We Compared RingCentral and Zoom — Here's Our Verdict

Summary: Zoom is better for companies that need phone+chat or video+chat, while RingCentral is better for those who need all three communication channels in one platform. Depending on the plan, Zoom combines phone+chat, video+chat, or all three channels, while RingCentral includes all three on every unified communications plan.

Both providers offer advanced phone features like call monitoring, ACD, and IVR–but Zoom offers them at a lower price. RingCentral provides more customizable and filterable analytics, plus AI-based call routing rules.

How We Compared RingCentral and Zoom

• Pricing and Value: We compared the cost of the two platforms and what features were offered to determine the best overall value
• Channel Flexibility: We looked at at what communication channels were included at different price points such as phone, video calls, chat, etc.
• User Experience: We evaluated overall ease of use and how intuitive each platform was to install
• Phone System: We reviewed the phone system capabilities of the two providers such as call analytics and international calling
• Team Messaging: We compared the team messaging functionality of the two platforms and looked at what features were included such as file sharing, task assignment, etc.
• Video Conferencing: We evaluated each solution’s video conferencing platform and looked for advanced features like AI-powered meeting summaries, whiteboards, and screen sharing
• Analytics and Reporting: We looked at the analytics and reporting tools included with each platform, including customizable and pre-made reporting templates, available real-time and historical KPIs, speech/text analytics, etc.  Integrations: We reviewed the number of integrations each provider offers, the depth of those integrations, and available APIs

RingCentral vs Zoom: At A Glance

Here, we compare RingCentral vs. Zoom across various unified communications categories

RingCentral vs. Zoom: Feature Comparison

Below, we compare important features of RingCentral vs. Zoom.

Voice Calling Features

Summary: Both providers offer advanced telephony features like IVR, call monitoring, ACD, and call parking–but Zoom offers them at a lower price. However, RingCentral offers more adaptive call-distribution rules and customizable analytics.

Both RingEX and Zoom Phone are accessible via desktop and mobile apps with toll-free, vanity, local, and international business numbers. Zoom Phone offers better value for unlimited international calling, while RingEX offers DID business numbers from more countries (80 countries for RingCentral vs. only 20 for Zoom).

Both providers have voicemail transcription, call monitoring and cloud recording, but only RingCentral has custom user roles and permissions.

Team Messaging and SMS Features

Summary: Both RingCentral and Zoom include team chat and file sharing on all plans. RingCentral’s chat adds built-in task management. Zoom Phone supports unlimited SMS within the US, Canada, and Australia, while each RingCentral plan has a monthly per-user SMS limit.

RingCentral and Zoom have similar team messaging platforms with direct messaging and team-chat channels in the app’s UCaaS interface. Agents can monitor teammate availability and both providers support unlimited team messaging.

Both platforms let users send chat messages and SMS texts from the desktop or mobile device interface with file sharing, cloud storage, and search features. Both providers support roughly 80 integrated apps with their messaging platforms including calendars, notifications, linked conversations on Slack and Asana, and safe message archiving.

The main difference between the two providers is that RingCentral plans have a monthly per-user texting limit. The Core plan limits each user to 25 monthly texts, Advanced limits to 100, and Ultra to 200. Zoom, however, supports unlimited texting from US, Canada, and Australia numbers.

Video Conferencing Features

Summary: Zoom video meetings support more participants, with more collaborative features like polls, live streaming to other platforms, and translated captions, and more cutting edge AI-powered tools.

RingCentral AI Meetings boast virtual-assistance tools like automated summaries and highlight reels, while all Zoom’s pro plan and up include “AI Companion”, offering searchable transcripts, thematic chapters, a chatbot to catch up participants who arrive late, and a GenAI tool for chats and emails.

Both RingCentral and Zoom provide robust video meeting platforms with one-click invites, device switching, waiting rooms, screen sharing, breakout rooms, recording, and more.

RingCentral video meetings have no time limit, while Zoom meetings are capped at 30 hours. RingCentral video meetings support up to 200 participants on the Ultra plan, while Zoom Meetings support 300, 500, or even 1000 participants on the Enterprise plan. The Enterprise plan also includes unlimited cloud storage in the Zoom cloud.

Zoom meetings provide captions in multiple languages, plus live-translated captions in over a dozen languages while RingCentral captioning is currently only available in English. Zoom supports engaging features like avatars, in-meeting polls and quizzes, while RingCentral stands out with AI-powered virtual-assistance features including automated post-meeting summaries with highlight reels, main topics, and action items

Analytics and Reporting 

Summary: RingCentral’s Business Analytics offers greater customization, data visuals, and more metrics than Zoom’s Analytics. However, only RingCentral’s Advanced and Ultra plans include analytics. Zoom offers more basic analytics on all plans.

Both RingCentral and Zoom offer real-time and historical reports, allowing users to drill down data to monitor individual agents, KPIs, or time periods. Both platforms also display metrics visually with graphs and comparative charts, track call activity, and monitor the performance of video and calls, showing user devices and local networks.

The main difference between the two providers is availability: Zoom Phone and Zoom Workplace include analytics on all plans for applicable channels, while RingCentral limits adoption, business, and device analytics to upper-tier plans.

RingCentral’s Business Analytics offers extremely detailed KPIs, such as trends for call holds, calls parked, queue and ring group activity. Zoom, however, reserves some of these metrics for the Power Pack add-on–which costs extra.

RingCentral Ultra plan users can build custom dashboards that compare trends and metrics across timeframes and users.

Integrations

Summary: Zoom offers over 2000 integrated third-party and native apps, with the most popular ones available on all plans. RingCentral offers over 300 apps but reserves some of them for the Advanced plan.

Zoom and RingCentral have phone and meeting APIs, enabling your other apps to communicate with your UCaaS or business phone system.

Zoom and RingCentral both integrate with analytics tools like Chorus.ai, and Gong, popular CRM platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk, collaboration apps like Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace and Google Meet, Slack, and Asana, and productivity apps like Google Drive file sharing, MailChimp, and Jira.

Zoom Phone includes a handful of popular integrations on all plans (Slack, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce). RingCentral, on the other hand, offers Google and Microsoft apps on the Core plan, with other popular integrations reserved for the Advanced plan

Zoom One includes a programmable API for team chat, while RingCentral does not. RingCentral offers more apps for phone, team chat, and SMS–while Zoom offers many more apps for video meetings.

Add-Ons and Other Plans

Summary: RingCentral offers add-ons and additional plans for webinars, AI live-agent support, and a contact center. Zoom offers add-ons for real-time queue analytics, international calling to 19 countries, and a contact center.

Both Zoom and RingCentral enable you to upgrade to a contact center, with advanced real-time queue monitoring. Contact centers have custom quote-based pricing.

Zoom Phone offers a unique international calling add-on, starting at $10 per month, that enables unlimited calling to 19 countries. RingCentral’s RingSense for Sales software provides AI-powered insights and coaching for sales and supervisor support.

RingCentral vs Zoom: Pricing Overview

Summary: RingCentral’s UCaaS plans include voice, video, and team chat starting at $20 monthly, per user. Zoom offers two products: Zoom Phone, which includes phone+chat starting at $10 monthly, and Zoom Workplace, which includes video+chat starting at $13.32 monthly, per user. Both providers offer an omnichannel contact center upgrade.

RingCentral Pricing

RingEX offers 3 pricing plans that range from $20 to $35 monthly per user. Month to month pricing ranges from $30 to $45 monthly, per user. Users can add on vanity numbers for $30, or international or toll-free numbers for $14.99 per user, per month. Other notable add-ons include RingCentral Rooms ($49/room/month), Push-to-Talk license ($5/user/month), RingCentral Webinar ($40/organizer/month), and high volume SMS (starting at $0.01 per message).

For more information, see our detailed RingCentral pricing guide.

Zoom Pricing

Zoom Phone offers 4 pricing plans that vary according to how calls are charged. Each Zoom Phone plan includes the same features–IVR, queueing and ACD, team chat, call monitoring, call recording, and more. Metered plans start at $10 monthly, per user, while unlimited plans range from $15 to $22.49 monthly, per user.

Zoom Workplace- which includes video conferencing software and team chat- has a free plan called the Basic plan and two paid plans from $13.32 to $18.32 monthly, per user.

Zoom’s Phone Power Pack add-on includes enhanced queue analytics, expanded contacts window, and auto receptionist and costs $25/month/license. A Zoom Rooms subscription is $499/year/room and includes a persistent HD video conference room that users can join with a click. Zoom Webinar is $79-$149 per month.

For more information, please see our detailed Zoom pricing guide.

RingCentral vs Zoom: Pros & Cons

Summary: RingCentral is highly secure and offers the most popular communication channels without the need for a separate video meeting subscription, but SMS usage and calling area is limited. Conversely, Zoom offers excellent value but lacks real time analytics.

RingCentral vs Zoom: Which Should You Choose?

Both RingCentral and Zoom are great choices for companies that need secure video conferencing capabilities, such as those in the healthcare industry. The best option for your business depends on whether you want a flexible and affordable solution like Zoom or a secure and reliable solution with advanced analytics like RingEx. Below, we’ve highlighted each platform’s ideal user base and biggest weaknesses.

RingCentral Is Best For

• All-in-one UCaaS: All RingEX plans include VoIP, video, and chat messaging starting at $20–cheaper than Zoom for companies that need all channels
• Customizable business analytics: RingCentral’s analytics track more KPIs and trends, which you can filter by user, data, or time period
• Intelligent call queueing: RingCentral’s call queueing and routing rules use AI to distribute calls based on agent availability, adapting to queue wait times

RingCentral Is Not Right For

• Startups and small businesses: RingCentral offers many features and customization options that may be overwhelming for small teams
• High volume SMS: RingCentral puts limits on SMS usage and is therefore not a good choice for businesses that engage in high volume texting
• Global companies: RingCentral does not offer unlimited international calling and it is not suited for very large meetings over 300 participants

Zoom Is Best For

• Specific communication channels: Zoom offers plans with phone and chat, video and chat, or all three
• Low-cost routing and queueing: Zoom Phone includes call routing, queues, and call distribution rules starting at $10 or $15 monthly–25% cheaper than RingCentral
• International calling: Zoom supports unlimited domestic calling in your choice of a country outside the US, plus an add-on for unlimited calling to 19 countries

Zoom Is Not Right For

• Companies that need a high level of security: Zoom does not offer an uptime guarantee like many of its competitors do
• Businesses that want video included with their phone system: Zoom has one of the best video conferencing platforms in the space, but it must be added on separately. This may be a burden for companies only needing a simple video chat feature
• Companies that need advanced analytics: Zoom does not offer advanced analytics tools such as real time reporting, predictive analytics, etc.

RingCentral and Zoom Alternatives

Although RingCentral and Zoom offer competitive voice, video and team chat platforms, they may not be the best fit for your business. Popular RingCentral alternatives like GoTo Connect and 8x8 offer better International calling capabilities, while top Zoom alternatives like Dialpad provide better AI-powered tools. Additional alternatives to RingCentral and Zoom include Nextiva, Ooma, Skype, and Grasshopper.

FAQs

Here, we’ve answered some of the most commonly asked questions about Zoom vs RingCentral.