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    Hangouts Alternatives

    Hangouts is described as 'messaging app that lets you send and receive messages, photos and more, and even start free video and voice calls – one to one or with a group!' and is a leading Group Chat in the Social & Communications category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Hangouts for a variety of platforms, including Android, Online / Web-based, iPhone, Windows and iPad. Most alternatives are Group Chats, Video Calling Apps and Instant Messengers. The best alternative is Telegram, which is free. Other great apps like Hangouts are Signal (Free, Open Source), Element (Freemium, Open Source), Discord (Freemium) and Skype (Freemium).

    This page was last updated Jan 22, 2022

    1. Telegram

      • Free • Proprietary
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • Online
      • Android
      • iPhone
      • Android Tablet
      • HUAWEI AppGallery
      • Windows Phone
      • iPad
      • Apple Watch
      • Linux Mobile
      • Android Wear
      • PortableApps.com
      • FreeBSD
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      Telegram is a messaging app created by former VK creators with a focus on speed and security. It’s superfast, simple and free. It is like SMS, but more powerful.
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      Telegram vs Hangouts opinions
      Almost everyone thinks Telegram is a great alternative to Hangouts.
      Smooth, clear, and encrypted messaging and voice calling.
      Positive comment • over 4 years ago

      15
      Support audio and video conversation, fast and secure.
      Positive comment • almost 2 years ago

      1
      assistantphilrichards Supports large audio files, does not compress photos when sending
      Positive comment • over 1 year ago

      1
      telegram is text messaging app only, and doesn't support audio and video conversation .
      Negative comment • almost 5 years ago

      -27
    2. Signal is a messaging app with an unexpected focus on privacy, combined with all the features expected from a modern IM app. Signal has received a lot of praise from all around the world for its security and privacy-respecting technologies.
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      Signal vs Hangouts opinions
      Most users think Signal is a great alternative to Hangouts.
      Easy security for beginners, multi-platform, current development, doesn't restrict communications to insecure recipients, obvious visual indicators that you are communicating secure or non-secure.
      Positive comment • over 4 years ago

      8
      No web interface (Otherwise, the service is great.)
      Negative comment • almost 3 years ago

      3
      JohnFastman Unlike Google products, Signal offers end-to-end encryption, meaning that your messages cannot be intercepted or read by anyone except the intended recipient, if they have Signal too. Google's emails and messages are intercepted by mass surveillance and used to profile users as part of Google's business model. Signal is also open source, which means you can inspect the code yourself.
      Positive comment • almost 4 years ago

      0
    4. Element is a secure collaboration and messaging app based on the Matrix protocol. It’s decentralised to deliver digital sovereignty, and based on an open standard for easy connections and interoperability. It is end-to-end encrypted by default.
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      Element vs Hangouts opinions
      Almost everyone thinks Element is a great alternative to Hangouts.
      Supports all Hangouts features, as well as encrypted conversations. Respects your privacy, and you don't need an email address to sign up.
      Positive comment • about 4 years ago

      2
      its deep architecture makes it better than Hangouts and the other security-focused alternatives too.
      Positive comment • about 1 year ago

      1

    5. Discord

      • Freemium • Proprietary
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • Online
      • Android
      • iPhone
      • Chrome OS
      • Android Tablet
      • BSD
      • iPad
      • Electron / Atom Shell
      • FreeBSD
      • Playstation
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      Whether you’re part of a school club, a gaming group, a worldwide art community, or just a handful of friends that want to spend time together, Discord makes it easy to talk every day and hang out more often. Create an invite-only place.
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      Discord vs Hangouts opinions
      Almost everyone thinks Discord is a great alternative to Hangouts.
      Discord is aimed at gaming. Gamers prefer this over alternatives like Hangouts and Skype.
      Top positive comment  about 4 years ago

      3
      Because it is the best way to chat, you can make all kinds of fancy edits and also the call quality is much better than hangouts in my opinion
      Top positive comment  about 3 years ago

      2
      AlanLeiken A lot more feature-packed and fun to use, though I may be biased as a gamer.
      Positive comment • almost 3 years ago

      1
      Doesn`t Have Video Chat Otherwise Great
      Negative comment • about 3 years ago

      -7
      Although it's complex, Discord has way more features than Hangouts and is more reliable than Google's half-hearted messaging efforts.
      Positive comment • about 3 years ago

      2

    6. Skype

      • Freemium • Proprietary
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • Online
      • Android
      • iPhone
      • Blackberry
      • Chrome OS
      • Windows S
      • Android Tablet
      • BSD
      • Windows Phone
      • iPad
      • Android Wear
      • PortableApps.com
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      Skype is the most popular free voice-over IP and instant messaging service globally. It allows users to text, video and voice call over the internet. Users can also call landlines and mobiles at competitive rates using Skype credit, premium accounts and subscriptions.
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      Skype vs Hangouts opinions
      Most users think Skype is a great alternative to Hangouts.
      They offer the same thing, but Hangouts offers better service
      Positive comment • over 5 years ago

      2
      5247009 No web interface, numerous privacy concerns, and advertising.
      Negative comment • over 4 years ago

      -4
    8. Jitsi (previously SIP Communicator) is an audio/video and chat communicator with full encryption that supports protocols such as SIP, XMPP/Jabber, ICQ/AIM, Windows Live, Yahoo!, GTalk/Hangouts extensions, as well as OTR, ZRTP, etc.
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      Most users think Jitsi is a great alternative to Hangouts.
    9. Go ahead, video chat with the whole team. In fact, invite everyone you know. Jitsi Meet is a fully encrypted, 100% open source video conferencing solution that you can use all day, every day, for free — with no account needed. What else can you do with Jitsi Meet?
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      Jitsi Meet vs Hangouts opinions
      pros, cons and recent comments
      JohnFastman Fully functioning, free, open-source, end-to-end encrypted, browser-based (install nothing) Skype- or Google Hangouts alternative. Stable video and sound, screen share, password protection for rooms and a few other handy features. Highly recommended. No more reason to accept Skype and Google's surveillance of your conversations.
      Positive comment • about 5 years ago

      2
      gitbreaker222 Open source, works without account, easy access, good design, stable connection
      Positive comment • about 5 years ago

      2
    10. Slack is a unified communication platform built with an optimized workflow to keep modern teams focused and productive. A familiar chat interface facilitates discussions while advanced features are easily exposed based on context.
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      Slack vs Hangouts opinions
      Almost everyone thinks Slack is a great alternative to Hangouts.
      stephenbarrow895 Slack works great as a chat tool but it's much more than that, it's like a centralized notification hub for all other tools.
      Positive comment • about 3 years ago

      -1
      michaelchung89 Everything Hangouts has + integrations, seems to be their main competitive advantage.
      Positive comment • over 2 years ago

      0
      allisoncorrigan Surprised not to see it at the top of the list - best alternative to Hangouts! Fun to use, simple, and integrates with just about any tool.
      Positive comment • about 3 years ago

      -2
    11. With the rise of widespread government monitoring programs, Tox is an easy to use application that allows you to connect with friends and loved ones without anyone else listening in.
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      Tox vs Hangouts opinions
      Most users think Tox is a great alternative to Hangouts.
      + Encrypted text, voice and video chat + File and Desktop sharing + Emoji and markdown (basic support on qTox) support + Group chat + Open source (Protocol: https://github.com/irungentoo/toxcore) + Multiple cross-platform clients (mainly qTox, uTox) - No true offline messaging (decentralized by design) - Still in development (but fully usable; contribute bug reports by trying out)
      Positive comment • almost 5 years ago

      5

    12. Matrix.org

      • Free • Open Source
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • Online
      • Android
      • iPhone
      • Android Tablet
      • iPad
      • Self-Hosted
      • WebRTC
      • Python
      • JavaScript
      • Go (Programming Language)
      • Cloudron
      • Java
      • Perl
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      Matrix defines a set of open APIs for decentralised communication, suitable for securely publishing, persisting and subscribing to data over a global open federation of servers with no single point of control.
    Showing 10 of 309 alternatives