Roam vs Zoom

Roam

• Remote and hybrid companies that want meetings, chat and presence in one tool
• Teams that prefer short drop-in conversations to scheduled calls
• Companies that want month-to-month billing with no annual contract
• All-hands presentations held in the same workspace as daily work

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

Roam

• There is no free plan; each new member gets a 14-day trial before appearing on the bill.
• Roam states it offers no discounts and no annual plans, so the per-member price is the same for every customer.
• The rate rises on a published schedule: $19.50 per active member a month in 2026 and $20.88 in 2027.
• Billing follows the number of active members each month, so the total can change from one bill to the next.

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.

Roam

Virtual office map

A live view of who is in the office, who is meeting with whom and who is talking. Click a person to chat with them or an empty seat to enter their room.

Drop-in meetings and meeting rooms

Knock on a seat in someone's office to start an audio-only drop-in meeting, or use a meeting room for video with screen sharing and a whiteboard.

AInbox group chat

Direct messages, group chats and confidential chats with custom folders, pinned chats, bookmarks, scheduled messages and search across the full history.

Magic Minutes

Turns on a transcription and AI summary that every participant receives in a group chat, where they can ask questions about the meeting.

Theater and On-Air

Theater seats an all-hands audience in rows with a backstage, a Q&A microphone and a stadium mode for 100 or more people. On-Air hosts virtual events.

Lobby, Magicast and On-It

Lobby links let guests book time or drop in, Magicast records the screen with a transcript, and On-It is an AI assistant that schedules and follows up.

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.

Roam

• Virtual Office Super Bundle$19.50

  per active member / month, billed monthly (2026 rate)

  All nine Roam products at one price, charged only for members active that month. Guests are free. The published 2027 rate is $20.88.

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.

Roam

No public discounts listed.

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.