Gather vs Zoom

Gather

• Remote teams that want quick conversations without scheduling a call
• Teams that want availability and status visible at a glance
• Teams that want meetings, chat and presence in one workspace

Zoom

• Teams whose main need is video meetings with chat alongside
• Occasional hosts who can work within 40-minute meetings
• People who want AI meeting notes built into the meeting app
• Companies that plan to add phone, webinars or rooms later

Gather

• There is no free plan: after the 30-day trial only one admin can enter the workspace until a subscription starts.
• Gather 2.0 has no mobile app and does not support Linux; its desktop apps are for Mac and Windows.
• Recording, transcription and guest time are monthly allowances tied to member count, with minimums of 20, 30 and 30 hours.
• Gather recommends 2.0 for offices of up to 100 people; single sign-on for 2.0 is in beta and listed under the Custom Plan.

Zoom

• Basic meetings end at 40 minutes, 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.

Gather

Virtual office and presence

See who is available, busy or in a meeting, hear nearby conversations if you choose, and wave a teammate over or join a conversation in one click.

Meetings

Unlimited scheduled meetings with simultaneous screen sharing, Google Calendar sync, coworking sessions and interactive whiteboards.

Team chat

Permanent chat with public and private channels, DMs and group chats, thread replies and file uploads, plus meeting chat and nearby chat.

Recording and AI meeting notes

Meetings can be recorded and summarized as AI notes with a transcript. Paid plans include 2 recording hours and 3 transcription hours per member a month.

Guest hours

Clients and candidates join as guests after checking in with a member. Paid plans include 3 guest hours per member each month, with a minimum of 30.

Office customization

Start from a template, choose open, private or hybrid floor plans, edit rooms, walls and floors, and place more than 200 objects.

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.

Gather

• Essential Plan$12

  per member / month, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly)

  Every feature: custom virtual office, unlimited meetings and chat, and monthly recording, transcription and guest hours that grow with team size.

• Custom PlanCustom

  For large teams: custom pricing and onboarding, larger offices, hybrid solutions, single sign-on and an extended trial.

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.

Gather

• Annual discount

  20% less with yearly billing

  The Essential Plan costs $12 per member / month billed yearly against $15 billed monthly.

• Nonprofit

  30% off monthly plans for nonprofits and schools

  Gather's Classic (1.0) help center says spaces for nonprofits and educational institutions may be eligible for 30% off a monthly subscription, arranged through its sales team.

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.