The following is a comparison between Zoom meetings and webinars from Zoom Help:
Last Updated: June 27, 2023
The Meeting and Webinar platforms offer similar features and functionality but have some key differences.
Meetings are designed to be a collaborative event with all participants being able to screen share, turn on their video and audio, and see who else is in attendance.
Webinars are designed so that the host and any designated panelists can share their video, audio and screen. The host can also unmute attendees. Webinars allow view-only attendees, who have the ability to interact via Q&A, Chat, and answering polling questions. Webinar attendees can't rename themselves.
Detailed Information
| |
Meeting |
Webinar |
| Description |
Zoom meetings are ideal for hosting more interactive sessions where you’ll want to have lots of audience participation or break your session into smaller groups. |
Think of webinars like a virtual lecture hall or auditorium. Webinars are ideal for large audiences or events that are open to the public. Typically, webinar attendees do not interact with one another. Though Zoom provides options for you to get more social with your attendees, your average webinar has one or a few people speaking to an audience. |
| Best used for |
Small to large groups (2+ participants) for:
- Customer-facing meetings
- Sales meetings
- Training sessions
|
Large events and public broadcasts (50+ attendees) such as:
- Town halls
- Quarterly updates
- Educational lectures
|
| Typically used by |
- General employees
- Training groups
|
- Event hosts
- SVPs and C-Suite
|
| Cost |
Free and Paid subscription options available. |
Free through the University of Maine System Shared Co-Host Video Webinar. This needs to be scheduled in advance by UM Media Services.
Paid Add-on, available to Pro or higher subscriptions.
|
Meeting and webinar feature comparison
| Feature |
Meeting |
Webinar |
| Participant roles |
Learn more about meeting roles.
|
Learn more about webinar roles.
|
| Audio sharing |
- All participants can mute/unmute their own audio
- Host can mute/request to unmute participants
- The host can set all participants to mute upon entry
|
- Only the host and panelists can mute/unmute their own audio
- Attendees join in listen-only mode*
- The host can unmute one or more attendees
|
| Video sharing |
All participants |
Hosts and panelists |
| Screen sharing |
✔ |
✔ |
| Capacity |
Up to 100 with free license, up to 1,000 depending on plan and large meeting add-on. |
Ranging between 500-50,000 participants, depending on the license. |
| Participants list |
Visible to all participants |
Visible to host and panelists |
| Email reminders |
N/A |
If registration is enabled |
| Chat |
In-meeting chat |
Webinar chat |
| Reactions |
Meeting reactions |
Webinar reactions |
| Q&A |
Meeting Q and A |
Webinar Q and A |
| File transfer |
✔ |
✔ |
| Whiteboard |
✔ |
✔ |
| Annotation |
✔ |
✔ |
| Polling |
Polling for meetings |
Polling for webinars |
| Surveys |
Surveys for meetings |
Surveys for webinars |
| Livestream |
Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, Workplace from Meta, Custom Streaming Service |
Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, Workplace from Meta, Custom Streaming Service |
| Registration |
Registration for meetings |
Registration for webinars |
| Closed captioning |
✔ |
✔ |
| Recording |
✔ |
✔ |
| Breakout rooms |
Breakout rooms for meetings |
Breakout rooms for webinars |
| Practice session |
N/A |
✔ |
| Waiting room |
✔ |
N/A |
| PayPal integration |
N/A |
✔ |
| Require password to join |
✔ |
✔ |
| International dial-in numbers |
✔ |
✔ |
* Note: If the host or co-host enables Allow to talk for an attendee, they will be able to enable their microphone, as well as mute and unmute themselves.