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The difference between Zoom Meetings and Zoom Webinars
The key differences between Zoom Meetings and Zoom Webinars are attendee size and participation. Compare the two apps to learn which is best for your engagement needs.
Zoom Meetings has grown exponentially in popularity since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the app essentially became the de facto standard for remote meetings. More than half of companies that have deployed meeting applications are using Zoom, according to Metrigy's "Workplace Collaboration MetriCast: 2024" global study of almost 1,000 companies.
But Zoom Meetings isn't the only app available from Zoom Workplace to support distributed engagement. Zoom also offers Zoom Webinars for large-scale communication and engagement.
IT and business leaders must understand the key differences between each app and where each is most applicable for use.
Zoom Meetings
Zoom Meetings is a video conferencing app that supports one-on-one and group video calls, as well as participation in meeting spaces using Zoom Rooms and associated video conferencing hardware. The app supports up to 100 participants in Workplace Basic and Pro licenses, and up to 500 participants with an Enterprise license. Additional participant add-ons for larger meetings are available.
Within Zoom Meetings, all participants can appear on camera, share their screens, chat, use Zoom AI Companion (if enabled) and other meeting features, such as polls and reactions. Participants can also access apps that have been integrated by an administrator.
With Zoom AI Companion, participants can receive post-meeting summaries and transcripts. During meetings, they can query AI Companion in real time to ask questions about discussions they might have missed.
Zoom Webinars
The Zoom Webinars app is primarily designed for one-to-many live or on-demand virtual events, such as training sessions and product demos. Zoom also offers additional capabilities for hybrid and multisession events. The Zoom Webinars license requires a Pro plan.
With the appropriate license, Zoom Webinars can support up to one million attendees and offers features, such as display customization, Q&A, polls, analytics and reporting, and a green room. Zoom Webinars does not currently support AI Companion.
Zoom Meetings vs. Webinars: Choosing the right option
For small group collaboration, Zoom Meetings is likely the best option. While the app can support larger events, it is not designed out of the box for such a use case. For example, large meetings often require participants to mute their microphones to avoid distractions.
Zoom Meetings also lacks features required for webinars and live events, including preregistration reminders, customization and branding, and easy availability of on-demand playback for those unable to attend live.
Zoom Webinars is the better option for those looking to host larger events, such as webinars and virtual conferences. The app offers optional Session and Event licensing plans that provide additional scale and features, such as the ability to create a content hub, and, in the case of Zoom Events, support for attendee interaction and sponsorships.
Irwin Lazar is president and principal analyst at Metrigy, where he leads coverage on the digital workplace. His research focus includes unified communications, VoIP, video conferencing and team collaboration.
