Comparison

Google Chat vs The Gathering Community

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Google Chat

Connect, collaborate, and accomplish tasks with AI-powered messaging. Streamline teamwork with integrations and smart features. Securely communicate with your team, whether in real-time or asynchronously.

Highlights
  • AI-powered conversation summaries
  • Automatic message translation
  • AI-powered search
  • Action item capture
  • Real-time huddles
  • Integration with Workspace apps
  • Smart chips for linking
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Google Chat is the best way for teams using Workspace to connect, collaborate and get things done. AI-first messaging & collaboration, transformed by Gemini • Stay on top of things with conversation summaries • Automatically translate messages across more than 120 languages • Find what you’re looking for with AI-powered search • Capture action items so the whole team is on the same page Everything teams need to stay connected and get work done • Start a chat with a colleague, a group or even your whole team • Tell your team when you’re heads-down or ready to connect with personalized status updates • Share detailed updates with audio & video messages • Connect in real-time, anytime with huddles The full power of Workspace to transform your teamwork • Integrated with Workspace apps like Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Tasks, and Meet • Streamline teamwork with smart chips to link files, people and spaces • Stay on top of requests, comments and approvals with the Google Drive app for Chat • Install powerful, popular Chat apps like PagerDuty, Jira, GitHub, Workday, and many more • Build no-code, low-code and pro-code apps with Chat APIs Secure • Protected by Google’s cloud-native, zero-trust architecture • No desktop apps to patch, no data stored on end-user devices • Keeps data safe with AI-powered data loss prevention (DLP) plus phishing & malware detection • Migrate away from insecure legacy platforms Chat is included as part of Google Workspace for consumer, education, and business customers. Some premium features require a paid subscription. Follow us for more: Twitter: https://twitter.com/googleworkspace Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/googleworkspace Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/googleworkspace/

About

The Gathering Community

Features
Read full description

The Gathering is a community of givers who seek to grow in our effectiveness as philanthropists, in the leadership of our families, and in the maturity of our Christian faith. We hope to steward wisely all the resources that God has entrusted to our care, from our donations and investments to our families and our influence. We are a sounding board of trusted peers, and we relish inviting thinkers and practitioners to help stretch our imaginations for how we might join God’s work.

Screenshots

Google Chat4 screens
The Gathering Community4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Google Chat at #33 against The Gathering Community's unranked. Google Chat also leads on update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Google Chat ships an update weekly, The Gathering Community fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Google Chat versus The Gathering Community: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGoogle ChatThe Gathering Community
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (307K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews46.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings307K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#33 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size403 MB60 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperGoogleThe Gathering (U.S.)

Bugs and requests

Google Chat

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inconsistent message delivery and notification issues
  • Trouble uploading media and files
  • Compatibility problems on older devices
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add voice/video call functionality
  • Improve group chat management
  • Implement read receipts
  • Allow customization and personalization
  • Integrate SMS/MMS support

The Gathering Community

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Google Chat

No in-app purchases

None

The Gathering Community

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Google Chat free?
Google Chat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Gathering Community free?
The Gathering Community is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Google Chat or The Gathering Community have ads?
Neither Google Chat nor The Gathering Community shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Google Chat or The Gathering Community?
Google Chat ships an update weekly, and The Gathering Community fortnightly. Most recently, Google Chat was updated on October 20, 2026 and The Gathering Community on October 5, 2026.

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