Polycom RealPresence Desktop vs Webex comparison

Poly and Cisco are both solutions in the Virtual Meetings category. Poly is ranked #16 with an average rating of 7.0, while Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.9. Poly holds a 2.1% mindshare in VM, compared to Cisco’s 16.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Poly users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 86% of Cisco users who would recommend it.

Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Read 1 Polycom RealPresence Desktop review

289 Views
131 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Webex

Read 124 Webex reviews

1,944 Views
1,094 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Webex

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Polycom RealPresence Desktop and Webex 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: May 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

May 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 857,688 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

16th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Webex

Ranking in Virtual Meetings

2nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

124

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Polycom RealPresence Desktop is 2.1%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Webex is 16.9%, up from 15.5% 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.

Read full review

Wajid Khattak

Procurement Officer at Emerging Systems

Easy to use, enables remote meetings, and saves time and money

We deployed the product in our headquarters and connected our four plants. It enables us to meet remotely. We use the tool for remote meetings. I work in the manufacturing sector The product is easy to use. We are very comfortable with it. The video call features are compatible with different…

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."

"Easy to use virtual meeting solution. Installation was straightforward without the need for a technical team."

"The product's most valuable feature is its ability to integrate with multiple products."

"You can configure whatever you want in great detail."

"Webex's clarity is good for video and audio. I have found it better than Zoom. We can receive notifications of meetings which is helpful."

"A valuable feature of Webex is that it's good for direct communication. In general, I'm satisfied."

"One of the most valuable features of WebEx is that it's very quick for ad hoc meetings, and I use it all day, every day, for internal chat with my team. It's just a good platform."

"The product is quite secure. Other products, such as Zoom, have had security issues raised in the media."

"The product's initial setup phase was very easy."

More Webex pros

Cons

"There is probably room for improvement in interoperability."

"The product's price could be better."

"There's some difficulty in Webex, particularly when a third party needs access and that third party is not part of the domain of the company, it could be difficult."

"Webex could improve the performance."

"The solution can improve by adding a smaller version for small business usage or for personal use. The solution is geared towards larger companies and enterprises."

"I have had issues with the frequent updates from Webex."

"The product needs to improve its integration. I'm not sure how difficult it is for the IT team to set up the integration. Once set up, it's easy but still not as straightforward as other platforms, like Microsoft Teams, where everything is within the same technical environment. To ensure further security, face authentication should also be added for all internal corporate users logged into the platform."

"I was in a meeting on the free version where there were no controls. You couldn't mute somebody or put it in dedicated speaker mode. It was an important meeting, and because of the lack of an ability to control who the speakers were, we got a version of a heckler. Well, it wasn't really a heckler per se. It was just somebody who thinks they know everything."

"I would like the next release to be more user-friendly."

More Webex cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"We paid for our Webex license as a bundle."

"The solution is low-cost for a hybrid model."

"There is an annual license required for this solution."

"I use the free version, not the enterprise version. The only compelling reason to go for paid WebEx pay is if you're hosting large meetings."

"Features matter more than the price for us. As long as we get all the features we want and it fits our budget, then the price doesn't matter. I can't speak for other companies. We have tried other applications, and we run into some problems that we don't see in Webex."

"Webex is very expensive."

"I believe the license to be monthly."

"I have recently switched to a different solution. WebEx is more costly. There are equivalent solutions at a lower cost."

More Webex pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Virtual Meetings solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

857,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

20%

Government

15%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing 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

What do you like most about Webex?

Webex improved our overall team collaboration.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Webex?

Webex is expensive. If it weren't that expensive, we would probably use it for all our telecommunication needs, not just for telemedicine.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Webex?

Usability needs improvement. Webex is more complex compared to Zoom ( /products/zoom-reviews ). Zoom ( /products/zoom-reviews ) has a big advantage in simplicity, especially for the other side to c...

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco TelePresence vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Compared 36% of the time

TrueConf Server vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Compared 36% of the time

Zoom vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Compared 28% of the time

More Polycom RealPresence Desktop Competitors

Skype for Business vs Webex

Compared 32% of the time

Cisco Meeting Server vs Webex

Compared 17% of the time

Zoom vs Webex

Compared 16% of the time

Adobe Connect vs Webex

Compared 12% of the time

TeamViewer vs Webex

Compared 10% of the time

More Webex Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

May 2025

Download Polycom RealPresence Desktop product report

Buyer's Guide

Webex

May 2025

Download Webex product report

Also Known As

RealPresence Desktop

Cisco Spark

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

Webex is designed to help companies improve communication and increase productivity with unlimited HD video meetings in shared meeting spaces.

Companies can use Webex, a Cisco product, to collaborate with peers, share documents and other information, create high-impact webinars and online events, and present dynamic online courses. It can be tailored to your exact company needs and can be fully integrated with mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, and BlackBerry.

Cisco

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

Seagate Technology, Kohn Pedersen Fox, World Vision International, Glen Raven, University of Notre Dame, CEV Multimedia, The Food Group, LUMEDX, California Baptist University, and Georgetown University Law Center.

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

DOWNLOAD NOW

857,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Virtual Meetings vendors.

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.