Zoom vs Dialpad: Video Giant or AI-Native Challenger?
Zoom and Dialpad are two of the most innovative UCaaS platforms, but they come from different starting points. Zoom is the video-first giant with a massive user base, a rapidly maturing phone system, and a free AI Companion included on every paid plan. Dialpad is the AI-native challenger that has built real-time intelligence into every call and conversation since day one. Both platforms are pushing the boundaries of what business communications can do, and the right choice depends on your team's priorities.
Feature Comparison
How Zoom and Dialpad stack up across key capabilities.
AI Capabilities
Dialpad leads
Zoom Zoom AI Companion provides meeting summaries, smart recording highlights, and composing assistance. Included free on paid plans. Strong but primarily focused on meetings and chat rather than deep call-level intelligence.
Dialpad AI is woven into the core of every interaction. Real-time transcription on every call, automated post-call summaries, live sentiment analysis, custom AI vocabulary, and coaching recommendations all come standard.
Video Conferencing
Zoom leads Zoom The gold standard for video meetings. Best-in-class quality, reliability, and user experience. Supports up to 1,000 participants with features like breakout rooms, virtual backgrounds, and webinars.
Dialpad Dialpad Meetings offers AI-powered transcription and real-time notes during video calls. Solid quality for up to 150 participants, but the video experience does not match Zoom's depth or scale.
Voice & Telephony
Even match Zoom Zoom Phone provides solid cloud PBX with auto-attendants, call queues, and IVR. Maturing rapidly and suitable for most business phone needs, though it lacks some advanced telephony features found on phone-first platforms.
Dialpad AI-native cloud phone system with real-time transcription on every call. Clean, modern interface with solid call management. Strong mid-market telephony but fewer advanced routing options than legacy platforms.
Contact Center
Even match Zoom Zoom Contact Center offers AI-powered routing, video-enabled customer service, and native integration with the broader Zoom platform. Growing quickly but still newer to the market.
Dialpad Dialpad AI Contact Center features real-time agent assist, automated QA scoring, sentiment analysis, and coaching. Focused on AI-driven agent performance improvement.
User Adoption
Zoom leads Zoom Massive existing user base means most employees already know how to use Zoom. Adding Zoom Phone to an existing deployment requires minimal training and change management.
Dialpad Modern, intuitive interface that is easy to learn. Deployment is fast and the learning curve is short, but teams still need to adopt a new application rather than extending one they already use.
Pricing
Zoom leads Zoom Aggressive pricing strategy across the platform. Zoom Phone is competitively priced and AI Companion is included free on paid plans, making the total cost of ownership attractive for most organizations.
Dialpad Competitive mid-market pricing with AI features included natively on all plans. No separate AI add-on required. Good value, but less aggressive than Zoom on headline pricing.
Analytics & Insights
Dialpad leads Zoom Admin dashboards with call quality metrics, adoption reports, and meeting analytics. AI Companion adds smart summaries, but deeper conversation analytics across phone calls are limited.
Dialpad Built-in conversation intelligence with real-time and historical analytics. Sentiment tracking, talk-to-listen ratios, keyword spotting, and custom dashboards for managers and coaches.
Pros & Cons
Zoom
Strengths
- Best-in-class video conferencing trusted by millions
- Massive existing user base reduces adoption friction
- AI Companion included free on all paid plans
- Aggressive, competitive pricing across the platform
- Rapidly maturing telephony and contact center capabilities
Limitations
- AI focused on meetings rather than deep conversation intelligence
- Telephony features still maturing compared to phone-first platforms
- Contact center is newer and less proven for complex operations
- Limited real-time transcription and coaching on standard phone calls
Best For
Organizations already using Zoom Meetings that want to consolidate voice, video, and collaboration on a single, familiar platform. Ideal for video-first cultures, companies prioritizing user adoption speed, and budget-conscious teams that want AI included at no extra cost.
Dialpad
Strengths
- AI-native architecture with intelligence on every call
- Real-time transcription and coaching included on all plans
- Deep conversation analytics with sentiment and keyword tracking
- Clean, modern user experience with fast deployment
- Strong value for mid-market organizations prioritizing AI
Limitations
- Video conferencing does not match Zoom's quality or scale
- Smaller brand recognition and user base than Zoom
- Less aggressive headline pricing than Zoom
- Fewer advanced enterprise telephony features
Best For
Mid-market companies (50 to 500 users) where AI-driven conversation intelligence is a strategic differentiator. Best for sales teams, customer success organizations, and any business where real-time coaching, transcription, and sentiment analysis drive measurable outcomes.
Our Verdict
Choose Zoom if your organization already lives in Zoom Meetings and you want to consolidate voice, video, and collaboration under one familiar roof. Zoom Phone is maturing fast, the AI Companion adds real value, and the pricing is aggressive. Choose Dialpad if AI-powered conversation intelligence is a strategic priority and you want transcription, coaching, and sentiment analysis built into every interaction from the start. For video-first cultures, Zoom is the natural fit. For teams that want AI working on every conversation, Dialpad delivers deeper intelligence out of the box.
Frequently Asked Questions
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