When it comes to communication solutions for businesses, two prominent names that come up are Google Voice and Zoom. Both are highly regarded for their user-friendly interfaces and robust functionality, yet they differ significantly in terms of features and costs. Choosing the right tool for your business requires a thorough analysis of what each platform offers and how much they charge for their services. Let’s dive into a detailed comparison of Google Voice vs Zoom to help you make an informed decision.
Google Voice vs Zoom
| Feature | Google Voice | Zoom |
|---|---|---|
| Core service | VoIP service (voice communication) | Video conferencing and VoIP phone system |
| Pricing | – Starter: £8/user/month – Standard: £16/user/month – Premier: £24/user/month | – Zoom Meetings Pro: £11.99/user/month – Zoom Meetings Business: £15.99/user/month – Zoom Phone: £7.99/user/month |
| Primary use case | Voice calling and SMS | Video conferencing, VoIP, messaging, and webinars |
| Video conferencing | Not included (requires separate Google Meet integration) | Core feature; supports HD video calls, meetings, and webinars |
| VoIP phone system | Included (with local/international numbers, call forwarding, voicemail) | Included (Zoom Phone offers similar VoIP functionality) |
| Call forwarding | Yes | Yes |
| Voicemail transcription | Yes | Yes |
| SMS functionality | Yes | No |
| Call recording | No (requires third-party app) | Yes (with Zoom Phone and Zoom Meetings) |
| International calling | Yes (additional rates apply) | Yes (available with Zoom Phone; international dial-in numbers) |
| Multi-device support | Yes (desktop, mobile, tablet) | Yes (desktop, mobile, tablet) |
| Third-party integrations | Limited (mostly within Google Workspace) | Extensive (integrates with Slack, Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, etc.) |
| Messaging | Basic SMS | Zoom Chat for instant messaging |
| Meeting recording | No | Yes (cloud/local recording) |
| Meeting transcript | No | Yes (Zoom Meetings Business plan) |
| Large-scale events/webinars | No | Yes (supports thousands of participants for webinars) |
| Auto-attendant/multi-level IVR | Available in Standard and Premier plans | Available with Zoom Phone |
| Ease of use | Simple interface; ideal for voice calls | Intuitive but more complex, especially with multiple services |
| Spam filtering/call screening | Yes | Yes |
| Scalability | Ideal for small to medium-sized businesses | Suitable for businesses of all sizes, particularly larger enterprises |
| Bandwidth usage | Low (voice calls only) | High (video conferencing can consume significant bandwidth) |
| Global reach | Limited, primarily focuses on voice services | Extensive, with international dial-in and global coverage |
Features comparison
Google Voice
Google Voice is primarily a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service that enables businesses to manage calls over the internet. It provides a simplified and streamlined platform for handling business communications with a focus on voice services. Here are the key features:
- Phone number management: Google Voice allows businesses to port existing numbers or obtain new ones, offering local and international numbers for seamless communication.
- Call forwarding and voicemail transcription: The service allows automatic forwarding of calls to different devices, ensuring your business never misses an important call. Additionally, voicemails can be transcribed and sent via email or text, saving time and effort.
- SMS functionality: Google Voice supports sending and receiving texts, which can be helpful for businesses that rely on text-based customer interactions.
- Multi-device integration: Google Voice integrates seamlessly with other Google Workspace products, allowing users to make and receive calls from multiple devices like smartphones, tablets, or desktops.
- Spam filtering and call screening: Advanced spam filtering and call screening features add an extra layer of security to business communications.
- International calling: While domestic calls within the UK and to the US are free, international calling rates apply. Google Voice’s competitive international rates make it appealing for businesses with overseas clients.
Zoom
Zoom, on the other hand, has evolved far beyond its initial role as a video conferencing tool and now offers a comprehensive suite of communication solutions, including Zoom Phone, which rivals Google Voice for VoIP services. Here’s what Zoom brings to the table:
- Video conferencing: Zoom’s standout feature is its video conferencing capability. It supports high-quality, large-scale video calls and webinars, making it a popular choice for virtual meetings and presentations.
- Zoom Phone: This cloud-based VoIP phone system provides businesses with features like call routing, voicemail, call forwarding, and auto attendants, rivalling Google Voice in terms of VoIP functionalities.
- Messaging and collaboration: Zoom Chat offers secure, real-time messaging that integrates seamlessly with its video conferencing feature, allowing for better team collaboration.
- Meeting recording and transcripts: Businesses can record Zoom meetings and save them to the cloud or locally, with automatic transcripts to refer to at a later time.
- Third-party integrations: Zoom integrates with popular business apps like Slack, Salesforce, and Microsoft Teams, giving it an edge for businesses that use a mix of tools.
- Large-scale events and webinars: Zoom can host virtual events and webinars with up to thousands of participants, making it an excellent choice for businesses that need to reach a wider audience.
- Global presence: Zoom’s international dial-in numbers and comprehensive coverage make it highly scalable for businesses that operate in multiple regions or countries.
Google Voice vs Zoom cost comparison
Google Voice pricing
Google Voice offers a straightforward pricing structure with three tiers:
- Starter Plan (£8 per user, per month): Includes essential features such as a business phone number, voicemail transcription, and call forwarding. Suitable for small teams.
- Standard Plan (£16 per user, per month): Adds features like multi-level auto attendants, call handling analytics, and additional local numbers. It’s more suitable for growing businesses.
- Premier Plan (£24 per user, per month): Offers advanced international calling and more extensive reporting, making it suitable for businesses with global operations.
While Google Voice’s pricing is relatively low compared to some other VoIP providers, its features focus heavily on call management, with limited support for more advanced functionalities like video conferencing.
Zoom pricing
Zoom’s pricing structure varies depending on the specific services a business requires. For communication tools, businesses need to consider both Zoom Meetings and Zoom Phone:
- Zoom Meetings Basic (Free): This tier offers basic video conferencing, but it limits meetings to 40 minutes and lacks advanced features.
- Zoom Meetings Pro (£11.99 per user, per month): Allows for longer group meetings (up to 30 hours) and includes 1GB of cloud recording.
- Zoom Meetings Business (£15.99 per user, per month): This tier provides more features like meeting transcripts, branding, and support for up to 300 participants.
- Zoom Phone (£7.99 per user, per month): Adds cloud-based VoIP capabilities similar to Google Voice, including call routing, voicemail, and call recording.
The total cost for businesses looking to integrate both video conferencing and VoIP features is higher with Zoom, especially if you add advanced features like large-scale webinars, which are priced separately.
Ease of use and integration
Google Voice
Google Voice is designed for simplicity, making it incredibly easy to set up and use. Its integration with Google Workspace allows seamless connection between email, calendar, and voice, which can be a major advantage for businesses already using Google’s ecosystem. However, its lack of video conferencing features may necessitate using an additional tool, such as Google Meet, for those purposes.
Zoom
Zoom’s interface is intuitive and designed for flexibility. It works well across a wide variety of devices and operating systems, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes. Zoom’s strength lies in its all-in-one communication solution, where users can handle video conferencing, VoIP, and messaging without switching between multiple platforms. However, the complexity of managing all these tools may require more training for some teams.
Pros and cons
Google Voice
Pros:
- Cost-effective, especially for small to medium-sized businesses.
- Seamless integration with Google Workspace.
- Straightforward, easy to use for businesses primarily needing a VoIP solution.
Cons:
- Lacks video conferencing features.
- Fewer third-party integrations compared to Zoom.
- International calling can become expensive without the Premier plan.
Zoom
Pros:
- All-in-one solution for video conferencing, VoIP, and messaging.
- Large-scale meeting and event capabilities.
- Extensive third-party integrations for business apps.
Cons:
- More expensive, particularly when combining Zoom Phone and Zoom Meetings.
- Complex setup and more features than some businesses may need.
- Video conferencing might consume significant bandwidth, which could affect call quality in some areas.
Which should you choose?
The decision between Google Voice vs Zoom largely depends on the specific needs of your business.
- Google Voice is ideal for businesses that require a simple, low-cost VoIP service integrated with other Google tools. It’s a great option for small to medium-sized businesses with a focus on voice communications, where video conferencing is not a priority.
- Zoom is a better fit for businesses that need a comprehensive communication platform, particularly those that require video conferencing and large-scale virtual events. It’s a more expensive solution, but the broad range of features and integrations makes it worth the cost for larger organisations or those with more complex communication needs.
In summary, if your business is looking for a simple, affordable VoIP solution, Google Voice is likely the best choice. However, if video conferencing is central to your operations and you want an all-in-one platform, Zoom is the better option, despite the higher cost. Evaluate your business’s communication requirements and budget to choose the platform that will help you stay connected and productive.
FAQ
Zoom is designed for video conferencing and provides high-quality, large-scale meetings with various features like screen sharing and webinars. Google Voice does not offer video conferencing, requiring Google Meet for video, which adds complexity compared to Zoom’s all-in-one solution.
Google Voice supports sending and receiving SMS messages, making it suitable for businesses that use text-based communication. Zoom, on the other hand, does not support SMS messaging but offers instant messaging through Zoom Chat for internal team communication.
Yes, both platforms support international calling. Google Voice offers competitive international rates for voice calls, while Zoom Phone includes international dial-in numbers for meetings and calls. However, Zoom’s more comprehensive global coverage makes it better for businesses with broader international needs.
Zoom offers call recording through both its Zoom Meetings and Zoom Phone services, making it easy to capture and store calls. Google Voice does not natively support call recording, so businesses would need to use third-party apps for this feature.
Google Voice generally offers a more affordable solution with plans starting at £8 per user per month, focused on voice communications. Zoom’s combined services, including meetings and VoIP, tend to cost more, especially if a business needs both Zoom Meetings and Zoom Phone.
Zoom integrates with a wider range of third-party business tools, including Slack, Salesforce, and Microsoft Teams. Google Voice integrates primarily within Google Workspace, offering fewer external integrations but excellent synergy with other Google products like Gmail and Calendar.
Zoom is the clear winner for large meetings, offering capabilities for webinars and virtual events with thousands of participants. Google Voice does not provide any large-scale meeting features, as it focuses solely on voice communication, without video or event hosting features.
Both Google Voice and Zoom support multi-device usage, allowing users to make and receive calls or join meetings from smartphones, tablets, and desktops. This ensures flexibility for businesses with employees working remotely or across different locations.
Yes, both Google Voice and Zoom provide voicemail transcription services. Google Voice sends transcribed voicemails to your email or as a text message, while Zoom Phone offers voicemail transcription in its paid plans, making it easy to read important messages.
Google Voice is simpler to set up and integrates easily with Google Workspace. Zoom, with its more extensive features, may require a bit more setup and training, especially for businesses using both Zoom Meetings and Zoom Phone. However, both platforms are user-friendly overall.