There are various reasons you may choose to use Zoom. Perhaps you work on a remote basis, and this is your main form of communication with your colleagues and supervisors. Maybe you’re in a long-term relationship or take online classes through your university.

Whatever your reason, if you’ve been using the free version of Zoom for a while, you must’ve come across the offer to switch to a Pro account. So what exactly are the benefits of going Pro, and when should you make the switch?

Understanding the Zoom Basic Plan

There are many apps that allow you to make one-to-one video calls, as well as apps specifically designed for video conferencing. However, Zoom provides many features that you may not be able to find anywhere else.

For instance, with Zoom, you can schedule a meeting for a later date. You can also record meetings, to send to those who couldn’t attend. In terms of collaboration, the software allows for both screen and file sharing.

Private messaging is possible within a group call, and there’s even a way to split a meeting into separate, smaller rooms with Breakout Rooms (after enabling it in your settings).

All of these features are available within the free Basic Plan account, which makes this software even more appealing.

After you’ve learned how to use Zoom like an expert, you may wish to explore the options that are only available to Pro subscribers. These Pro features can take your video conferencing to a whole new level.

Here's what you get by upgrading to a Zoom Pro plan.

Scrap the 40-Minute Limit

Zoom Basic Vs Pro

One of the biggest drawbacks of the Basic plan with Zoom is the time limit. While one-to-one calls can last as long as you want them to, once you choose to add on another person, the meeting can only last for 40 minutes.

After 30 minutes you receive a notice telling you that there are only 10 minutes left, as well as a prompt for an upgrade. Then you’ll see that ominous timer until the window closes abruptly at the 40-minute mark.

With a Pro account, not only can you host as many as 100 participants in one call, but you can do it without ever looking at your watch and worrying about a time limit.

Save Your Recordings to the Cloud

Zoom Recordings

Having the option to save a recording is not just a way to fill in anyone who couldn’t participate. But you can also use these recordings as a training tool for new employees or as marketing videos to promote your services. You can even publish them on a company website as a way to showcase the company culture.

The Basic Zoom plan only allows you to record meetings on your personal computer. So after the call is over, it converts and saves to a local drive.

But what if you’re lacking in storage space? What if you have a meeting right after and saving the file will interfere with that? Or what if you wish to share this recording immediately after the meeting?

With a Pro account, your recordings save onto the cloud. This means you don’t have to rely on your own storage and upload speed.

It also means that you can share the file without having to upload it again to a different platform. Zoom provides the option of sharing the recording link internally (to other users of the same plan) or publicly. You can choose to add a password for added security, if you do share publicly, or request registration and turn the download option off.

Dial In to Zoom Calls

Zoom Dial-In Calls

While the main purpose of a Zoom meeting is to see people’s faces, you may not always have the time or the means to join via video. This goes for other participants as well. In a conference call with 20 people, some may be stuck en-route, and some may have issues with their computers.

This is where the Pro dial-in option comes in handy. For every meeting, in addition to creating a unique link, Zoom also provides you with a phone number people can dial in with. For some countries it will be a local number, but other countries may have to use an international number.

With this number, people can join from any smartphone, regular mobile phone, or even a landline. They can listen in on the conversation, and talk as well, just like in a regular conference call.

Stream on Social Media

Zoom Live Streaming

Many people use Zoom as a place to host panels, teach classes, and arrange other events. If that's the case with you, the Pro feature of linking the meeting into a live social media feed makes a lot of sense.

While you can get many people to attend your seminar or class by advertising it and getting them to sign up for the Zoom link, streaming on YouTube, for instance, will provide much more exposure. And Zoom Pro lets you stream events on YouTube, Facebook Live, and additional third-party apps.

Additional Features Keep You Organized

Zoom Reports

While these are the main benefits that a Pro Zoom account offers over a Basic one, there are still others that are worth mentioning. For instance, while the Basic plan offers tech support by ticket only, the Pro plan also offers a live chat.

With the Pro account, you can assign different roles to different users within the same account, with up to nine licenses at a time. This ensures that everyone only gets access to the features they need and can’t make any changes where they aren't permitted.

Another feature of the Pro account is Reporting, which lets you look at the total number of meetings happening within your organization, as well as the number of participants, how many meeting minutes you've racked up, and more.

Who Is Zoom Pro Best Suited For?

There is some benefit to using the Zoom Pro account as an individual. Especially if most of your meetings are group calls or you use Zoom for your freelance service and can benefit from recording or streaming on social media.

However, it’s easy to see that most of the Pro benefits are geared towards small organizations. Places where more than one person will be using that account and group meetings are scheduled on a regular basis.