Zoom pricing: Billing model and plans explained

Zoom is a widely used platform for video conferencing, online meetings, and webinars. It goes without saying that it’sbecome an essential tool for businesses and individuals to connect and collaborate.

In this article, we'll explain Zoom’s pricing. We’ll also explore its features, and discuss how different plans cater to various users.

You'll also learn about:

• How Zoom works and its key features
• The different Zoom pricing plans and add-ons available
• Which types of companies benefit most from Zoom's pricing structure
• How to build your own pricing model inspired by Zoom

Let's begin by explaining what Zoom is, how it operates, and what makes it a unique tool in the field of videoconferencing platforms.

What is Zoom?

Zoom is a cloud-based communication platform that connects people through video and audio conferencing, online meetings, chat, and webinars. 

While known for its high-quality video calls, Zoom has evolved into a complete solution for modern communication needs. It's a one-stop shop for businesses and individuals seeking to connect and collaborate effectively, regardless of location.

What makes Zoom unique?

Here are a few reasons why Zoom is praised:

• Reliability: Zoom is renowned for its stable connections and clear audio and video. No more frustrating dropped calls or frozen screens during critical discussions.
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• Simplicity: Zoom is user-friendly and intuitive. Joining a meeting is quick and easy, no matter your tech skills.
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• Feature-rich: From screen sharing and recording to virtual backgrounds and breakout rooms, Zoom offers an array of tools to enhance your meetings.
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• Scalability: Zoom caters to organizations of all sizes, from solopreneurs to large enterprises.

Beyond meetings, Zoom offers:

• Zoom Phone: A cloud-based phone system that can replace traditional office phones.
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• Zoom Rooms: A dedicated system to equip your conference rooms with high-quality video conferencing technology.
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• Zoom Events: A platform to host virtual and hybrid events, from small workshops to large-scale conferences.

In the next section, we’ll go a little bit more into detail about Zoom’s offerings, including their product suite. After that, we’ll get into Zoom pricing. 

How does Zoom work?

Zoom, at its simplest, transmits audio and video between meeting participants. It’s essentially a virtual conference room where you can see and hear everyone, no matter where they're located. 

However, Zoom is far more than just a video feed. It's packed with features designed to make online interaction smooth, engaging, and productive. Let’s take a look at some of Zoom’s core features:

• Video and audio conferencing: Crystal-clear HD video and audio are Zoom's bread and butter. You can have dozens, even hundreds, of participants visible on screen. Keep in mind amounts will depend on your Zoom subscription costs and plan.  
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• Screen sharing: Share your entire screen, a specific application window, or even a portion of your screen. This feature is ideal for presentations, collaborative work, or providing tech support.  
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• Recording: Record your meetings locally to your computer or to the cloud. Zoom allows you to review important discussions, share training sessions, or create video content.
   
• Chat: Communicate with participants through text chat during meetings. You can send messages to the entire group or privately to individual participants.  
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• Breakout rooms: Divide participants into smaller groups for focused discussions or teamwork. As the host, you can easily move between breakout rooms to check in on progress.  
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• Whiteboard: A collaborative digital canvas for brainstorming, note-taking, and visual collaboration. Zoom Whiteboard allows participants to draw, write, and add images in real-time.  
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• Polling and Q&A: Engage your audience with interactive polls and dedicated Q&A sessions. Gather feedback, test knowledge, or facilitate interactive discussions.  
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• Closed captioning: Make your meetings more accessible with automated closed captioning. This feature transcribes spoken words into text displayed on the screen, aiding those with hearing impairments or language barriers.  

Beyond meetings: Zoom's product suite

While meetings are central to Zoom, the platform has expanded to offer a range of products that go beyond simple video conferencing. Let’s take a look at some of those products:

Zoom Phone

Zoom Phone is a cloud-based phone system that allows you to make and receive calls over the Internet. It's a modern alternative to traditional phone lines, offering features like voicemail, call forwarding, and call recording. 

Zoom Phone integrates with other Zoom products, allowing you to easily escalate a phone call into a video conference or transfer a call to a Zoom Room.  

Zoom Rooms

Zoom Rooms is a software-based room system that provides an intuitive video conferencing experience in conference rooms and meeting spaces. It combines high-quality audio and video and features like wireless content sharing and interactive whiteboarding.  

Zoom Events

Zoom Events is a platform for hosting virtual and hybrid events, from small workshops and webinars to large-scale conferences. It provides tools for event registration, ticketing, attendee engagement, and post-event analytics.  

Zoom Webinars

Zoom Webinars is a platform for hosting online presentations, training sessions, and large-scale broadcasts. It allows you to engage with audiences of up to 10,000 attendees with features like live Q&A, polling, and interactive chat.  

Remember to consider your budget, the size of your team, and the specific features that are most important to you when evaluating Zoom pricing and plans. In the next section, we’ll explain Zoom pricing and answer the question, “Is Zoom free?”

What are the Zoom pricing plans? 

Zoom pricing is designed to be flexible and cater to a variety of needs and budgets, from individual users to large enterprises. Let's explore the different categories and their associated costs:

Individuals & Business category

Zoom's "Individuals and Business" category offers various pricing plans for a wide range of users, from solopreneurs and small teams to large organizations. It includes four main tiers within its Workplace offering: 

• Basic (Free) 
• Pro ($15.99/month or $159.90/year) 
• Business ($21.99/month or $219.90/year)
• Business Plus (Contact Sales).

The Basic tier provides the basics, while Pro removes meeting time limits and adds features like cloud recording. Business increases the participant capacity and adds tools like unlimited Whiteboards. Business Plus improves the offering with Zoom Phone and advanced features. 

You can find detailed information about Zoom pricing for each tier on their website.

Zoom Scheduler

Beyond the Workplace tiers, Zoom offers a standalone Scheduler service ($5.99/month or $59.90/year). It allows users to easily schedule meetings and integrates with popular calendar platforms.

Enterprise category

For larger organizations, Zoom offers an Enterprise category. This tier builds upon the Business Plus offering with increased capacity and advanced controls. For instance, their Workplace offering is more varied and requires you to contact them for a custom quote.

This Enterprise category adds more offerings:

• Zoom Contact Center: This is a platform for managing customer interactions. It has tiers like Essentials (starting at $69.00/month/agent), Premium (starting at $99.00/month/agent), and Elite (starting at $149.00/month/agent). 
  
  Keep in mind that Zoom pricing for the Contact Center varies based on the chosen tier and features.

• Zoom Revenue Accelerator (quote required): This is a tool to boost sales productivity. It also includes AI automation for sales team tasks and pipeline visibility options. 
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• Workvivo (quote required): This is a platform to strengthen company culture. It was originally a standalone product, but it was acquired by Zoom and became an additional tool.

Add-ons

Zoom offers a range of add-ons. When you look them up on their official Zoom pricing website, you’ll see that both their Individuals & Business and their Enterprise categories have these offerings, too. For the sake of clarity, we’ve included them in their own section:

• Zoom Phone: Expand your phone system with options like international calling (starting at $8.00/month/user) and advanced call analytics. Refer to the Zoom pricing page for detailed information on Zoom Phone costs.
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• Zoom Events & Webinars: Boost your event hosting capabilities with options for increased capacity and advanced tools. Zoom Webinars starts at $79.00/month, while Zoom Sessions costs $99.00/month and Zoom Events costs $149.99/month. 
  
  Like most Zoom pricing tiers, each tier includes an annually billed price that saves you some extra money. 

• Zoom Rooms: Improve your conference rooms with features like advanced room controls. Zoom Rooms cost $49.00/month/room or $499.00/year/room.

Industries

Zoom provides tailored solutions for specific industries, each with its own Zoom pricing structure:

• Zoom One for Education: Offers special pricing for educational institutions. Tiers include School and Campus ($10.00/month/license), School and Campus Plus ($15.00/month/license), and Enterprise (quote required).
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• Zoom for Healthcare: Provides HIPAA-compliant solutions. Zoom pricing tiers include Pro ($15.99/month/user or $159.90/year/user) and custom-priced options for higher tiers.
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• Zoom for Developers: Offers tools and SDKs for developers. Options include Video SDK Pay As You Go (free for 10,000 minutes/month, then $0.0035/minute) and SDK Universal Credit. 

That last one costs $100/month/100 credits, and there’s a $450/month/credits option for more complex development tasks.  

Zoom's pricing structure is best for these types of companies

Zoom's pricing structure, with its tiered plans and optional add-ons, is particularly well-suited for certain types of organizations. Let's explore which companies benefit most from this approach:  

Scaling businesses

Zoom pricing is ideal for businesses experiencing rapid growth. They can start with a free Basic plan and seamlessly upgrade to a paid plan as their needs evolve. 

This level of scalability allows them to add features like longer meeting durations. It also lets them add more participant capacity and cloud recording only when necessary. 

Budget-conscious organizations

Organizations with limited budgets appreciate Zoom's tiered pricing structure. The free Basic plan provides a starting point for basic video conferencing. Zoom’s various paid plans offer a clear upgrade path with transparent pricing. 

Organizations can carefully select a plan that aligns with their budget and avoids unnecessary expenses.  

Companies with changing needs

Zoom's pricing structure caters to companies with diverse communication needs. The tiered plans, combined with optional add-ons, allow companies to customize their Zoom experience. 

For instance, a company might choose a basic plan for internal meetings but opt for add-ons like Zoom Rooms for enhanced conference room experiences or Zoom Webinars for hosting large-scale online events.  

Organizations with seasonal demand

Businesses with seasonal fluctuations in their needs benefit from Zoom's flexible pricing structure. They can scale their Zoom subscription up or down based on their current demands. 

For example, a company might opt for a higher-tier plan during peak seasons. They may require more capacity or features. They can then downgrade to a more basic plan during quieter periods to manage their Zoom cost.

Companies seeking predictable spending

Zoom's pricing structure offers predictable spending with clear monthly or annual subscription options. 

Zoom allows companies to budget effectively for their communication needs and avoid unexpected costs. The transparent pricing model ensures that companies know exactly what they're paying for and can easily forecast their Zoom expenses.  

How to build your own pricing model like Zoom

Zoom pricing is a prime example of a well-structured, tiered pricing model. It's designed to cater to a wide range of customers while maximizing revenue. Want to create a similar pricing model for your own product or service? Here's how:

Step 1: Identify your target audience

Just like Zoom, start by understanding your target audience. Who are your ideal customers? What are their needs and pain points? What are they willing to pay? By segmenting your audience, you can create targeted pricing plans that appeal to different customer groups.

Step 2: Define your value metric

Zoom pricing primarily revolves around features and usage. They charge more for plans with increased meeting durations, larger participant capacities, and advanced features. Identify the key value metric for your own product.  This metric will form the basis of your pricing tiers.

Step 3: Create tiered pricing plans

Offer a range of pricing plans with varying features and price points, just like Zoom does. Start with a free or low-cost basic plan to attract price-sensitive customers. Then, create higher-tiered plans with more advanced features and higher price tags. 

Remember: Make sure the value proposition of each tier is clear and compelling. We also encourage you to incorporate usage-based tiers just like Zoom does as well. 

Step 4: Consider optional add-ons

Zoom offers a variety of add-ons to enhance its core offerings. These can include things like increased cloud storage, advanced phone features, or specialized tools for specific industries. 

Think about potential add-ons that could complement your core product. Keep in mind these add-ons must provide extra value to customers willing to pay more.

Step 5: Offer flexible billing options

Zoom provides both monthly and annual billing options, giving customers flexibility and potentially saving them money with annual subscriptions. Consider offering similar options to cater to different customer preferences and encourage long-term commitments.

Step 6: Analyze and adjust

Just like any pricing strategy, Zoom pricing is subject to ongoing adjustments. Monitor your pricing performance and gather customer feedback. Be ready to tweak your plans and pricing as needed to optimize for revenue and keep users happy.

Orb features that can support your Zoom-like pricing model 

After reading our article, you’ve learned that Zoom offers plans to suit various needs and budgets. What if you could implement a similar pricing strategy for your product with the same flexibility and scalability?

With Orb, you can.

Orb is a done-for-you billing platform. It lets businesses design and manage complex pricing models, just like those used by Perplexity and Vercel. 

We handle the intricacies of usage-based pricing and any pricing structure you need. Orb gives you the tools to build a model that adapts and grows with your business.

Here's how Orb can help you implement a strategy like Zoom’s pricing:

• Precise usage tracking: Monitor and measure every billable event with Orb's real-time tracking. It provides accurate billing for usage. It’s especially crucial for businesses with granular pricing models like Zoom, where usage impacts costs.
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• Tiered pricing plans: Easily create many pricing tiers to cater to different customers. Orb provides the flexibility to structure your pricing like Zoom. We aid you whether you’re offering basic plans or premium subscriptions with varying features and capacities.
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• Insights based on data: Leverage your usage data to find trends and improve your pricing strategy. Orb turns raw data into insights, helping you make decisions about your pricing model. It’s similar to how Zoom likely analyzes usage patterns to refine its pricing.
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• Customizable billing logic: With Orb's flexible, SQL-based billing system, you can define your own pricing rules and usage metrics. We allow you to tailor your pricing model to your business needs, just as Zoom has done for its customer base.
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• Integrations: Orb integrates with your existing tech stack. Think data warehouses, accounting software, and developer tools. Integrations simplify your billing workflow and guarantee smooth financial operations. 

Ready to unlock the full potential of your pricing? Sign up for Orb's and discover how to build a pricing engine as effective as Zoom's. Explore our flexible pricing options and find the perfect plan for your needs.