Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Connect
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Connect is a web conferencing platform that enables users to create presentations, online training materials, and learning modules. The product is entirely Adobe Flash-based and has several add-ons for customizing its software to suit each users’ unique needs.
$50
per host/per month
Zoom
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Zoom helps consolidate communications and collaboration in the boardroom, classroom, operating room, and everywhere. Zoom is an intelligent collaboration platform that makes connecting easier, more immersive, and more dynamic. Zoom technology facilitates collaboration through solutions like Zoom Team Chat, Phone, Meetings, omnichannel cloud Contact Center, smart recordings, and Whiteboard.
$5
per month per license
Pricing
Adobe ConnectZoom
Editions & Modules
Meetings
$50
per host/per month
Webinars & Learning
$130
per host/per month
Small Meetings
Free
Forever free for up to 3 participants
Add-On Zoom Translated Captions
$5
per month per license
Add-On - Zoom Whiteboard
$24.90
per year
Pro
$149.90
per year per user
Business
$199.90
per year per user
Business Plus
$250.00
per year per user
Add-On - Conference Room Connector
$499
per year
Basic
Free
Enterprise
Custom
Add-On - Large Meetings
starting at $600
per year
Add-On - Cloud Storage
starting at $120
per year
Add-On Audio Conferencing
starting at $1200
per year
Add-On Zoom Phone Power Pack
Starting at $300
per year per user
Add-On - Zoom IQ for Sales
Contact Sales
Add-On - Quality of Service Subscription
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe ConnectZoom
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe ConnectZoom
Considered Both Products
Adobe Connect
Chose Adobe Connect
There is no doubt that Adobe Connect is far and above the best platform for training. Its complexity is overshadowed by the benefits it offers. Two examples are multiple chats and polls at the same time make the learning experience better for the learner.
Chose Adobe Connect
Adobe connect is cheaper than Zoom. There are so many features like multiple hosts and presenters who can collectively take over the meetings. You can also create polls or questionnaires in the form of quizzes. There is also a chat option. User engagement can easily be figured …
Chose Adobe Connect
I prefer Adobe Connect's slide sharing and recording/playback features to either Zoom or GoToMeeting(GTM). GTM is good for meetings where the majority of the group is onsite and needs to conference in only a few remote participants, and Zoom is great for video chats. It's …
Chose Adobe Connect
Actually, it was the other way around....we were using Adobe Connect, company-wide, then switched over to Zoom, mostly, I think, as a cost-cutting measure. But some Learning & Development folks campaigned to be allowed to retain some Adobe Connect licenses (for example, one L&D …
Chose Adobe Connect
We were on both GoTo platforms, when it was decided to move to Adobe Connect. Due to the audio access challenges and lackluster customer support, we decided to stay with GoTo webinar.
Chose Adobe Connect
It has some better features and some not so good qualities that makes it not exactly the product of choice. Most of our meetings involve 5-15 participants, so it doesn't always work for our situation.
Zoom
Chose Zoom
I've have deep experience with Polycom and Cisco video conferencing products. I consider Zoom to be far superior. I also have deep experience with Adobe Connect. I consider Zoom to be far superior. I also have experience with Skype for Business. I consider Zoom to be far …
Chose Zoom
Zoom is much easier to use than WebEx at the time. Skype is annoying and did not allow for group connections or recording. Adobe Connect uses Flash and requires more administrative oversight. Zoom just works!
Chose Zoom
Zoom is the perfect blend of ease of use, smart technology and performance, cost-effectiveness, and features. When we started with it two years ago, it was still something of a promising startup. They've gone from that to a Gartner-recognized industry leader in a very short …
Chose Zoom
Zoom may not have as many tools as Adobe Connect, but to have a product like Zoom be simple to use with less complications of platform or browser compatibility, there was no question why we went to Zoom. Setting up a Zoom meeting is straightforward and the quality of the …
Chose Zoom
While Zoom doesn't have all the webinar features of Adobe Connect, the reliability and stability of the system and the advanced features make it a very easy choice. Long-term it feels like it will a much easier to support system that users enjoy using and does not cause issues …
Chose Zoom
I only use this platform if the client forces me to. It has a complicated user interface. With Zoom I can facilitate easily and be the producer, switching people into rooms, monitoring chat, request emoticons. Not with Adobe Connect. It's not as simple and clear to use. …
Chose Zoom
Compared to its competitors, Zoom is more cost-effective, as well as simpler to install and use. It's also more reliable, as Google Meet's call quality has been poor for meetings larger than one-on-one. Even Microsoft Teams has a Zoom plug-in for teams to use. I chose Zoom, so …
Chose Zoom
There is no comparison. Zoom excels at ease of use, engagement, connectivity and simplicity. We simply could not find or justify continuing working with other solutions as they are more expensive, offer less features and are sometimes restrictive at integrating additional …
Chose Zoom
There are a lot of options, both paid and free. I prefer Zoom over others because the software is very intuitive. I rarely have teammates or clients complain about using the software. I like being able to record the sessions so I can refer back to them when working up proposals …
Chose Zoom
Zoom's screen sharing feature allowed us to shift gears on the fly without uploading documents ahead of time like on Blackboard. This saves our teachers and therapists tons of time!
Chose Zoom
Better audio and video quality. Tolerant to low bandwidth consumes fewer computer resources than other solutions. Computer audio connection is a better capability to connect on the go. iPhone and Android app local and cloud recording are the best you can do, you can use Skype, …
Chose Zoom
Zoom is much more streamlined. Easier to log in and doesn’t hog as much memory or bandwidth.
Chose Zoom
By far the greatest advantage using Zoom vs Adobe Connect has been the quality of the audio. We have experienced significant loss of audio quality in video conferencing through Adobe Connect. It has necessitated using the Video features of Adobe Connect and using dial-in audio …
Chose Zoom
We tested many of the competitors and found that Zoom had all the options we wanted, better video quality, great pricing and was extremely user friendly.
Top Pros
Top Cons
TrustRadius Insights
Adobe ConnectZoom
Highlights

TrustRadius
Research Team Insight
Published

Adobe Connect and Zoom are both popular video and web conferencing platforms. Adobe Connect offers video conferencing solutions for online learning, online meetings, and webinar hosting use cases. Zoom is an online communications platform that allows users to host and participate in online meetings. The full Zoom platform provides users with online meetings, meeting rooms, webinar, and business phone solutions.

Adobe Connect can be used by small groups but is more likely to be used by schools and medium to large size businesses due to its pricing structure and great webinar capabilities. Users who need to reach a large audience or who are involved in online learning will want to look into this option. Zoom can be used for free by individuals, but also has options to scale which can make it useful at businesses of all sizes. Users who are looking for more streamlined and easier meeting options may want to choose Zoom over the competition. 

Features

Adobe Connect and Zoom are both strong product offerings, but there are a few features that differentiate them from one another. 

A major feature of Adobe Connect is that users have the ability to share links that allow the link recipient to enter a call without needing to download a client app. Adobe Connect also offers a high degree of customization and a greater number of tools to interact with crowds and large groups. With this, users are given greater flexibility in how onscreen pods and chats can be displayed. Options are also available for changing to colors of each individual pod in case you need to liven the mood or set the tone of a meeting. Adobe Connect maxes out at 25 users for standard web meetings, but for webinars, it can support up to 1,500 users which is 500 more than Zoom is capable of. Adobe Connect also has the advantage of being able to support high definition video for a greater number of users than Zoom.

A major benefit of using Zoom is it’s expansive free tier. Zoom allows meetings of up to 100 participants for no charge. Though meetings with 3 or more participants are capped at 40 minutes. Fun features like virtual and moving backgrounds help set Zoom apart along with its “raise hand” feature which lets users signify who wants to talk next.  Zoom is also uncluttered and easy to understand for users who are not tech-savvy or that don’t use web conferencing software often. Zoom users on TrustRadius also enjoy how simple Zoom makes it to send meeting links and how easy the software makes it to join meetings. 

Limitations

While Adobe Connect and Zoom are both great choices for conferencing software, Adobe Connect may be the better choice for online learning and why Zoom may hold the advantage for business users. 

Adobe Connect has a user interface that may be familiar to users of other Adobe products, but some users may not find it as welcoming or as easy to use as Zoom. TrustRadius reviewers also report issues when trying to use Adobe Connect’s mobile applications. Finally, while Adobe Connect supports the use of green screens, there is no option to use preloaded virtual backgrounds like in Zoom. 

Zoom is a very popular product, though some customers have experienced outages, glitches, and dropouts in the service. Also, due to increased demand, some customers report that Zoom’s customer service could be improved. Another potential downside to Zoom is its lack of high definition video for large groups. Any group larger than two people is not guaranteed their best video quality. Additionally, Zoom has recently encountered security-related issues like Zoom “bombing” where unauthorized users gain access to calls and attempt to shut them down. Zoom has also faced scrutiny over recent data breaches.     

Pricing

Adobe Connect is a large and inclusive conferencing platform with pricing options to match any user’s needs. Adobe Connect for standard web meetings is a forever-free version for small meetings of up to three participants. Adobe Connect’s Meetings plan starts at $50 per month per meeting host and can accommodate up to 25 participants. This option can also be expanded by contacting the vendor. Adobe Connect’s Webinars & Learning plan starts at $130 per month per host and can accommodate up to 4 hosts and 1500 meeting participants. 

Zoom offers 4 tiers of web conferencing service that all feature the ability to call into meetings via phone. A forever-free Basic version that can host up to 100 participants, but limits meetings to 40 minutes. The Pro version for $149.90 per year then adds unlimited meeting time and 1GB of cloud recording. Larger organizations may be interested in the Business tier which is $199.90 per year and features single sign-on, company branding, and the ability to hand up to 300 participants. The top tier offering from Zoom is the Enterprise tier which can host up to 1000 participants and offers unlimited cloud storage. This tier is available at $199.90 per license, but you must purchase at least 100 licenses.

Features
Adobe ConnectZoom
Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
8.0
65 Ratings
0% below category average
Zoom
7.2
710 Ratings
12% below category average
High quality audio8.764 Ratings7.7704 Ratings
High quality video7.264 Ratings7.6706 Ratings
Low bandwidth requirements6.955 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile support9.142 Ratings00 Ratings
Screen Sharing
Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
7.7
64 Ratings
4% below category average
Zoom
7.6
698 Ratings
5% below category average
Desktop sharing8.064 Ratings8.1697 Ratings
Whiteboards7.454 Ratings00 Ratings
Online Meetings / Events
Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
7.9
65 Ratings
4% below category average
Zoom
7.5
703 Ratings
6% below category average
Calendar integration9.241 Ratings7.5626 Ratings
Meeting initiation8.656 Ratings7.9685 Ratings
Integrates with social media7.328 Ratings00 Ratings
Record meetings / events7.360 Ratings7.7658 Ratings
Slideshows7.251 Ratings00 Ratings
Online Events Collaboration
Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
8.6
64 Ratings
2% above category average
Zoom
7.3
613 Ratings
5% below category average
Live chat9.462 Ratings7.4595 Ratings
Audience polling8.255 Ratings00 Ratings
Q&A8.352 Ratings00 Ratings
Online Events Security
Comparison of Online Events Security features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
8.9
60 Ratings
6% above category average
Zoom
7.1
591 Ratings
5% below category average
User authentication7.953 Ratings6.7511 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions9.360 Ratings6.9565 Ratings
Confidential attendee list9.448 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
-
Ratings
Zoom
5.3
15 Ratings
42% below category average
Hosted PBX00 Ratings4.68 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)00 Ratings5.010 Ratings
Directory of employee names00 Ratings6.411 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
-
Ratings
Zoom
6.7
19 Ratings
20% below category average
Answering rules00 Ratings6.510 Ratings
Call recording00 Ratings8.116 Ratings
Call park00 Ratings5.810 Ratings
Call screening00 Ratings6.510 Ratings
Message alerts00 Ratings6.314 Ratings
Business SMS/External Messaging00 Ratings6.86 Ratings
Voicemail Transcription00 Ratings7.110 Ratings
Mobile apps
Comparison of Mobile apps features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
-
Ratings
Zoom
7.4
18 Ratings
15% below category average
Mobile app for iOS00 Ratings8.016 Ratings
Mobile app for Android00 Ratings6.812 Ratings
Unified Communications Platform and Collaboration
Comparison of Unified Communications Platform and Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
-
Ratings
Zoom
5.5
11 Ratings
30% below category average
Centralized communications management00 Ratings4.98 Ratings
Team messaging00 Ratings5.39 Ratings
Team document sharing00 Ratings6.79 Ratings
Call and meeting analytics00 Ratings5.09 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Adobe ConnectZoom
Small Businesses
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting
Score 9.4 out of 10
Nextiva Business Phone Service
Nextiva Business Phone Service
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting
Score 9.4 out of 10
Nextiva Business Phone Service
Nextiva Business Phone Service
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Google Meet
Google Meet
Score 8.3 out of 10
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Score 8.6 out of 10
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User Ratings
Adobe ConnectZoom
Likelihood to Recommend
7.7
(92 ratings)
7.0
(727 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(27 ratings)
4.3
(16 ratings)
Usability
7.7
(36 ratings)
7.0
(39 ratings)
Availability
5.5
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
7.6
(31 ratings)
4.7
(39 ratings)
Online Training
7.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.9
(4 ratings)
9.6
(7 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
7.9
(13 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
5.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
9.2
(8 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe ConnectZoom
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
It is a great resource for evaluating, refining, and combining abilities and essential experiences in the growth of the sales team training; It is productive and lucrative in terms of distance knowledge transfer, and it reduces employee training financing and expenditures. I really like the ability to collaborate as a group on a huge research project even when we are not in the same country.
Read full review
Zoom
I think Zoom runs circles around Teams! I just wish starting meetings was easier - anyone with a link should be able to start the meeting the way you can in Teams. It would also be great to be able to see participants when you are sharing your screen.
Read full review
Pros
Adobe
  • Adobe Connect has presentation features like transitions and animations, which are important in communications.
  • Furthermore, Adobe Connect supports virtual events in the classroom, where training is done and knowledge acquired.
  • Lastly, Adobe Connect makes virtual meetings through conferencing effective and manageable at a minimal cost.
Read full review
Zoom
  • I love how easy it is to set the focus on the presenter. It is annoying when people don't spotlight themselves as a presenter, so you get to see the whole gallery of attendees in smaller, two-inch windows.
  • I like the capability of having break-out rooms. Even though I don't use them very often, it is nice to have them available if the right situation presents itself for smaller group chats.
  • The recording quality is better than I have experienced with other products (Microsoft Teams, WebEx, etc.), and the fact that it is already an MP4, so I don't have to convert it for publishing on our intranet is huge to me.
Read full review
Cons
Adobe
  • The overall connection and lag sometimes are disruptive. This may not be due to the platform as a whole, connectivity, and strength of the signal is probably a factor but it can get glitchy sometimes.
  • More features for remote desktop options, whiteboarding, or screen sharing to actively resolve issues would be great while collaborating.
  • Online support or forums to help assist with issues aren't as prevalent as you think they'd be. More individual resources to assist with issues would be helpful.
Read full review
Zoom
  • Sharing zoom complete information is not visible on the screen, and also a bit is confusing minimizing and maximizing.
  • Every time someone enters the chat, a chat box appears on my screen, and some features are missing from this version.
  • Automatic conference connection based on a schedule isn't an option, and neither is enhanced security measures.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
The longer you use Adobe Connect, the longer you are likely to use it. Because you can build more and more resources over time, creating rooms that you re-use, recorded content you can repurpose, and tools that form the basis of ever increasing productivity, the more you use Connect, the more productive you become. Unlike competing products where, with every meeting you essentially start over -- setting up your resources for each meeting -- in my Connect rooms, I have highly tuned tools to accomplish my knowledge transfer goals. When I want to conduct another session - I send a link out to the appropriate room and instantly we are all focusing on getting a job done together. This ability of Adobe Connect to make you productive at an ever quickening rate is a competitive advantage
Read full review
Zoom
We're sticking with Zoom for the foreseeable future--given its compelling feature set, ease of use, and advanced technology, there's just no other competition to be excited about. Plus it's a Gartner-recognized industry leader, so it's a rather easy choice.
Read full review
Usability
Adobe
As sophisticated a product as Adobe Connect, the ease of use is outstanding. In my experience, even a user with very little knowledge of Adobe Connect can begin using and even leading sessions with very little training to get started with the basic features. Additional training is needed to become comfortable with the number of available features, but learning curve even for those is no steeper than would normally be expected from similar software.
Read full review
Zoom
Zoom is made for the non tech office. It has features that can be made to do what you need to run things on a day to day basis. Immediately we we able to get meetings going with remote employees. The ability to be able to add smartphone connected people was a big plus. Zoom met our needs at the time.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Zoom
There have been less than a handful of outages during our two years with Zoom, and whenever there was one, an email informing us of the outage went out immediately, and they had the issue resolved shortly thereafter.
Read full review
Performance
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Zoom
Zoom has among the best performance of any video conference platform, as I've mentioned several times. Besides that, their Chat platform works great, and their back end always runs smooth. It's unfortunate that reporting can now only be done by one month at a time, but nonetheless, it only takes a second to run any kind of Zoom report, whether it's an attendee report, Poll results, a user report, a list of meetings from the past month, etc.
Read full review
Support Rating
Adobe
The customer support of Adobe connect is professional and well-skilled for resolving our minor and major issues. Moreover, it has almost all the features that will provide you a secure connection, with people across the world. Education institutes can also implement this software. On the basis of its quality and technology, I will surely advise you to try it once.
Read full review
Zoom
As I've written before, Zoom makes us feel like we matter and that we're a client rather than a customer. They want us to succeed and they put in the time to make sure that we do. I feel like they're more of a business partner rather than simply a vendor or supplier. They spent a lot of time onboarding with us, giving us demos, helping us get set up, and then giving us follow-up to be sure it's going well.
Read full review
Online Training
Adobe
The ability to have most of the functionality of a full LMS at a fraction of the cost is huge. I can create manage and deploy both synchronous and asynchronous training based on the situation and all of my training is tracked through a series of easily created reports
Read full review
Zoom
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Adobe
Prices do not seem to vary much among resellers of the Adobe Connect hosted license; the only price variation you're likely to find are among the audio providers. When implementing, you may also wish to look into expanding the amount of storage you are allowed on the server to avoid any problems later on as your library of files starts to build up
Read full review
Zoom
If you receive any pushback from higher ups, point to any of the various positive reviews like this one. Or show Zoom's excellent Gartner report, or articles describing Zoom's partnership with Sequoia capital. It's not difficult to show how Zoom is a trustworthy industry leader with best-in-class technology.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Adobe
Actually, it was the other way around....we were using Adobe Connect, company-wide, then switched over to Zoom, mostly, I think, as a cost-cutting measure. But some Learning & Development folks campaigned to be allowed to retain some Adobe Connect licenses (for example, one L&D area had literally over 250 room layouts that their course facilitators could just jump into and use to deliver a course on short notice), which also allows some of us to continue to publish Presenter and Captivate modules to the Adobe server. (But, even those of us who still have Adobe Connect licenses use Zoom for most regular business meetings.)
Read full review
Zoom
Zoom cannot be beaten for ubiquity - 100% of my clients and prospective clients are already familiar with Zoom. This is the #1 reason why I use Zoom. Additionally, Zoom integrates with AcuityScheduling, saving me a lot of time in creating meetings and adding them to the calendar. Zoom is disappointing in terms of video quality, interactivity features, and privacy. In cases where I need to use the recording of webinars for digital products, I will always use Crowdcast, and in cases where privacy is essential, I will use JitsiMeet.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Zoom
The billing and price model is really fair for so many functions that they offer, our remote work requires each of the features that Zoom offers, so accepting payment for a tool like this is the least we can do. I like that billing arrives on time and that they offer opportunities and payment times.
Read full review
Scalability
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Zoom
Because the Basic licenses are completely free, and because it's very easy to configure and install Zoom, and because anyone can join Zoom from a link without needing an account, scaling is a Breeze. There are absolutely no roadblocks. My company keeps adding more Zoom Pro license every week since it's so in demand. We were able to convert users from several different platforms onto Zoom with no trouble at all.
Read full review
Professional Services
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Zoom
Zoom is perfect for our business. We use it to video chat with prospective clients. The name recognition alone gives us credibility and it is very easy to screen share and send content out.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Adobe
  • Save on time - our instructors and people that use the platform can teach more classes and more often than in-person training and time traveling.
  • We cut down on spending. When we offer training using Connect - we do not have to spend on meals, hard copy materials, and reserving a venue to deliver training.
  • We increase our training sales significantly but offering Connect as an alternative - any unforeseen cancellations to a public class can result in transferring to a remote online Connected class.
Read full review
Zoom
  • It enables me to send and receive messages from my team members during video calls, handling online presentations.
  • With the ability to quickly stop, mute, and even receive notifications when someone enters or exits the meeting room, I'm never obligated to show up while making a call.
  • It is possible to record online meetings for future reference and more effective customer service. As we dealt with a lockdown, Zoom helped our business run smoothly.
Read full review
ScreenShots