Google Stock Class C (GOOG): What It Is, How It Differs From Class A, and What Investors Should Know
Ever looked up Google’s stock and felt like you were seeing double? You might open an investment app to find two options: GOOGL and GOOG, each with a slightly different price. It’s not a mistake, and you’re certainly not the only one who has been confused by this. They both represent ownership in Google’s parent company, Alphabet, but they aren’t the same.
So, what is the difference between GOOG and GOOGL? The reason Google has two stock tickers comes down to a simple concept called “voting rights”—the power to have a small say in big company decisions. In practice, one of these stocks gives you a vote per share, while the other gives you none.
Here’s everything you need to know about Google stock Class C (GOOG) and how it compares to its Class A sibling. You’ll learn why this setup exists and, most importantly, what it means for a regular person looking to invest.
First, Let’s Get the Name Right: Why It’s “Alphabet,” Not Just “Google”
While we all say “Google,” the company you invest in on the stock market is no longer just Google. In 2015, the business went through a major corporate restructuring and created a new parent company called Alphabet Inc. Think of Google, the search engine, as the biggest and most famous part of a much larger family of companies.
This structure means that when you buy what most people call “Google stock,” you’re actually buying a small piece of the entire Alphabet portfolio. Your investment includes not just the search engine but also other major businesses like YouTube, the self-driving car project Waymo, and the Google Cloud platform.
So why the big change? The move gave each business unit, from search to self-driving cars, more independence to focus and grow. For investors, this also provided a clearer picture of how each part of the company was performing. With that context, we can look at the different types of stock you can actually buy.
The Pizza Slice Analogy: Understanding Different Stock Classes
The easiest way to understand why there are two main options to choose from is to think of the entire company as a giant pizza. Each share of stock is one slice. But at Alphabet, not all slices are created equal. Some slices come with an extra perk, and some don’t.
Imagine one type of slice just gives you ownership of the pizza. The other type gives you that same ownership plus a tiny vote on what toppings the pizzeria should use next. In the corporate world, this “vote” is called a voting right. It’s a way for shareholders to have a say in major company decisions, like who sits on the board of directors.
Alphabet’s two main public stocks are Class A and Class C. Class A shares, with the ticker GOOGL, are like the pizza slice that comes with one vote. Class C shares, with the ticker GOOG, are the slice that gives you ownership but no say in company decisions. Both give you a piece of the same company, but only one comes with that voting perk.
If both stocks represent ownership in the same great company, why would anyone choose the one with no voting power? It’s a fair point, and the answer has more to do with practicality than power.
Why Would Anyone Buy the Stock With No Votes?
On the surface, choosing the stock with a vote seems like a no-brainer. Why would anyone willingly give up a say, no matter how small? The answer is simple: for the average person, a single vote has almost zero practical power. Even with a few hundred Class A shares, your vote would be a tiny drop in an ocean of millions, having no real influence on company strategy. Because this voting perk has little practical value for most investors, the market treats both Class A and Class C stocks as nearly identical in worth.
The real reason for this system has less to do with individual investors and more to do with the company’s origins. When founders like Larry Page and Sergey Brin needed to sell stock to raise money and grow the company, they faced a classic dilemma: how to get the funding they needed without losing control of their vision. They didn’t want short-term market pressures to derail their long-term plans.
To accomplish this, they created a third, private type of stock called Class B shares. You can’t buy these on the open market; they are held exclusively by founders and insiders. Each of these super-voting shares carries significantly more voting power than a public Class A share. This structure ensures that even though the company has sold millions of public shares to investors like us, the original leaders remain firmly in the driver’s seat.
The existence of two public stock tickers is therefore a story about founder control, not about giving regular investors a meaningful choice. Since both GOOG and GOOGL represent the same ownership stake, they move in near-perfect lockstep. So, does it even matter which one you choose?
So, Which Is Better for You: GOOG or GOOGL?
For an everyday investor, there’s virtually no difference between buying GOOG and GOOGL. Think of them as two slightly different tickets to the exact same movie. Both get you in the door and let you own a piece of Alphabet’s future, from Search to YouTube. The decision between them is far less important than the decision to invest in the company itself.
Because both stocks represent the same underlying company, their financial performance is almost perfectly linked. If you were to look at a price chart showing both stocks over the last several years, the two lines would move up and down together, practically indistinguishable from one another. They are tied to the same financial fate, so your journey as an investor is identical regardless of which one you own.
You might notice, however, that GOOGL shares (the ones with a vote) often trade for a few dollars more than GOOG shares. This slight premium exists simply because some large, institutional investors are willing to pay a little extra for that voting right. For the average person, paying that premium is like paying for a feature you’ll likely never use.
Ultimately, you can’t make a wrong choice here. Many investors simply choose to buy whichever of the two is trading for a lower price at the moment of purchase. Others just pick one and stick with it to keep their portfolio simple. Either ticker gives you the exact same stake in Alphabet’s business. The next step is understanding how to make a purchase.
How to Buy Your First Share of Alphabet (GOOG or GOOGL)
Buying your first piece of a company is surprisingly straightforward and follows the same simple path, no matter which brokerage you use.
Here’s the universal three-step process:
- Open a Brokerage Account: This is an account specifically for investing. You can open one with established firms like Fidelity or Vanguard, or through user-friendly apps like Robinhood or Cash App.
- Fund Your Account: Link your bank account and transfer the amount of money you want to invest.
- Place Your Order: Use the search bar in your brokerage app to find Alphabet by its name or ticker symbol (GOOG or GOOGL), enter the dollar amount you wish to invest, and confirm your purchase.
You might see that a single share of Alphabet costs hundreds of dollars, but you don’t need that much to start. Thanks to something called fractional shares, you can buy a small slice of one share. If a share costs $150, you can buy $10 worth and own 1/15th of it. This feature makes it possible for anyone to begin building a position one small piece at a time.
You’re No Longer Confused: Your Google Stock Cheat Sheet
You started with a simple question: why are there two “Google” stocks? Now, the next time you see GOOG and GOOGL on the news or in your app, you won’t be confused. Instead, you’ll know exactly what separates them and why that distinction exists, turning a confusing financial quirk into a clear concept.
The difference between Alphabet’s share classes boils down to one thing: voting power. Just remember this simple breakdown:
- GOOGL (Class A): Gives you 1 vote.
- GOOG (Class C): Gives you 0 votes.
- For most investors: The difference is tiny; the stocks perform nearly identically.
This knowledge is a real step toward building your financial confidence. You’ve demystified a topic that trips up many people, equipping you to navigate the world of finance one clear answer at a time.
