Understanding Webinars premium features and capacity rules for Zoom Webinars

This article explains the updated webinar scheduling experience that aligns with license type. If you have both a higher-capacity Zoom Webinars license and a lower-capacity Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license, this article details when and how webinars premium features will function.

Requirements for Webinar premium features and license capacity

Which users are affected by this change?

Only users who have both of these license types are affected:

• A higher-capacity Zoom Webinars license
• A lower-capacity Zoom Webinars Plus or Zoom Events license

For example, if you have a Zoom Webinars 5000 license and a Zoom Webinars Plus 500 license, you'll need to choose between capacity and webinars premium features when scheduling webinars.

What if I only have a Zoom Webinars license or only a Zoom Webinars Plus / Events license?

If you only have one license type, your experience doesn't change:

• Zoom Webinars only: You'll have standard webinar features at your license capacity
• Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events only: You'll have webinars premium features at your license capacity

What happens if my licenses change?

If your license combination changes (adding or removing licenses), the system will apply these rules:

• If you add a lower-capacity Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license to an existing Zoom Webinars license, existing webinars remain at Zoom Webinars capacity without premium features. You can switch to the premium feature from the Webinars schedule page.
• If your Zoom Webinars license is replaced by a same or higher-capacity Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license, premium features will be applied.
• If your Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license is downgraded to Zoom Webinars, premium features will be removed, and Zoom Webinars capacity is applied.

How do Webinar premium features and capacity work?

What are webinars premium  features?

Webinars premium features include capabilities available in Zoom Webinars Plus and Zoom Events licenses, including production studio, backstage, simulive, resource links, breakout room, RTMP not available in the standard Zoom Webinars license.

What is changing with webinars premium features?

Zoom is updating the webinar scheduling experience to align with license entitlements. If you have a higher-capacity Zoom Webinars license and a lower-capacity Zoom Webinars Plus or Zoom Events license, you'll need to choose between using your higher webinar capacity or enabling webinars premium features at a lower capacity.

Why is this change being implemented?

This update ensures that license entitlements match their intended use. Previously, hosts could use webinars premium features from a lower-capacity Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license with their higher-capacity Zoom Webinars license, which wasn't the intended license usage.

Scheduling and managing Webinar premium features or capacity

How do I choose between capacity and premium features?

When scheduling a new webinar, you'll see a License type option to choose between:

• Higher capacity with standard webinar features
• Premium features with lower capacity

Note: The scheduling interface will clearly display what capacity will be available with each option. 

Can I change my selection after scheduling a webinar?

Yes, you can edit your webinar settings at any time before the webinar starts. Once the webinar begins, you cannot change between premium features and standard features.

What happens to webinars I scheduled before this change?

Webinars scheduled before this change will run as originally configured. If you edit an existing webinar after this change is implemented, the new rules will apply and you'll need to choose between capacity and premium features.

Can I have both high capacity and premium features?

To have both high capacity and premium features, you would need a Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license with the same or higher capacity as your Zoom Webinars license.

Managing license changes for upcoming webinars

Note: Switching from a Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license to a higher-capacity Zoom Webinars license is not supported during a live webinar—even if premium features aren’t in use. The only mid-webinar upgrade allowed is to a higher-capacity Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license. Learn more about switching between license types during a live webinar.

If you have upcoming scheduled webinars with Zoom Webinars Plus or Zoom Events licenses, and also have higher-capacity Zoom Webinars licenses:

• On the webinar list page (link), you can see the plan information inline with each upcoming webinar.
• If you click Start on a webinar, you’ll be prompted to confirm the license type to ensure the webinar experience aligns with your intent.
• You can also go to the webinar Edit page to change the license type and select the desired webinar experience.

What happens if my license changes for scheduled upcoming webinars?

• If you add a larger capacity Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license while running a standard Zoom Webinars webinar, there will be no change to the available features.
• If you add a larger capacity Zoom Webinars license while running a Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events webinar, there will be no change to capacity.
• If you add a larger Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license while running a Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events webinar, capacity will increase to match the new license.
• If your license is removed or reduced during a live webinar, current attendees can remain, but no new attendees can join if you exceed the new capacity.
• Account admins receive a popup when assigning higher-capacity Zoom Webinar licenses to users who already have lower-capacity Zoom Webinars Plus or Zoom Events licenses.
• Hosts will receive an email when their license is upgraded, reminding them to review and adjust scheduled webinars to ensure a smooth experience.

Will attendees know if premium features are enabled?

Attendees won't explicitly be notified about which feature set is being used. However, they will experience the premium features if they're enabled.

How can I tell which license my webinar will use, and are there visual indicators?

The web portal displays clear license indicators to help hosts understand how their webinars will run. A yellow banner appears close to the icon for starting a webinar, and webinars affected by license differences show plan information and, when applicable, a yellow highlight.

When starting these webinars, hosts are prompted to confirm which license to use, with an option to skip future prompts. The license type dropdown reflects updated naming, and all premium features are labeled with a Premium tag.

Important note about switching between license types mid-webinar: While you can switch from a Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license to a higher capacity Webinars Plus / Events license during a live webinar, you cannot switch from a Zoom Webinars Plus / Zoom Events license to a higher-capacity Zoom Webinars license during a live webinar—even if you're not using premium features.

For example, if you start a webinar using your Webinars Plus 500 license and realize you need more capacity, you cannot upgrade to your Webinars 3000 license while the webinar is running.

In order to increase attendees mid-webinar, you could either use your higher capacity Webinars Plus / Events license, or upgrade to a higher capacity Webinars Plus / Events license. In order to access the higher capacity Webinars 5000 license, you would need to end the current webinar and start a new one using your Zoom Webinars license.

Tip: If you anticipate needing higher capacity, schedule your webinar using your higher-capacity Zoom Webinars license from the start.