Whereby vs Zoom

Why Switch from Zoom to Whereby?

Zoom requires participants to download a desktop client or at minimum a browser extension, creating friction for guests and raising security concerns. Zoom’s data practices have come under fire multiple times — from sharing data with Facebook to allowing meeting hosts to track attendee attention. As a US company, Zoom stores data on American servers under US surveillance jurisdiction.

Whereby is a Norwegian video conferencing solution built entirely in the browser. There is nothing to download, no plugins to install, and no accounts required for guests. You simply share a link and the meeting starts. Behind this simplicity lies a strong commitment to European data protection: Whereby processes data under Norwegian and EU law, with full GDPR compliance built into the product from day one.

For businesses that want professional, branded video meetings without the overhead of Zoom’s bloated feature set, Whereby offers a refreshingly focused alternative.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Whereby	Zoom
Browser-based (no download)	✅ Fully	⚠️ Web client limited
Persistent meeting rooms	✅ Branded URLs	❌ Generated links
Screen sharing	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Recording	✅ Cloud (paid plans)	✅ Cloud and local
Breakout rooms	✅ Paid plans	✅ Paid plans
Embeddable API	✅ Full video API	⚠️ SDK available
Virtual backgrounds	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Max participants	Up to 200 (Business)	Up to 1,000 (Enterprise)
GDPR compliant	✅ Full (Norway/EU)	⚠️ Partial (US entity)
Data location	Europe 🇪🇺	United States 🇺🇸

Pricing

Whereby’s pricing is straightforward and competitive:

• Whereby Free: 1 meeting room, up to 100 participants, 45-minute group meetings
• Whereby Pro: $6.99/month — 3 rooms, recording, branding, up to 100 participants
• Whereby Business: $11.99/host/month — unlimited rooms, up to 200 participants, SSO
• Zoom Basic: Free — 40-minute group meetings, 100 participants
• Zoom Pro: $13.33/user/month — 30-hour meetings, cloud recording
• Zoom Business: $18.33/user/month — 300 participants, admin features

Whereby’s Pro plan at $6.99/month undercuts Zoom Pro significantly while including persistent branded rooms and GDPR compliance that Zoom cannot match.

Privacy & Data Sovereignty

Whereby takes data protection seriously as a core business value, not a compliance checkbox:

• Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, operating under Norwegian and EU data protection law
• All data is processed within the European Economic Area
• Full GDPR compliance with a detailed Data Processing Agreement available for business customers
• No meeting content is accessed, analyzed, or used for AI training
• Minimal data collection — guests can join without creating accounts or providing personal information
• Whereby’s embeddable API allows businesses to run video calls entirely within their own applications, keeping user data in their ecosystem
• Regular third-party security audits and penetration testing

For businesses embedding video into their products, Whereby’s API is a standout feature — it means video conferencing data flows through your own GDPR-compliant infrastructure.

Migration Guide

Transitioning from Zoom to Whereby is simple because Whereby requires no software installation:

1. Sign up for a Whereby account — Go to whereby.com and create your account. You can start with the free plan to test the platform. (3 minutes)
2. Create your meeting rooms — Set up named meeting rooms with permanent URLs (e.g., whereby.com/your-company/client-meetings). These links never change, so you can bookmark and reuse them. (5 minutes)
3. Customize your room branding — On paid plans, add your company logo and set a custom background. This creates a professional impression for client calls. (5 minutes)
4. Update your calendar invites — Replace Zoom links in your recurring calendar events with your new Whereby room URLs. Since Whereby rooms have persistent links, you only need to do this once per recurring meeting. (10-15 minutes)
5. Notify your team and clients — Let your colleagues and clients know they can join your meetings by simply clicking the link — no downloads or accounts needed. (5 minutes)

Estimated total time: 30-45 minutes to fully transition. Difficulty: Very easy — no technical knowledge required, no software to install on any device.

Real-World Use Cases

A Dutch consulting firm with international clients: BrightPath Consulting switched to Whereby after clients repeatedly complained about Zoom download prompts during initial sales calls. With Whereby, prospects simply click a branded link and join instantly in their browser. The firm reports that meeting join rates improved by 30%, and the persistent branded URLs (whereby.com/brightpath/meeting-room) create a more professional impression.

A Copenhagen-based health tech startup embedding video into their platform: MediConnect uses Whereby’s video API to provide patient-doctor consultations directly within their GDPR-compliant health platform. Patients never leave the MediConnect interface, which is critical for maintaining trust and regulatory compliance. The embedded solution eliminated the need to manage Zoom licenses for 200+ healthcare providers.

A Berlin design agency running daily standups and client reviews: Studio Acht uses Whereby’s free plan for their 8-person daily standup with a permanent room link that everyone has bookmarked. For client design reviews, they use a Pro room with their agency’s branding. The simplicity has reduced “meeting tech issues” from a daily occurrence with Zoom to virtually zero.

Company Background

Whereby was founded in 2013 in Oslo, Norway, originally under the name “appear.in” as a product developed within Telenor, one of Scandinavia’s largest telecommunications companies. The service was created by Ingrid Ødegaard and a small team who wanted to build the simplest possible video meeting experience — one that worked entirely in the browser without any downloads or plugins. In 2017, appear.in was spun out of Telenor as an independent company, and in 2019 it rebranded to Whereby.

The company has raised approximately 30 million dollars in funding from investors including Northzone and Point Nine Capital. Whereby AS is a Norwegian company (Aksjeselskap) headquartered in Oslo, with a distributed team working across Europe. The company employs approximately 100 people and has chosen to remain focused on doing one thing exceptionally well — browser-based video meetings — rather than competing feature-for-feature with larger platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

Whereby has carved out a strong niche in two market segments: small-to-medium businesses that want frictionless video meetings for client interactions, and technology companies that need to embed video conferencing into their own products. The Whereby Embedded API has become particularly popular among health tech, education, and SaaS companies that want to offer video calls within their platforms without building video infrastructure from scratch. The company’s Norwegian roots are reflected in its design philosophy — clean, minimal, and functional — and in its commitment to processing all data within the European Economic Area under GDPR. Whereby has been named one of Norway’s most promising tech companies and is a flagship example of the Scandinavian approach to building ethical, user-centric technology.

Security & Compliance

Whereby maintains security and compliance standards designed for business use cases including healthcare, education, and enterprise communications.

• GDPR-compliant data processing as a Norwegian company (Whereby AS) operating within the European Economic Area
• Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) provided as standard for all business customers, fully compliant with GDPR requirements
• TLS encryption for all video and audio streams in transit between participants and Whereby servers
• DTLS-SRTP encryption for WebRTC media streams, ensuring secure peer-to-peer communication
• No meeting content accessed or analyzed — Whereby does not monitor, record, or use meeting content for AI training or any other purpose
• SOC 2 Type II compliance process in place, with regular third-party security assessments
• Room-level access controls including locking, knock-to-enter, and password protection for meeting rooms
• Regular penetration testing by independent security firms to identify and remediate potential vulnerabilities

Integration Ecosystem

Whereby’s integration ecosystem is built around two pillars: simple meeting management for business users and a powerful embeddable video API for developers.

• Whereby Embedded API allowing developers to add video conferencing to any web application with a few lines of code
• Calendar integrations with Google Calendar and Outlook for scheduling meetings and generating Whereby room links
• Slack integration for creating and sharing Whereby meeting links directly within Slack channels and conversations
• HubSpot and Salesforce connectors for scheduling video meetings within CRM workflows
• Trello and Notion integrations for embedding meeting links in project management and documentation tools
• Zapier connector enabling no-code automation between Whereby and thousands of other applications
• Custom branding options on paid plans, allowing businesses to add logos, colors, and backgrounds to meeting rooms
• Webhooks and REST API for building custom integrations with internal tools and automated workflows

Who Should Switch?

Whereby is ideal for:

• Customer-facing teams who want frictionless video meetings (no downloads for clients)
• EU businesses needing verified GDPR compliance for video conferencing
• Consultants and freelancers who want branded, professional meeting rooms with persistent links
• SaaS developers who want to embed video conferencing into their own applications via API
• Small to mid-size teams who prefer simplicity over Zoom’s feature bloat

The Bottom Line

Whereby strips away the complexity of Zoom and replaces it with elegant simplicity. The browser-based approach means zero friction for meeting guests, and the GDPR-compliant European infrastructure means your meeting data stays under EU jurisdiction.

The trade-off is scale: if you regularly host events with hundreds of participants or need advanced webinar functionality, Zoom remains more capable. But for everyday meetings, client calls, and embedded video experiences, Whereby delivers a superior, privacy-respecting experience at a lower price point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do meeting guests need to create a Whereby account to join?

No. Guests can join a Whereby meeting by simply clicking the link — no account creation, no downloads, and no browser extensions required. This is one of Whereby's biggest advantages for client-facing meetings where you want zero friction for participants.

Is Whereby reliable enough for daily business meetings?

Yes. Whereby supports meetings with up to 200 participants on the Business plan and provides consistent audio and video quality for everyday meetings. For small to mid-size teams, it handles daily standups, client calls, and team meetings reliably. Very large events with 500+ attendees are better suited for Zoom.

How does Whereby handle GDPR compliance for business customers?

Whereby offers a formal Data Processing Agreement (DPA) for business customers. As a Norwegian company operating within the EEA, all data is processed under European law by default. Whereby does not access, analyze, or use meeting content, and collects minimal personal data from participants.

Can I embed Whereby video calls into my own application?

Yes. Whereby offers a full video API that allows developers to embed video conferencing directly into their web applications, SaaS products, or platforms. This means your users never leave your interface, and the video data flows through your own GDPR-compliant infrastructure.

What happens when the free plan's 45-minute limit runs out?

When the 45-minute limit is reached on the free plan, the meeting ends. You can immediately start a new meeting in the same room with the same link. Paid plans remove this time limit entirely, allowing unlimited meeting duration.