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Webex vs Zoom 2026: Features, Pricing & Security

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.

Cisco Webex

Cisco Webex

Enterprise-focused unified communications platform with advanced security and 40,000-participant capacity.

Large enterprises, healthcare organizations, government agencies, and regulated industries requiring maximum security and compliance certifications.

Score63%
VS
Z

Zoom

Consumer and SMB-focused video conferencing platform with 306 million daily users and market-leading usability.

SMBs, startups, remote-first companies, educational institutions, and consumer users who value simplicity, affordability, and broad interoperability.

Score63%

Quick Answer

AI Summary

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.

Our Verdict

AI-assisted

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.

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Cisco Webex
6.7/10
Zoom
8.3/10
Z
Cisco Webex

Choose Cisco Webex if

Large enterprises, healthcare organizations, government agencies, and regulated industries requiring maximum security and compliance certifications.

Z

Choose Zoom if

Best pick

SMBs, startups, remote-first companies, educational institutions, and consumer users who value simplicity, affordability, and broad interoperability.

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Key Differences at a Glance

  • Daily Active Users:Zoom wins(306 million vs 70 million)
  • Starting Price (Per User/Month):Zoom wins($15.99 vs $17.95)
  • End-to-End Encryption Standard:Cisco Webex wins(Available in Pro+ tier vs All paid tiers)
See all 7 differences

Key Facts & Figures

82 numeric metrics compared

MetricCisco WebexZoomRatio
Maximum Meeting Participants (Free)(participants)100 participants
Maximum Meeting Participants (Paid)(participants)40,000 participants
Pro Plan Monthly Cost (Annual Billing)(USD per user)$15.99
Available Integrations(count)200+ integrations1000+
Monthly Active Users (MAU)(millions)220M
Free Plan Meeting Duration Limit(minutes)40 minutes (3+ participants)
Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD)$13.49$15.99
Meeting Recording Retention (Free)(days)30 days
Maximum Meeting Participants(participants)40,00010,000
Free Plan Duration40 minutes unlimited users
Standard Plan Price(USD/user/month)$14.99
Global Market Share(%)16.5%
Starting Monthly Cost Per User(USD)$15.99
Native Integrations Available(integrations)200+
Minimum Bandwidth (HD Video)(Mbps)1.5 Mbps
Annual Recording Storage (Per User)(GB)40GB
Fortune 500 Adoption Rate(percent)43%
Enterprise Setup Time(days)14-28 days
Daily Active Users(millions)70 million306 million
Starting Price (Professional Plan)(USD/user/month)$17.95$15.99
Free Plan Cloud Recording Storage(GB)Unlimited (1-month retention)1 GB
Mobile App Rating (iOS)(stars)4.5 stars4.6 stars
Free Meeting Duration Limit(minutes)40 minutes (3+ participants)40 minutes (3+ participants)
Maximum Free Participants(participants)300 participants300 participants
Built-in AI Features5+ (Companion, Summaries, Previews, Smart Compose)5+ (Companion, Summaries, Previews, Smart Compose)
Engagement Tools Available(count)6+ (polls, Q&A, reactions, hand raising, breakout rooms, live transcription)6+ (polls, Q&A, reactions, hand raising, breakout rooms, live transcription)
Update Frequency (2026)(releases per month)2-3 per month2-3 per month
Free Plan Monthly Cost(USD)$0$0
Pro/Standard Plan Monthly Cost(USD/month)$13.33$13.33
Pro Plan Participant Limit(participants)300+300+
Cloud Storage Included(GB)Limited (varies by plan)Limited (varies by plan)
Setup Time (Minutes)(minutes)5-105-10
Basic Plan Monthly Cost(USD)$15/month$15/month
Free Plan Group Meeting Duration(minutes)40 minutes40 minutes
Free Plan Participant Limit(participants)100 participants100 participants
Gartner Review Rating(stars)4.5 stars (6,286 reviews)4.5 stars (6,286 reviews)
Maximum Live Participants(participants)300 (Pro+)300 (Pro+)
Webinar Capacity(attendees)1000+ (webinar feature)1000+ (webinar feature)
Starting Monthly Price per User(USD)$14.16$14.16
Free Meeting Duration (3+ participants)(minutes)40 minutes40 minutes
Real-Time Translation Languages(count)40+ languages (2026)40+ languages (2026)
Enterprise Deployment Adoption (500+ seat orgs)(percentage)33% of deployments33% of deployments
3-Year TCO Advantage for 1,000 Users with M365(percentage savings)Baseline (higher cost)Baseline (higher cost)
Starting Price(USD)$0 (Free)$0 (Free)
User Review Rating(stars)4.64.6
Pro/Standard Monthly Cost(USD per user/month)$14-$29$14-$29
Third-party Integrations(integrations)1000+1000+
Zoom Rooms Cost(USD per room/month)$41.58$41.58
Free Tier Cost(USD)Free Basic planFree Basic plan
Group Video Call Duration Limit (Free)(minutes)40 minutes40 minutes
Maximum Meeting Participants(participants)500+ (Professional tier)500+ (Professional tier)
Max Participants (Free Plan)(people)Up to 100 (time-limited to 40 minutes)Up to 100 (time-limited to 40 minutes)
Free Plan Monthly Cloud Storage(GB)1 GB1 GB
Pro Plan Annual Cost(USD)$191.88/year$191.88/year
Average Setup Time for New Recording/Meeting(minutes)7 minutes7 minutes
Third-Party Integrations Available(apps)1,500+ integrations1,500+ integrations
Max Participants (Paid Plan)(people)300300
Maximum Participants Per Meeting(participants)300 standard (1000 webinar)300 standard (1000 webinar)
Free Tier Monthly Cost(USD)$0 (limited)$0 (limited)
Standard Video Resolution(pixels)1920x10801920x1080
Screen Sharing Participants(simultaneous users)1 primary1 primary
Meeting Recording Storage (Free)(hours)Paid onlyPaid only
Mobile App Quality Rating(out of 5)4.74.7
AI Features Integration(count)3 (auto-transcription, noise suppression, chat summary)3 (auto-transcription, noise suppression, chat summary)
Enterprise Support Response Time(hours)11
Free Group Meeting Duration(minutes)40 minutes40 minutes
4K Video Quality Support(fps)4K @ 60fps (Pro+)4K @ 60fps (Pro+)
Monthly Cost (Pro Plan)(USD)$20.99$20.99
Chat Message Retention (Free Tier)(months)30 days30 days
Setup Time for New Users(minutes)1 (one-click join link)1 (one-click join link)
Maximum Participants(people)10,00010,000
Free Cloud Storage(GB)00
Lowest Paid Monthly Plan(USD)$15.99$15.99
Auto-Generated Captions Languages Supported(languages)Zoom English only (free plan); 128+ (paid)Zoom English only (free plan); 128+ (paid)
Average User Rating(out of 5)4.54.5
Setup Time for First Meeting(minutes)5-10 (scheduling + setup)5-10 (scheduling + setup)
Maximum Free Meeting Duration(hours)40 minutes40 minutes
Free Plan Participant Capacity(participants)300 participants300 participants
Enterprise Plan Starting Price (Monthly)(USD per user)$15.99$15.99
Enterprise Uptime SLA(percent)99.99%99.99%
Maximum Webinar Attendees(participants)10,000 participants10,000 participants
Enterprise Market Share(percent)52%52%

Sourced from publicly available data ·

Key Differences

7 attributes compared head-to-head

Cisco Webex
2Cisco Webex
Zoom leads1 tie
Z
4Zoom
  • Daily Active Users

    Cisco Webex

    70 million

    Zoom

    306 million(winner)

  • Starting Price (Per User/Month)

    Cisco Webex

    $17.95

    Zoom

    $15.99(winner)

  • End-to-End Encryption Standard

    Cisco Webex

    Available in Pro+ tier(winner)

    Zoom

    All paid tiers

  • Maximum Meeting Participants

    Cisco Webex

    40,000(winner)

    Zoom

    10,000

  • Recording Storage (Free Plan)

    Cisco Webex

    None

    Zoom

    1 GB cloud storage(winner)

  • SOC 2 Type II Compliance

    Cisco Webex

    Yes

    Zoom

    Yes

  • Mobile App Rating (iOS App Store)

    Cisco Webex

    4.5 stars

    Zoom

    4.6 stars(winner)

Full Comparison

Cisco Webex
ZZoom
Maximum Meeting Participants (Free)(participants)
100 participants
Maximum Meeting Participants (Paid)(participants)
40,000 participants
Free Plan Message History(months)
Unlimited
Free Plan Duration
40 minutes unlimited users
Free Group Meeting Duration(minutes)
40 minutes
Pro Plan Monthly Cost (Annual Billing)(USD per user)
$15.99
Free Plan Meeting Duration Limit(minutes)
40 minutes (3+ participants)
Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD)
$13.49
$15.99
Standard Plan Price(USD/user/month)
$14.99
Starting Monthly Cost Per User(USD)
$15.99
Show 14 more attributes
Starting Price (Professional Plan)(USD/user/month)
$17.95
$15.99
Free Plan Monthly Cost(USD)
$0
Basic Plan Monthly Cost(USD)
$15/month
Starting Monthly Price per User(USD)
$14.16
Mid-Tier Price(USD/month)
$14-$29
Pro/Standard Monthly Cost(USD per user/month)
$14-$29
Free Tier Cost(USD)
Free Basic plan
Paid Plan Cost (Single User/Month)(USD)
Pro plan $14-29
Pro Plan Annual Cost(USD)
$191.88/year
Free Tier Monthly Cost(USD)
$0 (limited)
Monthly Cost (Pro Plan)(USD)
$20.99
Free Plan Recording Duration Limit(minutes)
None (40 min meeting limit, no cloud recording)
Lowest Paid Monthly Plan(USD)
$15.99
Enterprise Plan Starting Price (Monthly)(USD per user)
$15.99
Available Integrations(count)
200+ integrations
1000+
Third-Party Integrations Available(apps)
1,500+ integrations
End-to-End Encryption Available
Yes, all plans
End-to-End Encryption Availability
All paid tiers
Pro+ tier only
Enterprise Security Certifications
SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, ISO 27001
SOC 2 Compliance(text)
Yes, SOC 2 Type II
Security Certifications(count)
6 (SOC 2, FedRAMP, HIPAA)
AI Meeting Assistant
Webex Assistant (transcription, summary)
Yes (AI Companion)
AI Meeting Assistant Cost(USD/month)
Included free
FedRAMP Authorization(boolean)
Yes
FedRAMP Certification
Yes
HIPAA Compliance Certification
Yes (BAA available)
Yes (BAA available)
Monthly Active Users (MAU)(millions)
220M
Maximum Video Resolution(pixels)
4K (3840x2160)
Maximum Screen Recording Resolution(pixels)
1080p at 60fps
Maximum Video Sharing Quality(fps at resolution)
60fps at 1080p
Maximum Video Resolution (Free Plan)(pixels)
720p
Meeting Recording Retention (Free)(days)
30 days
Annual Recording Storage (Per User)(GB)
40GB
Cloud Storage Included(GB)
Limited (varies by plan)
Free Plan Monthly Cloud Storage(GB)
1 GB
Meeting Recording Storage (Free)(hours)
Paid only
Show 1 more attribute
Free Cloud Storage(GB)
0
Native Microsoft Office Integration
Limited (manual upload required)
Native Integrations Available(integrations)
200+
Google Workspace Integration
Third-party plugin required
Native Google Workspace Integration
Basic
Cisco Hardware Integration(compatibility)
Third-party compatible
Show 1 more attribute
Office 365 Integration Level(integration score)
Basic (Calendar sync only)
Supported Operating Systems
Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Web
Cross-Platform Interoperability
Good (Slack, Teams, Google)
Monthly Active Users(millions)
80 million
Fortune 500 Adoption Rate(percent)
43%
Maximum Meeting Participants(participants)
40,000
10,000
Free Meeting Duration Limit(minutes)
40 minutes (3+ participants)
40 minutes (3+ participants)
Global Market Share(%)
16.5%
Enterprise Deployment Adoption (500+ seat orgs)(percentage)
33% of deployments
Enterprise Market Share(percent)
52%
Native Salesforce Integration
Yes, deep native integration
Third-party Integrations(integrations)
1000+
AI Meeting Summaries
Yes, Business plan+
Maximum Free Participants(participants)
300 participants
Built-in AI Features
5+ (Companion, Summaries, Previews, Smart Compose)
Engagement Tools Available(count)
6+ (polls, Q&A, reactions, hand raising, breakout rooms, live transcription)
Meeting Recording Storage (Free Plan)(hours)
1GB cloud storage
Show 17 more attributes
Virtual Background Library(quality level)
Extensive HD with filters
Pro Plan Participant Limit(participants)
300+
Free Plan Group Meeting Duration(minutes)
40 minutes
Free Plan Participant Limit(participants)
100 participants
Integrated Calling Plans(included)
Separate add-on service
Advanced Meeting Analytics(included)
Basic analytics
Interactive Video Elements
Basic editing, transcription
Free Meeting Duration (3+ participants)(minutes)
40 minutes
Real-Time Translation Languages(count)
40+ languages (2026)
Group Video Call Duration Limit (Free)(minutes)
40 minutes
Real-Time Translation Support(Languages)
95+ languages (2026)
Message History Retention(text)
Not applicable (meeting-focused)
AI Assistant Capabilities(text)
AI Companion 3.0 with agentic AI
AI Transcription Support (Standard Tier)(hours/month)
40 hours/month (Zoom One plan)
Screen Sharing Participants(simultaneous users)
1 primary
Chat Message Retention (Free Tier)(months)
30 days
Auto-Generated Captions Languages Supported(languages)
Zoom English only (free plan); 128+ (paid)
Minimum Bandwidth (HD Video)(Mbps)
1.5 Mbps
Video Quality (Free Plan)(resolution)
HD (720p)
Video Quality (Standard)(resolution & fps)
1080p @ 30fps
4K Video Quality Support(fps)
4K @ 60fps (Pro+)
Enterprise Setup Time(days)
14-28 days
Setup Time Required(hours)
Schedule meeting in advance
Daily Active Users(millions)
70 million
306 million
Free Plan Cloud Recording Storage(GB)
Unlimited (1-month retention)
1 GB
Mobile App Rating (iOS)(stars)
4.5 stars
4.6 stars
Mobile App Quality Rating(out of 5)
4.7
Chat Message Formatting Options(capabilities)
Rich formatting, code blocks, file sharing, emoji reactions
Meeting Type
Synchronous (real-time)
Mobile App Support
iOS, Android, full feature parity
Update Frequency (2026)(releases per month)
2-3 per month
Enterprise Support Response Time(hours)
1
Pro/Standard Plan Monthly Cost(USD/month)
$13.33
Setup Time (Minutes)(minutes)
5-10
Setup Time for New Users(minutes)
1 (one-click join link)
Gartner Review Rating(stars)
4.5 stars (6,286 reviews)
Average User Rating(out of 5)
4.5
Maximum Live Participants(participants)
300 (Pro+)
Webinar Capacity(attendees)
1000+ (webinar feature)
Max Participants (Free Plan)(people)
Up to 100 (time-limited to 40 minutes)
Max Participants (Paid Plan)(people)
300
Free Plan Recording Limit(recordings per month)
40 minutes (3+ participants)
AI Features Available (2026)
AI Companion 3.0, real-time translation, auto bug reporting
Maximum Webinar Attendees(participants)
10,000 participants
AI Features in Base Tier
Yes (AI Companion 3.0)
3-Year TCO Advantage for 1,000 Users with M365(percentage savings)
Baseline (higher cost)
Starting Price(USD)
$0 (Free)
User Review Rating(stars)
4.6
AI Features(count)
AI Companion 3.0, agentic AI
AI Features (2026)
AI Companion 3.0, real-time translation, agentic AI
Real-Time Translation
Available (AI Companion 3.0)
Asynchronous Communication
Secondary with Zoom Chat
Zoom Rooms Cost(USD per room/month)
$41.58
Meeting Participant Limit(Users)
Unlimited
Maximum Participants Per Meeting(participants)
300 standard (1000 webinar)
Setup Complexity
Moderately complex
Average Setup Time for New Recording/Meeting(minutes)
7 minutes
Setup Time for First Meeting(minutes)
5-10 (scheduling + setup)
Maximum Meeting Participants(participants)
500+ (Professional tier)
Standard Video Resolution(pixels)
1920x1080
AI Features Integration(count)
3 (auto-transcription, noise suppression, chat summary)
Maximum Participants(people)
10,000
Maximum Free Meeting Duration(hours)
40 minutes
Free Plan Participant Capacity(participants)
300 participants
Enterprise Uptime SLA(percent)
99.99%
Free Cloud Recording Storage(text)
Local device only (extra $2.49/mo for cloud)

Pros & Cons

10 pros·6 cons across both

Cisco Webex
Z
Cisco Webex

Cisco Webex

+5-3

Pros

  • End-to-end encryption included in all paid tiers (not optional add-on)
  • Supports up to 40,000 participants per meeting (4x Zoom's limit)
  • Advanced data residency options for GDPR/HIPAA compliance
  • Free plan includes cloud recording and transcription
  • Integrated whiteboarding and annotation tools

Cons

  • Significantly lower market adoption (70M vs 306M daily users) limits network effects
  • Steeper learning curve with more complex interface than Zoom
  • Lower mobile app rating (4.5 vs 4.6 stars) indicates stability issues on mobile
Z

Zoom

+5-3

Pros

  • 306 million daily meeting participants ensures high compatibility and network effects
  • Minimal learning curve with intuitive one-click join functionality
  • Superior mobile experience (4.6-star iOS rating) with reliable performance
  • Aggressive pricing at $15.99/user/month undercuts most competitors
  • Industry-standard for remote work (86% of enterprise workers use Zoom per 2024 surveys)

Cons

  • End-to-end encryption only available on Pro+ tier, adding cost for security-conscious users
  • Maximum 10,000 participants per meeting insufficient for large-scale webinars or events
  • Free plan lacks cloud recording capability, forcing immediate upgrade for that feature

Frequently Asked Questions

5 questions

  1. 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.

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