Zoom and Webex both cover meetings, team chat, cloud calling, meeting rooms and administration, so most mid-market organizations can run on either. The choice usually turns on what you already own and how you want to move your phones. If you run Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), Cisco phones or Cisco room devices, Webex Calling has a documented path to migrate in stages. If your people already work in Zoom and you want meetings, chat and phone in one app with flexible carrier options, Zoom Workplace with Zoom Phone is often the simpler fit.
OPS resells, deploys and supports both Zoom and Webex through its Collaboration & Workplace practice, so the recommendation follows your requirements, not a product preference. Product details below come from Zoom and Cisco documentation checked on October 28, 2026. Compare written quotes for the same users, numbers and rooms, as this guide does not quote prices.
Zoom vs Webex at a glance
Scroll to read all columns.
| Area | Zoom | Webex |
|---|---|---|
| Meetings | Zoom Meetings in Zoom Workplace | Webex Meetings in the Webex Suite |
| Team chat | Zoom Team Chat with 1:1 chats, group chats and channels | Webex App messaging spaces |
| Cloud calling | Zoom Phone | Webex Calling |
| Existing phone system | Number porting, Bring Your Own Carrier (Premises or Cloud Peering) | Local Gateway to Unified CM or another PBX, Cisco Calling Plans, Cloud Connect |
| Rooms | Zoom Rooms on Zoom-certified hardware | Cisco devices running Cisco Rooms, Microsoft Teams Rooms, Zoom Rooms or Google Meet |
| Administration | Zoom web portal Admin Center | Control Hub |
| Compliance options | Meeting archiving to Zoom Compliance Manager or third-party platforms | Pro Pack for longer eDiscovery, flexible retention and legal hold |
| AI assistant | AI Companion features and ZoomMate | Cisco AI Assistant |
Meetings
Zoom's features page lists translated captions in 33 languages, Zoom Whiteboard, polls and surveys, and chat that continues after a meeting. Cisco's Webex Help Center describes in-meeting whiteboards and AI Assistant summaries that help late joiners catch up, with a summary and transcript sent after the meeting without recording.
Meeting features rarely decide the purchase, so pilot both in your own rooms and networks.
Team chat
Zoom Team Chat includes 1:1 messages, group chats, private channels and public channels. Admins set chat policies by account or group and can lock account settings, according to Zoom's Team Chat admin quickstart guide.
Cisco describes Webex App as the team messaging client included with a Webex Calling subscription (Webex Calling configuration workflow).
Cloud calling with Zoom Phone and Webex Calling
Zoom Phone
Zoom describes Zoom Phone as a cloud VoIP system that works with Zoom Meetings and Team Chat in Zoom Workplace. Plan details include call recording, business SMS, online fax and Salesforce, Microsoft and Google integrations.
To move numbers, Zoom's EMEA porting guide asks for a signed letter of authorization and a phone bill from the last three months, and each ported number needs a Zoom Phone license. Zoom warns that incoming calls stop during the port activation window. If you want to keep your carrier, Zoom supports Bring Your Own Carrier through Premises and Cloud Peering options, and admins can migrate numbers between native Zoom Phone and BYOC in Number Management.
Webex Calling
Cisco's Local Gateway connects an existing on-premises deployment to Webex Calling and lets you keep your current PSTN connection, so you can migrate at your own pace. It requires a licensed session border controller. Cisco also notes that video over Local Gateway call flows is not supported.
Cisco's Unified CM migration guide describes two phases. In the hybrid phase, Webex Calling and Unified CM run side by side through Local Gateways. In the full cloud phase, a Cisco Calling Plan or Cloud Connect provides PSTN. With Cisco Calling Plans, ordering and porting start in Control Hub in countries where the plan is available. With on-premises PSTN or Cloud Connect, you port numbers with your chosen provider.
Rooms and devices
Zoom Rooms includes AI camera framing, smart name tags for in-room participants, remote monitoring and room analytics. Direct Guest Join and Conference Room Connector let a Zoom Room join meetings on other major platforms. Zoom's Interop for Microsoft Teams lets Zoom Rooms join Teams meetings without extra infrastructure or licensing.
Cisco's devices page covers desk devices, room devices, phones and cameras. Cisco says its devices can run Cisco Rooms or the native Microsoft Teams Rooms, Zoom Rooms or Google Meet experience, managed from Control Hub. So Cisco hardware does not lock you into Webex meetings.
Administration
In the Zoom web portal, admins use User Management in the Admin Center to add users one at a time or by CSV import, and to assign licenses, roles and add-ons.
Cisco describes Control Hub as a single dashboard to manage users, permissions, calling, meetings, messaging and devices. For Webex Calling, admins add locations, licenses, phone numbers, calling features, users and Workspaces there, and cross-launch to the Calling Admin Portal for detailed settings.
Security and compliance
End-to-end encryption
Zoom admins can allow end-to-end encryption for meetings, and Zoom documents both standard and post-quantum versions. Every participant must join from the Zoom desktop app, mobile app or Zoom Rooms. Phone dial-in and SIP or H.323 devices cannot join, meetings are limited to 1,000 participants, and Zoom AI features, cloud recording, live transcription and Zoom Whiteboard are turned off.
Webex offers end-to-end encrypted session types on request for Starter, Plus, Business and Enterprise plans. They exclude SIP and H.323 video devices, Linux and VDI clients, network-based recording and PSTN audio. Cisco also supports end-to-end encryption for 1:1 Webex Calling calls, enabled in Control Hub.
On both platforms, end-to-end encryption removes features. Reserve it for meetings that need it.
Archiving, retention and eDiscovery
Zoom's meeting archiving captures voice, video, captions, transcripts and in-meeting chat for Zoom Compliance Manager, powered by Theta Lake, or for third-party platforms such as Smarsh and Global Relay. Zoom states that this solution does not cover Zoom Phone, and that end-to-end encrypted meetings are not supported for archiving.
Webex includes eDiscovery and an Events API for archiving and data loss prevention with 90 days of data, plus retention of up to 360 days. The Pro Pack extends eDiscovery and the Events API to unlimited data and adds retention policies from 1 to 10 years, legal hold and customer-managed encryption keys.
AI assistants
Zoom's features page describes AI Companion meeting summaries, in-meeting questions, chat thread summaries, call summaries and voicemail prioritization. Zoom also presents ZoomMate, sold in its own plans, which Zoom says can build documents and slide decks, run scheduled workflows and connect to tools such as Salesforce and Google Drive.
Cisco says its AI Assistant provides summaries, action items, translations and search across meetings, messaging, calling and devices. For calling, admins turn features on in Control Hub, post-call summaries and transcripts are stored for 365 days, and participants hear an announcement that the call is being transcribed.
Before enabling either assistant, confirm which features your plan includes, where AI data is stored and how you meet consent rules.
When each fits
Zoom tends to fit when:
- Your people already use Zoom and you want meetings, chat and phone in one app.
- You plan to port numbers to Zoom or keep your carrier through BYOC.
- Your rooms will run Zoom Rooms, including on mixed hardware.
Webex tends to fit when:
- You run Unified CM, Cisco phones or Cisco room devices and want a staged move.
- You need longer retention, legal hold or customer-managed keys.
- You want one console for calling, meetings, messaging and devices.
Decision checklist
- Current estate. List your PBX, carrier contracts, phone numbers by country, handsets and room devices.
- Coexistence. Decide whether old and new phone systems must run side by side, and for how long.
- Number moves. Confirm porting documents and cutover windows by country.
- Rooms. Count rooms by size and decide which meeting platform each room runs natively.
- Encryption. Name the meetings that need end-to-end encryption and check which features you lose.
- Records. Write down retention, legal hold and archiving duties for meetings, chat and calls.
- AI. Decide which AI features to enable, for whom, and how participants are notified.
- Admin model. Agree who manages users, numbers and devices, and let them test the console.
Common questions
Is Zoom or Webex better for a mid-market company?
Neither by default. Webex suits Cisco calling or room estates with strict retention needs. Zoom suits teams already working in Zoom that want one app and flexible carrier options.
Can I keep my phone numbers when I move?
Yes. Both document number porting. Zoom also supports Bring Your Own Carrier, and Cisco's Local Gateway keeps your existing PSTN connection during migration.
Does Webex Calling work with Cisco Unified CM?
Yes. Cisco documents a hybrid phase in which Webex Calling and Unified CM run side by side through Local Gateways before a full move to the cloud.
Do Zoom and Webex support end-to-end encryption?
Yes, with limits. On both, end-to-end encrypted meetings exclude phone dial-in and SIP or H.323 devices and turn off some recording or AI features.
Does OPS sell both Zoom and Webex?
Yes. OPS resells, deploys and supports both.
Compare Zoom and Webex with OPS
The Collaboration & Workplace practice at OPS resells, deploys and supports both. Review the Zoom and Webex service pages, then bring your phone numbers, room count and retention rules to a strategy call.
Sources
- Zoom, Zoom Phone: VoIP phone service. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Zoom, Explore Zoom features. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Zoom, Meet ZoomMate, your AI teammate. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Zoom, Zoom Rooms. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Zoom, Zoom Team Chat admin quickstart guide. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Zoom Support, Requesting a local number port (EMEA). Checked October 28, 2026.
- Zoom Support, Migrating phone numbers across Zoom Phone and BYOC services in Number Management. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Zoom Support, Using Zoom Interop for Microsoft Teams in Zoom Rooms. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Zoom Support, Managing users. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Zoom Support, Enabling end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for Zoom meetings. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Zoom Support, Archiving for meetings and webinars. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Cisco Webex, Webex Help Center. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Cisco Webex, Webex Calling configuration workflow. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Cisco Webex, Get started with Local Gateway. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Cisco Webex, Implement the migration from Unified CM to Webex Calling. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Cisco Webex, Collaboration devices for conferencing, meetings and calling. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Cisco Webex, Get started with Control Hub. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Cisco Webex, Enable end-to-end encryption using end-to-end encryption session types. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Cisco Webex, End-to-end encryption for Webex Meetings and Webex Calling. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Cisco Webex, Pro Pack for Control Hub. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Cisco Webex, Webex AI. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Cisco Webex, Customize Cisco AI Assistant and AI features in Control Hub. Checked October 28, 2026.