DingTalk vs Zoom (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Zoom grades higher than DingTalk: 2.6 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
DingTalk grades higher on the free plan and features. Zoom grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
DingTalk
Chat, meetings, docs and approvals in one work platform
Zoom
Video meetings bundled with team chat, phone and AI notes
Which one is for you
Pick DingTalk if
- Fits if a small company wants chat, meetings and approvals in one account
- Works for teams that want a free tier for up to 10 people
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if store ratings matter to you, as the iOS app averages 1.4 from about 14,000 ratings
- Tight if you are over 10 people on Free, or over 300 on Basic
- Tight if you hold long meetings on Free, as they stop at 40 minutes
- Watch out: the lower price is assumed to be the annual rate, so confirm it
- Watch out: only an iOS app was confirmed, and no other platforms are named
Pick Zoom if
- Fits if you meet people outside your company, since guests join without an account
- Works for teams who want AI meeting notes, which are unlimited on Pro at $14.16 a person
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, because meetings stop at 40 minutes, one-on-ones included, and recordings stay on your computer
- Pricey if your company already has Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, which include meetings
- Skip it if team chat is the main thing you need, since Zoom is a meetings app first
- Pricey if you need 300 people in a call, which starts on Business at $18.33 a person, or 500, which is a $50-a-month add-on
- Watch out: yearly plans are charged up front, and webinars, the phone system and Rooms need an Enterprise sales call
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADingTalkFair | 2.6GPAZoomGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is $4 per user a month at the annual rate ($4.80 monthly), just above the $3.50 that marks the cheaper quarter of team-chat tools. The middle is $7. | CWorkplace Pro is $14.16 a user a month on yearly billing, double the $7 this category typically starts at, and it still tops out at 100 people. Single sign-on and 300-person meetings wait for Business at $18.33, and the year is taken in one payment up front. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree covers up to 10 users with 100 GB of storage, 40-minute meetings, 300 AI speech-to-text minutes per user and 180 days of chat history. A small team could use it, and paid plans get a free month. | CBasic gives you unlimited meetings for 100 people, instant messaging, 3 whiteboards and AI summaries for 3 meetings a month. Then the clock: nearly every meeting on a free account ends at 40 minutes, one-to-ones included, and recordings save only to your own computer. |
| Features | BChat, meetings, docs, drive, mail, calendar, AI minutes, an AI table, approvals and attendance. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core chat job. | CThe meeting app comes bundled with team chat, whiteboards, clips, mail, calendar and a booking page. But the plan ladder is full of walls. 300 people needs Business, 500 is a $50-a-month add-on, and the phone system, webinars and Rooms come only with Enterprise through sales. |
| Ease of use | FThe App Store listing shows 1.4 from about 14,000 ratings, and the recent reviews shown date from 2020. | B4.66 on the App Store from about 3.2 million ratings, just under our top mark. Most people already know what to do with a Zoom link, and guests need no account or plan. Commenters say the browser version lacks parts of the app and Zoom keeps pushing the download. |
| Platforms and integrations | COnly an iOS app was confirmed from the listing, and the English pages name no other platforms. No API or integration list is shown. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, which is the whole field. Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Salesforce and ServiceNow connect. Commenters do say the browser version is the poor relation and that Zoom nudges you to download instead. |
| Best for | a chat, meetings and approvals suite for a small company | video meetings anyone can join |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: DingTalk and Zoom. How we grade
Price against what you get
DingTalk starts at $4 a month for each person and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zoom starts at $14.16 a month for each person and scores 3.0.
Zoom scores higher, and starts $10.16 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other team communication apps on the chart, 14 score higher than DingTalk for less, and 5 score higher than Zoom for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- DingTalk also covers transcription and calendar.
- Zoom also covers whiteboard and booking links.
At a glance
| DingTalk | Zoom | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.00 per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly) | $14.16 per user / month, billed annually ($169.90 a year) |
| Free plan | Free plan for up to 10 users: 100 GB storage, HD video meetings up to 40 minutes, 300 AI speech-to-text minutes per user a month, and 180 days of chat history. | Workplace Basic: meetings of up to 40 minutes and 100 participants, instant messaging, 3 editable whiteboards, 5 two-minute clips, and AI summaries for 3 hosted meetings a month. |
| Free trial | Free 1-month trial on paid plans | Free trial of Workplace Pro when subscribing in the iOS app, per the App Store listing; its length is not stated |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | DingTalk (Singapore) Private Limited | Zoom Communications, Inc. |
| Price read from | dingtalk.com | zoom.us |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
DingTalk
- The pricing page was read through a Monthly or Annually toggle; the lower price is assumed to be the annual rate and a person should confirm it.
- Free is capped at 10 users and 40-minute meetings, and Basic stops at 300 users.
- Only an iOS app was confirmed from the App Store listing; the English pages name no other platforms.
- The App Store listing shows a 1.4 average from about 14,000 ratings, and the most recent reviews shown are from 2020.
Zoom
- Basic meetings end at 40 minutes, one-to-one calls included, and the plan records locally only with no cloud storage.
- Meetings of 300 people need Business; beyond that the Large Meeting add-on starts at $50 a month for 500 participants.
- SSO and managed domains start at Business, and webinars, the phone PBX and Rooms are bundled only into Enterprise, which is sold by sales.
- Annual plans are charged as one upfront payment; the monthly figure shown is the annual total divided by 12.
Key features
DingTalk
- Chat with long retention
- Messaging history is kept for 180 days on Free, 2 years on Basic, 10 years on Standard and 20 years on Premium.
- Video meetings
- Meetings run in HD on Free and Full HD on paid plans, with limits of 100, 300 or 500 participants depending on the plan.
- AI Minutes
- Speech-to-text and AI-generated meeting summaries are metered per user each month: 300 minutes and 5 summaries, or 1,500 and 50 on Premium.
- AI Table
- Spreadsheet-style tables for building business apps with automations, with row limits from 2,000 to 50,000 per sheet and monthly automation runs.
- Docs, drive, mail and calendar
- The same suite includes cloud docs, a drive with per-user storage, mail with attachment limits and a calendar.
- Approvals and attendance
- The English download page lists clock-in, clock-out and leave approval features, and the Chinese site lists approval and attendance products.
Zoom
- Video meetings
- Meetings run up to 40 minutes on Basic and 30 hours on paid plans, with 100 participants on Basic and Pro, 300 on Business and 1,000 on Enterprise.
- Team chat
- Instant messaging is part of every Workplace plan, including the free Basic plan, and sits in the same app as meetings and calling.
- AI notes and meeting summaries
- Basic includes AI note-taking 3 times a month and summaries for 3 hosted meetings. Pro makes both unlimited and takes notes in Zoom, third-party and in-person conversations.
- Whiteboard and Clips
- Basic allows 3 editable whiteboards and 5 two-minute clips. Clips become unlimited on Pro, and whiteboards become unlimited on Business.
- Mail, Calendar and Scheduler
- Basic connects Gmail or Outlook and syncs Google or Microsoft calendars. Pro adds Zoom Mail and Zoom Calendar, and Business adds unlimited Scheduler booking pages.
- Recording and cloud storage
- Basic records locally only. Pro adds 10 GB of cloud recording storage per license, and extra cloud storage is sold as an add-on from $10 a month for 30 GB.
Plans
DingTalk
Free$0.00
Up to 10 users, 100 GB storage, 100 participants per meeting and chat retained for 180 days.
Basic$4.00
per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly)
Up to 300 users, 2 TB plus 5 GB per user, Full HD meetings up to 24 hours and chat retained for 2 years.
Standard$8.00
per user / month, annual rate ($9.60 billed monthly)
From 3 users with no upper limit, 300 meeting participants, 500 GB mailboxes and chat retained for 10 years.
Premium$15.00
per user / month, annual rate ($18.00 billed monthly)
500 meeting participants, 1,500 AI speech-to-text minutes per user, 5 TB mailboxes and chat retained for 20 years.
Zoom
Workplace Basic$0
Meetings of up to 40 minutes and 100 participants, instant messaging, 3 editable whiteboards, 5 two-minute clips and limited AI features.
Workplace Pro$14.16
per user / month, billed annually ($16.99 billed monthly)
30-hour meetings with 100 participants, unlimited AI note-taking and meeting summaries, unlimited clips, and 10 GB of cloud storage per user.
Workplace Business$18.33
per user / month, billed annually ($21.99 billed monthly)
300 participants per meeting, Scheduler with unlimited booking pages, unlimited whiteboards, SSO and managed domains.
Workplace EnterpriseCustom
1,000 participants per meeting, plus a full-featured phone PBX, webinars for 500 attendees, Rooms and translated captions.
Ways to pay less
DingTalk
- Annual discount
About 17% off with annual billing
The pricing section shows annual rates roughly 17% below the monthly figures, for example $4.00 against $4.80 for Basic.
Zoom
- Annual discount
About 17% less with annual billing
Workplace Pro is $169.90 a year ($14.16 a month) against $16.99 billed monthly, and Business is $219.90 a year ($18.33 a month) against $21.99.
- Nonprofit
50% off for verified nonprofits
Zoom's pricing FAQ says verified nonprofit organizations worldwide get a 50% discount on Workplace Pro, Workplace Business, Webinars and Large Meetings.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, DingTalk or Zoom?
As of Nov 12, 2026, DingTalk is cheaper to start with: $4 a month for each person, against $14.16 a month for each person for Zoom. DingTalk starts at $4.00 per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly), and Zoom starts at $14.16 per user / month, billed annually ($169.90 a year).
Which has a free plan, DingTalk or Zoom?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both DingTalk and Zoom have a free plan.
Which platforms do DingTalk and Zoom run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Zoom lists a web app, macOS, Windows, Linux and Android apps and a browser extension. Both list an iOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.