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 210 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: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

April 2025

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Helped 847,862 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

210

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 quality of the connection from Zoom is very good. There are many functions and features available. I am only a basic user and it has more than I will ever use. It has lower bandwidths than other products that we have used and has worked well. It is important to have good quality sound and video than anything else."

"The most valuable features of Zoom for enhanced team collaboration are its high video quality, comprehensive meeting features, and reliable performance."

"The ability to make video calls is the solution's most valuable aspect."

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

"The most valuable features are that you are able to share the screen, and draw on it."

"The best thing about Zoom is that it is very easy to use."

"There are no restrictions on the number of participants in a single meeting, That is the beauty of Zoom, and it is also very fast compared to others."

"The ability to record our online language lessons is great and helps our students"

More Zoom pros

Cons

"There is probably room for improvement in interoperability."

"Additional end-user features like polling would be beneficial."

"There was a situation not long ago when there were some security fears. Some users had somebody else take control of their calls. They might have addressed these issues now, but the security needs to continue to be upgraded."

"Zoom needs to address the privacy issues I've heard about."

"There are occasional latency, sound and audio quality difficulties."

"There is insufficient customization."

"In general, the price could be a little cheaper."

"The platform's feature for screen sharing needs improvement."

"I would say that Zoom should support more platforms. I think it has some limitations. It should be supported on all platforms."

More Zoom cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"There are both free and paid versions available."

"I am using the free version, so I don't pay anything to use it."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"My company is using the paid version of Zoom."

"The tool's paid version is not that expensive. You need to pay 150 USD per year."

"We do not incur any licensing costs, as we use the free version."

"Zoom can be used for free."

"There is a yearly license for this solution. I would like it if they offered better prices."

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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847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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.

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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?

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 37% of the time

TrueConf Server vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Compared 37% of the time

More Polycom RealPresence Desktop Competitors

Webex vs Zoom

Compared 29% of the time

Skype for Business vs Zoom

Compared 27% of the time

GoToMeeting vs Zoom

Compared 9% of the time

TeamViewer vs Zoom

Compared 7% of the time

More Zoom Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

April 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: April 2025.

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847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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