Zoom Nonprofit Discount: The 2026 Rules (and When to Drop Zoom Instead)

Is Zoom free for nonprofits?

No. Zoom Cares gives eligible nonprofits 50% off annual Zoom Workplace plans, Zoom Webinars, and the Large Meetings add-on, as of October 2026. For many small organizations, though, the bigger saving is not the discount. It's realizing they already have a free video tool.

What changed in 2025

Zoom used to be available through TechSoup. TechSoup's support center now lists Zoom for Nonprofits as no longer available, and the change was reported effective May 1, 2025. Verification now runs through Goodstack. Many pages still describe the TechSoup route; ignore them. See our TechSoup alternatives guide for the other programs that moved.

What the discount actually covers

Half off the annual price of Pro or Business licenses, Webinars, and Large Meetings. Zoom doesn't publish the resulting dollar price, so the figures below are our arithmetic from Zoom's pricing page:

Worked example

A nonprofit has three hosts on Zoom Workplace Pro, billed monthly.

• Current cost: 3 × $16.99 × 12 = $611.64 per year
• Switch to annual billing only: 3 × $169.92 = $509.76 (saves $101.88)
• Annual plus the nonprofit discount: 3 × $84.96 = $254.88 per year
• Saving versus today: $611.64 − $254.88 = $356.76 per year

Now the alternative. If the same organization already uses Google Workspace for Nonprofits or Microsoft 365 Business Basic, both free for eligible nonprofits, it already has Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. Dropping Zoom entirely saves the full $611.64.

When to drop Zoom instead

Check your last few months of meetings against these questions:

• Do any meetings exceed 150 participants? The free Google Workspace for Nonprofits edition supports 150-participant Meet calls. Business Plus (nonprofit) supports 500. See the Google Workspace page.
• Do you record meetings? Google lists Meet recording only from Business Standard upward, which costs nonprofits $3.50 per user per month. You'd only need that for the people who host recorded meetings.
• Do you run public webinars with registration? Zoom Webinars may still be the right tool, and it is covered by the 50% discount.
• Are you on Microsoft 365? Business Basic, free for up to 300 users, includes Teams. See the Microsoft 365 page.

If none of the first three apply, you are probably paying for a duplicate. The free audit flags overlaps like this across your whole stack.

Who should and shouldn't apply

Apply if you are a 501(c)(3) (including public libraries with 501(c)(3) status) with an operating budget of $10 million or less, you bought Zoom on its website, and you're willing to pay annually.

You won't qualify if you are an education or healthcare organization, a government agency, a 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(6), have a budget above $10 million, or bought Zoom through a direct sales quote. Those organizations should negotiate at renewal or look at the bundled alternatives above.

Church eligibility

Zoom's published exclusions do not name churches, but Zoom requires 501(c)(3) status or an international equivalent, verified by Goodstack. A church without an IRS determination letter may need to show coverage under a denominational group exemption. See church eligibility for nonprofit discounts.