Polycom RealPresence Desktop vs Zoom comparison

Poly and Zoom Video Communications are both solutions in the Virtual Meetings category. Poly is ranked #16 with an average rating of 7.0, while Zoom Video Communications is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.4. Poly holds a 2.1% mindshare in VM, compared to Zoom Video Communications’s 11.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Poly users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Zoom Video Communications users who would recommend it.

Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Read 1 Polycom RealPresence Desktop review

289 Views
131 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Zoom

Read 225 Zoom reviews

4,129 Views
850 Comparison Views

95% 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: May 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

May 2025

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Helped 856,873 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

Zoom

Ranking in Virtual Meetings

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

225

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 Zoom is 11.2%, down from 13.0% 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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Luiz Kazan

Head of Digital Solutions at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Utilizing versatile features for efficient personal and work meetings

Zoom offers a number of interesting and valuable features. One of the most interesting is the ability to share only audio and provide ambient music without sharing a screen. The breakout room feature is much more developed than other solutions, allowing users to stay in the same meeting and move to different rooms and back to the main room. The sharing features are great for projecting people who should be in focus. Another valuable feature is the virtual entrance, which uses a username and password recognized by the Zoom system, showing the person's full name and ID. Additionally, the use of video and a good fixed background improves visibility compared to other applications. These features differentiate Zoom from others.

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."

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

"The initial setup is straightforward as this is a cloud application. It only takes a few seconds."

"It is a scalable solution."

"The product is scalable."

"It always works, and they try to appeal to what the user wants. They added features like background music for those people who use Zoom for online church services. They try to make the solution more useful for the user. For example, I tried to sell WebEx to a church, but I also gave them Zoom for a trial. They were impressed with that because that was the feature they were looking for."

"Zoom is stable and easy to use."

"I have been satisfied with the features and capability of Zoom."

"It is a stable solution."

More Zoom pros

Cons

"There is probably room for improvement in interoperability."

"I would like to see them develop end-to-end encryption, like WhatsApp. That would improve the security of the software."

"Zoom often does fixes or checks the vulnerability of their solution. However, they could increase security."

"Variable sound quality."

"The security needs to be improved."

"They should remove any restriction of time."

"The chat functionality in Zoom could improve."

"It's not really the fault of the product, however, the internet connectivity can sometimes be an issue."

"Could be more flexible for individuals that do not have the economic capacity."

More Zoom cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Zoom is a very cheaply priced video conferencing solution, and using this product has saved our business a lot of expense."

"I use Zoom's free version."

"We are using the free version of Zoom."

"We generally have a strict budget so the pricing for Zoom is reasonable."

"Zoom can be used for free."

"I believe that all of their licenses are purchased, so that they may use the solution for their teaching purposes."

"There are no licensing fees required."

"I am using the free version of Zoom."

More Zoom 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.

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856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Educational Organization

86%

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.

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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?

Zoom offers a free version for up to forty minutes.

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

More Polycom RealPresence Desktop Competitors

Skype for Business vs Zoom

Compared 31% of the time

Webex vs Zoom

Compared 30% of the time

TeamViewer vs Zoom

Compared 8% of the time

ON24 Platform vs Zoom

Compared 6% of the time

More Zoom Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

May 2025

Download Polycom RealPresence Desktop product report

Buyer's Guide

Zoom

May 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: May 2025.

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856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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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.