Comparing Zoom and Google Hangouts comes down to priorities and needs for communication; Zoom has come under fire for a series of privacy flaws, Google continues to tweak and expand Hangouts, and Meet competes with Zoom

And as we all spend more and more time away, these services have become all the more important, so we have looked closely at both Zoom and Google Hangouts to see how they differ Surprisingly, there are significant differences in some key features

Both services are quite simple to use, but one is more limited in the size of the groups it can appeal to than the other, and the other doesn't care how much time you spend chatting in a showdown between Skype and Zoom, see how Skype, a longtime video calling service, competes with Zoom See how Skype, a long-time video calling service provider, stacks up against Zoom

If you're still not sure how to use Zoom or how to set up a Zoom meeting, we've got more guides for you; everything you need to know to figure out whether to choose Zoom or Google Hangouts is here (Oh, and check out our best webcam guide for video calling so everyone can see you clearly)

* Google Hangouts Meet has been rebranded to Google Meet And Google announced that its premium video meeting product, Google Meet, will be offered free to all Google account holders until September 30Meet calls are limited to 100 people and there is a 60-minute time limit on calls, which will There will be no

Zoom is, frankly, a more impressive service I've seen huge chats on Zoom, and the big 5x5 grid faces look different than what I've seen on Hangouts; read on to find out how to see everyone on Zoom

Zoom allows you to call up to 100 video callers at a time and see as many as 49 at the same time This towers over the 25 video chat participants from Google Hangouts, but Google Meet (formerly Hangouts Meet) meets Zoom at its 100 caller limit

It is also the more fun version Sure, people can use emojis to respond in Hangouts, but that's table stakes; as you'll see in our guide on how to change Zoom's background, which makes you look like you're somewhere other than a couch or makeshift home office, various You can set up colorful backgrounds that make you look like you are somewhere other than your couch or makeshift home office

There is also a Zoom web app so you don't have to download Zoom to use it However, this version of the software is quite limited

What makes Hangout a winner is its simplicity: there is an app for iOS and Android, but for most people it runs entirely on the web; Zoom tries to get you to download an app, which may be worth the bonus features mentioned above, but I don't need it

And since my hangouts will never be more than 25 people, I pay more attention to the other limitations of the free Zoom: time a Zoom call with more than 3 people has a 40 minute time limit, while Google Hangouts allows you to hangout as long as you want with no time limit

Google Meet, which I mentioned above is free until September 30, has a limit of 100 users and no time limit (but will change to 60 minutes on September 30)

Also, I default to Hangouts over Zoom because that is the account I already have For those who don't use Google's services, I understand that creating a Hangouts account can be complicated But Google's video chat app makes sense for those who rely on Gmail or Google Calendar, for which Hangouts is seamlessly integrated

It's pretty much all in their name If you have a broad enough set of video phone buddies that you need to zoom in and out, you're primarily gonna want to chat on Zoom Hangouts, in turn, are great for smaller groups looking to spend more time in their chats (and Google fans who need more people in the room should check out Meet) Neither is bad, easy to use, and direct

However, I wouldn't be surprised if a long-distance relative is told that his time is up in 40 minutes on the zoom