By Web Desk 
Zoom has recently expanded its webinar capabilities to support up to one million participants, a major leap that caters to the growing demand for large-scale virtual events. This development is particularly significant for organizations like political campaign groups, which have increasingly relied on Zoom for fundraising and other high-attendance activities. For instance, several groups backing Vice President Kamala Harris’s election campaign have successfully hosted events with hundreds of thousands of attendees on the platform.
To accommodate such expansive virtual gatherings, Zoom has rolled out a new tiered system of webinar packages. These packages offer varying participant capacities, ranging from 10,000 to the new maximum of one million. The tiers include options for 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, 250,000, 500,000, and one million participants, providing flexibility for event organizers of all sizes. The new offerings are designed as single-use packages, allowing organizations to tailor their purchase to the specific needs of a single event.
Unprecedented Scale for Virtual Events
With the introduction of this expanded capacity, Zoom has made it clear that it anticipates these large-scale virtual events becoming more common across various sectors. According to Smita Hashim, Chief Product Officer at Zoom, this new capability provides event organizers with the “flexibility and power to host truly interactive experiences on an unprecedented scale.” This flexibility is expected to appeal to a wide range of industries, from corporate enterprises to entertainment and public sectors.
For instance, celebrities and entertainers could leverage this expanded capacity to host virtual fan meet-and-greets or other interactive events, providing a more personalized experience for their audiences. Similarly, large corporations could use the platform to conduct global town halls or major product launches, ensuring they reach the maximum number of stakeholders simultaneously.
A Hefty Price Tag
However, the ability to host such large-scale events comes at a significant cost. Organizing a one-time webinar for up to one million participants will set back event organizers by $100,000. While this may seem steep, it actually represents a cost-effective solution when compared to smaller-scale options. For example, a webinar for 10,000 participants costs $9,000, which breaks down to almost a dollar per attendee. This makes the one-million-participant option a better deal on a per-person basis.
Before this update, Zoom’s maximum support for participants in a single event was capped at 100,000. This new development was reportedly driven by specific demands from organizations requiring the capacity to host large-scale political fundraising events. According to a Bloomberg report, this demand was a key factor in pushing Zoom to expand its capabilities.
Impact Across Multiple Sectors
As virtual events become increasingly integral to how organizations operate, Zoom’s expanded webinar capacity is likely to set a new standard for online gatherings. The company’s ability to scale its services to meet the needs of one million participants underscores its commitment to innovation and adaptability in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
The introduction of these high-capacity webinars is expected to transform how events are conducted across a variety of sectors. Whether it’s political campaigns, global corporate meetings, or large-scale entertainment events, Zoom is positioning itself as the go-to platform for organizations that require robust, scalable solutions for their virtual events.
By offering these capabilities, Zoom not only meets the current demand but also sets the stage for the future of virtual gatherings, ensuring that no event is too large to be held online.