How to Set Up a Zoom Meeting on Web, Desktop, or Mobile

To successfully set up a Zoom meeting, you need the right tools and a clear process. Zoom is the go-to tool for video calls whether you’re connecting with colleagues, students, or clients. Learning how to set up a Zoom meeting is straightforward — it features both a free version and a paid/premium version. The service has a desktop app, and mobile apps which means anyone can join a meeting from any platform.

Before you start: create a Zoom account and install the app

Before you can host a Zoom meeting, you need a Zoom account and a way to access it. Here is the minimum setup required:

1. Create a free Zoom account at zoom.us/signup. A free plan is enough to host meetings — you do not need a paid subscription to get started.
2. Install the Zoom Workplace desktop app if you plan to host from a computer. You can also use the web portal at zoom.us without installing anything, though the desktop app gives you access to more scheduling and in-meeting controls.
3. Download the Zoom mobile app (iOS or Android) if you plan to host or schedule from your phone.
4. Sign in with the same account you used to register. Everything you schedule is tied to that account, so make sure you are signed in to the correct one before creating a meeting.

Do participants need a Zoom account? In most cases, no. Guests who receive a join link can tap or click it and join the meeting without creating an account or signing in. However, the host must always have an account to create and manage meetings.

Keep in mind that some organizations configure their Zoom settings to require attendees to be signed in or authenticated before they can enter a meeting — if your invitees report being blocked at the join screen, this is the most likely reason.

What the free Zoom plan includes — and where it stops: The free Basic plan is enough to host most meetings, but there are practical limits worth knowing before you invite others. Group meetings on the free plan are time-limited (currently capped at 40 minutes per session for three or more participants); one-on-one meetings between two people do not have the same cap. Participant capacity, cloud recording, certain dial-in options, and some admin controls are either restricted or unavailable on the free plan — these features typically require a paid Pro, Business, or Enterprise subscription. If you are hosting recurring team calls, classes, or client meetings that run long, a paid plan is worth considering. On the guest side, attendees can almost always join without a Zoom account by clicking the join link — no sign-up required. However, whether guests can join via a browser (without installing the app), use phone dial-in, or are required to authenticate depends entirely on the host’s account settings and plan type. If you need any of those options, check your account settings before sending invitations.

How to set up a Zoom meeting

Learning to set up a Zoom meeting is fairly easy; you can set one up and start it right away, or you can schedule a meeting and send invites for it. As a meeting organizer, you will be subject to the limitations, or lack thereof, of your Zoom plan.

How to set up a Zoom meeting on the Web

To set up a Zoom meeting from the web app, follow these steps;

1. Visit Zoom in your browser.
2. Go to My Meetings in the column on the left.
3. Click Schedule a Meeting.
4. Enter a Topic (the meeting name) in the first field.
5. Set the Date and Time using the date picker and time selector.
6. Set the Duration in hours and minutes so attendees know how long to block out on their calendars.
7. Check or adjust the Time Zone. Zoom defaults to your browser’s local time zone, but change this if you are scheduling across regions.
8. If the meeting will repeat, tick Recurring meeting and choose the recurrence pattern — daily, weekly, monthly, or no fixed time.

9. Select what sort of Meeting ID you want to use. Choose Generate Automatically for a one-off meeting, or Personal Meeting ID if you want to use your permanent room link.
10. Set a passcode for the meeting. Zoom enables this by default — keep it on for any public or large meeting.
11. Under Video, choose whether the Host and Participants cameras start on or off when they join.
12. Under Audio, choose Telephone, Computer Audio, or Both. Selecting Both lets dial-in and computer attendees join the same call.
13. Under Calendar, choose Outlook, Google Calendar, or Other Calendars. Zoom will open a calendar event where you can add attendees and send the invite directly from your calendar app.
14. Click Advanced Options to expand additional settings such as enabling Waiting Room, muting participants on entry, or allowing attendees to join before the host.
15. Click Save.

16. Once the meeting has been saved, use the given options to share an invite or copy and share the link directly. Use Copy Invite Link for the fastest share — it sends just the join URL. Use Copy Invitation to copy the full invitation text, which includes the meeting ID, passcode, and dial-in phone numbers — useful when inviting participants who may join by phone.
17. To start the meeting right away, click the Start this meeting button.

How to start an instant Zoom meeting from the web

If you need to launch a meeting right now — not schedule one for later — you can do that directly from zoom.us in your browser without touching the desktop app. Here is how:

1. Go to zoom.us and sign in to your account.
2. In the top navigation bar, click the Host a Meeting button (usually found in the upper-right corner of the page).
3. From the dropdown, choose your preferred option: With Video On, With Video Off, or Screen Share Only, depending on how you want to start the call.
4. Your browser will prompt you to open Zoom Workplace. Click Open Zoom Workplace (or Open zoom.us) to launch the meeting in the desktop app. If you do not have the app installed, you may see an option to Join from Your Browser — select that to stay entirely in the browser.
5. Once the meeting is live, click Participants in the meeting toolbar, then click Invite.
6. Click Copy Invite Link to copy the join URL and share it with attendees immediately via message, email, or chat. The link already contains the passcode, so guests who click it will not be asked to enter one separately.
7. If some guests are dialing in by phone, click Copy Invitation instead — this copies the full invitation text including the meeting ID, passcode, and dial-in numbers.

This is the fastest route from browser to live meeting. Because no scheduling step is involved, there is no calendar event created — you are responsible for notifying attendees yourself by sharing the link directly.

Change meeting settings

Once you’ve created a meeting, you can change its settings so long as it hasn’t started.

1. Visit Zoom and go to My Meetings.
2. Hover over the meeting you want to edit and click the Edit button.
3. Change the settings and click Save.

Note: Make sure you share the new/edited settings with your invitees.

How to set up a Zoom meeting on Desktop

To set up a Zoom meeting from the Zoom desktop app, follow these steps.

1. Open Zoom and sign in.
2. Click the New Meeting button to start a meeting right away.
3. Select an Audio source.
4. Once the meeting starts, click the Participants button.
5. Click Invite.
6. To share the quickest possible link, click Copy Invite Link and share the copied URL with attendees. This is the fastest option for most participants joining from a computer or phone app.
7. To share full meeting details — including the meeting ID, passcode, and dial-in phone numbers — click Copy Invitation instead. This is the better choice when some attendees will be joining by phone rather than the app.
8. Alternatively, use the built-in Email buttons to open a pre-filled email draft in your default mail client, or send directly to Zoom contacts from within the app. Note that the join link typically carries the passcode automatically, but participants joining by manually entering the meeting ID will still need to enter the passcode separately.

Recommended Zoom settings before you set up a Zoom meeting

Before saving any scheduled meeting, it is worth taking a moment to choose the right settings. The defaults are reasonable, but a few decisions have real security and usability implications.

Generated Meeting ID vs. Personal Meeting ID (PMI): Your PMI is a permanent room that never changes, which makes it convenient for recurring one-on-one calls where both parties are known. For any one-off or public meeting, use a generated Meeting ID instead. If you reuse your PMI for multiple meetings, anyone who has the link from a previous session can attempt to join future ones — even if they were not invited.

Passcode: Keep the passcode enabled for most meetings. It adds a simple layer of protection against random attendees stumbling into your call. The good news is that the join link Zoom generates usually embeds the passcode automatically, so invited guests who click the link will not need to enter it manually. Participants who join by typing in the meeting ID, however, will still need the passcode, so include it in any invitation you send.

Waiting Room: Enabling Waiting Room means participants are held in a lobby until the host admits them individually. This is particularly useful for webinars, tutoring sessions, or any meeting where you want to control exactly who is on the call. You can admit everyone at once or one at a time.

Host and participant video: Setting host video to On means your camera starts automatically when you open the meeting. Setting participant video to Off means attendees join with their camera off by default, which is generally less disruptive for large groups. Each participant can always turn their camera on once they are in.

Audio options: Selecting Both (Telephone and Computer Audio) is the safest default because it accommodates attendees on any device. If your organization only uses computer audio, you can narrow this to Computer Audio to simplify the join experience.

Only authenticated users can join: This setting requires attendees to be signed in to a Zoom account before they can enter the meeting. Enable it when you are hosting internal team meetings, classes where all participants have institutional accounts, or any session where you need to verify identity. Avoid it for meetings with external guests or clients who may not have a Zoom account — they will be blocked at the door and unable to join at all.

Mute participants on entry: When enabled, everyone who joins the meeting starts with their microphone muted. This is strongly recommended for larger meetings, webinars, or classes where background noise from late arrivals would disrupt the session. Participants can unmute themselves once they are settled, or the host can unmute them individually.

Join before host: This allows participants to enter the meeting room before you, the host, have joined. It can be convenient for informal team calls but is a security risk for public or client-facing meetings — attendees will be in the room together unsupervised. Unless you have a specific reason to enable it, leave this off and use Waiting Room instead.

Alternative host and co-host: If you need to hand off meeting management — for example, if you might be late or want someone else to admit participants from the Waiting Room — you can assign an alternative host (set before the meeting) or promote a co-host (done during the live meeting). Alternative hosts must have a Zoom account on the same organization or a licensed account, depending on your plan. Co-hosts can be assigned to any participant during the meeting and can manage participants, mute attendees, and share screens.

Automatic recording: Zoom can begin recording the moment the meeting starts, either to your local computer or to Zoom’s cloud storage. Local recording is available on all plans and saves the file to your device. Cloud recording requires a paid plan and stores the file on Zoom’s servers, where you can share a link to the recording afterward. Enable automatic recording when you routinely need a record of the session — such as for client calls, training sessions, or team standups — but make sure you inform participants that the meeting will be recorded, as this is both a best practice and a legal requirement in many regions.

How to set up a Zoom meeting on Desktop (Scheduled)

1. Open Zoom and click Schedule.
2. In the window that opens, enter a Topic (meeting name) in the first field.
3. Set the Date and Time using the date and time pickers.
4. Set the Duration in hours and minutes.
5. Check the Time Zone shown beneath the time field. Zoom uses your system time zone by default — adjust it if you are scheduling for participants in a different region.
6. If the meeting will repeat, tick Recurring meeting and set the recurrence pattern — daily, weekly, monthly, or no fixed time.
7. Under Meeting ID, select Generate Automatically for a one-off meeting, or Personal Meeting ID if you want to use your permanent room link. For most scheduled meetings, Generate Automatically is the safer choice.
8. Set a Passcode. Zoom enables this by default — keep it on for any meeting outside your immediate team.
9. Under Video, set Host and Participants camera defaults to On or Off. Off for participants is generally less disruptive for larger groups.
10. Under Audio, choose Telephone, Computer Audio, or Both. Selecting Both ensures dial-in and app users can join the same call.
11. Under Calendar, choose Outlook, Google Calendar, or Other Calendars. Zoom will open a calendar event where you add attendees and send the invite from your calendar app — the calendar invite will include the join link and passcode automatically.
12. Click Advanced Options to expand additional settings, including Waiting Room, muting participants on entry, and allowing participants to join before the host.
13. Click Save.

What happens after you choose Google Calendar, Outlook, or Other Calendars

Clicking Save is not the final step when you have a calendar option selected — there is one more action required before your attendees actually receive an invitation.

Google Calendar: Zoom will open a new browser tab and load a pre-filled Google Calendar event. If you are not already signed in to Google, you may be prompted to select an account or grant Zoom permission to access your calendar. The event will already contain the meeting topic, date, time, join link, and passcode. You still need to add your attendees in the Guests field and click Save (and then confirm you want to send invitations) before anyone receives an email. The invitation will not be distributed until you complete this step.

Outlook: Zoom will open a new Outlook calendar event, either in the Outlook desktop app or Outlook on the web, depending on how your system is configured. The join link and passcode are already inserted in the event body. Add attendees in the To field and click Send to distribute the invite.

Other Calendars: If you choose Other Calendars, Zoom will display a summary screen with the full meeting details — join URL, meeting ID, passcode, and dial-in numbers. This option is best when you want to copy those details and paste them manually into a calendar system Zoom does not natively integrate with, such as Apple Calendar, a shared team calendar, or a calendar embedded in another platform. Copy the information from this screen and paste it into a new event in whichever calendar tool your team uses, then send or share the event from there.

The key thing to remember: until you add attendees and send or save the calendar event, no one has been notified. Clicking Save in Zoom creates the meeting — the calendar step is what actually delivers the invitation.

How to schedule a Zoom meeting in Google Calendar using the add-on

Many people start their scheduling in Google Calendar rather than in Zoom. If that describes your workflow, the Zoom for Google Workspace add-on lets you create a Zoom meeting directly from a Google Calendar event without switching tabs. You need to install the add-on first — here is how to do both steps.

Install the Zoom for Google Workspace add-on:

1. Open Google Calendar in your browser.
2. Click the + icon in the right-hand sidebar (Get add-ons) to open the Google Workspace Marketplace.
3. Search for Zoom for Google Workspace and select it from the results.
4. Click Install, then follow the prompts to grant the necessary permissions and connect your Zoom account.
5. Once installed, a Zoom icon will appear in the Google Calendar sidebar.

Schedule a Zoom meeting from Google Calendar:

1. In Google Calendar, click a time slot or the + Create button to open a new event.
2. Fill in the event title, date, and time as you normally would.
3. Click More options to open the full event editor.
4. In the right-hand panel (or within the event editor), click the Zoom add-on icon and select Add a Zoom Meeting. If you have not connected your Zoom account yet, you will be prompted to sign in at this point.
5. Zoom will generate a meeting and automatically insert the join link, meeting ID, and passcode into the event description.
6. Add your guests in the Guests field.
7. Click Save and confirm that you want to send invitations. Each guest will receive a Google Calendar invite containing all the Zoom meeting details.

How to schedule a Zoom meeting in Outlook using the add-in

If you schedule from Outlook — whether the desktop app or Outlook on the web — the Zoom for Outlook add-in lets you add a Zoom meeting to any calendar event with a single click. The add-in must be installed before the Zoom option appears in your Outlook toolbar.

Install the Zoom for Outlook add-in:

1. In Outlook on the web, click the Settings gear icon and search for Add-ins, then select Get Add-ins. In the Outlook desktop app, go to Home and click Get Add-ins (or Store, depending on your version).
2. Search for Zoom for Outlook in the Microsoft AppSource marketplace.
3. Click Add and follow any prompts to authorize the add-in. It will appear in your Outlook ribbon or compose toolbar once installed.

Schedule a Zoom meeting from Outlook:

1. In Outlook, click New Event (or New Meeting in the desktop app) to open a calendar event.
2. Fill in the event title, date, time, and any attendees in the To field.
3. In the event toolbar or ribbon, click the Zoom button and select Add a Zoom Meeting. You may be prompted to sign in to your Zoom account the first time you use it.
4. Zoom will insert the join link, meeting ID, and passcode directly into the event body.
5. Click Send to distribute the invite. Each attendee will receive an Outlook calendar invitation with the full Zoom meeting details included.

Both add-ins create the Zoom meeting automatically — you do not need to go to zoom.us first. The meeting will appear in your Zoom account under My Meetings just as if you had scheduled it there directly.

How to set up a Zoom meeting on Mobile Apps

To set up a Zoom meeting on the iOS or Android app, follow these steps.

1. Open the Zoom app on your phone and sign in.
2. Tap New Meeting to start a meeting right away.
3. Tap the Start a Meeting button.
4. Tap Participants and then the Invite button at the bottom right to invite others to the meeting.
5. From the invite screen, tap Copy Invite Link to share just the join URL — this is the fastest option for most guests joining from a phone or computer. Tap Send Email or Send Message to share via your default mail or messaging app instead.
6. If some attendees will be dialing in by phone, tap Copy Invitation to copy the full invitation text, which includes the meeting ID, passcode, and dial-in numbers.

Schedule a Zoom meeting – Mobile apps

To schedule a Zoom meeting from the mobile apps, follow these steps.

1. Open the Zoom app on your phone and sign in.
2. Tap Schedule.
3. Enter a Topic (the meeting name) in the first field.
4. Set the Date, Start Time, and Duration using the pickers on screen.
5. Tap Time Zone and adjust it if you are scheduling for participants in a different region. Zoom defaults to your phone’s system time zone.
6. If the meeting will repeat, toggle Recurring Meeting on and set the recurrence pattern — daily, weekly, monthly, or no fixed time.
7. Under Meeting ID, choose Generate Automatically for a one-off meeting, or Personal Meeting ID if you want to use your permanent room link. For most scheduled meetings, Generate Automatically is the safer choice.
8. Make sure Passcode is enabled. Zoom turns this on by default — keep it on for any meeting outside your immediate team. You can tap the field to view or change the passcode.
9. Under Video, set the Host and Participants camera defaults to On or Off. Setting participants to Off is generally less disruptive for larger groups.
10. Tap Advanced Options to review additional security and access controls, including Waiting Room and whether participants can join before the host.
11. Under Add to Calendar, select your preferred calendar app — such as Google Calendar or the default device calendar. This determines where Zoom saves the event after you tap Save.
12. Tap Save.

After saving, your calendar app will open with a pre-filled event. Add any attendees and tap Send or Save from the calendar to distribute the invitation — the meeting will not be sent to guests until you complete this step in the calendar app.

Once the meeting is saved, here is how to manage it from your phone:

1. Tap the Meetings tab at the bottom of the Zoom app screen.
2. Tap the scheduled meeting you want to manage.
3. Tap Add Invitees to share the meeting details. You can tap Copy Invite Link to share just the join URL, or tap Send Email, Send Message, or another option to send via your preferred app.
4. To share the full invitation text — including the meeting ID, passcode, and dial-in numbers — look for the Copy Invitation option on this screen.
5. If you need to resend the invite or share it with someone new, return to the Meetings tab, tap the meeting, and use the same invite options again at any time before the meeting starts.
6. When you are ready to launch the meeting, tap the meeting from the Meetings tab and tap Start.

How to start a scheduled Zoom meeting later

Scheduling a meeting and starting it are two separate steps. Once you have saved a scheduled meeting, here is how to launch it when the time comes — make sure you are signed in to the same Zoom account you used to create the meeting.

On the web:

1. Go to zoom.us in your browser and sign in.
2. Click Meetings (or My Meetings) in the left column.
3. Find your upcoming meeting in the list and click Start next to it.

On the desktop app:

1. Open the Zoom desktop app and sign in.
2. Click the Meetings tab at the top of the window.
3. Select the scheduled meeting from the list on the left.
4. Click the Start button.

On mobile (iOS or Android):

1. Open the Zoom app and sign in.
2. Tap the Meetings tab at the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap the scheduled meeting you want to launch.
4. Tap Start.

Conclusion

Knowing how to set up a Zoom meeting makes it easy to connect with colleagues, students, or clients from any platform. Whether you choose to set up a Zoom meeting from the web, desktop app, or mobile device, the process is consistent and beginner-friendly. Zoom’s features aren’t restricted if you use it from a mobile app and you will find you can access almost all its features across multiple platforms. If you want to know how you can join a Zoom meeting, check out our comprehensive guide.

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Fatima Wahab

Fatima has been writing for AddictiveTips for six years. She began as a junior writer and has been working as the Editor in Chief since 2014. Fatima gets an adrenaline rush from figuring out how technology works, and how to manipulate it. A well-designed app, something that solves a common everyday problem and looks

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