shouldiuse.io

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VERDICT

Should I use Zoom?

One platform to connect: meetings, phone, rooms, contact center and AI. - zoom.com

Depends. Buy if your team lives in video meetings and wants phone, rooms and AI under one vendor; the free Basic tier covers casual use. Skip paid tiers if you're solo, need only simple calls, or don't want frequent security patching and add-on pricing.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~20 public sources; many review snippets were truncated, limiting quote depth and numeric ratings.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Basic

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Pro and abovePaid — exact prices not confirmed in sources reviewed

Best for

  • Remote and hybrid teams
  • Sales and support teams (CX)
  • Webinars and all-hands events
  • Companies consolidating meetings + phone

Not for

  • Solo users with occasional calls
  • Teams already happy on Meet or Teams
  • Phone-only VoIP buyers (Zoom Phone gripes)
  • Orgs intolerant of frequent CVE patch cycles

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Real cost is base plan plus add-ons; tier pages hide the total

high

Zoom Phone reviews cite painful setup and support; pilot before porting numbers

medium

40-minute free cap forces Pro for longer group calls

medium

Security patches arrive frequently; budget for client updates across all devices

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free Basic tier for short meetings
  • One platform: meetings, phone, rooms, contact center, AI
  • Widely adopted; the de facto video standard
  • G2 users consistently praise Zoom Workplace
  • Dedicated AI Companion assistant available

Cons

  • Free tier capped at 40-minute meetings
  • Tier structure criticized as confusing; add-ons inflate cost
  • Zoom Phone called 'complete waste of time' by some users
  • Customer support complaints documented in official community forums
  • Several critical vulnerabilities disclosed in 2025–2026

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/27/2026 - 14 sources - Active — multiple critical CVEs disclosed and patched across 2025–2026; keep clients updated.

official x2review x6security x4news x2
  • Zero-click code execution vulnerability, Patched August 2026; required no user interaction to trigger.
  • 'Zoomsday' participant-to-participant flaws, Research showed one meeting participant could attack another's device; disclosed August 2026.
  • Screen-sharing bug allowed device takeover, A screen-sharing bug could let anyone take over other devices on a call.
  • CVE-2025-67460 — Zoom Rooms privilege escalation, Privilege escalation flaw in Zoom Rooms, disclosed July 2026.
  • ZSB-26015 — remote code execution, Affects Zoom Workplace < 7.0.6 / 7.1.0; patched August 2026.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 2/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 14

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 2/5. Tier structure and add-on costs widely criticized
  • Ease of use: 4/5. De facto standard; widespread adoption
  • Feature depth: 5/5. Meetings, phone, rooms, CX, AI all included
  • Support quality: 2/5. Complaint threads on Reddit and Trustpilot
  • Security posture: 2/5. Multiple critical CVEs in 2025–2026, all patched
  • $0 Free tier Zoom Basic plan
  • 40 min Free meeting cap Per Reddit complaints
  • 5+ Recent CVEs 2025–2026, incl. zero-click RCE

Pricing

Basic

$0

  • 40-min group meeting cap
  • Core meeting features

Pro and above

Paid — exact prices not confirmed in sources reviewed

  • Longer meetings
  • AI Companion and add-ons available

Security

Active — multiple critical CVEs disclosed and patched across 2025–2026; keep clients updated.

  • Zero-click code execution vulnerabilityPatched August 2026; required no user interaction to trigger.⁸
  • 'Zoomsday' participant-to-participant flawsResearch showed one meeting participant could attack another's device; disclosed August 2026.10
  • Screen-sharing bug allowed device takeoverA screen-sharing bug could let anyone take over other devices on a call.⁹
  • CVE-2025-67460 — Zoom Rooms privilege escalationPrivilege escalation flaw in Zoom Rooms, disclosed July 2026.11
  • ZSB-26015 — remote code executionAffects Zoom Workplace < 7.0.6 / 7.1.0; patched August 2026.

Alternatives

Compare Zoom with each alternative.

  • Google Meet

    Free browser calls; natural fit for Google Workspace shops

  • Microsoft Teams

    Already bundled if you pay for Microsoft 365

  • Jitsi Meet

    Free, open-source option favored by privacy-minded users

Companies that use it

  • Cricut
Full analysis

Based on ~20 public sources; many review snippets were truncated, limiting quote depth and numeric ratings.

Solid default video platform, but tier pricing, add-on creep and a string of 2026 CVEs — know what you need first.

Methodology

Based on ~20 public sources; many review snippets were truncated, limiting quote depth and numeric ratings.

Sources

  1. Zoom Workplace Pricingzoom.us
    official
  2. How Much Does Zoom Cost? 2026 Pricing, Plans & Real Costskoalendar.com
    news
  3. Zoom Workplace Reviews 2026 — G2g2.com
    review
  4. Zoom's tiers are nuts — Redditreddit.com
    review
  5. Zoom Phone Review: complete waste of time — Redditreddit.com
    review
  6. How/why is Zoom so popular? — Redditreddit.com
    review
  7. Zoom Reviews — Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  8. Zoom Patches Zero-Click Code Execution Vulnerabilitysecurityweek.com
    security
  9. A Zoom Screen-Sharing Bug Let Anyone Take Over Other Devices — Wiredwired.com
    security
  10. 'Zoomsday' flaws — Malwarebytesmalwarebytes.com
    security
  11. CVE-2025-67460: Zoom Rooms Privilege Escalation — SentinelOnesentinelone.com
    security
  12. Zoom Security Bulletinszoom.com
    official
  13. Zoom Pricing in 2026: Plans, Add-Ons and Real Costsmeetgeek.ai
    news
  14. Honest Zoom AI Companion Review 2026tldv.io
    review

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