If there is a company that’s really benefitted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic throughout 2020 and 2021 then it’s definitely Zoom. Ever since the pandemic started, this American-based company has seen an increase in the number of people using Zoom on a day to day basis to make calls whether to friends, family members or loved ones. Besides, many companies and not just in the U.S. have embraced having their meetings through Zoom something that has allowed them to have virtual meetings.
The increase in the number of people and businesses using Zoom has resulted in the company’s profit soaring through the roof. While this is evident by simply looking at Zoom’s stock price, many still don’t understand how this is possible. Simply put, they don’t understand how Zoom makes money especially if you consider the fact that they offer their services for free.
If you’ve also been wondering or asking yourself the same question then you are going to love this post as it focuses on how Zoom actually makes money. It’ll also share other valuable information about Zoom such as how it works and the different types of Zoom account one can open.
Zoom has in place a very interesting business model that sees them make money from the services their offer. For instance, they do have paid Zoom subscriptions that cost between $15 and $20 per month as well as features such as Zoom Rooms that cost $50 to $100 per month.
[lwptoc title="How Does Zoom Make Money?"]
What Is Zoom?
Before jumping into details as to how Zoom actually makes money it is only right that we first look at what Zoom really is. That said Zoom or Zoom Video Communications Inc. is a tech-based company in the U.S. that provides online chat and video-telephony services through a cloud-based peer-to-peer software platform.
It is mainly used by companies, institutions, organizations, and even individuals for telecommuting, social relations, teleconferencing, and distance education.
If there is one thing about Zoom that resulted in it gaining some popularity even before Covid-19 is its user-friendly platform. Furthermore, Zoom has made it very easy to create a Zoom account regardless of whether you go for a paid account or a free account (yes, you can open a free Zoom account but am sure you are well aware of that).
How Does Zoom Work?
With some slight knowledge of what Zoom really is, we can now shift our attention to how Zoom actually makes money. While it might seem like a daunting task, knowing how Zoom makes money is very simple. In fact, all you need is to simply understand how Zoom works. Yes, understanding how Zoom works helps in knowing how Zoom really makes money.
With Zoom Video Communications Inc. individuals or businesses have the option of taking up either a free or paid service depending on what they want or what they are looking for. The free services like the name suggest don’t really bring in the money for Zoom. The paid services however are Zoom’s golden goose.
Simply put, they make a good part of their money from services they charge a slight fee. The paid services Zoom Video Communications Inc. offers are a Zoom Pro account, a Zoom Business Account, and a Zoom Enterprise account.
If you were to go for a Zoom Pro account, you’ll be required to make a monthly payment of $14.99. For this price or simply put with a Zoom Pro account, you’ll be able to create personal meeting IDs for repetitive Zoom Meetings. Furthermore, you’ll be able to record your meetings on your device or in the cloud. Worth noting, there is a 24-hour duration cap for group meetings.
There is also a Zoom Business account that you can take up with Zoom. This particular account will cost you $19.99 per month. Key aspects of this particular account are that it has a 10 minimum meeting host, allows you to brand your Zoom meetings with things like URLs and vanities or even company branding and you have the option of receiving transcripts of all your meetings. If you happen to have an issue, you can be able to get in touch with dedicated customer support if you have a Zoom business account.
Another account that Zoom offers users is the Zoom Enterprise account. With this account, you’ll be charged $19.99 per month. Unlike Zoom Business, Zoom Enterprise allows you to host a minimum of 100 people per meeting. This is an ideal package for any company that has more than 100 employees.
Notables with Zoom Enterprise include unlimited cloud storage meaning you can record your meetings as much as you want and have an ideal place to store them, a customer success manager, and users or hosts receive discounts on Zoom Rooms as well as discounts.
Although not a Zoom account per se, Zoom Rooms factor a lot when it comes to how Zoom makes money especially so if you were to consider how much a Zoom Room is. Initially, a Zoom Room is free for 30 days. So if you were to try it, you won’t be charged for a good 30 days.
After this period ends and you still want to continue with a Zoom Room, you’ll be required to make an additional payment of $49 per month. If you were to use a Zoom Room for a webinar then it’ll cost you $40 per month.
Can You Open A Free Zoom Account?
Yes, you can open or create a free Zoom account. Do note however that with a Free Zoom account, as much as Zoom has tried to make it as practical as possible, you’ll be somehow limited. For starters, group meetings you have on Zoom are capped at 40 minutes. Even worse, you cannot be able to record meetings that you have on Zoom. It is not all bad with a free Zoom account as it allows you to hold an unlimited number of minutes.
Zoom Details
How Zoom Makes Money?
Now that we’ve seen the various accounts or pricing tiers Zoom offers to the masses and businesses worldwide, we can now see clearly how Zoom makes its money. While it is true that many people use the Free Zoom account, there are a fair number of people who are paying to use slightly better Zoom services such as the Zoom Business or Zoom Enterprise accounts. This is more so the case with companies keen on having slightly larger group meetings or videoconferencing.
The amount of money these companies pay to open and operate these accounts (keeping in mind that they are quite a few throughout the country and worldwide), as well as other individuals that opt for paid Zoom services, add up to a good amount of money for Zoom Video Communications Inc.
Zoom also makes a good amount of money thanks to their Zoom Rooms. In fact, given that it’s one of their most expensive features; it really brings in the money especially considering that it’s a favorite add-on for many companies that already use Zoom especially those that take up Zoom Business and Zoom Enterprise.
Conclusion For "How Does Zoom Make Money"
While it is clear that Zoom makes a good amount of its money through paid Zoom services, other avenues also bring them money hence the reason why they are valued as one of the most profitable tech-based companies in the U.S.
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