Polycom RealPresence Desktop vs Zoom comparison

Poly and Zoom Video Communications are both solutions in the Virtual Meetings category. Poly is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.0, while Zoom Video Communications is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3. Poly holds a 1.8% mindshare in VM, compared to Zoom Video Communications’s 11.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Poly users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Zoom Video Communications users who would recommend it.

Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Read 1 Polycom RealPresence Desktop review

258 Views
126 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Zoom

Read 209 Zoom reviews

5,977 Views
1,083 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Zoom

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Polycom RealPresence Desktop and Zoom based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Zoom Video Communications, Cisco, Microsoft and others in Virtual Meetings.

To learn more, read our detailed Virtual Meetings Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

March 2025

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Helped 845,589 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Ranking in Virtual Meetings

20th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zoom

Ranking in Virtual Meetings

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

209

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Polycom RealPresence Desktop is 1.8%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoom is 11.1%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Virtual Meetings

Featured Reviews

Norm Hubert

VTC Network manager at a government with 10,001+ employees

Regular use enables effective communication with room for improvement in interoperability

The most valuable part of the desktop is the ability to make voice and video calls. Without getting too technical or divulging too much due to the environment we are in, it allows us to further our reach, from a traditional video conferencing room. Scalability was easy. It was based on calls, not licenses.

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Kallol Chaudhuri

Principal Consultant at Oracle

Helped us tremendously in collaborating with each other and getting our work done and offers the breakout rooms feature.

We are a team located across various locations. Not in the same geographic location. We are distributed. And it's not possible to physically travel and meet people. Sometimes it's simply not possible. But Zoom has helped us tremendously in collaborating with each other and getting our work done. Without Zoom, it would have been very, very difficult. The breakout rooms feature is also helpful. For example, I have a meeting attended by hundreds of people and want to create subgroups. I typically use it for different role-play scenarios during training if we are trying to conduct some training on presentation skills. So there's a large group, which is initially trained by an instructor. Then you get instructions that the room will be split into smaller breakout rooms. I'll give you a topic, and you'll practice in these smaller groups. That's one way I use it. So it's like a simulation of a real brainstorming session I'd have in a physical space.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It allows us to further our reach, from a traditional video conferencing room."

"The biggest advantage with Zoom, compared to other similar products, is the simplicity."

"I like Zoom because of the quality of the image and the resolution. Of course, I know that depends on the hardware you're using. But, still, the image and sound quality are excellent."

"This video conferencing product is easy to use."

"The interface is very intuitive. It's very easy to use."

"Zoom is interoperable and user-friendly."

"Zoom is easy to use and does not require much network bandwidth. Additionally, it does not require a lot of configuration which is very good."

"Overall, Zoom is a good product because we are using it globally, and it is a good way of connecting with everyone globally."

"The solution is easy to set up."

More Zoom pros

Cons

"There is probably room for improvement in interoperability."

"One thing I do wish was that there was more visibility. Sometimes I have to click into a reply-all to find out who is in the meeting and whether they've accepted or not."

"Technical support is in need of improvement."

"The paid version is quite expensive. There's no middle ground between free and paid."

"They should improve the sharing file features from accessing the internal network. If we cannnot share our documents through this meeting, our meeting productivity will decrease dramatically. We need these features."

"The solution needs to have a feature that allows you to take over another person's screen. right now, that's not possible. This is important for our purposes due to the act that we are often using the solution to troubleshoot issues for our clients. If we could just take over their screen and go in and fix issues, it would make troubleshooting infinitely easier."

"It's a heavy application that requires a lot of bandwidth. I would like to see Zoom incorporate those features where you can share documents and form teams while still maintaining efficiency."

"The free version of Zoom could be improved and offer more functionality. We would also like to have whiteboard and drawing functionality."

"I think Zoom is not secure."

More Zoom cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"In the basic version, there is a 40-minute time limit on group meetings."

"The solution's pricing is good."

"There are paid and free personal accounts for Zoom."

"We have an annual subscription to the solution. The price could be reduced."

"We have subscribed to a package for Zoom and it is a monthly payment."

"The solution is affordable."

"I use the free version that is available, so I'm not sure what the licensing prices are."

"The personal version is free. However, there are fees required to use the solution for business."

More Zoom pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Educational Organization

92%

University

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Polycom RealPresence Desktop?

The solution is built right into Clarity.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Polycom RealPresence Desktop?

There is probably room for improvement in interoperability.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Polycom RealPresence Desktop?

We use the desktop. It was used in the same case. We use it with our partners.

See all answers

LucidChart vs LucidSpark for brainstorming sessions over Zoom

Hi @Krista Thompson - Yes, LucidSpark is a much more nimble and, in some ways, user-friendly tool than LucidChart. LucidSpark is designed to do a better job managing multiple users participating ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Zoom?

The product is scalable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoom?

There is a concern about the free version's forty-five-minute limit. For education use, having more affordable access through institutions would be beneficial.

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco TelePresence vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Compared 38% of the time

TrueConf Server vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Compared 35% of the time

More Polycom RealPresence Desktop Competitors

Webex vs Zoom

Compared 30% of the time

Skype for Business vs Zoom

Compared 29% of the time

GoToMeeting vs Zoom

Compared 9% of the time

TeamViewer vs Zoom

Compared 8% of the time

More Zoom Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

March 2025

Download Polycom RealPresence Desktop product report

Buyer's Guide

Zoom

March 2025

Download Zoom product report

Also Known As

RealPresence Desktop

No data available

Overview

Polycom RealPresence Desktop is a powerful, enterprise-grade video chat app for PC & Mac. The video conferencing software extends communications beyond the typical conference room setting to mobile professionals. RealPresence Desktop combines quality HD video, industry-leading interoperability, and security that is both cost effective and highly scalable.

When powered by Polycom's infrastructure, customers can extend desktop collaboration value with app management, interoperability, scalability, resiliency, and multi-point calling.

Poly

Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done. Our easy, reliable cloud platform for video, phone, content sharing, and chat runs across mobile devices, desktops, telephones, and room systems. Message me to learn more about how Zoom can help your business or organization Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom_us.

Zoom Video Communications

Sample Customers

John Laing, China Daily, Lincoln Fire and Rescue, NATO Communications and Information Agency, NHS Home Dialysis, Silver Chain, South Carolina Department of Mental Health, nimed

Fortinet, Veeva, Proofpoint, Box, Ticketmaster, Trend Micro, Caesars Entertainment, Santa Clara University, Pandora, Stanford Continuing Studies

Find out what your peers are saying about Zoom Video Communications, Cisco, Microsoft and others in Virtual Meetings. Updated: March 2025.

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We monitor all Virtual Meetings reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.