Zoom Review

Why We Chose Zoom for Video Conferencing

Budget-friendly mix-and-match plans and AI capabilities are key reasons we chose Zoom as the best business phone system for video conferencing. Additionally, we love that Zoom helps solve the challenges business teams face when meeting virtually. This business phone system is easily navigable for occasional users yet offers advanced features for video conferencing experts. 

During product testing, the functionality of Zoom’s AI Companion impressed us. Video conference hosts can use the AI Companion to prepare agendas and icebreakers before meetings and draft project plans afterward. You can even ask the AI assistant to schedule a follow-up meeting. It checks connected calendars, suggests times, sets up the conference and adds it to everyone’s schedule. 

Although the AI Companion requires a Zoom Workplace license, we found its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-enabled plans (Pro Plus and Business Plus) to be competitively priced. The monthly fees for both subscriptions cost less than AI-powered phone services from RingEX and Dialpad. Notably, only the Zoom Meeting host needs a license to enable the AI Companion for participants. Conference attendees (especially late joiners) will appreciate the option to ask the AI Companion questions without disrupting the session. 

We also liked Zoom’s fully integrated whiteboard and customizable backgrounds. The AI Companion assists with content generation, offering one-click access to sticky notes, mind maps and tables, while also summarizing whiteboard content. While GoTo Connect and Dialpad integrate with Miro, neither has built-in whiteboard solutions. Nextiva offers video conferencing but not whiteboards. None of these Zoom alternatives lets users customize their virtual background with a slideshow. 

Overall, Zoom’s video conferencing features are its top selling point. However, reasonable rates and plan flexibility keep it planted firmly on our list of the best business phone systems. 

Zoom’s AI tools can answer questions from video meeting attendees. Source: Zoom

Ease of Use

Zoom’s single-platform solution has a user-friendly interface, allowing for quick adoption among sales and service teams. Many business professionals are already familiar with Zoom Meetings. The platform’s VoIP phone and chat services are equally accessible to end users. Employees can use a mobile app, desktop client, plug-and-play VoIP phones or analog devices for inbound and outbound calls. 

Basic functions are relatively intuitive; even nontechnical team members will quickly learn how to make and receive calls or start a Zoom meeting. Zoom provides clearly labeled in-call controls for transferring calls, recording and placing calls on hold. In addition to mobile and desktop apps, we appreciate that Zoom offers some functionality through its web portal and Zoom Web App.

Zoom was a bit more challenging on the administrative side. Small business owners switching from landline to VoIP service may feel overwhelmed by the number of potential configurations, from call reports to AI settings. In comparison, Ooma and Nextiva offer fewer video meeting features but are easier to deploy. 

Zoom Phone System Features

Zoom’s phone system is packed with productivity and communications tools. Explore a few of our favorite Zoom features for small businesses.  

Video Conferencing

Zoom provides high-definition video and audio services, including the popular free Zoom Meetings software. As a video-first platform, its conferencing capabilities integrate seamlessly within team chat and voice calls. This functionality extends to one-click meetings from whiteboard sessions.

We appreciate that all Zoom Phone subscriptions integrate with the vendor’s free video service. It supports unlimited video conferences for 40 minutes with up to 100 attendees. The capacity increases to 300 people for 30 hours with Zoom Workplace Business Plus. In contrast, Dialpad tops out at 150 participants for five hours, whereas RingCentral’s RingEX top-tier plan allows up to 200. 

Collaborate with co-workers using Zoom’s built-in whiteboard tools while video conferencing. Source: Zoom

Zoom AI Companion 

Several cloud-based phone systems, including RingCentral and 8×8, offer AI-powered video meeting tools. Although each has strengths, we felt Zoom’s digital assistant best met our audio and video conferencing needs. It automates admin tasks like scheduling meetings and follow-up tasks. You can catch last-minute appointment cancellations or scheduling conflicts using voicemail prioritization to label and filter messages.

When enabled, the generative AI assistant is available in Zoom Meetings, Team Chat, Zoom Docs, Email, Calendar and Contacts. It captures action items from chat and email, offering users a list of “recommended tasks.”  

Overall, we felt Zoom’s AI features were conducive to highly productive online meetings. However, you can also store transcriptions, summaries and action items from in-person meetings alongside digital recordings via the AI Companion Voice Recorder. 

Manage tasks for yourself and teams using Zoom AI Companion. Source: Zoom 

Zoom Clips

While productivity-killing meetings are a common professional complaint, Zoom’s asynchronous video tool helps teams share information more efficiently. It’s an excellent tool for quick updates, simple training sessions and digital onboarding. When using this feature, we were able to personalize our clips with our logo and brand colors and create playlists. 

Users can access Zoom Clips in the online portal or apps to record and edit short-form videos. Zoom Phone accounts support five stored videos, up to two minutes each, whereas Zoom Workplace allows unlimited videos without time restrictions. 

After sharing a snippet, Zoom users can view video clip analytics, reactions and comments. Source: Zoom

Team Chat and Collaboration

Zoom and its competitors offer standard unified communications features like messaging and file sharing. With Zoom’s latest Team Chat enhancements, it’s easier to track conversations and find information. You can drag and drop tabs in the sidebar to organize your space and quickly view chats from today’s video meetings. 

The Zoom Notes feature is also a nice addition. Users can add manually written reports from meetings to a central repository. We liked the option to make each note private or shared. (RingCentral’s RingEX also has a collaborative notes feature. Check out our review of RingCentral to learn more about this platform’s excellent collaboration tools.)

Share links and whiteboards, or hop into a meeting from a personalized chat workspace. Source: Zoom

Zoom Surveys 

Survey features are rare on cloud PBX phone systems, but they can provide valuable insights for businesses of all sizes. Companies can engage participants during meetings by using polls or quizzes and collect feedback on video call quality and content after the conference. A unique function of polls is the ability to use responses to assign participants to breakout rooms. 

We loved the simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down option for the end-of-call experience survey, as well as the ability to display it all the time or only when issues are detected. To send surveys after video conferences, Zoom offers a survey builder and library. Alternatively, you can use third-party services such as Google Forms or SurveyMonkey. We were impressed with Zoom’s format options, which allowed us to upload images and choose from eight different types of questions, including multiple choice, short answer and rating scales. 

Zoom lets you create and customize surveys to engage customers or employees. Source: Zoom

Integrations

Competitors like RingCentral and Vonage lock some integrations behind higher-priced plans, whereas all Zoom Phone subscriptions include them. We love the options to read and send emails, schedule video meetings and edit Google files through Zoom apps. Companies can connect many of the best CRM software platforms, including Salesforce, so employees can view call summaries without leaving their CRM app.

The Zoom Phone integration with Zendesk allows employees to continue working on a help desk ticket while answering Zoom calls within the Zendesk app. With Apps for Team Chat, users can access Salesforce, Jira, Asana or Microsoft Dynamics 365 without leaving Zoom.

Embed third-party tools in your Zoom business phone system to improve workflows. Source: Zoom

Call Management 

Unlike many competitors, Zoom doesn’t lock advanced features behind higher-priced tiers. For instance, all Zoom Phone accounts can belong to several shared line groups, whereas only Vonage Advanced plans support call groups. Another unique feature is the ability to track billable hours — users can add client codes and interaction notes to calls. We found Zoom’s calling features to be comprehensive and well-suited for small and midsize businesses or enterprises.  

Indeed, Zoom offers an impressive set of call-handling and management tools, including the following:

• Unlimited auto-receptionists
• Call delegation
• Interactive voice response (IVR) system
• Call queues and shared line groups
• Business hours and holiday routing
• Call monitoring (barge, monitor, whisper and takeover)
• Call hold, park and transfer

Zoom Pricing Plans and Subscription Costs

Zoom VoIP plans range from $10 to $26.99 per user, per month. Here’s a breakdown of Zoom’s phone system plans, pricing and key features to help you compare options.

Additional pricing considerations include the following: 

• Mix-and-match subscriptions: Zoom lets companies mix and match phone and Workplace plans across users, which can lead to significant savings, especially for teams with varying communication needs.
• Unique features at low price points: Few business phone systems offer true pay-as-you-go plans, and none that we reviewed provide an unlimited calling plan with a full-featured IVR and multiple auto attendants at a lower price than Zoom. This makes it a standout for cost-conscious businesses. 
• Video conferencing integration: All Zoom Phone plans include access to the vendor’s free video conferencing software, making it easy to switch between calls and meetings. However, paid Workplace features — like cloud storage, 30-hour video meetings, telephone dial-in access and the AI Companion for video — are only available with higher-tier Zoom Workplace subscriptions. 
• Valuable add-ons: Zoom offers several helpful add-ons, including the popular Zoom Phone Power Pack ($25 per month), which gives users access to advanced call queue analytics and the ability to schedule SMS messages. Like many competitors, Zoom also supports toll-free numbers and offers an optional add-on for unlimited international calling.  

In short, we recommend Zoom Phone for employees with occasional video conferencing needs, whereas power users should opt for Zoom Workplace Business Plus. This subscription provides video and AI capabilities similar to RingEX’s base plan and is competitively priced. [Want to check out more AI-powered solutions? See our comparison of RingCentral and Dialpad.]

Implementation and Onboarding

Zoom’s primary advantage is its familiar user interface, which can speed up the onboarding process. New users receive an email with a link to set up their Zoom Phone service. Once they select their country, time zone and PIN, they can customize voicemail settings, choose an emergency address and configure business hours. After that, they can use Zoom’s desktop client or mobile app to make and receive calls. 

Zoom has enhanced the onboarding process for administrators. Zoom Phone account owners or admins log in to their web portal and initiate setup. The automated tool poses questions to gauge the company’s phone requirements and provides suggestions along with step-by-step guides. 

Overall, most standard systems were relatively straightforward to configure for admins with VoIP telephony experience. Likewise, most users can grasp essential calling and video functionalities. That said, organizations with advanced routing configurations, various account-level permissions and multiple sites will spend more time during implementation than smaller businesses.

Customer Support

Zoom Phone’s customer support options are more complex than those of other VoIP services. Here’s what you should know: 

• Support hours: The vendor offers 24/7 phone and chat support for standalone Zoom Phone customers. However, it cautions that support plans may vary when combined with meeting packages. 
• Responsiveness: Some users have reported longer wait times and dropped support calls when contacting Zoom. Therefore, it may not be the best solution if you need dedicated, live assistance for troubleshooting technical or administrative problems. Other leading VoIP providers, such as Nextiva and Ooma, performed better in this area and may be more responsive to small business needs. 
• Self-help tools: We appreciate Zoom’s comprehensive self-help tools, including the searchable knowledge base, a chatbot for troubleshooting technical issues and an active community forum. The learning center provides free on-demand courses and short videos. One drawback for some account owners is that Zoom’s support articles include few visual aids, such as images, videos or GIFs. This made it more challenging for less technical admins to configure the Zoom system. 

Limitations

Zoom’s flexible plans are a good value for small businesses, but the phone service may not suit every company. 

• Fewer international offerings: Zoom offers options for global calling, yet falls behind GoTo Connect’s unmetered calling to 52 countries. Like Zoom, GoTo Connect has robust video meeting tools. Our GoTo Connect review explains the platform’s pricing and features. 
• Less of a small business focus: During the research and testing phases for our Zoom review, we felt many of the vendor’s support services were geared toward larger companies. We found Ooma’s plan and feature documentation easier to understand, ultimately making the phone system more straightforward to implement and use. Learn more in our full review of Ooma Office.  

Methodology

For our Zoom Phone review, we tested Zoom’s desktop, web and mobile apps. Our research included assessing user feedback and comparing features and pricing between systems. We spoke with customer service agents and everyday Zoom users. Our team spent dozens of hours evaluating VoIP and video conferencing platforms to see how usability, capacity and in-meeting tools differed. Our goal is to help businesses choose the right business phone system that balances affordability with must-have features. 

Bottom Line

We recommend Zoom Phone for …

• Managers who want live and prerecorded video training tools.
• Organizations seeking flexible licensing options to meet staff and budget needs.
• SMBs looking to automate meeting scheduling and voicemail management. 

We don’t recommend Zoom Phone for …

• Sales teams that need voice intelligence for audio calls. 
• Administrators setting up a complex system for the first time.
• Companies that make frequent international phone calls.