Overview

Zoho Meeting is the video conferencing tool that wins the budget argument before it even starts. At $1 per host per month, it is the cheapest paid option in our entire roundup — and not by a small margin. For organizations already running on the Zoho ecosystem, it slots into a workflow spanning CRM, Projects, Desk, and 30-plus other Zoho applications with the kind of native integration that third-party tools simply cannot replicate.

The trade-off is real, though. Zoho Meeting has no AI features whatsoever. No transcription, no meeting summaries, no intelligent action items, no noise cancellation powered by machine learning. In 2026, when every major competitor is racing to embed AI into every corner of the meeting experience, Zoho Meeting feels like it belongs to a different era in this one dimension. The video and collaboration features are functional but basic — you will not find the breakout room sophistication of Zoom or the whiteboard depth of Teams here.

But that framing misses the point. Zoho Meeting is not trying to compete with Zoom on features. It is trying to give small businesses and Zoho-native teams a reliable, private, affordable way to meet — and on those terms, it delivers convincingly.

Features Deep-Dive

Zoho Ecosystem Integration

This is the feature that justifies Zoho Meeting's existence for a specific audience. If your organization runs on Zoho CRM, Zoho Projects, Zoho Desk, or any combination of Zoho's 35-plus business applications, Meeting plugs directly into that ecosystem in ways that feel seamless rather than bolted on. Schedule a client call from within CRM and the meeting link auto-generates. Launch a project review from Zoho Projects and participants join without switching contexts. Support agents on Zoho Desk can escalate tickets to live video sessions without leaving the helpdesk interface.

The integration extends to Zoho's single sign-on, unified admin console, and shared contact directory. For IT administrators managing a Zoho-native organization, there is one vendor to deal with, one billing relationship, and one support channel. That operational simplicity has real value, especially for small businesses without dedicated IT staff. The flip side is equally clear: if you are not in the Zoho ecosystem, these integrations mean nothing, and Meeting becomes a bare-bones video tool competing against far more capable alternatives.

Interface and Ease of Use

Zoho Meeting's interface is refreshingly simple. The learning curve is essentially flat — anyone who has used a video call in the past five years will be productive immediately. The meeting lobby is clean, controls are clearly labeled, and there are no buried settings menus or confusing permission hierarchies to navigate. Screen sharing, chat, and participant management work exactly as expected with no surprises.

This simplicity is a genuine advantage for teams that include non-technical participants, external clients who join infrequently, or organizations that do not want to invest time in training. The web-based client means no mandatory downloads for guests, which removes the installation friction that plagues heavier platforms. The mobile apps for iOS and Android mirror the desktop simplicity well, though they lack some of the layout polish of Zoom or Teams mobile clients. For a tool at this price point, the user experience punches well above its weight.

Privacy and Security

Zoho has built a reputation for taking privacy seriously, and Meeting inherits that posture. The platform offers end-to-end encryption for meetings, GDPR compliance, and data residency options that let organizations choose where their meeting data is stored. Zoho does not monetize user data through advertising — a distinction worth noting given that the company is privately held and not subject to the same growth-at-all-costs pressure as publicly traded competitors.

Role-based access controls, meeting locks, waiting rooms, and password protection cover the standard security checklist. For regulated industries or privacy-conscious organizations, Zoho's transparent data practices and the absence of third-party data sharing represent a meaningful differentiator. The platform also supports two-factor authentication and integrates with Zoho's own identity management tools. None of these features are unique to Zoho Meeting in isolation, but the combination of strong privacy defaults at a $1/month price point is genuinely rare in the market.

Pricing Analysis

Zoho Meeting's pricing is its headline feature. The free tier supports up to 10 participants for 60-minute meetings — more generous on participant count than Zoom's free plan, though matched on meeting duration. For many freelancers and micro-teams, this free tier is genuinely sufficient for day-to-day use.

The paid Meeting plan starts at just $1 per host per month (billed annually), which unlocks 100 participants, 24-hour meeting duration, recording, and screen sharing with remote control. The Webinar plan starts at $8/month for up to 25 attendees. Compare this to Zoom Pro at $13.33/user/month or Google Meet's Business Starter at $7/user/month, and the cost difference is stark. For a 20-person team, Zoho Meeting costs $20/month total versus $267/month for Zoom Pro — that is a difference of nearly $3,000 per year.

The value equation tilts even further if you are already paying for Zoho One, which bundles Meeting along with 45-plus Zoho applications for $45/employee/month. In that context, Meeting is essentially free. The catch is that the low price reflects a simpler feature set — you are not getting AI, advanced analytics, or the integration breadth of larger platforms. But for teams whose meeting needs are straightforward, paying 10x more for features they will never use is the worse deal.

Who Is This For?

• Zoho ecosystem organizations who already run their business on Zoho CRM, Projects, or Zoho One and want a video conferencing tool that integrates natively without adding another vendor or another bill to manage
• Budget-conscious small businesses that need reliable video meetings but cannot justify $10-20/user/month for platforms loaded with features they will never touch — at $1/host/month, Zoho Meeting removes cost as a barrier entirely
• Privacy-focused teams who want a platform from a vendor with a clear, no-advertising data policy, GDPR compliance, and data residency options — without paying enterprise prices for those assurances

Who Should NOT Use This

• Teams that rely on AI meeting features including transcription, automated summaries, action item extraction, or intelligent noise cancellation — Zoho Meeting offers none of these, and in 2026 that gap is increasingly hard to ignore for meeting-heavy organizations
• Organizations outside the Zoho ecosystem who would gain nothing from the platform's primary integration advantage and would be left with a basic video tool that trails Zoom, Teams, and Meet on nearly every feature dimension
• Companies hosting large or complex meetings that need breakout rooms, advanced polling, webinar-scale audiences, or sophisticated participant management — Zoho Meeting's collaboration toolkit is functional but minimal compared to market leaders

Bottom Line

Zoho Meeting is the most affordable paid video conferencing tool available, and for teams already embedded in the Zoho ecosystem, it is a near-automatic choice. The native integrations with Zoho CRM, Projects, and the broader suite create genuine workflow value that no third-party tool can match. The interface is clean, the privacy posture is strong, and the price is essentially a rounding error in any business budget.

The complete absence of AI features is a real limitation that will matter more with each passing year as competitors deepen their AI capabilities. But Zoho Meeting is not trying to be everything to everyone — it is trying to be the best option for Zoho-native teams and budget-conscious small businesses, and on those terms, it succeeds.

FAQ

Is Zoho Meeting worth it if I do not use other Zoho products?

Honestly, the value proposition weakens significantly outside the Zoho ecosystem. At $1/month it is still remarkably cheap, but you lose the integration advantages that make it compelling. Google Meet's free tier offers 100 participants and 60-minute meetings with better collaboration features, and Zoom's free plan includes AI Companion on paid tiers that start at $13.33/month. If you are not a Zoho shop, the savings may not offset the feature gaps — especially the lack of AI transcription and summaries that are becoming standard elsewhere.

How does Zoho Meeting compare to Zoom and Google Meet on features?

On core video calling, Zoho Meeting is competent but basic. Zoom offers breakout rooms, 2,500-plus integrations, and AI Companion with meeting summaries included on all paid plans. Google Meet provides Gemini AI note-taking, deep Workspace integration, and a fully browser-based architecture. Zoho Meeting's advantages are price (roughly 90% cheaper than Zoom Pro) and ecosystem integration for Zoho users. If your meetings are straightforward — join, talk, share screens, leave — Zoho handles that well. If you need AI intelligence, advanced collaboration, or broad third-party integrations, the larger platforms justify their higher prices.

Can Zoho Meeting handle webinars and large events?

Zoho offers a separate Webinar plan starting at $8/month for 25 attendees, scaling up to higher tiers for larger audiences. The webinar features include registration pages, polls, Q&A, and analytics — serviceable for small to mid-size events. However, it does not approach the scale or sophistication of Zoom Events (up to 50,000 attendees) or dedicated webinar platforms like Livestorm. For occasional small webinars or team all-hands meetings, Zoho's webinar tier is adequate. For large-scale external events or marketing-driven webinars, you will outgrow it quickly.