, however, note that there’s this feature admins can use:

If enabled by an account administrator, “attention tracking” allows (or can even require) meeting hosts who are sharing their screen to see if the participant’s Zoom app is out of focus (not open and active on their screen) for 30 seconds. There is no notification feature for attendees.

That’s it! Happy chatting.

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