Zoom licensing is the set of terms under which Zoom Communications, Inc. sells its cloud communications and collaboration services. The contract is the Zoom Terms of Service together with the Zoom Services Description, unless the customer has signed a Master Subscription Agreement (MSA), which then governs instead.[1] Zoom sells Services as subscriptions for an Initial Subscription Term and automatic Renewal Terms. Downloadable Zoom Software is licensed for internal use, solely to access the Services during the term.[1] Most products are counted per individual. The Services Description defines a Host as an identified employee, contractor or agent to whom the customer assigns the right to host Meetings, and the product-specific users of Phone, Scheduler, Workforce Management and other services are each deemed Hosts.[2] The exceptions are Zoom Rooms (per room), telephone numbers and calling plans, concurrent Contact Center agents, webinar attendee capacity and AI Credits.[13][11][12][8][14] For the general models, see named user licensing and subscription and consumption licensing.
Editions
Zoom sells Zoom Workplace as a free Basic plan and three paid tiers. Pro and Business have public per-user prices. Enterprise is sold by quote.[3] Separate price pages cover Phone, Rooms, Contact Center, ZoomMate and Webinars & Events.[4][5][6][7][8]
| Offering | What it covers (vendor description) | How it is priced (USD, retrieved 2026-09-30) |
|---|---|---|
| Zoom Workplace Basic | 40-minute meetings, 100 participants, limited AI features[3] | Free; 1 licence[3] |
| Zoom Workplace Pro | 30-hour meetings, 100 participants, 10 GB cloud storage per user[3] | $16.99 per user per month billed monthly, $14.16 billed annually; 1-99 licences[3] |
| Zoom Workplace Business | 300 participants, SSO, managed domains, archival and DLP APIs[3] | $21.99 per user per month billed monthly, $18.33 billed annually; 1-250 licences[3] |
| Zoom Workplace Enterprise | Adds full PBX, Webinars 500, Rooms, Workspace Reservation and Visitor Management[3] | Contact sales; more than 250 licences[3] |
| Pro Plus, Business Plus | Workplace Pro or Business bundled with Zoom Phone US & CA Unlimited[4] | $24.00 and $29.00 per user per month billed monthly[4] |
| Zoom Phone US & CA Unlimited | Phone added to Workplace Basic[4] | $18.00 per user per month billed monthly[4] |
| Zoom Rooms | Software-based conference room system[2] | $49.00 per room per month billed monthly[5] |
| Zoom Contact Center | Essentials, Premium and Elite packages[6] | $85.00 to $179.00 per user per month billed monthly; concurrent licence available[6] |
| ZoomMate | AI work surface with 2,200 AI credits per user per month[7] | $20.00 per user per month billed monthly[7] |
| Webinars, Webinars Plus, Events | Priced by attendee capacity or pay-per-attendee[8] | From $89.00 per month for 500 attendees[8] |
Public prices are recorded as catalog SKUs, for example Zoom Workplace Pro and Zoom Rooms. Plans and add-ons are covered in Zoom Workplace plans, add-ons and Rooms.
Metrics
| Zoom term | Catalog row | Where it applies | What Zoom says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host | Host | All user-based Services | An identified employee, contractor or agent assigned the right to host Meetings; may hold unlimited Meetings.[2] |
| Licensed user | Licensed user | Zoom Workplace plans | Has a free or paid meeting licence and can schedule meetings up to the plan’s capacity.[3] |
| Participant capacity | Participant capacity | Meetings, Large Meeting add-on | Participants need no licence. Capacity attaches to the host.[3] |
| Room | Room | Zoom Rooms | Priced per room. Shared-space rooms, kiosks, Personal Zoom Room Pro and standalone whiteboards each use one licence.[5][13] |
| Zoom Phone license, calling plan, common area phone | Zoom Phone license, Calling plan, Common area phone | Zoom Phone | A user-level Cloud PBX licence. Calling plans add a number and Metered or Unlimited minutes. Each common area phone needs one licence.[11] |
| Contact Center user and concurrent licence | Contact Center user, Contact Center concurrent license | Zoom Contact Center | Per user per month, or a shared pool counted by signed-in agents.[6][12] |
| Attendee capacity and pay-per-attendee | Attendee capacity, Pay-per-attendee license | Webinars, Webinars Plus, Events | Subscriptions are priced on attendee capacity. Pay-per-attendee is a 12-month pool of attendee slots.[8] |
| AI Credit | AI Credit | ZoomMate, AI Productivity Suite | Required for metered AI capabilities and pooled at account level.[14] |
| Cloud storage | Cloud storage | Workplace plans, Cloud Storage add-on | Pro and Business include 10 GB per user. Extra storage is sold from $10 per month for 30 GB.[3] |
Counting / floors
One licence per scheduling user. A licensed user can host an unlimited number of meetings. If several users need to schedule separate meetings, each needs a licence.[3] The Terms prohibit sharing an account, Host rights or user rights with another individual unless Zoom pre-approves it in writing.[1] Hosting more than one Meeting at a time requires a Concurrent Meetings package.[2] Participants who only join meetings need no account or licence.[3] Catalog proof: Accounts and Host rights may not be shared; Each user scheduling separate meetings needs a licence; Participants do not need a licence.
Users without a paid licence. Since a rollout that began on 17 June 2024, admins on paid accounts no longer pick a Basic or Licensed user type. They assign purchased licences, or give a user Zoom Meetings Basic permissions to host meetings of up to 40 minutes, or leave the user with no hosting privileges at all.[10] Users without hosting privileges can still join meetings, use Team Chat and hold Zoom Phone or Contact Center licences.[10] Catalog proof: Users without a Workplace licence or Basic permissions cannot host; Zoom Meetings Basic permissions allow 40-minute hosting.
Floors and bands. The pricing page limits each plan to a licence-count band: Basic 1, Pro 1-99, Business 1-250 and Enterprise more than 250.[3] Under the Terms, the customer must keep the minimum quantity on its Order Form for the whole term.[1] Reductions take effect at the end of the billing cycle.[15] The web portal will not assign more licences than the account has bought.[9] Catalog proof: Plan licence-count bands; Minimum quantity maintained for the term; Licence assignment capped at purchased licences.
Add-on dependencies. Large Meeting, Webinar and Zoom Events licences can be assigned only to a user who holds a Zoom Workplace licence. Licences of the same type do not stack on one user.[9] Contact Center requires a corresponding Zoom Meetings or Zoom Phone licence.[2] Catalog proof: Add-on licences require a Zoom Workplace licence; Licences of the same type do not stack; Contact Center requires a Meetings or Phone licence.
Virtualization & partitioning
Zoom’s metrics count people, rooms, numbers, attendees and credits, not processors or hosts. The retrieved documents contain no virtualization or partitioning rule of the kind found in processor and core licensing. The Software licence permits use of the object code “on a compatible device for your internal use only”.[1] Virtual desktop (VDI) support is listed as an Enterprise feature of Zoom Workplace, not as a separate licence.[3] For Zoom Rooms the unit is the room instance, whatever hardware runs it. Hardware is procured separately or leased through the Hardware as a Service Program.[13][2]
Cloud / BYOL
Zoom Services are cloud-delivered, so no bring-your-own-license mapping applies. Zoom for Government and Zoom for Defense are separate environments. They offer limited versions of the Services, and data cannot be exchanged between them and the commercial platform.[2] Zoom Node places selected workloads, such as Meetings Hybrid and Phone Local Survivability, in the customer’s data centre. It requires a subscription to each service module and to the module’s corresponding Zoom Service.[2] For telephony, Bring Your Own Carrier lets customers keep their own PSTN provider.[2]
Programs
- Online subscription. Plans renew monthly or annually. Cancelling stops the auto-renewal.[3] Under the Terms, notice must be given at least 30 calendar days before the Renewal Term.[1]
- Master Subscription Agreement. A signed MSA replaces the Terms of Service.[1]
- Prepaid multi-year package. Zoom offers prepaid packages in 1, 2 and 3-year increments through sales.[3]
- Zoom Cares nonprofit discount. Verified nonprofits get 50% off Workplace Pro, Workplace Business, Webinars and Large Meetings.[3]
- Zoom for Government and Zoom for Defense, Hardware as a Service Program and Zoom for Education (K-12), each described in the Services Description.[2]
- AI Credit prepaid commitment and credit packs. Adds AI Credits beyond the plan allotments. See Zoom ZoomMate, AI Companion and AI Credits.[14]
Contract terms
Use rights (Terms effective 2023-08-11). Zoom grants a limited, revocable, non-transferable licence to use the Software in object code for internal use only.[1] Prohibited uses include benchmarking or building a competitive product, and offering the Services for lease, resale or service-bureau use.[1] Host rights may be reassigned to another individual only when a person’s employment ends, or with Zoom’s written approval.[2] Catalog proof: Software licensed for internal use during the term; No resale, service bureau or third-party provision; Host rights reassignable only on termination of employment.
Payment, renewal and price changes. Payments are non-cancelable for the term and non-refundable unless otherwise agreed.[1] Renewal Terms begin automatically unless notice is given 30 days before.[1] Price changes need at least 30 days’ notice and normally take effect at the next Renewal Term.[1] Licences added mid-term are prorated so that they renew on the original cycle.[11] Catalog proof: Payments non-cancelable and non-refundable; Automatic renewal with 30-day notice; Price changes apply from the next Renewal Term; Added licences are prorated and co-termed.
Assignment and termination. The customer may not assign the Agreement without Zoom’s prior written consent.[1] After termination, Zoom keeps Customer Content available for retrieval for 30 calendar days.[1] The full contract is covered in Zoom Terms of Service, renewal and compliance.
Audits and compliance
The retrieved Terms of Service contain no clause that gives Zoom a right to audit a customer’s usage records.[1] Three mechanisms take its place. First, the web portal will not assign more licences than the account has bought.[9] Second, the Terms prohibit sharing Host rights.[1] Third, Zoom may investigate complaints and violations and suspend or terminate accounts.[1] Zoom owns the telemetry and usage data it collects as Service Generated Data.[1] Consumption-based offerings leave their own records: concurrent Contact Center plans keep a licence usage report with daily peak concurrency,[12] and AI Credits have admin usage reports and per-user limits.[14] Catalog proof: Zoom may investigate use and suspend. A signed MSA may add terms that the web documents lack. For the general discipline, see software license audit and license compliance.
Out of scope
- Signed Master Subscription Agreements, reseller terms and public-sector contract vehicles, which were not retrievable.
- Prices outside USD, Enterprise quotes, per-minute calling rates and Zoom Phone plans offered only through sales, such as Global Select and regional plans outside the US and Canada.
- Zoom developer products (Video SDK, Meeting SDK, APIs), which have their own terms.
- Workvivo, Zoom Revenue Accelerator, BrightHire, Bonsai and Zoom Virtual Agent, beyond their mention in the Services Description.
- Hardware sold under Hardware Programs, which carries the manufacturers’ terms.