Should I build video calls into my product?

If calls are part of your service, such as consultations or classes, embedding video through a provider is often worth it. For internal meetings, existing tools are cheaper.

Why not build video from scratch?

Reliable real-time video across networks and devices is a specialized, ongoing engineering effort. Video API providers handle it for a per-minute fee, which is far cheaper for almost every product.

Is this what Zoom spent to build its app?

No. It is Eltherion's estimate for building a comparable first version today. It says nothing about what Zoom spent, and Eltherion is not affiliated with Zoom. A product at that company's scale has years of work and teams behind it that no MVP includes.

How can I lower the cost?

Launch with fewer integrations, one market and one platform, and leave the full-platform features until users ask for them. The adjustable calculator shows how each choice moves the range.

Productivity and SaaS tools

How much does it cost to build an app like Zoom?

By Nick McCandless, founder of EltherionUpdated October 30, 2026

Short answer

Eltherion prices an MVP of an app like Zoom, a video meeting app, at $41k to $110k. A full platform with the features listed below runs $81k to $216k. These are Eltherion's own estimate ranges for building a comparable product, not what Zoom spent; your fixed price comes after a free scoping call, and small, tightly scoped work starts as low as $1,000.

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An app like Zoom lets people schedule and join video meetings with screen sharing and chat. A comparable MVP builds the product around a video infrastructure provider rather than writing real-time video from scratch, which is what keeps it in this range.

What an MVP of an app like Zoom costs, feature by feature

The first version below is the smallest product people could actually use. Core features are covered by the base price for a SaaS product; each outside service the app connects to, and each add-on, adds its own line.

Eltherion estimate for an app like Zoom, MVP (updated October 30, 2026)
Line item	What it covers	Estimate
Core SaaS product (MVP)	Meetings, In-meeting controls, Accounts and dashboard	$35k to $95k
Video infrastructure	Real-time audio and video through a video API provider	$2k to $5k
Calendar sync	Add meetings to calendars	$2k to $5k
Email invites	Meeting invitations and reminders	$2k to $5k
Total		$41k to $110k

Meetings: Create, schedule and join meetings with a link.
In-meeting controls: Mute, camera, screen share and chat.
Accounts and dashboard: Upcoming meetings and settings.

What drives the cost of an app like Zoom

Using a video API provider is the difference between this range and a far larger project.
Video minutes are a monthly running cost that grows with use.
Recording, transcripts and enterprise features come later.

Full platform: $81k to $216k

The full-platform tier prices the same app at full-platform scope ($63k to $171k for the core) plus these additions:

Recording and transcripts: Save and transcribe meetings (part of the full-platform core).
Company accounts: Each customer's users and settings kept apart ($5k to $15k).
Single sign-on: Enterprise login ($5k to $10k).
Subscription billing: Plans and payments ($2k to $5k).

Most products should not build this tier up front. Ship the MVP, see what users actually do, and add the pieces that earn their place. Open the full-platform estimate in the calculator.

Running costs after launch

Maintenance and small improvements: $7k to $20k a year for the MVP (18% of the build, a planning assumption).
Hosting: about $7k a year (a planning estimate; heavy usage costs more).
Three-year total for the MVP, build included: $85k to $191k.
Card payments: Stripe's standard US rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction (checked October 30, 2026); other providers price differently.

Each integration also has its provider's own usage fees (maps, messaging, video, AI models), which depend on how much the app is used.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to build an app like Zoom?: Eltherion prices an MVP of an app like Zoom, a video meeting app, at $41k to $110k, and a full platform at $81k to $216k. These are Eltherion's estimate ranges from its published pricing model; your fixed price comes after a free scoping call. Small, tightly scoped work starts as low as $1,000.
Should I build video calls into my product?: If calls are part of your service, such as consultations or classes, embedding video through a provider is often worth it. For internal meetings, existing tools are cheaper.
Why not build video from scratch?: Reliable real-time video across networks and devices is a specialized, ongoing engineering effort. Video API providers handle it for a per-minute fee, which is far cheaper for almost every product.
Is this what Zoom spent to build its app?: No. It is Eltherion's estimate for building a comparable first version today. It says nothing about what Zoom spent, and Eltherion is not affiliated with Zoom. A product at that company's scale has years of work and teams behind it that no MVP includes.
How can I lower the cost?: Launch with fewer integrations, one market and one platform, and leave the full-platform features until users ask for them. The adjustable calculator shows how each choice moves the range.

How we priced this

Every number on this page comes from Eltherion's software development cost calculator: a base range for the product type, multiplied by scope, plus a fixed range for each integration and add-on. The method is published on the cost methodology page. The feature list describes a typical comparable product; Eltherion is not affiliated with Zoom.