Zoom dominates market share with 306 million daily meeting participants versus Webex's 70 million, but Webex offers superior enterprise security features and lower per-user costs for organizations with 500+ employees. Zoom excels in ease of use and consumer adoption, while Webex targets compliance-heavy industries.
Webex vs Zoom — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Enterprise-grade video conferencing with advanced meeting controls, security, and scalability for large organizations.
Consumer and SMB-focused video conferencing platform with 306 million daily users and market-leading usability.
Daily Active Users. Starting Price (Per User/Month). End-to-End Encryption Standard. Maximum Meeting Participants. Recording Storage (Free Plan). SOC 2 Type II Compliance. Mobile App Rating (iOS App Store)
Choose Zoom if you prioritize ease of use, market-leading stability, and broad consumer/SMB adoption—its 306 million daily users and intuitive interface make it the safer choice for organizations wanting maximum compatibility. Choose Webex if you require enterprise-grade security, end-to-end encryption on all plans, higher participant capacity (40,000 vs 10,000), and operate in regulated industries like healthcare or finance where data sovereignty and compliance certifications are non-negotiable.
Cisco Webex: 100 participants | Zoom: N/A
Cisco Webex: 40,000 participants | Zoom: N/A
Cisco Webex: 200+ integrations | Zoom: 1000+
Cisco Webex: Webex Assistant (transcription, summary) | Zoom: Yes (AI Companion)
Cisco Webex: 40 minutes (3+ participants) | Zoom: N/A
Cisco Webex: Limited (manual upload required) | Zoom: N/A
Cisco Webex: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Web | Zoom: N/A
Cisco Webex: 40 minutes unlimited users | Zoom: N/A
Cisco Webex: Yes, deep native integration | Zoom: N/A
Cisco Webex: Yes, Business plan+ | Zoom: N/A
Cisco Webex: Good (Slack, Teams, Google) | Zoom: N/A
Cisco Webex: 70 million | Zoom: 306 million
Cisco Webex: All paid tiers | Zoom: Pro+ tier only
Cisco Webex: Unlimited (1-month retention) | Zoom: 1 GB
Cisco Webex: 4.5 stars | Zoom: 4.6 stars
Cisco Webex: Yes (BAA available) | Zoom: Yes (BAA available)
Cisco Webex: 40 minutes (3+ participants) | Zoom: 40 minutes (3+ participants)
Cisco Webex: 40,000 (webinar mode) | Zoom: 10,000
Cisco Webex: 40 minutes worth per month | Zoom: N/A
Cisco Webex: Multiple integrations (Okta, Azure AD, etc.) | Zoom: N/A
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 300 participants
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 5+ (Companion, Summaries, Previews, Smart Compose)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Rich formatting, code blocks, file sharing, emoji reactions
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Third-party plugin required
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 6+ (polls, Q&A, reactions, hand raising, breakout rooms, live transcription)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 1GB cloud storage
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Extensive HD with filters
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: iOS, Android, full feature parity
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Limited (varies by plan)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 100 participants
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 4.5 stars (6,286 reviews)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Separate add-on service
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Basic analytics
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Third-party compatible
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 40 minutes (3+ participants)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Synchronous (real-time)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Basic editing, transcription
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: AI Companion 3.0, real-time translation, auto bug reporting
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 1000+ (webinar feature)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Schedule meeting in advance
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Yes (AI Companion 3.0)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 40+ languages (2026)
Enterprise Deployment Adoption (500+ seat orgs)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 33% of deployments
3-Year TCO Advantage for 1,000 Users with M365
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Baseline (higher cost)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: AI Companion 3.0, agentic AI
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: AI Companion 3.0, real-time translation, agentic AI
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Available (AI Companion 3.0)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Secondary with Zoom Chat
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Moderately complex
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, ISO 27001
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Free Basic plan
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Pro plan $14-29
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 500+ (Professional tier)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 95+ languages (2026)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Not applicable (meeting-focused)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: AI Companion 3.0 with agentic AI
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Yes, SOC 2 Type II
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Up to 100 (time-limited to 40 minutes)
Average Setup Time for New Recording/Meeting
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 1,500+ integrations
AI Transcription Support (Standard Tier)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 40 hours/month (Zoom One plan)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 300 standard (1000 webinar)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 3 (auto-transcription, noise suppression, chat summary)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 6 (SOC 2, FedRAMP, HIPAA)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 4K @ 60fps (Pro+)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 1 (one-click join link)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Basic (Calendar sync only)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: None (40 min meeting limit, no cloud recording)
Auto-Generated Captions Languages Supported
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Zoom English only (free plan); 128+ (paid)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 5-10 (scheduling + setup)
Enterprise Plan Starting Price (Monthly)
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: 10,000 participants
Cisco Webex: N/A | Zoom: Local device only (extra $2.49/mo for cloud)
How to choose between Cisco Webex and Zoom
Webex vs Zoom — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Webex vs Zoom. Contains 142 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Webex vs Zoom — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Webex vs Zoom.
Webex offers better default security with end-to-end encryption included in all paid tiers, while Zoom requires a Pro+ upgrade for this feature. Both hold SOC 2 Type II certification and HIPAA compliance options. For regulated industries, Webex's automatic encryption and advanced data residency controls provide stronger out-of-box protection. Zoom's security model requires users to actively enable premium features, creating potential compliance gaps in organizations with less technical oversight.
Is Zoom cheaper than Webex for enterprise deployments?
Zoom's entry-level Pro plan ($15.99/user/month) undercuts Webex Pro ($17.95/user/month) by 11%, but this gap narrows when comparing enterprise-grade tiers. At 500+ user organizations, Webex's volume discounts (up to 25% off) often match or beat Zoom's pricing. Additionally, Webex includes meeting transcription and advanced recording features at lower tiers, reducing hidden costs. Total cost depends heavily on organization size and required feature set.
Why does Zoom have so many more users than Webex?
Zoom's dominance (306M vs 70M daily users) stems from three factors: (1) superior ease of use with minimal setup friction, (2) aggressive early-stage pricing and freemium model, and (3) network effects—when most organizations use Zoom, others adopt it for compatibility. Zoom achieved critical mass by 2020 during pandemic-driven remote work surge and maintained leadership through consistent UX improvements. Webex, historically positioned as an enterprise-only solution, entered the mass-market race too late to dislodge Zoom's entrenched position.
No direct interoperability exists. Users cannot join a Zoom meeting from Webex or vice versa. Both platforms use proprietary protocols. However, both support standard video conferencing protocols (SIP/H.323) for limited third-party device integration. Organizations must use separate clients or tabs for each platform, creating friction. This lack of bridge technology is a deliberate competitive choice, though some enterprise environments use middleware solutions as workarounds.
Which platform is better for large webinars with 5,000+ attendees?
Webex is the clear choice, supporting up to 40,000 participants versus Zoom's 10,000-person cap. For webinars exceeding 10,000 attendees, Zoom requires the expensive Webinar license ($40.99/month minimum) with limited interactive features. Webex's standard plans accommodate massive audiences without tier restrictions. Healthcare and educational organizations frequently use Webex for this reason—town halls and mass presentations are built into base functionality rather than premium add-ons.
How to Choose Between Cisco Webex and Zoom
Daily Active Users: Cisco Webex has 70 million, while Zoom has 306 million.
Consider: Starting Price (Per User/Month)
Starting Price (Per User/Month): Cisco Webex has $17.95, while Zoom has $15.99.
Consider: End-to-End Encryption Standard
End-to-End Encryption Standard: Cisco Webex has Available in Pro+ tier, while Zoom has All paid tiers.
Maximum Meeting Participants: Cisco Webex has 40,000, while Zoom has 10,000.
Recording Storage (Free Plan): Cisco Webex has None, while Zoom has 1 GB cloud storage.
SOC 2 Type II Compliance: Cisco Webex has Yes, while Zoom has Yes.
Consider: Mobile App Rating (iOS App Store)
Mobile App Rating (iOS App Store): Cisco Webex has 4.5 stars, while Zoom has 4.6 stars.