Calculating Bandwidth Usage for Zoom Meetings and Phone

The recommended bandwidth allotments in this section are a general guide to reflect the cumulative amount of bandwidth a Zoom product may use during general usage and in conjunction with in-meeting features and selected video resolutions.

The described Zoom product statistics pages can be used for real-time testing to see the actual range of cumulative bandwidth usage Zoom products will use with different features and resolutions enabled and during varying network conditions.

Zoom Meetings

Bandwidth recommendations for the Zoom Workplace desktop and mobile app are based on video resolution and the number of meeting participants

The following tables demonstrate estimated bandwidth usage for the Zoom Workplace desktop and mobile app in a one-on-one Zoom Meeting and a group meeting scenario.

One-on-one Zoom Meetings

Group Zoom Meetings

Zoom Rooms often have higher bandwidth usage due to the number of video displays and their screen size

Zoom Rooms utilize similar bandwidth consumption metrics as the Zoom Workplace apps. However, in Zoom Rooms with more than a single video screen, the download bandwidth will be increased per-screen.

The following table shows the estimated bandwidth usage of Zoom Rooms based on video resolution and the number of displays.

Screen sharing for Zoom Rooms generally adds 150-300kbps of bandwidth usage with some sharing scenarios adding more

Screen sharing from a Zoom Room will add 150-300kbps of bandwidth usage, depending on the native resolution of the content you are sharing, the number of shares, and the content type. Full frame rate (30fps) content sharing, video playback, and application demos may increase bandwidth requirements substantially.

Additional in-meeting features will increase bandwidth consumption for Zoom products when they are in use

When the following in-meeting features are engaged, additional bandwidth will be consumed by the Zoom application or Zoom-enabled device.

Gallery View

Gallery View lets you see thumbnail displays of participants, in a grid pattern, which expands and contracts as participants join and leave the meeting. Depending on your CPU, the desktop app can display up to 25 or 49 participants in a single screen of the Gallery view.

When in Gallery View, 2.0 Mbps of bandwidth may be utilized for 25 views and up to 4.0 Mbps for 49 views.

Screen sharing

When sharing your screen, the Zoom Workplace desktop app will display content at the native resolution of the desktop, application, or portion of the screen being shared.

Screen share only, with no video thumbnail displaying meeting participants, requires 50-75 kbps (up/down). Screen sharing with a video thumbnail requires 50-150 kbps (up/down).

Zoom Phone

Zoom Phone calls use 60-100kbps of bandwidth

With the purchase of Zoom Phone subscriptions, users can make audio calls via supported Zoom Workspace apps or desktop phones. Both Zoom Phone and Zoom Phone for VDI use the Opus codec when communicating between Zoom endpoints. The Opus codec is adaptive and will adjust to the available bandwidth on a network, consuming approximately 60-100kbps.

Bandwidth will be consumed by different components during Zoom Phone for VDI calls depending on the VDI optimization mode

As mentioned in the next section on VDI meetings, bandwidth is consumed between an end user’s workstation and the VDI server in different amounts depending on which mode of optimization the VDI connection has been established.

Zoom Workplace VDI App

The Zoom Workplace VDI app consumes a similar amount of network bandwidth as the Zoom Workplace desktop app

Many organizations utilize virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) for its centralized management capabilities and data security advantages. Zoom Meetings via VDI utilize the Zoom Workplace VDI app that is installed on a remote server and communicates with a plug-in that is loaded to an end-user workstation (known as a thin client) to achieve high-quality video collaboration over an organization’s virtual desktop infrastructure. Bandwidth consumption for Zoom Meetings using the VDI app and plug-in will vary depending on the number of meeting participants, utilization of in-meeting features, and selected video resolutions—similar to the Zoom Workplace desktop app.

A workstation and VDI server will use bandwidth in different capacities depending on the mode of optimization in which the VDI connection is established

VDI connections are supported in three different optimization modes between the Zoom Workplace VDI app residing on a server and an end user’s workstation (thin client). Although bandwidth consumption rates for Zoom Meetings via VDI are similar to those of Zoom Meetings with the standard desktop app, the following optimization modes will dictate whether the server or thin client will use more network bandwidth. More information on these optimization modes can be found within the Zoom Workplace VDI App Explainer.

The Statistics Screen

Bandwidth consumption and other network performance metrics can be viewed on the Statistics screen in Zoom products

Most Zoom Workplace apps and Zoom-enabled devices have a Statistics page that allows you to view real-time bandwidth consumption and other network performance metrics.

Use the Statistics section on Zoom Workplace applications to view bandwidth usage while testing different use cases

You can monitor bandwidth usage from Zoom application Statistics pages during different meeting scenarios to calculate the range of bandwidth that a Zoom product may use on your network. These calculations serve as a basis for estimating the overall bandwidth consumption of all Zoom desktop apps operating within your network environment.

The Statistics section within the Zoom Workplace desktop app settings displays various diagnostic information during a meeting. It allows you to see the desktop app’s bandwidth usage as well as other statistics such as CPU and memory usage.

See the Accessing Meeting and Phone Statistics support article for instructions on accessing and using the statistics section.

Bandwidth usage can be monitored from the Statistics page of your Zoom Rooms Appliance or Zoom Rooms-enabled computer

Zoom Rooms Appliances and computers running the Zoom Rooms software offer a Statistics page within the Zoom Rooms settings. Please see our Zoom Rooms meeting controls and settings support article and the instructions for your respective Zoom Rooms Appliances to learn more about how to access Zoom Rooms settings to view the bandwidth usage.