Is Zoom Free to Use? Features & Limitations

Working remotely, video conferencing, and even online courses are all popular ways to work and learn these days. Zoom is now one of the most popular video conferencing tools.

Many users want to know “Is Zoom free to use?”. The answer is yes, but there are some limitations. This is not good for those who need more flexibility with Zoom. In this blog, we will look at whether Zoom is free or whether it has free and paid features.

Is Zoom Free to Use?

Zoom is a video conferencing platform that allows people to communicate through video, voice, and chat over the Internet. It offers screen sharing, virtual backgrounds, recording, and other features. It is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Web, iOS, and Android. Zoom helps you connect with people around the world.

It is an easy-to-use and high-quality tool, widely used for business meetings and online learning. The most important thing is that you can use it for free.

However, there are several limitations if you want to use more extra features, you need to subscribe to a paid plan. We’ll introduce the free and paid plans respectively next.

The Zoom’s Prices and Plans

Zoom offers both a free plan and several paid plans, each designed for different types of users. Below, we’ll break down what you get with Zoom’s free plan and what additional features come with the paid versions.

Zoom Free Plans

If you are an individual, student user, or small team, Zoom’s free plan is suitable for you. here’s what it offers to you:

• Users can have private video calls without time limitations.
• Users can invite up to 100 people to a video meeting.
• A user can host a group meeting for 40 minutes, even if you haven’t ended your meeting, it will end automatically.
• Users can share screens and use virtual backgrounds.
• Zoom offers basic security features including password protection, meeting encryption, and waiting rooms for normal users.

For normal users, the Zoom free plan is enough to use. However, if you are a teacher or a businessman, the 40-minute restriction is not very good. To get the extra features, you’d better to subscribe a paid plan. We’ll introduce the Zoom paid plans to you now.

Zoom Paid Plans

The Zoom’s paid plans are divided into 4 types. Let’s explain their price and key features respectively.

Zoom Pro

It’s $14.00 per user monthly. You will get a 30-hour video meeting limitation. Your meeting recording can be stored on the Cloud, Zoom offers 500MB of cloud storage. With the purchase of Zoom Pro, you can also customize your meeting ID, share your meetings on social media, and enjoy official meeting activity detail reporting features.

Zoom Business

This plan costs $19.99 per user monthly and at least 10 users subscribe simultaneously. It is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses that need to host large meetings and benefit from advanced management control. Users can host large meetings with up to 300 participants. During the meeting, users can also invite people who can only join by phone.

Secondly, for businesses, it is also possible to add company labels and brand logos to the conference. You can also integrate with your phone system and use Zoom’s VoIP or PSTN calling features to extend your conferencing capabilities beyond video calls.

Zoom Business Plus

The price of the plan is similar to Zoom Business. This plan includes all the features of a business plan, but with more advanced tools for larger teams. Subscribing to this program increases the number of participants from 300 to 500. The memory for cloud recording has also been expanded to 10GB, and you can set up automatic cloud recording for all your meetings.

Related: How to Record on Zoom on Different Devices

Zoom Enterprise

This plan is custom pricing. Enterprise plans are tailored for large organizations that require the highest levels of support, security, and scalability. Pricing varies based on the number of users and features required.

This plan allows for a one-time meeting of up to 1,000 participants and unlimited cloud storage. You’ll get the highest level of security features and dedicated customer support.

In conclusion, Zoom Pro is ideal for small teams. At the same time, the Business and Enterprise plans are better for larger organizations that need advanced features like company branding and high-capacity meetings.

What Are the Limitations of the Zoom Free Plan?

Zoom’s free plan is a great option for normal users. However, it has several limitations:

40-minute Time Limitation: The meeting will end after 40 minutes automatically. It is disruptive for work meetings and online classes. You need to host a new meeting to invite participants again, it’s inconvenient.

Participants Limitation: For a small gathering, 100 participants are enough. If you want to host a big event, it requires a paid plan with higher participant limits.

Security and Admin Control Limitation: A Zoom free plan only offers basic security features like waiting rooms and passwords. It lacks advanced admin controls, signal sign-on, and company branding options, which businesses often require.

Cloud Recording: This feature is only offered by paid plans. If you want to make it easy to access and share recorded meetings, you have to subscribe to a paid plan.

Geo-restriction: Zoom is blocked in some regions and countries. If you can’t access Zoom in your location successfully, you may need to a VPN to bypass restrictions and use Zoom freely. This limitation is not on free plans but on paid plans.

Why You Need to Use a VPN for Zoom?

If you encounter a regional restriction issue or security concern when using Zoom, downloading a VPN can help solve the issue and enhance your Zoom experience. Here’s why you might need a VPN for Zoom:

LightningX VPN offers more than 2,000 servers in 50+ countries. If you are located in a region where Zoom isn’t available, using it can help you change your IP address. Plus, it provides a secure connection that can make as if you’re accessing Zoom from a different country.

LightningX VPN ensures that your Internet connection remains stable and secure, reducing the chance of interruptions during important meetings. What’s more, a VPN can help you extend meeting times or bypass certain network-related issues.

Moreover, LightningX VPN improves your online security and privacy. LightningX VPN encrypts your Internet traffic, protecting your sensitive information from hackers, ISPs, or anyone who might be monitoring your online activities.

This is particularly useful if you’re connecting to Zoom on public Wi-Fi networks, where your data could be at risk. A VPN ensures that all your Zoom conversations remain private and secure.

Conclusion

Overall, Zoom is free to use. However, if you want to enjoy a more advanced and better Zoom service, you’re better off with a paid plan. It all depends on your specific needs, and if the free plan is right for you, then it’s the best choice.